Texas town's weeklong water outage could end Saturday, officials say
Pumpjacks on the outskirts of Odessa, Texas, on April 5. Photo: Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Residents in the Texan city of Odessa could see safe tap water restored as early as Saturday after a water outage this week, AP reports.
Why it matters: After a major water line break struck the city of more than 122,000 people amid scorching temperatures, local officials warned residents to protect themselves against the "imminent threat" of "widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property."
Details: Odessa Public Works director Thomas Kerr said Friday that samples from the region's water utility pipes are currently undergoing testing. If the test comes back clean, the city will be able to lift its boil-water notice by 1:30pm on Saturday.
The big picture: The U.S. suffered severe heat waves that broke records this past week, with more than 130 million people under heat warnings and advisories.