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MARLIN (December 1, 2015) Thousands of Marlin residents will have to continue to live without running water for at least several more days, the city said in a press release late Tuesday afternoon.

“There currently is no definite timeline to return water service to the citizens of Marlin, however we hope to have water flowing to the towers by the end of the week,” police Sgt. Wayne Cooley, the city’s spokesman, said in the press release.

But if that doesn’t happen, it’s possible the state could step in, he said.

“State agencies are evaluating our situation and preparing additional resources including temporary water filtration systems and sanitation systems in the event the water plant can't be brought back into service by the end of the week.”


The city’s emergency management team, which included police and fire officials, the town’s mayors, and some council members, met behind closed doors Tuesday with representatives of the Heart of Texas Council of Governments, the Texas Department of Emergency Management and staffers from the offices of state Rep. Kyle Kacal and state Sen. Brian Birdwell to review the water situation.

H-E-B has been providing free bottled water to residents and as of early Tuesday afternoon, had distributed about 17,000 gallons.

H-E-B will also be providing non-potable water to be used for sanitation, Cooley said.

The city is planning to distribute cleanup kits that contain sanitation items provided by H-E-B, he said.

Marlin’s Walmart store is also providing water.

A four-man crew from the Brazosport Water Authority in Lake Jackson was helping Marlin workers clear a clogged filtration system at the city’s water treatment plant as the community’s water crisis entered its fifth day Tuesday.

The city has ordered a $164,000 replacement filter, but the crew was using a large vacuum system to clear the filtration system Tuesday and Marlin Public Works Department Director Scott Fornash said the plant could go back online before the new filter arrives.

“We’re working around the clock, but we had a large water main break last night,” he said.

The six-inch line was repaired, but the break was a harbinger of new problems that could surface as the water begins to flow again.

“The infrastructure is so old we have to be careful how fast we feed everything into it,” Fornash said.

The rush of water through dry and aging pipes in rain-soaked ground that may have shifted could lead to additional breaks, he said.

Service could be at least partially restored as easy as Wednesday, officials said, but it will more likely be Thursday or Friday before the water is flowing again.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said.

Marlin Mayor Elizabeth Nelson issued a local disaster declaration Monday.

“This will allow county and state resources to assist with addressing the water issue,” Marlin Fire Department spokesman Justin Parker said in a press release issued early Monday evening.

The outage left not only homes and businesses, but also the town’s three schools, nursing homes, daycares, hospital, county jail and two state prison units without service.

The hospital and nursing homes had contingency plans in place, however, and were being supplied by water tankers.

Marlin's H-E-B and Walmart stores are both distributing free bottled water to residents.

The Marlin Volunteer Fire Department is relying on assistance from other area departments in the event of fires, officials said.

Water is being trucked from the area of Marlin’s high school football stadium to schools, where five-gallon buckets of water were being used to flush toilets.

Officials said about 55 percent of the district's students were not in class Tuesday.

On Monday 45 percent were absent.

The only part of town where water is flowing is served by a private water company, and most of the town’s 6,000 residents are without service.

The problem surfaced Thursday night after workers activated a part of the treatment plant that hadn’t been used in a long time.

As a result, large particulates flooded and clogged the filtration system.

The plant continued to pump a reduced amount of water to two of the town’s towers, but because of leaks and sporadic consumption, the system quickly ran dry, officials said.

Monday morning a standing-room-only crowd of angry residents filled the Marlin Civic Center in search of answers about the ongoing water outage, but they didn’t learn much.

“We are in a state of emergency,” Nelson told the crowd Monday.

“We’re going to investigate and get to the bottom of this," she said.

Nelson said she has asked state Rep. Kyle Kacal and state Sen. Brian Birdwell to come to town to see if the state can help.

Nelson said she was out of town over the weekend.

She said the city manager is skiing in Colorado and so far has not indicated he plans immediately to return to Marlin.

The Marlin Police Department, which is still reeling from shooting death of its chief, is "doing everything it can to help the elderly, families with children and others in need,” acting police Chief Danien Eaglin said.

Conditions are grim in the two state prison units, according to reports from relatives of inmates, who expressed concern about sanitary conditions.

The Hobby Unit, has about 1,300 inmates and the Marlin Unit has about 500 inmates.

State prison officials say they’re working with the City of Marlin to resolve the issues.

“Drinking water is being brought in to the units, as well as Port-A-Potties. TDCJ is hopeful that the situation will soon be resolved,” the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement Monday.

The city has implemented Stage 4 of its Drought Contingency Plan and urged residents to avoid any unnecessary water use until further notice.

Should the water begin to flow again, a boil order is in effect and water intended for consumption, cooking or ice making should be boiled vigorously before use.

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