Chemicals from Backflow are Likely Cause of San Angelo Water Issue

(AP) — A business with a malfunctioning backflow preventer — or none at all — is believed to have allowed chemicals to taint a West Texas city’s water system, officials said.

On Monday, some residents in San Angelo, a city of about 100,000 about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth, reported that their tap water smelled like mothballs. The city began investigating and advised customers of its water system not to drink, bathe or wash their hands with their tap water. 

By Tuesday, officials told a portion of the residents that they could resume using their tap water.

Officials Wednesday said preliminary results found benzene, acetone and naphthalene (which smells like mothballs) in the water, but they were still trying to determine what business might be the source.

Allison Stube, the city’s utilities director, said she had received no reports of people falling ill from drinking the water. 

City officials have said the issue has nothing to do with hacking. A sheriff’s office in Florida has said a hacker on Friday had gained entry to the system controlling the water treatment plant for a small city there and tried to taint the water supply.

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