Tropical storm flooding causes risk of water line break in Calallen

With the massive amounts of rain that Tropical Storm Alberto dumped on the Coastal Bend, it almost caused a major problem for some Calallen residents.

“We had a really heavy downpour early this morning (Thursday) starting around 9:30 and that’s when we came back and we noticed there was an issue,” Wade Street resident Debbie Russell said.

The issue Russell noticed was the flooding that early shower produced, causing the roadway to erode and exposing a water line.

That line belongs to River Acres Water Supply and fortunately for them, one of their system operators was out patrolling around the same time Russell saw the problem.

“With the line exposed and with the increasing pressure of the material and the flow of the water…we were just in time before that asbestos line would have bode and it would have put the immediate customers in this area out of water,” Kaylee Reed, an office manager for River Acres Water Supply said.

Reed said they contacted Nueces County immediately and a crew came out to start fixing the issue. She said River Acres Water Supply services about 2,500 people.

“Anybody can get very sick and die from contamination of water," Russell said. "And if there should be a break in the line, everyone goes on boil notice, if not, we have completely no water at all. So, we’ve got a lot of people in this area that are retired with health issues and they have equipment for their health and they need potable water.”

A crew spent much of Thursday trying to ensure the water line wouldn't become compromised and placed crushed limestone under the line to support it.

However, with the pipe still exposed, there’s still a potential risk.

“Until this is completely under control, we are going to be on high alert and here just to make sure everything goes smoothly. And, make sure our customers are getting supplied with the potable water that they pay for,” Reed said.

In the long term, it’ll be up to the county to fix the roadway and address any drainage issues.

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