Is It Safe To Drink Tap Water In Austin Texas?

[ilovecheese]

My cousin lives in austin texas and she drank a glass of tap water from her bathroom. Will she be sick ?

[bobbinwales]

Maybe ask your daughter?

[davebro]

"That means about 7 million people in Texas, including residents of Houston, Arlington, Fort Worth and Tyler, need to boil their water to ensure it's safe to drink."

Austin isn't mentioned but I'd avoid drinking it for the time being. She probably won't get sick.

[MallyJ]

Wow is that likely? Is the American water system that filthy that people are worried about drinking the water? A place to be avoided then - although I drank tap water in Texas some years ago and suffered no ill effects....

[davebro]

They had problems with power supplies to the water purification plants due to weather disruption.

[Atheist]

It's possible that the bathroom tap is supplied from a tank in the roof. If so, there is always the possibility of contamination from e.g. a dead pigeon or bat or rat. It's the same here in England.

[KARL]

Public water supplies are generally uniform across their area so the thing to do is to ask the water authority. In the USA there are lots of private water supply systems in operation, right down to individual houses having their own - these are by far those most likely to be questionable. Ultimately, having a water sample analysed is the best answer to any doubts. I would be surprised if the water system in any individual house is divided between/into direct-from-the-source and/or private storage tank.

[tiggerblue10]

Best to get your cousin to contact their water supplier if they're concerned.