Millions of Texans remained without drinking water on Sunday, while state officials sought to increase the distribution of bottled water and calm residents who saw electricity bills soar after a severe winter storm that left the state devastated.
Boiled water warnings were suspended for about 5 million of the 14.9 million people who were told their water was not safe to drink two days ago, Toby Baker, executive director of the state Environmental Quality Commission, told a news conference on Sunday.
The warnings were issued after days of record low temperatures that damaged the state’s water infrastructure.
Nearly 3.5 million bottles of water were distributed by helicopter, plane and truck across the state, Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday.
The announcement came at a time when long lines could be seen on distribution sites in parts of Texas. Vanessa Fuentes, a councilor in Austin, posted a video showing dozens of cars outside a football complex south of downtown Austin.
Nearly 700 boxes were distributed before the event even started, at 11 am, she said, and elsewhere, cars started to queue five hours before the start of distribution.
“The impact of this devastating crisis will be felt for days,” she tweeted.
In Houston, officials said a boiling water warning that had been in effect since Wednesday was withdrawn after tests found that the city’s piped water met regulatory standards, while in San Antonio, about a third of the 1.5 million city dwellers remained under boiling water, Baker said.
Abbott said that consumers who saw their electricity rates skyrocket after large areas of the state lost power last week – and demand increased in the Texas market-based system – would be protected from “irrational” accounts.
In some cases, these accounts have reached $ 10,000.
Disconnections for non-payment will be interrupted, he said, adding that he met on Saturday with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who agreed to speed up the legislation.
President Joe Biden signed a declaration of major disaster making federal funds available for counties hard hit by last week’s storm. More than 4 million customers lost energy and at least 22 people died in connection with the state’s winter weather.