Brain-Eating Amoeba Prompts Disaster Declaration In Lake Jackson

AUSTIN, TX — The governor on Sunday issued a disaster declaration covering Brazoria County after regulators confirmed the presence of a brain-eating amoeba in the water supply.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Friday confirmed the presence of Naeglera Fowleri, a potentially deadly amoeba, in the Brazosport Water Authority liquid supply. The amoeba occurs naturally in freshwater, and can cause a rare but lethal infection if it travels up a person's nose, regulators warned.

As a result of the amoeba's presence in the water supply, a "do not use" advisory was issued for the authority's entire service area before being whittled down to cover just the City of Lake Jackson, where a boil water notice continue to be in effect.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is working alongside the City of Lake Jackson, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency to resolve the ongoing water issue, the governor said in a prepared statement.

Previous coverage: Brazosport Water Authority 'Do Not Use' Order Largely Lifted

"The state of Texas is taking swift action to respond to the situation and support the communities whose water systems have been impacted by this amoeba," Gov. Greg Abbott said. "I urge Texans in Lake Jackson to follow the guidance of local officials and take the appropriate precautions to protect their health and safety as we work to restore safe tap water in the community."

Read the governor's disaster declaration

Regulators initially issued a "do not use" order for the water treatment plant's entire service area that includes the cities of Freeport; Angleton; Brazoria; Richwood; Lake Jackson; Oyster Creek; Clute; and Rosenberg. The advisory also covered the Dow Chemical Co. and the Clemens and Wayne Scott prison units operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Subsequently taken measures to treat the water supply largely lifted the order save for Lake Jackson, where water users are advised to boil their water before use.

Despite lifting the "do not use" advisory, regulators noted a "boil water" notice is in effect along with additional precautionary measures for Lake Jackson water users.

"TCEQ and city officials are actively working on a plan to flush and disinfect the water system. Until the flushing and disinfecting process is complete, the city remains under the boil notice," regulators wrote. "During this period of disinfection and flushing, boiling the tap water makes it safe for drinking and cooking."

But for all other uses — including bathing and showering — regulators strongly urged residents to take the following precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Do not allow water to go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when bathing, showering, washing your face, or swimming.
• Do not jump into or put your head under bathing water.
• Do not allow children to play with hoses, sprinklers, or any toy or device that may accidentally squirt water up the nose.
• Do run bath and shower taps and hoses for 5 minutes before use to flush out the pipes.
• Do keep small, hard plastic/blow-up pools clean by emptying, scrubbing, and allowing them to dry after each use.
• Do use only boiled and cooled, distilled, or sterile water for making sinus rinse solutions for neti pots or performing ritual ablutions.
• Do keep swimming pools adequately disinfected before and during use. Adequate disinfection means:

• Pools: free chlorine at 1-3 parts per million (ppm) and pH 7.2-7.8; and
• Hot tubs/spas: free chlorine 2-4 parts per million (ppm) or free bromine 4-6 ppm and pH 7.2-7.8.

• Do place the hose directly into the skimmer box and ensure that the filter is running.
• Do not top off by placing the hose in the body of the pool.

"It is not yet known how long it will take to adequately flush the system and test the water to ensure it is completely safe to use," regulators wrote. "As the incident is resolved, further updates will be posted on the incident webpage, sent to local media outlets, and posted on TCEQ’s Facebook and Twitter.

City of Lake Jackson officials took action to help residents deal with the tainted water, outlining steps to chlorinate the water supply and setting up a distribution site for residents to secure bottled water over the weekend. City officials also have set up an Emergency Operation Center, urging residents with questions or concerns to call (979) 415-2788.

Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County that is part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area.