City Manager Don Magner presented a comprehensive report at Monday’s City Council meeting regarding the Nov. 6 Boil Water Notice (BWN) incident that affected water customers in the southwest portion of the City. The notice was required to protect public health due to a brief loss of pressure at the Holly Water Tower—the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality mandates public water system operators issue a BWN when water pressure drops below 20 psi in the distribution system.
The report cites human error coupled with equipment failure as the causes for the pressure drop along with improvements needed in training and operational oversight. It provides a detailed timeline of the incident and the steps the City took to mitigate the problem and inform the public; actions taken since the pressure was restored; and recommendations/steps needed to prevent this type of incident from happening again.
Magner underscored that BWNs are rare in Richardson and that no one in the community got sick or hurt as a result of the Nov. 6 pressure drop and no contaminants were introduced into the water system—the water system remained closed and contained. He plans to give a briefing to the City Council in six months on the status of improvement efforts.
Monday’s presentation: Click here
