Teri Albright thought she found some clear water in her barn shower.

She attempted to shower and wash her hair there, but it wasn’t long before the water turned brown, like the well water in her house. Days later, her hair remained thick and sticky, even after attempting to rinse it with bottled water and more shampoo.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Albright, who lives along River Oaks Road, with her husband, Milton Shaw.

Albright and Shaw are one of at least three Blanco-area property owners who are dealing with muddy or cloudy water due to a drilling mishap along the Permian Highway Pipeline project that is being partially constructed in Blanco County. The company has since shut down construction in the area, and several agencies, including the Railroad Commission, are investigating.

“Since this happened over a week ago, we are trying to figure out how to do everything with bottled water,” Albright said. “KM Consultant Greg Neil asked what we needed, and brought bottled water and food. Showering is a big problem with the current COVID-19 restrictions, because I don’t want to leave my home and risk exposure to myself and my family.”

Albright and Shaw first noticed the turbidity in the water March 29. When Albright turned on the faucet in the kitchen that afternoon, she was astonished to see muddy brown water coming from all faucets.

“Our well was perfectly fine for the four years we’ve lived here. It was clean, clear and delicious, and we never had any problem with it,” she said. “Rain and time are supposed to help, but with the sludge settling, we don’t know if it will ever go away. It’s a mess because everything the water touches is affected.

“We are using disposable items and prepared and frozen food as we deal with grocery shortages from COVID-19 issues. COVID-19 was the first crisis. Now I’m forced to deal with yet another one.”

Albright’s water has sticky clay sediment in it, and the muddy residue sticks to surfaces. The water is still undrinkable and looks different from the bottled water because of the clay sediments.

Paula and Max Fowler, along with daughter Brett, also noticed that their water began running brown on March 29. They live near Albright and Shaw.

“Our water is a little clearer after several days, but it’s still cloudy and we certainly can’t drink it. We’ve been told not to bathe or shower with our water,” Paula Fowler said.

She said the biggest problem for her is the timing.

“We’re supposed to wash our hands and I only have one container of antibacterial soap because I did not want to hoard stuff. Now there are no Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, and getting out is a problem,” said Paula Fowler. “One day I spoke to those who were reaching out to us from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. It’s almost a full-time job, although it’s wonderful that people want to help, and I appreciate the help so much.”

A third resident owner who lives in the area, Katherine McClure, has also experienced issues with her water.

“I began to see cloudy water after KM began heavy excavation on the surface, several days before KM started boring their pilot hole under the river,” she said. “The cloudiness continued for several days until it cleared. This lasted until midweek, and the cloudiness reappeared along with sediment.”

The Blanco-Pedernales Groundwater Conservation District has taken samples from all three wells. The residents have been asked to run water from the outside and inside faucets and wait for the water to clear. The water testing is being conducted by LCRA and will include testing for trace metals. Results are expected sometime this week.

“For 27 years I have lived inside this oxbow of the Blanco River, and I and my neighbors have been blessed with the best and most pristine well water. Now I can never trust my water again,” McClure said.

McClure said she was recently contacted by Kinder Morgan to ask about how they could help at this time.

Paula Fowler was also contacted by Kinder Morgan and received two partial containers of wipes, some Lysol spray, 10 large bottles of water, and several cases of bottled water.

“They offered food, but I prefer to do my own shopping. And right now, I just can’t talk to them. I’m too angry,” she said.

As a physician, Albright works with patients in post-acute and long-term care. Now, she’s been amazed at the offers of help from everyone in the community.

“I was completely unprepared to deal with this water problem, and I am very appreciative of the offers of help I’ve received from the community,” she said.

Albright said that Ron Fieseler of the BPGCD has asked that people check their water at regular intervals. If the water looks, tastes or smells differently, they are to collect the water sample in a bottle, tag it with the date, and note where it was collected. If this continues, they are to contact the BPGCD.

Going forward, Albright hopes that good things will come from this.

“Maybe this will help our area with water issues, and maybe help move the pipeline somewhere else. At the very least there should be no drilling while we’re in this pandemic shelter in place thing. This is the very worst combination,” she said. “We expect the LCRA testing to be available this week. Our questions are: Is this non-toxic only and if non-toxic only when will it stop affecting our water? Those results will make a big difference going forward.”