By Stephanie Jacksis
TEMPLE (UPDATE) - As of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the boil order issued for Temple has been lifted.
City Manager David Blackburn held a press conference Tuesday, saying water test results have indicated no contaminants exist in the system's water and it is safe for human consumption. Water samples were sent to a lab in Waco, and the results looked good for City of Temple residents.
"Our water operation systems have returned to normal and the system is functioning well within our normal operating capacity ranges," Blackburn said.
Blackburn said city officials identified a need to improve the water system several years ago, and have been trying to complete the system. However, he admitted it could be a costly and time consuming process.
"There are still a few components that we have to put in place but we have been working on design and engineering of those prior to this event and will continue to do so," Blackburn said, adding, "I don't think we can work any harder or faster in that regard."
He said the city has spent in excess of $2 million to date for backup generation systems in multiple areas of the plant. It will probably take at least another year or two for this restructuring to be completed.
Blackburn emphasized that these components will mitigate outages from occurring, but he can't guarantee there won't be power supply interruptions through the city's primary provider or through the backup system.
By Eric Boynton and Christine McCarthy
TEMPLE - Crews have fixed a transformer damaged by powerful Saturday night storms at Temple's water treatment plant, but a boil water order remains in place. All businesses initially ordered to close are now allowed to reopen, provided they do not use the city's water or wastewater services.
Sgt. Brad Hunt said the amended disaster declaration means businesses can only open their doors if they do not take in or put out any city water. No bathroom services or washing of dishes is allowed at the time.
Around 10 a.m. Oncor finished replacing the failed transformer, but city officials said workers were still trying to get the plant back online in order to restore normal water services.
Because of a significant drop in water pressure on Sunday morning, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told the city to ask all customers of Temple's water system to boil water rigorously for at least two minutes before consumption.
The initial order to close all businesses that use Temple's water system did not affect gas stations, grocery stores, convenience stores and health care facilities.
