Brockovich To Visit Plano As City, Water District Seek To Reassure Residents About Drinking Water
PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Environmental activist Erin Brockovich said on Facebook she intends to come to Plano April 5 to meet with residents concerned about their drinking water.
Her announcement comes as the city of Plano sought to reassure the public its drinking water is safe.
It was last week Brockovich criticized the water quality in a series of Facebook posts.
On Tuesday, the city announced it will conduct independent tests of its drinking water as soon as possible.
In addition, the North Texas Municipal Water District, which supplies Plano and other North Texas cities, briefed city council members and residents Tuesday evening about how it keeps the water safe.
In her posts, Brockovich also challenged the city and the water district to conduct independent tests, which the city is now doing at a cost of $5,000.
Plano's Mayor, Harry LaRosiliere said there's nothing to hide. "We certainly want to ease any concerns that's out there about the safety and quality of our water. We will be fully transparent and we're going to test in 16 different sites and the minute the results are out, we will share it with the public."
The testing comes as the water district is using only chlorine in its system for a period of 28 days instead of a mix of chlorine and ammonia called chloramine.
The district says it's perfectly safe, and that it's done this for years to prepare for the hot summer months and to prevent waterborne illnesses.
The district's Deputy Director of Operations and Maintenance, Mike Rickman took issue with Brockovich's claim that water districts use higher levels of chlorine after they lose control of water quality.
"I don't agree with her assessment of what we're doing. I don't think she has a complete knowledge of the way our system is designed and operated. She has not made any contact with us to find out what system we have."
A spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told CBS11, Plano is in full compliance with all federal and state drinking water standards, and hasn't had any drinking water compliance violations since January 2016.
That's good news to Chip Stroup, who owns the Plano Kitchen & Bar restaurant in downtown Plano.
He says some customers have recently complained about the taste and smell of the water, but he says he's never heard anyone getting sick from it. "It's not a problem with cooking. We don't see the issue. It's mainly for the people drinking the water at the table that we see most of the problem."
The TCEQ spokesman said the agency is investigating complaints by two Plano residents about the taste and smell of the water.
I reached out to Brockovich on Facebook, but I haven't heard back yet.