WILSON COUNTY, Texas – Shannon Perkins moved to the Arrowhead Subdivision near Floresville two years ago.
That’s the neighborhood KSAT first visited a month ago after hearing reports and seeing images of dark brown water and stained tubs and sinks. KSAT did a second story focused on another neighborhood nearby called Shady Oaks with the same issues.
“I just want to show you what our water looks like before it goes through our filtration system,” Perkins said, opening the spigot in front of her house.
Dark brown water filled the glass jug.
“I won’t drink it, I won’t bathe in it. I don’t wash white clothing in it. We’ve drained our hot water heater twice and the sediment and everything that comes out of the hot water heater is just shockingly disgusting,” Perkins said.
Their water well is owned by private company CSWR, operated by it’s Texas division CSWR-Texas.
The water system’s customers upped their concern and complaints in September when they were notified the water at the well site tested positive for E. coli.
“We have an elderly mother that lives on our property that has severe dementia. She can’t tell us if her stomach hurts, if she gets diarrhea,” Perkins said.
Perkins has a filter in the house, but just four days ago her sink, toilet and bathtub were filled with brown water.
After months of complaints to the company that they say went unanswered, neighbors contacted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which opened an investigation.
TCEQ confirmed to KSAT on Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing, but the agency already recommended CSWR coordinate with the Texas Optimization Program, or TOP, which provides technical help and criteria to public water systems.
KSAT also posed new questions to CSWR, which responded Tuesday in a statement:
CSWR Statement by David Ibanez on Scribd
CSWR officials first confirmed they were in talks with TOP.
Then they confirmed that “automatic flushers have been installed at the arrowhead facility and are being programmed.”
However, Perkins isn’t convinced that will be enough to clear her water up or convince her it’s safe.
Plus, the Arrowhead community got a notice Monday asking residents to conserve water.
The notice irritated neighbors who said CSWR has long told to flush out their water before using it.
“The flushing does not work,” Perkins said.
Perkins breezed past the notice, when she saw CSWR’s statement to KSAT Tuesday.
She said she was in disbelief to see one part in particular: “The water delivered to our customers is safe to drink and compliant with the environmental and regulatory standards.”
“I welcome them to come and get a glass. I’ll send them a bottle and see if they give it to their children or their pets or their elderly. It’s different when you’re sitting in a office. They’re not at the faucet at 10 o’clock at night when I go to brush my teeth and I literally pull my toothbrush back and go, ‘I’m not brushing my teeth in that. I’m not taking a bath in that,’” she said.
What the neighbors have been vying for is a functioning well filtration system, which they’ve been told was taken off when CSWR bought the well.
For the first time, CSWR confirmed that Tuesday telling KSAT, “There was a filtration system at Shady Oaks and Arrowhead when CSWR-Texas acquired these facilities. Both filtration systems were replaced by CSWR-Texas, due to aging and underperformance. There was a filtration system in place at both facilities when we acquired these systems, and we upgraded those systems approximately 18 months ago.”
That answer has caused confusion for neighbors, who said they were told days ago there was not a filtration system.
So KSAT responded, asking CSWR: If there is a filtration system, why is the water still brown or extremely chlorinated?
The response was:
“The filtration systems are designed to address both primary and secondary contaminants in the water supply. Primary contaminants, which pose potential health risks, are rigorously treated to meet or exceed all state and federal drinking water standards. Secondary contaminants, such as naturally occurring minerals and sediment, may occasionally cause discoloration in the water. While this can be concerning in appearance, it does not indicate a health hazard—the water remains safe to drink and fully compliant with regulatory requirements.
Regarding chlorination, our treatment process ensures disinfection to protect public health. Chlorine levels may occasionally fluctuate, and our trained operators are actively monitoring and making adjustments to optimize these levels. We are committed to addressing customer concerns and ensuring a reliable, high-quality water supply for all our customers.”
As for the nearby community of Shady Oaks, residents have joined a Facebook group with the Arrowhead community where they all share stories and pictures of their water provided by CSWR.
Just Monday, a video was shared from Shady Oaks of a mud-like substance falling from the faucet.
After a month-long boil water notice, they were then sent a similar notice to Arrowhead, that they needed to conserve water while the well was being worked on.
KSAT asked CSWR about that and they said they have been working on that well, too.
CSWR’s statement said:
“Water conservation messaging has been communicated to customers of the Shady Oaks facility, which was experiencing water pressure issues. We encouraged customers to reduce consumption temporarily while we worked to address the situation, as that would help with stabilizing water pressure and reduce the need for the Boil Water Advisories which we issue as a precaution whenever water pressure drops below a particular level. We are pleased to share that, in addition to the installation of a new well pump and motor, we have rehabilitated the well to keep up with the demand of the system. We are monitoring performance at this time and expect to advise customers that they may resume normal usage shortly.”
The Shady Oaks community, like the Arrowhead community, was not aware and had not been informed that there has been a functioning filtration system on the wells for the last 18 months, per CSWR.
UPDATE 11/25/24:
After CSWR’s statement saying it added a new filtration system to the wells 18 months ago, KSAT reached out to TCEQ.
TCEQ said there was no filtration system on the wells right now.
On Monday, a CSWR official contacted KSAT saying the company did remove an aging sand filtration system in 2021. Then, 18 months ago it added a different product that it considered a filtration system, which is why the company said last week that there was a filter on the well.
That, however, is not the same full filtration system that was removed in 2021, which is the type of system residents want to see put back on the well.