Millions of Texans still without drinking water after winter storm

Millions of Texans went without drinking water on Sunday as state officials sought to speed up bottled water delivery and calm residents who saw electricity bills rise in the wake of a severe storm winter that left the state beaten.

Boil water advisories have been lifted for about 5 million of the 14.9 million people who were told their water was not drinkable two days ago, said Toby Baker, executive director of the State Commission on Environmental Quality at a press conference on Sunday.

The advisories were issued after days of record high temperatures damaged the state’s water infrastructure.

Nearly 3.5 million bottles of water have been distributed by helicopter, plane and truck across the state, Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday.

The announcement came as sprawling lines were visible at distribution sites in parts of Texas. Austin city councilor Vanessa Fuentes posted a video showing dozens of cars outside a football complex south of downtown Austin.

Nearly 700 cases were handed out before the event even started at 11 a.m., she said, and at another site, cars started lining up five hours before the distribution started.

“The impact of this devastating crisis will be felt for days,” she tweeted.

In Houston, officials said a boil water advisory that had been issued since Wednesday was lifted after tests found the city’s tap water met regulatory standards, while in San Antonio, about a third of the city’s 1.5 million people were still on boil-water, Baker mentioned.

Abbott said customers who saw their electricity rates skyrocket after huge swathes of the state lost power last week – and demand increased in the market-based system of Texas – would be safe from “unreasonable” bills.

In some cases, these invoices exceeded $ 10,000.

Disconnections related to non-payments will be halted, he said, adding that he met on Saturday with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who had agreed to fast-track legislation.

President Joe Biden signed a Major Disaster Declaration making federal funding available to counties hit hard by last week’s storm. More than 4 million customers have lost power and at least 22 people have died due to the state’s winter weather conditions.