UPDATE: Bellaire says the boil-water notice was lifted, as of 7 tonight. No word on what precipitated the change. The city of Houston had indicated that the state would not have results of safety tests until about 3 a.m. Tuesday.
By Charlotte Aguilar
The city of Bellaire and two blocks of West University will continue under a boil-water notice until at least 3 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 29), when Houston officials expect results of state-reviewed testing that could certify the city’s water as safe again.
Because of the uncertainty, Houston ISD announced Monday that it was canceling classes and closing all facilities for a second day on Tuesday, saying the situation presented “logistical challenges…(that) prevent the district from being able to provide meals for its students and ensure safe water is available for students and staff.”
All HISD employees will be required to work remotely, and students are being urged to use digital resources available here.
A series of power issues at the East Houston Water Purification Plant that serves the city of Houston, as well as supplying some of Bellaire and West University’s water, was first detected about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, but the boil-water alert wasn’t issued until after meetings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, speaking at a news conference Monday morning. 
Officials from the two cities told Essentials News that they weren’t alerted until 7:20 p.m. Sunday, and each issued a boil-water notice after reviewing their city’s situations. Bellaire’s covered the entire city, while West U’s was solely for Law Street, the northernmost street, abutting Houston, in the West U neighborhood known as “The Chimney.”
Essentials received no response Monday to its messages to spokespersons in the Houston Public Works Department and Mayor’s Office, requesting interviews to discuss Houston’s timetable for notifying the two cities.
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