Water pressure in part of the Culleoka Water Supply System dropped to 20 pounds per square inch. Bob Wieland/Princeton Herald
The boil water notice issued by the Culleoka Water Supply Corporation (CWSC) was lifted Monday, Aug. 7, after tests found no contamination in the system.
CWSC General Manager Peter Williams issued the notice Wednesday, Aug. 2, in accordance with protocols from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, after a valve failed at a pumping station.
Culleoka had first issued a conservation notice to keep as much water in the tower as possible, since gravity provides the water pressure, usually 68 to 72 pounds per square inch (psi).
Williams said the valve on a 16-inch line failed, eventually allowing water pressure to drop to 20 psi in one part of the system.
“Water needs to keep moving throughout the system, keeping the chlorine moving, which prevents stagnation,” Williams said.
He compared the problem to a swimming pool that sits too long without water circulating through the pump and filter. “In a few days the water gets green … and then you can’t swim in it,” he said.
However, there was no danger of cross-contamination from sewage since water mains and sewer lines must be 10 feet apart, he said.
The pump, about the size of three basketballs, was installed in 2004 and somehow got buried under 6 feet of concrete, Williams said.
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