The problem is likely to continue into next week as a company from California travels to the community east of Waco to patch a damaged well.
Issues with service provided by the decades-old water company have customers using Facebook to share updates, including news that Stuart Parsons, owner of Parsons Roofing and BSR Cable Park, has agreed to loan the water company $30,000 to cover the cost of repairs.
Some residents said the water outage has meant taking showers at the homes of friends and family members, or doing without, and relying on bottled water provided by the water company, students in the Axtell Independent School District, Dr Pepper and relatives.
Several residents said they have grown weary of brown or foul-tasting water even when the supply is adequate, while others complain they never see their meters being read and have not received water bills in months, even years, and worry about the viability of Moore Water System.
“I’ve been out of water since Jan. 1, and this is not the first time,” said Sharon Kerr, 49, who lives in Axtell’s Beaver Lake subdivision.
“It’s an ongoing situation that seems to be getting worse.” A real estate agent and in good health, Kerr said she probably is better able to cope with the inconvenience than others, but she expressed concern for the many older residents and those who raise livestock.
I’ve heard one excuse after the other, and I’m beyond frustrated.” Moore, who was handing out bottled water Thursday to people who stopped by his place of business, said he shares in the aggravation.
“My wife and I are on the same water system, so I am well aware of how people feel, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
“I think people will notice improvement in the quality and taste of the water once these repairs are completed.” Moore said Jurgensen Pump, of Valley Mills, using a camera, discovered a crack in the well shaft 1,700 feet underground.
The flaw was allowing soil and silt to make their way into the well water, “making it appear brackish,” and fouling its taste, Moore said.