It’s not good news for the residents of Hull and Daisetta who have been without water for more than a week. The lab result for the water sample that was tested yesterday has determined that the Hull Fresh Water Supply District’s well must undergo a purification process once again. This means that residents will not have safe drinking water from their taps until Saturday at the earliest, or later if the next round of tests isn’t clear.
“Our water operator will be pulling another sample today and delivering it to the lab either today or tomorrow. We hope to have results back by Saturday,” said Cindy Burchfield, who manages the office for Hull Fresh Water Supply District and is a member of the Daisetta City Council. “We still don’t know what those results will be though, but we are hopeful. We ask that residents please continue to be patient while we work through this process to get our water restored so life can get back to normal.”
Burchfield said some homes in Hull and Daisetta have seen a slight increase in water pressure, up from the faint trickle days ago, but residents should not assume the water is safe. A boil water notice is still in effect.
“The water is still not drinkable even if you are getting some out of your faucet. However, you can use it for sanitation, such as bathing or flushing a toilet,” she said.
Since the failure of the 65-year-old water pump on the community’s only underground water well last Thursday, the outpouring of support has slowly began to trickle in with donations coming from businesses in Liberty, Montgomery and Harris County. The American Red Cross connected Burchfield to the NACC Disaster Services, which provided 10 pallets of water, and K3BMI Trucking of Raywood delivered the donated pallets to Daisetta. C&L Vacuum Service helped offload the water using forklifts.
Daisetta resident Jimmy Belt donated a bulk water tote that he had filled and delivered, and Baze Chemical in Liberty also donated two of the bulk water totes, which were picked up by City of Daisetta employees. ExxonMobil donated two pallets of water and Montgomery County sent six pallets of water. The Liberty County Office of Emergency Managed delivered four cases of water last week that were donated by Walmart and Brookshire Brothers stores in Liberty.
On Saturday, Harvest Church in Daisetta will be providing 18 pallets of water that were donated through the nonprofit Convoy of Hope. The church will also provide $7 in quarters to help residents with washing their clothes at coin-operated laundromats.
As the crisis may continue for a few more days, Burchfield is reluctant to turn away more water donations.
“Each person should ask themselves, ‘How can I help?’ Maybe the help can be to load cars of people picking up water or delivering it to those who can’t get out or have no transportation. Look around you and see what you can do. Look to your friends and neighbors, and give help if you are able,” she said.
If you have a friend or relative impacted by the water crisis, and you live outside that area, perhaps offer to let them shower or launder their clothing, she added.
“We can all help to ease the burden if we work together,” she said.
Burchfield lauded Marvin Fregia, Hull Fresh Water Supply District president, and Thomas Watson, the district’s water and wastewater operator, for their tireless efforts over the last week.
“They have been boots on the ground since the morning it happened,” she said.
Anyone who needs water can pick up bottles at the Daisetta pavilion today before 5 p.m. To keep up with water distribution and news of the repairs and testing, follow Hull Fresh Water Supply District on Facebook.
Uhmmm…what’s in the water?!