Texas Water Company has issued a boil water notice for customers served by its Canyon Lake Shores Treatment Plant after severe flooding along the Guadalupe River pushed debris and sediment into Canyon Lake and raised turbidity at the plant’s water intake. The notice affects customers in dozens of communities tied to the system.
The company said the order was issued under state regulatory requirements to protect public health, and it will stay in place while crews work to reduce sediment levels and bring the water back to drinking-water safety standards. Treatment operations are being monitored continuously as corrective actions continue.
That makes the latest Canyon Lake water level news less about the lake itself than what the floodwater carried into it. When sediment surges into a treatment intake, the plant cannot simply push water through and hope for the best; it has to wait until turbidity falls and the system again meets the standards required for public drinking water.
Among the communities affected are the City of Bulverde, the City of Blanco water customers, River Crossing, Mystic Shores, Canyon Lake Shores, Canyon Lake Acres, Canyon Lake Island, Canyon Lake Villas, Canyon Lake Vistas, Spring Branch Meadows, Hidden Trails, Singing Hills, Serenity Oaks, The Woods at Spring Branch and Riverwood Estates. The list underscores how one treatment plant can reach far beyond a single neighborhood when a flood disrupts the source water.
The hard part for the utility is that the notice must remain in place to protect public health even as crews try to restore normal conditions. That leaves one question that matters most to the people on the line: how quickly sediment levels can be lowered enough for the water to pass safety standards again. Until then, the boil water notice stays in effect.
