CITY PROVIDES UPDATE ON WATER SITUATION IN MIDLAND

(March 5, 2025)

MIDLAND, TEXAS -- The following is a fact sheet about the water situation in Midland, why it happened, what’s happening now, what’s next and how the City of Midland has reached out during the last week.

 Why This Happened:

· February 26 – We were made aware of a water line valve malfunction near State Highway 158

· February 28 – While repairing it, another valve was closed, affecting water flow (specifically from T-Bar water source). The City uses two water sources -- Colorado River Municipal Water District, (makes up 70% of current water use for Midland); and T-Bar field in Winkler County, (makes up 30% of current water use for Midland).

· ONGOING - Due to zebra mussels’ infestation at water treatment plant, part of the plant was down due to repairs – which otherwise would have had water available to our citizens.

What’s Happening Now:

· February 26 to Present - Crews have been working nonstop since last Wednesday (Feb. 26, 2025) to fix the issue.

· February 26 - Heavy water users like MISD, Midland College, and the Parks Department have paused irrigation, and we’re asking businesses with high water usage to cut back for the next few days.

· February 28 to Present - Water trucks from regional partners are helping supplement our supply.

· March 1 - Ordered valve replacement. Valve is being flown in Wednesday morning (March 5, 2025).

· March 1 - Distributed pallets of water to residents affected by the outages and low pressure

· March 3 - To help refill water tanks, we removed the governor from the valve — you may see water overflowing from elevated storage tanks

· March 4 - Distributed pallets of water to residents affected by the outages and low pressure

· March 5 - Distributed pallets of water to residents affected by the outages and low pressure

 What’s Next:

· We’re focused on restoring full pressure as soon as possible.

· We appreciate your continued patience and ask residents to avoid outdoor irrigation while we work through this.

· The water quality continues to be checked and monitored constantly and is meeting TCEQ standards for cleanliness.

· We have already undertaken a partial after-action review and full account of all actions will be reviewed in depth once we are past this immediate problem.

How we have reached out

• The City of Midland has put out seven different Alert Midland notices to let residents know about the need for conservation, to provide updates and to let them know about water distribution efforts
• The City has held three press conferences, including one on March 3 that was carried live on local TV
• The City has provided around 20 social media posts on Facebook, providing information on the water situation, the need for conservation and three water distribution efforts.

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We can’t apologize strongly enough for the disruption and problems this has caused for Midlanders. We know that you depend upon us for plentiful and reliable water, and we are sorry.

A huge thank you to our city crews and partners who are working around the clock.