What are SouthWest Water and its subsidiaries doing to ensure customers are protected from COVID-19?
Scam Alert: Please know that it is not possible to test for COVID-19 within water supply, especially not at your residence. If someone approaches you to test your water for COVID-19, do not provide them any personal information and contact your local law enforcement.
- Customer Care will still be readily available by email at TXCustomerCare@swwc.com or by phone at 866.654.7992. We apologize in advance for delayed responses from this number as we have modified our staffing plan and instituted a telecommuting program to ensure the safety of our employees.
- Remember, the following options are always available to pay your bill: https://www.swwc.com/texas/pay/
- We have shared with our employees the preventative measures provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19.
- We have robust emergency operations and business continuity plans that include the possibility of a pandemic. We have already and will continue to update them for COVID-19, as necessary, to meet our service obligations to our customers and communities.
If you mail in payments, we are taking measures to ensure your account won’t be negatively impacted by late fees if there is a mail service delay. We also highly encourage you to consider enrolling in automatic payments to ensure your payment always posts on time.
Your Water Safety
While there is no known risk to the water supply before or after our rigorous treatment, SouthWest Water Company is taking steps to ensure we can continue monitoring, treating and delivering water to homes and businesses in the event of a severe pandemic. SouthWest Water Company is being vigilant to keep your water safe and flowing.
Currently, health officials are studying the ability of COVID-19 to spread through untreated wastewater. While evidence suggests that coronaviruses can be detected in wastewater, researchers are still trying to determine whether or not the virus is transmissible through such means.
It is important to note that while researchers are looking into the ability of COVID-19 to spread in untreated wastewater, there is a rigorous treatment process that ensures tap water is safe to drink and does not pose a risk of transmitting the virus.
We are working across the state to follow the guidance of the American Water Works Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect our drinking water and wastewater system operator team from potential exposure and to safeguard their capability to operate and maintain their systems adequately.
We’re Suspending Disconnections Until 9/22/20
We value our customers and want to make sure they can take care of their families, regardless of their ability to pay. As residents of the communities we serve, we understand that we are all living amidst this public health situation, and we are making decisions out of concern for our customers. In order to prioritize core operations to protect your water, we suspended all disconnections and the collection processes.
After thoughtful consideration, you can expect disconnections to resume on Sept. 22. If you need any assistance at this time, please contact us at 866.654.7992 or visit the webpage about our Water Assist program to learn more about our bill assistance program for qualified customers.
For additional information and ongoing updates on COVID-19, please refer to local and state health departments and the CDC’s Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) hub.
Other questions you may have:
Are you aware of any employees who have been exposed to COVID-19?
We are not aware of any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 amongst our employees. If this were to change, we would work with state and local public health officials to address the issue and protect the health of employees and customers.
Should I be worried about a possible water outage?
Our operators will be closely monitoring our systems and performing essential tasks to ensure water is safe and flowing. Most causes of outages are unpredictable, but our teams are on alert to be able to handle any issue that may occur. If any outages occur, we will be sure to keep our customers notified.
Should I boil my water?
According to the CDC, COVID-19 has not been detected in drinking water, and conventional water treatment methods that use filtration and disinfection, such as those in most municipal drinking water systems, should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19. Read more here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.html
