Schools remain closed in Grand Prairie after water backflow incident

GRAND PRAIRIE (1080 KRLD)- Grand Prairie ISD schools are closed for the second straight day on Thursday after a water backflow incident while crews fought a fire allowed a "foaming agent" to enter the city's water supply, officials say.

The advisory not to use tap water remained in place Thursday morning as the city worked to clean out the water supply. Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jenson said the water may be usable again by Thursday afternoon.

The city urged anyone living north of Interstate 20 to stop using drinking water on Tuesday night after tests showed the presence of a foaming agent in the supply.

The city said the backflow was caused by firefighters using the same water supply to take down a fire in a warehouse. The city said it had not received any reports of sickness.

As of Thursday morning afternoon, officials still urged people north of I-20 not to use tap water to drink, cook, or brush their teeth. The city said boiling the water may or may not be an option despite previously saying it would not remove potentially harmful chemicals.

The city started to hand out bottled water at Lone Star Park on Wednesday morning. By the time distribution started, a line of cars stretched about half a mile down Belt Line Road to Interstate 30.

"When something like this catches you off guard, you have to be prepared [to wait]," one man waiting in line said. "It's no one's fault."

"It's no big deal," another said. "You gotta do what you gotta do."

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