City of Abilene failed to adequately treat water for 6 months in 2024

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – The City of Abilene is notifying the public that they failed to adequately treat the water for 6 months in 2024.

City officials sent a letter to all water customers last week stating they failed to maintain Disinfection Contact Time at the Hargesheimer Water Treatment Plant for more than four consecutive hours in May, June, July, August, September, and October 2024.

Despite the treatment error, the City of Abilene says the water is safe to drink and that the non-acute violation is due to a change in standards on how virus inactivation is calculated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

They have since corrected the reporting error to meet the new standards and are assuring the public no contamination was ever detected.

Read the City of Abilene’s answers to some ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ on the violation below:

1. Is my water safe to drink?
   Yes. At all times, the water delivered to customers met all other safety and microbial standards. This was a reporting and procedural oversight, not a contamination issue.
2. What does “treatment technique violation” mean?
   It means that a required process, in this case, virus inactivation time, was not reported as meeting a newly updated standard. It does not mean the water was unsafe.
3. What is a Non-acute Violation?
   A non-acute violation is a treatment technique issue that does not pose an immediate risk to public health. It occurs when monitoring data shows one part of the treatment process, either filtration or disinfection, did not meet the required standard. These violations are based on the understanding that even though a single treatment barrier did not meet the required standard, other treatment barriers at the plant did offer public health protection.
4. What caused this issue?
   In February 2024, TCEQ changed how virus inactivation should be calculated. Our plant did not update its monthly reporting system to reflect that change. The plant continued using an older standard by mistake.
5. Did TCEQ know about this?
   Upon discovery, we contacted TCEQ, corrected our reports, and submitted all required documentation including the revised reports and a formal explanation.
6. Has the issue been fixed?
   Yes. We have corrected the reporting process and trained our staff to ensure proper procedures moving forward.
7. Do I need to take any action?
   No. There is no action required from the public.
8. Why are you sending this notice now?
   TCEQ requires public notification within 30 days of their identification of a non-acute violation. This ensures transparency and keeps customers informed, even when there is no immediate risk.
9. What are you doing to prevent this from happening again?
   We have updated our monitoring systems and reinforced staff training. We are also improving internal review processes to ensure timely compliance with all future regulation updates.