1. Hurricane Harvey - Water Discussion
TCEQ Trade Fair: May, 2018
Brittney Teakell, Drinking Water Quality Team Leader
Drinking Water Standards Section- Water Supply Division

2. Just for perspective…
Side by side view of Interstate Highway 10 in Winnie, Texas prior to and during the flooding event.

3. Office closures and telephone coverage
Water/Wastewater status
(Were the systems operable?)
Dam Safety
Corpus Christi Region calls were routed to Harlingen and Lubbock Region Offices
Houston Region calls were routed to the DFW Regional Office
Beaumont Region calls were routed the Austin Regional Office
Water Supply and Water Quality Divisions began making contacts with drinking and wastewater systems in the affected counties as soon as the storm passed their respective regions.
Were they operable?
If so, fully? Partially?
Was a boil water notice issued to customers of drinking water systems?
Were discharges occurring from the wastewater plants, lift stations, or collection system?
Did they have any unmet needs?
Dam safety-Began tracking water releases, dam conditions, breaches, etc.

4. As Harvey headed out on August 30, 2017…
Corpus Christi office in the process of re-opening.
Houston, and Beaumont Regional Offices remain closed.
Rain had subsided in Houston and Beaumont, but due to water releases from dams upstream, water levels in the cities continue to rise.
Beaumont remained inaccessible from surrounding areas due to road and highway flooding.

5. Conference Calls regarding utility statuses continued until October.
Water Supply and Water Quality Divisions, and Region 10 contact drinking/wastewater systems in the affected county. 
Inoperable systems summary:
Drinking Water: 53
Wastewater: 22
Total 75
Boil Water Notices:
Active: 185
Rescinded: 3
Total: 188
Tracked until all systems in “green status” in Response Manager
Conference Calls regarding utility statuses continued until October.
Information gathered was put into Response Manager.
A report was created for every call made to any entity at this time.
The details of the conversations were logged into RM.
Water/Wastewater systems were contacted until all were in “green” status.
Over time, the water systems who were not successfully reached by phone, were assigned field visits to assess the damage.
A report was created for every site visit made to assess damages at the water/wastewater systems.
The details of the visits were logged into RM.
On-site visits were continued at systems that were significantly damaged and the entity contact could not be reached.
Daily conference calls were held to discuss the status of the systems and any assistance we could provide.
Conference calls continued until the end of October.

6. At Approximately 2:00 am on August 31, 2017, the City of Beaumont’s drinking water distribution system was completely de-watered.
The Ground Water Treatment Plant (GWTP) in Loeb, Texas was under approximately 7-8 feet of water.
The raw water pumps located on the Neches River were also under several feet of water.
The picture is a screen shot of the announcement from a local media outlet regarding the loss of water within the City of Beaumont.

7. Raw water pumps at Lawson’s Crossing
The photographs show the raw water pumps and electrical building at the Lawson’s Crossing pump station. The water level is a result of the Neches River reaching a record height.

8. Groundwater plant at Loeb, TX
The photographs show the damage at the City of Beaumont’s groundwater treatment plant in Loeb, Texas. The first picture shows the water line in the building where the chemical injection equipment is located. The top right picture shows two empty chlorine cylinders that floated over the fence at the Loeb plant. The bottom right photograph shows the water line on the high service pumps located at the Loeb plant.

9. On September 2, 2017, the City issued a Boil Water Notice.
On September 1, 2017, the Beaumont Region Office re-opened with limited staff and no water.
On September 2, 2017, the City issued a Boil Water Notice.
On September 3, 2017, the Beaumont Region Office regained intermittent low water pressure.
The City of Beaumont was providing daily updates to the TCEQ regarding the Surface Water Treatment Plant (SWTP) status.
Bottled water was provided for staff for drinking.
Portable toilets and hand washing stations were delivered to the office the next evening.
All roadways in and out of Southeast Texas were closed- the only way in or out was by air!

10. Beaumont got a lucky break, and then got creative…
A local industrial facility donated pumps to serve as temporary pumps until the City’s raw water pumps at Lawson’s Crossing were no longer flooded. 
As the water receded, the City had to continually move the pumps.
Eventually, a barge was created to house the pumps at the temporary pull point, then the City just had to add more piping to transport the water to the plant.

11. Beaumont’s barge
The photograph displays the barge that was constructed to hold the temporary raw water pumps installed on the canal behind the surface water plant.

12. On September 6, 2017, Beaumont opened the door to TCEQ’s TOP team to provide guidance and gather information.
Field tests were performed for process control.
Pressure and turbidity data was gathered.
Information needed by the TCEQ Plan Review Team was gathered for the emergency temporary authorization for the alternative pull point.
Emergency temporary authorization for the alternative pull point was issued to Beaumont by on the evening of September 6, 2017.
TCEQ Texas Optimization Program (TOP) members including Clayton Nicolardi, Jack Schulze, Beaumont Region employee Brittney Teakell, EPA, and National Guard members provided guidance to the City throughout the event.
The TOP members were deployed to the area on September 4, and were allowed access to the City of Beaumont’s Surface Water Treatment Plant on September 6 at 4:15 pm.
Field tests were conducted for process control
Pressure and turbidity data was gathered
Information needed by the TCEQ Plan Review Team was gathered for the emergency temporary authorization for the alternative pull point.
The emergency temporary authorization for the alternative raw water pumping site was issued to the City by on the evening of September 6.

13. Lawson’s Crossing raw water pump station reactivated September 6, 2017!
The photograph shows the raw water pump station at Lawson’s Crossing to no longer be flooded. The photograph was taken on September 7, 2017.

14. On September 7, 2017, representatives of EPA and the National Guard and additional TCEQ employees joined the TOP team on-site to provide guidance.
Toured GWTP and SWTP to evaluate damage.
Process control data reviewed.
A plan was created for lifting the boil water notice.
On September 8, 2017, TCEQ TOP and R10 returned to the SWTP to review the process control data and preliminary sample results gathered to rescind the boil water notice. 
On September 7, TOP, EPA, National Guard and Beaumont Region employees returned to the SWTP.
Tours to evaluate damage of SWTP and GWTP in Loeb.
Process control data was reviewed.
A plan was created for lifting the boil water notice.
A list was created of data to be submitted to the TCEQ prior to rescinding the boil water notice.
A map of sample sites and created for gathering distribution samples.
On September 8, TOP and Beaumont Region employees returned to the SWTP to review process control data and preliminary sample results gathered for rescinding the boil water notice.

15. The Boil Water Notice was rescinded!
On Saturday, September 9, 2017, at 1:11 p.m….
The Boil Water Notice was rescinded!

16. Meanwhile at Rose City…
The City had no water service until October 6, 2017.
Bottled water and bulk water was made available at City Hall.
Many people were living in tents outside of their destroyed homes.

17. Chemical room damage- note the water line!
This photograph shows the water line in the chemical room at the Rose City plant and the damage in this building.

18. Lab damage- note the water line!
This photograph shows the water wine above the window of the other chemical room at the Rose City plant. This shows only some of the equipment that was ruined in the flood.

19. Preliminary visits made by Charlie Branch after the storm.
On September 13, 2017, TCEQ R10 employees were deployed to the plant to make a preliminary assessment of the plant’s condition.
Charlie Branch originally deemed the plant “destroyed” and put this detail into RM, which caused a lot of heads to turn. The Beaumont Office sent experienced PWS investigators to the plant to provide an opinion on the status of the plant. It was noted during the on-site evaluation by the PWS investigators that except for the equipment that was located on the ground floor in the lab and the chemical room, the treatment units within the SWTP appeared salvageable. The Beaumont Region began reaching out to partners about any assistance that was available including monitoring equipment or pumps from USCAE.

20. An extensive, technical assessment of the plant and the City’s needs was conducted on September 14-15, 2017 by the TOP team.
A list of immediate, critical infrastructure needs was provided to the City, FEMA, USCAE, and the City’s contractor.
Multiple visits were made by the TOP and Beaumont Region to provide assistance to the City of Rose City from September to December, 2017
September 27, - October 1; October 3-5; October 19; December 5-6; and December 9-11.
Additional assistance provided by phone on many dates not listed above.

21. The Boil Water Notice was rescinded!
Friday, December 22, 2017, at 9:30 a.m…
The Boil Water Notice was rescinded!

22. The TCEQ Central and Regional Offices came together after Harvey to track the statuses of and provide assistance to all of the affected public drinking water and wastewater systems in Texas.
Beaumont and Rose City were not the only significantly impacted water systems after Harvey. Similar scenarios played out all over the affected area.
Many water systems were inactivated because of damage to the neighborhoods or systems.
We are still providing assistance to systems that have limited capabilities as a result of the storm.

23. Brittney Teakell 512-239-4392 Brittney.Teakell@tceq.texas.gov