‘It was like panic mode’: Weslaco bakery affected by city-wide water outage
Water is flowing again in Weslaco after a power outage knocked out the city's water treatment and distribution facilities for about two hours.
In a statement, the city of Weslaco said AEP Texas believes palm fronds that touched power lines may have caused the outage. Crews found some on the ground where the outage happened.
The outage left some taps running dry while others faced low water pressure. Service was restored within a few hours.
One Weslaco business felt the impact during its busiest time of the week. Happiness Cupcakes came to a standstill when the water cut out on Friday morning.
"It was like panic mode," Happiness Cupcakes employee Kaelah Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said the water stopped flowing at the worst possible time.
"It was quite busy because it was our Friday rush, so we had people picking up cakes. We had people picking up cupcake orders that they set aside, just things like that," Rodriguez said.
The outage made basic tasks impossible for the bakery.
"We couldn't wash our dishes if things got messy, the customers could not use the restroom because it was out of order," Rodriguez said.
The experience left the team thinking about how to handle it better next time.
"Be prepared. Our manager told us to fill the sink with new water. I guess be prepared next time and have buckets of water," Rodriguez said.
The city says some residents may notice temporary air in the lines or slight water discoloration, but confirmed the water is safe to drink, and boiling is not necessary.
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