This time the issues are much less widespread

by Craig Hlavaty, originally posted on December 30, 2016

State tests have uncovered a prominent contaminant in water from the Nueces Water Supply Corp., the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported Friday morning.

Tests done by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality turned up dangerously high levels of trihalomethanes in the water supply for the western portion of Nueces County.

Trihalomethanes, according to a statement from the commission, “are a group of volatile organic compounds that form when chlorine, added to the water during the treatment process for disinfection, reacts with naturally-occurring organic matter in the water.”

Those exposed to the compounds can experience liver, kidney, and central nervous system issues, along with a risk of cancer down the line.

This newest incident of water contamination in the Corpus region affects just fewer than 1,000 residents in the Driscoll, Bishop and Agua Dulce areas.

The Nueces Water Supply Corp. told the Caller-Times that residents in the area didn’t need to take any extra precautions but did recommend that they contact a doctor if they have any distinct health concerns.

That company was currently working to flush the system of the high levels of contaminant.

In mid-December the city of Corpus Christi was under a tap water ban after officials discovered possible contamination from an industrial chemical.

The city issued a warning to its 320,000 residents telling them not to drink or shower with the water because it may have been contaminated in an industrial “back-flow incident.”

Boiling or treating the water wouldn’t help matters, which proved problematic for Corpus residents.The Associated Press reported at that time that Corpus officials believed there to be “between three and 24 gallons of the chemical contaminated the water distribution system.”

The water ban was lifted on Dec. 18 after four days of extreme shortages at Corpus area retailers.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has launched an investigation into the water contamination.