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Texas town without drinking water as temperatures soar

Shooting Texas Community
Posted at 12:46 PM, Jun 15, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-15 14:46:28-04

Residents in Odessa, Texas, have been without water since Monday after an aging pipe broke.

According to the City of Odessa website, the town is still under a boil water notice, so residents receive bottled water at two distribution sites throughout the city.

Crews repaired the water line at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, but the system has to be turned back on slowly to ensure no more leaks.

That process should take about 12 hours to complete.

According to the Associated Press, the city’s water treatment plant was back online by about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Due to the 24-inch line breaking, the outage comes as Texas deals with severe heat, with temperatures reaching triple digits.

In a press release, Gov. Greg Abbott's office said the water main break affected approximately 165,000 residents.

"The State of Texas is taking swift action to respond to Odessa’s impacted water supply and support the local community in meeting their water needs," Abbott said. "I urge residents in Odessa to follow guidance from local officials and take the proper precautions to ensure their health and safety as we work together to restore safe tap water in the community.”

The city said some businesses and water parks were to remain closed due to the lack of water.