Texas governor declares disaster after water system failure in Marlin

Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday issued a disaster declaration for Marlin, Texas, in response to a failure of the city’s water treatment system.

The declaration allows the city to access emergency resources and bypass certain regulatory requirements to expedite the restoration of water services. Under the declaration, the Texas Division of Emergency Management delivered 20 pallets of bottled drinking water, contracted for potable water tankers to supply clean drinking water, deployed additional staff to assist in response and recovery efforts, and mobilized the Texas A&M Public Works Response Team to help alleviate operational issues.

“Texas continues to provide assistance to the City of Marlin as the community faces water outages and a boil water notice,” Abbott said in a press release on Sunday. “Texas will continue to monitor and assist the City of Marlin as the public water system is brought back online. I thank state and local officials for their efforts to support fellow Texans during this time.”

The water crisis in Marlin, a city of roughly 5,500 people located about 30 miles south of Waco, began in last week, leaving residents without running water for several days. City officials told local media outlets that a series of power surges and outages may have damaged the water treatment plant’s computers and equipment, but the exact cause remains unknown, despite assessments by multiple engineering teams.

On April 29, the city issued a notice informing residents they should boil their water before using it, including for washing, brushing teeth or drinking. On April 30, Marlin Independent School District closed all campuses, according to a Facebook post.

In an emergency session on Sunday, the Marlin City Council allocated $200,000 to procure two portable water treatment units, which are expected to arrive by Tuesday, and are expected to require approximately 12 hours to set up. Mayor Susan Byrd told 25 News that it could be another 24 hours, however, before the tanks are fully operational and water is restored to all residents, as the city’s five water towers need to be refilled for adequate pressure.

Abbott’s disaster declaration permits the temporary use of water treatment solutions not approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The temporary treatment units are authorized for use for up to 30 days under the governor’s proclamation.

According to the Marlin City Council’s website, officials plan to hold another public meeting on Wednesday to provide updates on the outage and discuss further steps to resolve the crisis.