Is our water safe to drink, play in after the floods?

Recent rains and floods have affected Austin and surrounding community's main sources of water: the Highland Lakes. That could impact both the recreational use of the lakes and the water we drink.

Should you swim in the lakes?

The Lower Colorado River Authority's warning on Thursday reminded people to use caution on the Highland Lakes, which include Lake Travis, Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls and stay off the lakes at night because of the debris from the flooding.

"Bacteria levels typically remain elevated for a couple of weeks after flood events, and swimmers risk coming in contact with E. coli and other bacteria," LCRA's statement said. "Swimmers should particularly avoid stagnant, smelly or discolored water in the lakes."

Dr. Desmar Walkes, the public health authority for Austin Public Health, also warned that "people should stay away from open waters and lakes."

"They should not be in the water at this time," she said, "There is still a lot of debris and still safety concerns."

Some of those concerns include having a cut or open sore and then coming into contact with bacteria or amoeba-filled waters, which could lead to an infection. Two years ago, a Travis County resident died after swimming in Lake LBJ because of an amoeba infection to the brain.

The rains and flood waters have also promoted a surge of mosquitoes. On Thursday, the Williamson County and Cities Health District confirmed a case of West Nile virus in a person living in the southern part of that county.

Is the our water safe to drink?

Austin Water said it "closely monitored" water both online and by collecting samples multiple times a day, said Martin Barbosa, the public information specialist the utility, said in a statement to the Statesman.

"Although recent rain and flooding increased storage levels at Lake Travis, there have been no significant changes in source water quality," he said. It has also been able to keep up with the increase in water to Lake Travis and maintain water pressure, he said.

Water utilities are not required to do any additional testing as long as the normal testing meets federal and state requirements, said Victoria Cann, a spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. If that testing comes back with a reading that does not meet the federal and state drinking water requirements or the utility cannot maintain a high enough pressure, then the utility has to issue a boil-water notice, Cann said.

The city of Georgetown had to issue such a notice this week after flooding along the San Gabriel River. That notice has now expired. The city is still fixing a water main pipe that broke in the middle of the river.

It continues to test water daily for quality and has not added any additional testing, said Aly Van Dyke, a city of Georgetown spokesperson.

What if your water seems weird?

If your water looks, smells or tastes unusual, you should contact your water utility. Through Austin Water, that would be by contacting the dispatch line at 512-972-1000. The line is available around the clock.

In Georgetown, that number is 512-930-3640.

When in doubt, boil or treat your water until you can confirm it is safe:

• Bring it to a rolling boil for at least one minute before it is considered safe to drink.
• If you cannot boil it, put one-eighth of a teaspoon (about eight drops) of bleach into a gallon of water. Stir it and let it sit for 30 minutes.
• Bottled water that touched flood waters need to be cleaned with a bleach solution on the outside of the container.

What if you have a well?

You need to disinfect it if it has been exposed to flood waters or smells or looks funky.

• If there is an electrical pump, turn off the electricity and clear the debris from the top.
• Repair the electrical system if needed. Once that is safe, you can turn the pump back on.
• Close the valve to any water softener unit you might have while cleaning the well.
• Start the pump and run the water until it is clear. Use the outside faucet closest to the well to drain contaminated water.
• If you don't have a pump, bail water from the well with a bucket until the water is clear.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a table to tell you how much unscented bleach you need to add to your well based on how far down your well goes.
• Mix the bleach in a 5-gallon bucket with 3 to 5 gallons of water.
• Remove the vent cap and pour the bleach water mixture into the well using a funnel.
• Attach a clean hose to the faucet closest to the well and circulate the well water back into the well to mix the bleach.
• Rinse for at least 10 minutes.
• Then open all the faucets inside the home and run them until you smell a strong bleach odor through each faucet.
• Turn off all faucets and allow the bleach mixture to stay in the well for at least 12 hours.
• Then attach a hose to the outside faucet and drain all the chlorinated water in an area without plants such as a driveway and not in open sources of water, until you no longer smell bleach.
• Turn on all the indoor faucets and run the water until you no longer smell bleach.
• Then boil the water at least seven to 10 days. At that point it should be tested for safety.