Prairie Grove Utilities

Friday, January 19, 2024

5:00 p.m.

On January 18, 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) required the Prairie Grove Utilities public water system (PWS ID Number 0030027) to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals, or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

Prairie Grove Utilities has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by Prairie Grove Utilities used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of January 19, 2024.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Mr. Chris Key, P.E., Executive Manager, Utilities, Angelina & Neches River Authority at (936) 632-7795 or (800) 282-5634.

If you wish to contact TCEQ, you may call (512) 239-4691.

Due to low water pressures in the water distribution system, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has required the Prairie Grove Utilities public water system (PWS ID Number TX0030027) to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc.). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.

To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes. In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, Prairie Grove Utilities officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking or human consumption purposes. Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, Prairie Grove Utilities will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Mr. Chris Key, P.E., Executive Manager, Utilities, Angelina & Neches River Authority at (936) 632-7795 or (800) 282-5634.

If you wish to contact TCEQ, you may call (512) 239-4691.

January 17, 2024 – 7:15 p.m. Update

Attention Prairie Grove Customers:

Water consumption continues to exceed the 50 gallon per minute supply available to Prairie Grove Utilities. We attribute this to dripping/running faucets and the normal after work water usage. We anticipate the excess consumption will equalize over the next 24 to 36 hours as things return to normal. In anticipation of this, we will adhere to the following schedule.

Water will remain on tonight until 9:00, when it will be turned off completely. This will allow storage tanks to recover throughout the night. Water will be turned on at 6:00 in the morning allowing everyone to go through their morning routine with minimal inconveniences.

Beyond that, we will evaluate conditions and make decisions based on information available at that time. Per normal, we will continue to update this page as circumstances warrant.

We appreciate all of you for communicating with us throughout the day to find leaks. Again, we know this is an inconvenience and we are sorry for that. Your continued understanding is very much appreciated by ANRA staff.

Please let us know if you have any questions and we hope you have a good evening.

January 17, 2024 – 4:45 p.m.

Attn:  Prairie Grove Customers

ANRA’s field crews have been on-site since early afternoon.  Our staff is shutting off water meters at locations that have high water usage.  Water levels at the Sherwood Forest Water Treatment Plant continue to drop.  So much that we have significantly reduced water flow to the distribution system in an effort to maintain the integrity of the water treatment plant.  Based on current meter readings from our new automated meter reading system, there are approximately 75 accounts with high water consumption.  This indicates busted plumbing or customers have left faucets running, causing excessive usage.  All of our activities in locating water leaks and closing high-use water meters have largely been unsuccessful in curbing water consumption in the distribution system.  Based on current information, we anticipate leaving the water supply to the entire distribution system significantly restricted. 

Based on current weather forecasts, the extreme cold temperatures have subsided.  We are asking customers to conserve water until ANRA can reestablish adequate distribution system pressures.  Weather forecasters are predicting below freezing temperatures again Friday morning and Saturday morning of this week.  ANRA is asking all customers to please check plumbing for water leaks at their property and to make appropriate repairs.  In addition, prepare for the next round of freezing temperatures into the coming weekend.  While we typically would ask customers to let their faucets drip, we are asking customers to instead, take other measures to protect their pipes, including turning up the thermostat to at least 65 degrees, opening cabinet doors under sinks to allow warmer air to flow around pipes, and to wrap their pipes.

As of this post, PGU is under a Boil Water Notice.  The official notice will be posted soon. As always, we thank you for your patience and understanding, as we know this is an inconvenience.  We will continue to monitor the situation and will continue to post updates.

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 @ 9:30 p.m.

It has just come to our attention that there is a major water leak within the Prairie Grove Water System, due to the continued freezing weather conditions.

Because of the extent of this leak and out of an abundance of caution regarding the safety of our employees in these conditions, for tonight, in order to preserve the water treatment plant, we are going to significantly restrict the flow of water through the system, meaning that many customers will experience low to no water pressure.

We will have field operations crews en route to Prairie Grove first thing in the morning to further assess the situation and begin making repairs. We apologize for this inconvenience. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

We will continue to keep you updated via social media, the text notification system, and this website.

The following customer notice is required by the TCEQ as a result of the non-compliances associated with Disinfection Byproducts Monitoring. This customer notice has also been mailed directly to every active water customer of the utility.

Attention Prairie Grove Customers:

Our operations staff have been made aware of a water leak at the end of IR Hannah Rd and are planning to make the repair on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

During this time, you may experience short periods of lower-than-normal water pressure. Operations staff will be working diligently to make this repair as quickly as possible. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at (936) 632-7795 if you have any questions.