Areas in San Marcos under boil water notice after water main break

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Areas in San Marcos are under a boil water notice after a water main break on Wednesday.
According to the City of San Marcos, a water main broke which affected the Blanco River Village subdivision, Gary Job Corps Center and the San Marcos Regional Airport.
Blanco River Village is under a notice through Thursday morning, while the Gary Job Corps and San Marcos Airport are under a notice until Friday morning.
A reminder that the notice includes boiling water used for washing hands and face, brushing teeth and drinking.

Price gouging complaints abound during Austin boil water order

Monday’s announcement caused thousands of people to search for bottled water.
Viewers sent in pictures of gas stations with cases of bottled water priced up to $30.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office explained to KXAN’s investigative team in 2017 that stores were calculating the price of a case of water based on what a single bottle of water was selling for in the store.
That means a $1.50 bottle of water would drive the price of a 24-pack case to $36.
That reasoning makes it tough for state investigators to prosecute a business for price gouging, the office told KXAN during our 2017 price gouging investigation.
Of the more than 5,000 price gouging complaints filed with the attorney general in 2017, none of the prosecutions were for cases of bottled water, indicating the attorney general’s office did not find price hikes on cases of bottled water constituted a case of price gouging.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office would not issue an opinion as to whether the bottled water complaints we’re seeing now constitute prosecutable price gouging cases when we contacted the office this week.
The AG’s Office instead asked that people with complaints contact the office’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1 (800) 621-0508 or to file a complaint online at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/file-a-consumer-complaint so those complaints could be investigated.
On Oct. 19, Abbot added another 36 counties to the disaster declaration: Bandera, Baylor, Blanco, Brown, Callahan, Cameron, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Edwards, Erath, Gillespie, Hamilton, Haskell, Hidalgo, Jones, Kendall, Kinney, Lampasas, Liberty, Madison, Mills, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Parker, San Jacinto, San Saba, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Taylor, Throckmorton, Uvalde, Walker, Willacy, and Zavala.
Anyone with a complaint of suspected price gouging in any of these 53 counties on or after the dates listed above can file a complaint with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Storms and flooding result in boil water notice for Hutto

The city’s main water supply line has been damaged after the storms and flooding that occurred on Saturday, Sept. 22.
Citizens are being asked to abstain from using water unless absolutely necessary during this Boil Water Alert.
Until further notice, the city requests that residents do not drink, make ice, or brush their teeth with tap water unless it has been boiled.
Those with weaker immune systems are being asked not to wash their hands, shower, or bathe with tap water as well.
The City has advised the following for personal hygiene during this Boil Water Notice: Washing hands: use soap and tap water, dry hands then apply hand sanitizer; the safest option is to wash with safe water.
Shower or bath: Being careful not to swallow any water, one may take a shower safely.
Using caution when bathing infants and young children so that no water is swallowed is considered fairly safe.
The time spent bathing should be minimized.
Though the risk of illness is minimal, individuals who have recent surgical wounds, are immunosuppressed or have a chronic illness may want to consider using bottled or boiled water for cleansing until the advisory is lifted.
Visit the City of Hutto site for more information about the Boil Water Notice.

Weekly wrap-up: Over 100 wildfires char Florida; California governor declares end to 4-year drought

Torrential rain flooded parts of Texas early this week, causing numerous swift water rescues across the south-central portion of the state. Army officials said one person is missing from Fort Hood after a vehicle was swept off a road early Tuesday morning. The individual’s car was recovered, but rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Dozens of water rescues were performed in Bell County, just north of Austin. According to local station KXAN, more than 50 water rescues were performed in San Marcos, about 30 miles south of Austin. Texas State University closed on Tuesday afternoon as parts of the campus were overwhelmed with flooding. Up to 7 inches of rain fell in the city. More than 100 wildfires raging across Florida have led to 2017 being the most active wildfire season for the state in six years. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state…