SAN ANTONIO – Thousands of people in South Bexar County will remain under a boil water notice until the San Antonio Water System gives the all-clear.
San Antonio Water System spokeswoman Anne Hayden said the notice is required due to a water main break.
Hayden said a 16-inch pipe in the area of Loop 1604 and Applewhite Road gave out Wednesday morning under the pressure of dry, shifting ground.
The break led to a water outage that lasted for hours and affected people who live east of the area, south of Loop 1604 between Applewhite Road and Interstate 37.
"I turned on the water in the bathroom to take a shower, and there was no water," said Grace Aguillon, who was caught off guard by the outage.
No water meant a dramatic change in her usual morning ritual.
Instead of relaxing with a cup of coffee, Aguillon rode with her aunt to one of two locations SAWS set up to assist residents with water.
People were allowed to bring their own jugs and have them filled with water from a tanker truck near Highway 281 South and Memorial Drive.
Those who wanted bottled water picked up gallon jugs at another site at Shady Forest and Priest Road.
"She got a little warm and she got a little thirsty," said Joe Cyprian, pointing to his dog, Sally. "So I needed to come by and get some water. "
Cyprian accepted the bottled water offer from SAWS.
In spite of the inconvenience of a dry tap at home, Cyprian kept a positive outlook.
"We're good. We're OK. It could've been a lot worse. It'll get fixed," he said.
Hayden said the water main repairs were expected to be completed by about 1 p.m. Wednesday. Afterward, the system would have to be flushed and repressurized.
She said the boil water notice for residents would remain in effect for some time after that.
BoilWaterNoticeFarSouthsideDSP (2) by Ben Spicer on Scribd
