ODESSA, Texas — The city of Odessa has had a few issues with water in 2024, from line breaks to boil water notices. However, that doesn't stop them from ensuring Odessans have clean drinking water.
"The most valuable resource that we have is of course water," said Deputy City Manager Agapito Bernal. "So we pour in a lot of resources and a lot of time and a lot of effort to make sure that we're able to provide the citizens and the city of Odessa with quality water."
The City of Odessa tests the quality of their water year-round making sure they stay in regulation with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
"That's always an ongoing thing, a daily thing," Bernal said. "We're we're always checking our our water system to make sure it's safe. It never stops it. So we have people that that's their sole duty."
During the summer months, Odessa will change the process of how they clean the water from using chlorine and ammonia to chlorine only, and there is a reason behind it.
"Out here in West Texas and our hot summers and our strong sun, it's always building things water is really finicky," Bernal said. "In order to disinfect it, we have to sometimes change our disinfecting system."
The switch to chlorine in the summer isn't new, in fact, the city has been doing it for years. Some people still worry about the smell of chlorine in the air, and that'll go away too.
"Number one priority for us is that our citizens have the safe drinking water and we strive and we work hard to make sure that it happens," Bernal said.