Fund pipes in emergency plumbing help to San Antonio residents

As the water supply for the San Antonians continues and a day-long call to boil water has been lifted for a large part of the community, the local water authority is offering to help revitalize the residents’ frost-damaged pipes.

The San Antonio Water System has launched a new program called Community Pipe Repair (CPR), which aims to assist private customers with emergency repairs to damaged pipes in their homes so that they can regain access to reliable running water – even if they don’t possible is a plumber afford.

“The winter storm is over, but the recovery is just beginning,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg in a press release announcing the fund on Monday. “Many of our friends and neighbors have immediate needs that they cannot afford, but they cannot afford not to meet them.”

As the program has just started, SAWS notes that specific eligibility requirements will be available later this week on their website and after residents fill out an online CPR application, SAWS will be in touch with you within days, to inform residents of their application status.

The CPR program is open to both homeowners and tenants. For homeowners who qualify, SAWS sends a plumber in – free for homeowners – “to perform repairs and restore water flow to key functions: toilets, faucets, bathtubs and showers”. Eligible renters who apply must also obtain owner approval to participate in the program.

The program will prioritize emergency pipe repairs that could endanger the life, health or safety of a building’s occupants. The CPR fund is hosted by the San Antonio Foundation, and SAWS says the program will continue until all funds are used.

While Nirenberg acknowledges the need to raise more funding for the program, it has got off to a good start with early funding from a number of well-known organizations.

“I am pleased to announce that we launched the fund with generous contributions from Spurs Give and Wells Fargo,” said Nirenberg. “The Spurs contributed $ 250,000 to the fund and Wells Fargo has agreed to contribute $ 25,000 so that we can start the CPR fund with $ 275,000.”

The CPR fund was set up after last week’s record breaking winter storm and widespread utility outages that prompted SAWS to issue a citywide notice on Feb.17 about boiling water areas in San Antonio and that residents can reuse their tap water without boiling it.

The notice was lifted in most San Antonio communities after SAWS conducted the required water quality tests and its scientists and experts at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found the area’s tap water to be potable. While parts of San Antonio remain under evidence of boiling water – especially the northeastern region of Bexar County – SAWS continues to test water samples in hopes of releasing those affected areas from the evidence of boiling water soon.

With the lifting of the boiling water notice, SAWS is urging San Antonians to turn off their irrigation systems as water pressure continues to normalize across the city. Additionally, SAWS encourages residents to follow CDC guidelines to ensure their water is safe. These recommendations include:

• Flush the pipes by running each hot and cold water faucet for two minutes

• Rinse, clean and disinfect equipment that uses tap water (ice machines, dishwashers, etc.) according to the manufacturer’s instructions

• running water softener through a regeneration cycle

• Rinse ice machines according to manufacturer’s instructions, including throwing away any ice that remains in the bins and disposing of an extra amount of ice

• Replace filters in refrigerators and other water-consuming devices

• Flush drinking fountains by running them continuously for two minutes