Austin Water officials say they hope to call off the citywide notice to boil water by Sunday.
"We're hopeful that Sunday we can get there, and that's what we're targeting," Ginny Guerrero, Austin Water's public information officer, told KUT.
RELATED | Austin Has Issued A Boil-Water Notice. When Is It Still OK To Use Tap?
The boil-water order was issued Monday, along with an urgent call for residents to reduce water usage, after historic flooding in Central Texas overwhelmed the city's water-treatment plants. Drinking water reservoir levels were dropping as demand for water exceeded the plants' ability to process dirty floodwater from Lake Travis.
RELATED | From Lake Travis To Your Taps: How Austin Gets Its Drinking Water
Guerrero said before the boil order is lifted, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will need to do enhanced testing of the city’s drinking water. Even if the boil order is lifted, she said, the conservation mandate will remain to help the city continue to refill its storage tanks.
Austin Water says its water-treatment capacity is slowly coming back.
Our water treatment system is strengthening thanks to the reductions in water use by the Austin community. Please continue to reduce water use as much as possible and boil water for consumption. See the latest water use and water treatment graph. pic.twitter.com/t9zDj5LclR
— Austin Water (@AustinWater) October 25, 2018
On Thursday, Mayor Steve Adler signed a declaration of disaster for the city, making Austin eligible to be reimbursed for disaster-related expenses.
