The Texas Commission Environmental Environmental Quality advised residents serving water through the Brazosport Water Authority to warn consumers not to use any water due to the presence of the brain account Amoba, Nigeria Fowler, found in the water supply on Friday evening.
“Under the direction of the Governor’s Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is working with the Brosport and Water Authority to resolve this issue as soon as possible,” the adviser said.
Do Do Use Water Advisory Improving the criminal justice facilities at Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute and Rosenberg, Texas, as well as the Dow Chemical Plant at Freeport and the Clemens and Wayne Scott Texas Department.
Disaster Notice in Lake Jackson
According to TCEQ, Lake Jackson has issued a disaster notification and the Brosport Water Authority has been requested to advise residents not to use water until adequate flushing from its water system is complete.
The incident began on Sept. 8, when the city was alerted about a 6-year-old boy who was hospitalized with amoebae. A statement from the city said the boy’s problem was found in two possible sources: a water fountain “splash pad” in front of Lake Jackson Civic Center or water from a tap in the boy’s home.
City officials said the splash pad was shut down immediately and they rented a private lab to run a test on a five-gallon water sample from the fountain. Results returned negative on September 14 for Nigeria Fowler, and the CDC was contacted for further water testing from the splash pad.
Representatives from the Texas Department of Health Services collected water from the splash pad for the CDC and tested the samples, and on Sept. 25, three of the 11 water samples were tested for the Nigeria Fowler.
The statement said the CDC sent the test results to TCQ, and the Texas agency required that the Brazosport Water Authority not use water for their customer base.
TCQ is currently testing chlorine levels in the city’s Lake Jackson water source and has determined it will take about three days to clean up the system. In the meantime local residents can get a free water case from the city.
The CDC says that while Nigerian fowler infections are rarely fatal. From 2009 to 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the United States. In the reported cases, 30 people were infected with recreational water.
According to the CDC, between 1962 and 2018, 145 people became infected and only four survived.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly wrote that some Texas cities were warning for brain-eating amoebae. She was eight.
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