Massive water outage hits Texas city amid heatwave; line break affects more than 150K residents

The temperature in Odessa, Texas, hit 100 degrees on Tuesday as officials announced a water line break in the city had left "a significant portion" of residents without water while repairs are being made.

The break happened late on Monday, officials said. The water line failure affects approximately 165,000 Texans, according to a press release from Gov. Greg Abbott's office. 

The outage comes amid a severe heat wave impacting Texas and many other states – high temperatures are expected to remain in the upper 90s for the rest of the week in the Odessa area.

Crews have been working on isolating the break in the line, but the process is taking longer than expected, according to a Tuesday release. The city estimates water will be restored for many residents by Wednesday morning, officials said during a press conference. After the repair is done, it should take approximately 10 to 12 hours for the city's water plant to restart. 

"As we have never done this before, (restarting) an entire system like this, we are making those predictions based on a good guess, but there could be some changes," said Thomas Kerr, Director of Public Works and Utilities. 

HEAT WAVES:What to know from the heat index to a heat dome to an excessive heat warning

STAYING COOL:As heat wave impacts millions, here's how to stay safe

A disaster declaration has been issued by local officials, and Abbott said state resources were being deployed to help restore the local water supply.

"The State of Texas is taking swift action to respond to Odessa’s impacted water supply and support the local community in meeting their water needs," Abbott said in a press release. "I urge residents in Odessa to follow guidance from local officials and take the proper precautions to ensure their health and safety as we work together to restore safe tap water in the community.”

Businesses, schools and public agencies remained closed Tuesday because of a lack of water. 

According to Deputy City Manager Phillip Urrutia, the outage might be attributed to the water system's deteriorating state. 

“It’s an aging infrastructure that we’re seeing. It’s a cast iron pipe, and so those are typically more susceptible to breaks than other new technologies like PVC pipe that’s going in the ground,” he said.

The news is the latest infrastructure failure in Texas, where widespread power outages during February of last year left community members vulnerable to frigid weather.

Limited amounts of bottled water are being distributed to residents on Tuesday, city officials announced.  

There is also a boil water notice for most of the city, stating that those who can get water from the faucet ought to boil it for two minutes before consuming or using it to cook or brush their teeth. 

Contributing: The Associated Press.