Austin Water Director Resigns After Second Boil Order in Four Years

The director of Austin’s water department resigned Feb. 11, days after employee mistakes at a treatment plant put the city under a boil order notice for three days.

Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros announced his resignation in a letter Friday, the Austin American-Statesman reported. He wrote that he takes “full responsibility for any shortcomings at the utility this past week.”

Texas’ capital city, which has a population of about 960,000, has experienced three boil orders since 2018 and another separate incident in which water for some residents had a foul, fishy odor because of the presence of dead zebra mussels, the newspaper reported.

Meszaros has served as Austin Water’s director since 2007.

The most recent boil order began Feb. 5 and was lifted Feb. 8. Officials have said employees at a treatment plant did not respond quickly enough to signs of cloudiness in the water.