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Seventeen restaurants in Peñitas have been temporarily closed due to water issues as a result of a boil notice from their provider, the Agua Special Utility District.
According to the Hidalgo County Department of Health and Human Services, Agua SUD issued the notice due to “reduced distribution system pressure,” and was ordered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality because of “an increased chance for bacterial infection.”
This has prompted the closure of the 17 restaurants in question, although officials have not identified which eateries are closed.
The county, however, did say that the area affected is in the vicinity of “Tom Gill Road to the north, Jarachinas Road to the south, Mile 7 Road to the west and Mile 3 Road to the east.”
“We are concerned about the potential lack of hygiene and food preparation that involves clean water,” Eduardo Olivarez, chief administrative officer of the county health department, said in a statement.
Later Wednesday, the county also provided recommendations for businesses in the Peñitas area affected by the boil water notice to reopen.
Businesses can reopen, according to the county, if they “followed specific health and safety guidelines…”
Those guidelines included boiling water for two minutes or more before using it for food preparation or any hygienic uses, or by “contracting with outside third party water vendors to provide drinking water for the business’ use.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information from Hidalgo County.
