CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Corpus Christi residents being warned not to use the city's tap water (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
A chemical leak from an asphalt plant that led Corpus Christi, Texas, officials to warn residents Wednesday not to drink the water was apparently reported a week earlier.
An internal email sent Wednesday by Susan Clewis, a regional director for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, indicates that a "backflow incident from a chemical tank" was reported Dec. 7 at Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions.
The email doesn't indicate who received that report, but the email indicates that the state agency only learned of the leak on Wednesday, when city officials warned the public.
The mayor of the Gulf Coast city of about 300,000 people has said local officials also only learned of the leak this Wednesday.
Neither Clewis nor city officials responded to Friday requests for comment.
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12:10 p.m.
Officials in Corpus Christi are releasing few details on a suspected chemical leak into the Texas city's public water system as they await test results from the state to determine whether the water is safe to consume.
Mayor Dan McQueen said at a news briefing Friday that he hopes the tests determine that the water is safe to drink citywide.
But he didn't address how the chemical may have entered the public water system from an industrial plant or when city officials were first notified of a problem at the plant.
Officials on Wednesday warned all of the Gulf Coast city's 320,000 residents to stop using the water because of the leak. Late Thursday, the city said water in some areas was safe to use again.
The city manager said plenty of bottled water has been donated to help residents.
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1 a.m.
Officials are telling residents in outlying parts of Corpus Christi that they can safely drink tap water again, as the bulk of the city remains under an advisory to refrain from using it.
The city released a map late Thursday showing the parts of the city where it's now safe to drink the water. Nearly 24 hours earlier, officials warned all residents to stop using it because of harmful chemical from an industrial plant that leaked into the supply.
Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions Inc. said in a statement late Thursday night that it was "working cooperatively" with state environmental officials to restore safe water service.
The statement doesn't take responsibility for the spill, but Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that officials believe Ergon was responsible.
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Information from: Corpus Christi Caller-Times, https://www.caller.com/