West Texas city lifts boil-water order for 131K residents

MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — Officials in a West Texas city have lifted an order that had called for its more than 131,000 residents to boil their tap water before drinking or using it. The boil order in Midland was lifted Saturday. It had been in effect since Thursday. The city says water quality test results it sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink. Midland officials said the boil water notice was issued after a series of mishaps, including a water main break and the shutdown of a water treatment plant.  In November, officials in Houston issued a similar boil water order in the nation’s fourth-largest city after the failure of two transformers at a water plant.