MARLIN, Texas — Marlin residents are beginning to see water restored after a week-long outage. The city extended its disaster declaration and boil water notice for up to 45 more days.
- Water service is gradually being restored in Marlin after a week-long outage caused by a lightning-damaged valve.
- A boil water notice and disaster declaration remain in effect for up to 45 days.
- The city is urging residents to conserve water under Stage 5 drought restrictions.
- Two portable water tankers are expected to arrive to support the community, though delays have occurred due to severe weather.
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“You came at a perfect time because this was not doing this earlier, so we may be having our water on soon,” said Marlin resident Latoya Mason.
A sigh of relief for residents in Marlin who are finally starting to see their water restored.
“It’s never been this bad, it’s never been this bad, that’s why it’s almost kind of scary to me right now,” said Mason.
The community went an entire week without any water - an unfortunate but common reality for our community.
“So when these types of situations happen, it just makes it worse, it devastates the entire town,” said Mason.
The city council held a meeting Wednesday afternoon, sharing updates on the water crisis and confirming that water has been restored at the city plant. Saying that the issue was caused by a malfunction with an electrical valve that was likely struck by lightning, and also extending both the declaration of disaster and boil water notice another 45 days.
“This is ridiculous that this is happening again. We have to do better. We are going to be talking about ways that we can do better because nobody should have to go home and turn on their faucet and find no water and nobody should have to miss school because there is no water,” said City of Marlin Fire Chief and interim city manager Justin Parker.
The city also announced that two portable water tankers are expected to arrive on Thursday and will remain in town for at least 45 days, but residents are still urged to conserve water and follow Stage 5 drought contingency plans.
For neighbors like Latoya, the week without any water was a nightmare, especially after recovering from a recent surgery.
“The lifting and the bending is not only mentally draining but it’s physically draining as well,” said Mason.
With Latoya working as a substitute teacher, the outage has also affected her financially.
Marlin ISD was forced to cancel school for an entire week.
“I’m paid hourly so it’s a pretty big hit. I’m losing hundreds of dollars a day,” said Mason.
And although it’s been a week of pain and suffering, Latoya tells 25 News she’s still hopeful for the future.
“If they would understand that if we fix this one problem, we can bring our town back to life,” said Mason.
Although water pressure is slowly returning, disaster relief efforts like showers and meals are still being offered at the First Baptist Church. They are open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and located at 309 Coleman Street.
