Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Residents here were warned late Wednesday to avoid using tap water because a chemical possibly contaminated the city's water supply.

Thursday morning, city officials confirmed the chemical, which came from a facility in an industrial district, is an asphalt emulsifier called Indulin AA86. About three to 24 gallons got into the water supply.

Lillian Riojas, a spokeswoman from Valero, a refinery in the city, said in a statement there was a backflow issue "from third party operations" near Valero's asphalt terminal.

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"At this time, we believe this is a localized backflow issue from third party operations in the area of Valero's asphalt terminal. We do not believe this issues is being caused by Valero's Corpus Christi refineries. While the City continues to investigate this issue, we do not believe the City's water has been impacted," the statement said. "We believe this issue is isolated to a lateral industrial line. Valero is offering its resources to assist the City in isolating the issue and to help confirm this has not impacted the City's water supply."

Residents had earlier been advised to only use bottled water.

"Only bottled water should be used for all drinking, beverage and food preparation (including baby formula and juice), making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes or clothes, washing hands, and bathing until further notice," a news release from city officials said.

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Residents are advised not to try to boil the water or treat it any other way.

The City of Corpus Christi received a call about dirty water near the downtown area Wednesday afternoon, city spokeswoman Kim Womack said. Crews investigating traced it back to an area between two industrial companies.

The city has consulted with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the substance is not poisonous and is not expected to be a health hazard, she said. She added that the city is working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Earlier Thursday, Mayor Dan McQueen and others said the first priority is ensuring the public's safety and getting the test results back from samples sent to a testing facility in Austin.

The city's news release went out about 10:30 p.m. CT via email.

Within minutes, stores were flooded with residents and quickly sold out of bottled water. The inventory was gone within an hour of the city's announcement.

Others awoke Thursday to the news the city was in the midst of its fourth notice within about a year and a half. Earlier water issues were related to concerns about bacteria. Those boil water notices provided residents a method for making their water safe.

The latest notice warned residents not to use their tap water at all. There were no reports of injury or illness from residents related to the water.

McQueen emphasized the city's system, in terms of disinfectant, did not fail . City officials said the contamination was discovered when an industrial property reported a sheen in the water when washing hands.

Contributing: John C. Moritz, Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times. Follow Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times on Twitter: @callerdotcom