Some electricity restored in Texas, but water woes grow

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By PAUL J. WEBER and JILL BLEED

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Power was restored to more homes and businesses Thursday in states hit by a deadly blast of winter that overwhelmed the electrical grid and left millions shivering in the cold this week. But the crisis was far from over in parts of the South, where many people still lacked safe drinking water.

In Texas on Thursday, about 325,000 homes and businesses remained without power, down from about 3 million a day earlier, though utility officials said limited rolling blackouts were still possible.

The storms also left more than 320,000 homes and businesses without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. About 70,000 power outages persisted after an ice storm in eastern Kentucky, while nearly 67,000 were without electricity in West Virginia.

And more than 100,000 customers remained without power Thursday in Oregon, a week after a massive snow and ice storm. Maria Pope, the CEO of Portland General Electric, said she expects power to be restored by Friday night to more than 90% of the customers still in the dark.



Donated water is distributed to residents, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Houston. Houston and several surrounding cities are under a boil water notice as many residents are still without running water in their homes. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/texas-power-outages-icy-weather-186cf801ead7e2d21f001a99b3aaa936

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Apparently, so many folks have been running dripping taps and faucets

The larger system is now running extremely low on water pressure as the primary source is drained. The disaster is far from over.

I wonder if the supplies sent by the federal government are still sitting at the airport?

Maybe Lying Ted can get right on that.

[Maxheader]

2. Pricks like Ted will consider sources totally ..

removed from any discomfort. Rich people with keys to all the locked stores..

"No problems here ted!" they will say and so it must be for everyone....

[Jirel]

4. Not really true.

We live in a Texas community fighting to rebuild pressure. The culprits, after pumps got replaced and larger leaks were fixed, are people who don’t realize their pipes are open and gushing, or may even have decamped to a warming space or another person’s home for safety and have no clue that they’re gushing. My street was a ghost town yesterday when I went for a walk and checked on some neighbors.

The other culprit has been, somewhat understandably, people who had water restored who have been trying to take showers and wash clothes or dishes after several days.

The water department was asking all of us to check our water meters and voluntarily shut off if they’re still running despite everything being off, until their house pipes are fixed. Then they started sending workers around to do it, in part because so many people are simply not there to try to do it, or they’re elderly and unable.

[littlemissmartypants]

6. Thanks for clarifying that. Of course, none of it's good for trying to rebuild pressure.

We've suffered through several hurricanes here but I don't know if I could make it a week in the cold, in the dark and with out water, bursting pipes or otherwise.

I truly hope that things improve for everyone soon.



❤ lmsp

[Marthe48]

3. Horrific this happened

How can the country that gave the world Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison fail its people on this scale?

I know. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Lonestarblue]

5. All of Austin is under a boil water notice.

Burst water pipes caused water quality issues, so we are boiling all water until further notice. I’m not complaining. At least I still have water, and the pressure is okay. Some in my neighborhood have only drips coming from their faucets because they have no water pressure.

Fortunately, the temperature will be above freezing today at 38 degrees here in Austin, so the roads should get clear and repair crews can get to the more remote locations that are still without power. We have one more hard freeze tonight, and then all temperatures are above freezing for several days. I’m hoping food delivery trucks can get into stores today because few supplies have been able to get through for several days, and groceries have a lot of bare shelves.

[Javaman]

7. last I heard is, I might get water back on a limited basis either sometime today or tomorrow.

many many many pipes and mains are still breaking, but the reservoirs are refilling. Once they get to a certain level, they will turn it back on.

keeping fingers crossed

[dalton99a]

8. Most Austin residents have NO water to speak of

Latest update - Most people live in red areas:

[LazySusanNot]

9. Boil Advisory for millions

Thanks for posting this!
I came across a related article yesterday from an NPR/ KERA source:

February 17, 2021 10:50 PM ET
Vanessa Romo

"As of noon today, there were 332 local water systems reporting impacts in 110 counties across the state, 276 issued boil water notices," Toby Baker, who heads the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said during a Wednesday press briefing, NPR member station KERA reported.”

“That means about 7 million people in Texas, including residents of Houston, Arlington, Fort Worth and Tyler, need to boil their water to ensure it's safe to drink.”

(more at link): https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-winter-storms-2021/2021/02/17/968887365/millions-in-texas-under-boil-water-notices-because-of-winter-storm

EDITED TO ADD: Here's a more recent update from the WSJ today:

Texas Cities Under Boil-Water Orders

By Elizabeth Findell and Ken Thomas
Updated Feb. 19, 2021 1:35 am ET

"More than 14 million people in Texas are without safe drinking water, as the fallout of a severe winter storm exacts a historic toll".

https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-cities-under-boil-water-orders-11613671450

[rdking647]

10. they estimate it will be a week or more til out water is safe to drink

basically all the water in austin drained out of the system thru broken mains etc. its going to take a while to repressurize. im just north of austin and the city says a week minimum to boil water. but at least we have running water again here.

[COL Mustard]

11. If You're Still Impacted By This, Please Make Sure You Turn Your Water Off At The Main

Close all your valves in the house, and when things warm up, open them one at a time. This will limit and isolate the damage if you have a burst pipe that you didn't know about.