The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a water advisory to residents served by the Brazosport Water Authority warning customers not to use any water due to the presence of Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, found in the water supply on Friday evening.
“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at the direction of the Governor’s Office is working with Brazosport Water Authority to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” the advisory reads.
The Do Not Use Water Advisory was issued for residents of Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute and Rosenberg, Texas, as well as for the Dow Chemical plant in Freeport and the Clemens and Wayne Scott Texas Department of Criminal Justice corrections facilities.
Lake Jackson residents are still being urged to heed the Do Not Use Water Advisory until the Brazosport Water Authority has completed an adequate flush out of its water system, according to TCEQ.
The CDC says that while Naegleria fowleri infections are rare most are fatal. From 2009 to 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the United States. Of those reported cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water.
According to the CDC, 145 people were infected from 1962 to 2018 and only four survived.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how many Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba. It was eight.
