Leaks caused by frozen pipes pushed the water supply to the limit. About 13 million Texans, almost half of the state’s population, remained under the guidance of boiling water on Thursday, according to the executive director of the Texas Environmental Quality Commission, Toby Baker. More than 700 water supply systems are affected.
In Austin alone, the state capital’s water supply lost 325 million gallons due to a broken pipe, Austin water director Greg Meszaros said during a news conference on Thursday.
“We know that there are tens of thousands of leaks,” said Meszaros. “As the fire department indicated, they responded to thousands upon thousands of burst pipes.”
At the peak of Tuesday night to Wednesday, the system lost 325 million gallons, he said.
“It is an incredible amount of water. Nothing I have seen before,” he said.
While temperatures in the 60s and 70s are expected to provide relief next week, some Texans face another round of record low from Friday night until Saturday morning. More than 25 million people were under a severe freezing warning during Friday morning in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
In Carrollton, north of Dallas, John Mays, Jon Milton Blackburn and their three children had no heating or water at home as of Monday. To supply the fireplace, the family resorted to tearing the baseboards to keep warm.
“That was it, or we would go after the dining room table next,” Mays told the Don Lemon newspaper on Thursday.
After a water pipe burst, the family sought shelter in their church and expressed gratitude for the local leadership that provides heating stations.
“In any case, this was a wonderful learning lesson for us about how important the community is and how important it is to stay together as a community,” said Mays.
Water scarcity warnings
Authorities warned overnight that, although power has been largely restored across the state, the water supply remains especially low.
Waco Mayor Dillon Meek asked residents, industrial and commercial users to save water due to a lack of water supply.
Meek said that all companies should cut water consumption by at least 50%. He also encouraged laundromats and laundromats to remain closed over the weekend. Restaurants were asked to use paper plates and other disposable items instead of washing dishes.
“Our water supply is critically low. We are currently pumping everything we can, but the main problems we face now are leaks and high usage, ”said Meek in a video message on Thursday. “We are pumping twice as much as our normal daily use.”
If the situation gets worse, some areas may not have water, depending on the pressure and elevation of the water system, he warned.
“And if the system conditions get even worse, the fire department will not have water to fight fires,” he said. “Our municipal team has developed and continues to develop alternative methods for fire protection.”
A department near San Antonio was already there.
Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department chief Jerry Bialick said on Thursday that water supplies were the main concern as firefighters battled a fire in a large apartment in San Antonio.
“At the moment, the fire breaker is working very well. Our main concern is the water supply,” said Bialick.
Many of the fire hydrants at the site were frozen and there was no water, Bialick said. The crews had to go down the street to fill their barrels with water.
“This is our problem. As soon as we progress a little over the fire, we run out of water,” he said.
Broken pipes, along with the freezing out of season, damaged countless homes and businesses.
Dallas resident Thomas Black shared an image on social media that went viral, showing icicles hanging from a ceiling fan. He told Chris Cuomo of CNN on Thursday that he and his girlfriend were “managing” and that he resorted to boiling water after receiving tips from strangers.
He said many of his neighbors had to move to other homes that had power, but he raised concerns about the meetings due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“Lack of preparation … our infrastructure is not ready for something like this,” said Black when asked how the water got into the fan.
Black also posted other photos of his flooded hallway building, water dripping from the ceiling of utility cabinets and ice in the interior entrances.
When asked why he decided to post the images on social media, Black said: “I think the blood of every Texan should be boiling, as this is the reality in which we live … we are in a bad situation and it is getting worse.”
Government response to storms
Governor Greg Abbott announced on Thursday that a declaration of major disaster had been requested by the state from the federal government, which “will allow eligible Texans to apply for assistance to help resolve broken pipes and related property damage,” according to a statement. the press.
President Joe Biden spoke to Abbott about winter storms on Thursday, and a White House statement said the president “shared his intentions to instruct additional federal agencies to examine any immediate measures that could be taken to support Texans. “.
Abbott also intends to ask the legislature “to order winter preparation for the Texas power system and for the legislature to secure the necessary funding for winter preparation,” according to the press release.
Abbott spoke earlier on Thursday about the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), which manages the state’s electrical grid, and took responsibility for failures in the supply of heat and power to Texans during storms.
“I am taking responsibility for the current status of ERCOT. Again, I think what happened is unacceptable,” he said.
“We have already started the process to ensure that events like this never happen in Texas again, and it begins with the renovation of the agency responsible for electrical reliability in Texas, which is not what happened this week,” said Abbott.
“Five days before the arrival of the winter storm, ERCOT’s CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote: ‘We are ready for the coming cold temperatures.'”
CNN contacted ERCOT to comment on the governor’s latest statements.
ERCOT officials also said the power grid was “seconds or minutes” from a catastrophic failure and a complete blackout, were it not for the controlled outages implemented on Monday.
CNN’s Rob Shackelford, Dave Alsup, Hollie Silverman, Raja Razek, Allison Flexner, Matt Hoye and Keith Allen contributed to this report.