EPA Supports Water System Recovery in Texas Communities

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Supports Water System Recovery in Texas Communities

Media contacts: Joe Hubbard or Jennah Durant, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (Feb. 23, 2021) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deployed resources and staff to communities in Texas dealing with drinking water and wastewater system outages as a result of Winter Storm Uri. This support comes in response to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

TCEQ is conducting assessments of drinking water and wastewater systems in Texas and reporting their findings to EPA. Drinking water systems remain heavily impacted in the state with many systems not operating at all or operating with restrictions such as boil advisories and conservation measures. Please refer to TCEQ’s website for the most up-to-date information on water systems.

Upon receiving a mission assignment from FEMA, EPA dispatched three mobile drinking water laboratories to assist TCEQ and FEMA with analysis of drinking water samples. EPA’s mobile laboratories deployed from Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan., and Region 4 in Atlanta, Ga. The labs are certified to perform bacteriological analysis among other types of analyses. The mobile labs and support staff are scheduled to assist with processing drinking water samples in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston.

EPA continues to support FEMA, state, local and tribal partners in response to Winter Storm Uri. EPA is taking action to ensure Superfund sites are secure following the storm, to assist public drinking water systems with rapid assessments and analyses, and to seamlessly integrate emergency response activities with Texas, and other federal agencies. EPA encourages affected communities to continue staying alert for instructions from local authorities.

Additional information about EPA Laboratories: https://www.epa.gov/regionallabs

For information in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese on Winter Storm Safety in Texas, visit:   https://www.epa.gov/tx/water-texas

Connect with EPA Region 6:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6 

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6

About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central  

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