City officials release repair timeline on Marshall water main break

MARSHALL, Texas (KSLA) — An updated timeline on when residents of Marshall can expect to see normal water pressure again has been released by the city.

Around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night, the city posted on Facebook saying during the day, concrete was poured around the clamps to complete the final step of the repair process for the water main break in the 1600 block of Spring Street. Officials say the concrete needs around five hours to cure.

Around midnight, the city’s utility system will be pressurized and water lines will be refilled. The city expects this to take four to five hours. Then, once the system is filled, some parts of the city will have water again, however, water will not be available systemwide until towers are refilled around 3 p.m. Thursday.

Full operational pressure is expected around 6 p.m. Thursday.

The boil water advisory will remain in effect until samples can be collected, analyzed, and cleared for safety.

Mayor Amy Ware and Emergency Management Coordinator Chief David Rainwater held a news conference Wednesday afternoon regarding the main break.

The city is currently under a state of emergency as well as stage four conservation, meaning severe water restrictions are in place. Car washes and laundromats have been shut down, and residents who do have water are asked to conserve as much as possible.

Portable restrooms and handwashing stations have been placed in several locations to help those without water, including at the Walmart (1701 N East End Blvd.). People are encouraged to go to nearby cities to get water if needed.

Meanwhile, the mayor says many of the city’s transmission lines are 50 to 80 years old and require a lot of maintenance. Around $56 million has already been allocated to upgrade the city’s water system, she says, however, upgrading will be a lengthy and expensive process.

Timeline and explanation of water main break

Tuesday morning, a 24″ water main broke in the 1600 block of Spring Street in Marshall. According to city officials, this break affects the entire city and the cause is related to the freeze-thaw cycle from a recent winter storm, not the storm itself.

“This is not related to that. This is related to the thaw, the freezing thaw that we experienced with that last winter storm,” an official said.

Marshall officials said they have activated a drought contingency plan to help conserve water for residents.

Residents frustrated but not surprised

Martin Owens, who lives near the source of the leak, said the situation has become familiar.

“I mean, we need water for everything. So it would be nice to, if they could get it going, because I just got off work, I really like to go in and take a shower right now, but I understand things happen, so yeah,” Owens said.

April Pemberton, another Marshall resident, said the repeated breaks point to deeper infrastructure problems.

“For us, it’s just normal loss. We usually at our house, we usually don’t lose water pressure. It usually gets low today where you’re completely out,” Pemberton said.

Infrastructure concerns

Pemberton also described a previous incident in which multiple city water pumps failed simultaneously.

“With like last year, they had issues with pumps. I think out of four or five city pumps, all of them were out except for one. And so they had to take parts from some of their pumps and make what they call the Frankenstein pump to get a second one flowing so that we would have water through the drought. And they said that it was going to cost millions of dollars to get new pumps and fix all the city’s infrastructure,” Pemberton said.

Fire Chief David Rainwater acknowledged the city’s aging infrastructure as a contributing factor.

“When you have the history and everything here, you have old infrastructure and sometimes you just can’t get to all of it. It’s just the nature of how these problems occur,” Rainwater said.

Residents in Marshall are advised to continue boiling their water until the advisory is lifted.

The declaration signed by Mayor Ware states, “extraordinary measures must be taken to alleviate the suffering of people and protect and rehabilitate property.”

The city has also activated its Emergency Operations Center, which involves city staff, to respond to the incident. Fire Chief David Rainwater serves as the emergency management coordinator.

As a result of the main break, many schools and businesses have announced closures, including city and county offices.

The city advises residents to use any available water conservatively and to not do any outdoor burning. Mandatory water conservation measures for residents have been put in place prohibiting any non-essential water use. The city says this is essential to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The following actions are currently prohibited for residents:

• Irrigation of landscape areas, including parks, athletic fields, and golf courses, except otherwise provided under this Plan
• Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle
• Use of water to wash down any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hard-surfaced areas
• Use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than immediate fire protection
• Flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street
• Use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools or jacuzzi-type pools
• Use of water in a fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes except where necessary to support aquatic life
• Failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak(s)
• Use of water from hydrants for construction purposes or any other purposes other than fire fighting

The City of Marshall previously stated on their Facebook page that they responded to reports of low water pressure as they repaired another water main break at Sanford and West Houston Street.

Copyright 2026 KSLA. All rights reserved.