After six years, a Texas town’s boil-water notice has been lifted, but residents are still concerned

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After being in place for over six years, a boil-water notice for the small West Texas town of Toyah has been lifted.

The city official overseeing the city’s water system, Brandie Baker, rescinded the boil water notice on July 11. In a written announcement, she said, “The public water system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of water distributed.”

According to Baker, the city provided the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with “laboratory results” that showed Toyah’s water now meets the required drinking water standards. In an email, a TCEQ spokesperson confirmed the city had taken the proper steps to prove that its water is potable.

“It was a team effort and I'm glad to see Toyah at a place where we can start moving forward,” Baker said in an interview with Marfa Public Radio. “There's a lot of people that live here and it'd be nice for them to have it back the way it should be.”

The town’s troubles first started in 2018, when its water was flagged after it tested positive for the dangerous E.coli bacteria. TCEQ inspectors responded and began to uncover more issues surrounding Toyah's water.

For years, the city’s water treatment plant was operated by staff that were unlicensed or were underqualified. At times, workers struggled to properly sanitize the water and state officials noted illegal modifications to the facility.

The Texas Attorney General's Office eventually filed a lawsuit against the city in 2022 over its numerous violations of state drinking water standards. Court documents stated the “neglect and mismanagement” of Toyah’s water system posed “a serious threat of harm” to residents.

The case is ongoing and, according to the TCEQ, even though the boil water notice has been lifted there may be some outstanding violations that may need to be addressed.

Despite the documented problems with Toyah’s water system, local leaders over the years have claimed the town’s water was fine to drink. Even now, Baker says she hasn’t really had to explain to residents the steps she took to lift the boil water notice and ensure the town’s water is now safe to consume.

“Nobody’s really asked me,” She said.

Baker struggled for years to earn her Class B surface water operator license, which is required to operate Toyah’s water treatment plant. However, she passed the qualifying exam and received her certification late last year. The city has also come into compliance with state reporting requirements and in general the treatment facility appears to be much cleaner than it had appeared in the past.

Baker says she's worked hard to rebuild Toyah's relationship with the TCEQ.

“A lot of the long wait as well was, once we got things going and good, is the confidence with the state,” she said. “They sent many people out here. They’ve worked with me, they’ve watched me do my labs, they’ve signed off on me.”

These improvements haven’t convinced everyone in Toyah that the city’s water is safe. Elida ‘Angel’ Machuca, a longtime resident of Toyah, has been a vocal critic of the city and has scrutinized how officials have addressed the problems with the town’s water quality.

Machuca says she felt optimistic at first when she read Baker’s announcement that the boil water notice had been lifted, but then doubts began to set in.

“It’s just been too long with too many secrets being kept,” she said. “If it’s totally honest it’s something to celebrate.”

According to Machuca, the city’s water still appears to be cloudy, which she believes is a sign the treatment plant isn’t functioning properly. And for now, her family is still hauling in their own water supply, taking the same precautions they did while the boil water notice was in place — something she says they’ll continue to do to “keep our family safe.”

Machuca said the only way she’ll drink Toyah’s water is if “an accredited water engineer to put it on paper that he came and he inspected it and that it's properly running and operating.”

As of last week, the city of Toyah was still off its boil water notice, according to Baker who maintained the water is now safe to drink and that the city’s water treatment facility is fully functioning.

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