KIRBY, Texas – The water in Kirby is now safe to drink without the need to boil, city officials said Wednesday.
The Boil Water Notice was rescinded Tuesday, four days after a combination of issues led to a citywide loss of water.
On Friday, city officials called it a “major emergency” in a Facebook post explaining to residents that water service was down in addition to the city’s phone lines.
Last week, city officials said the phone outage was due to a rolling spam call, but on Wednesday said the phone system crashed because the lines were so flooded with calls about lack of water service.
The city’s phone service was restored within hours and the Kirby Public Works Department restored water service on Friday evening, but asked residents to boil the water for safety.
“This was an unprecedented situation and has never happened in the City of Kirby’s 67 years of existence,” city officials said in a press release.
They said a combination of issues led to the citywide loss of water:
- A brand-new pump shorted out at Well #3.
- An electrical issue caused the motor to burn up in Well #2.
- A water main break off FM78 and Gibbs Sprawl went unreported overnight.
City leaders plan to hold a briefing at 6 p.m. on Thursday to provide additional details and answer questions about the event.
Watch Friday’s story: