Texas storm: Nearly half of Texans remain on boil water advisories as water shortages and freezing temperatures continue

“That’s an incredible amount of water. Nothing that I’ve ever seen before,” he said.

While temperatures in the ’60s and’ 70s should bring relief next week, some Texans face another round of record lows from Friday night to Saturday morning. More than 25 million people were under a severe frost warning until Friday morning for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

In Carrollton, north of Dallas, John Mays, Jon Milton Blackburn and their three children had no heat or water in their home as of Monday morning. To fuel the home, the family resorted to pulling out baseboards to keep warm.

“It was either that or we were going to get the dining room table next,” Mays told CNN’s Don Lemon Thursday.

After a water pipe burst, the family sought refuge in their church and expressed gratitude for the local leaders who provided warming stations.

“In fact, it has been a wonderful learning lesson for us about the importance of community and the importance of staying together as a community,” Mays said.

Water shortage warnings

Authorities warned overnight that although electricity has been largely restored statewide, water supplies remain particularly low.

Waco Mayor Dillon Meek has asked residents, industrial and commercial users to conserve water due to the lack of available supply.

Meek said all companies should reduce water use by at least 50%. He also encouraged car washes and laundromats to stay closed on weekends. Restaurants were asked to use paper plates and other disposable items rather than washing dishes.

“Our water supply is extremely low. We are currently pumping everything we can, but the main issues we are facing right now are leaks and high consumption,” Meek said in a video message Thursday. “We are pumping twice our normal daily use.”

If the situation worsens, some areas may not have water at all depending on the pressures and elevation of the water system, he warned.

“And if the conditions of the system worsen even more than that, the firefighters might not have water to fight the fires,” he said. “Our municipal staff have developed and continue to develop alternative methods of fire protection.”

A department near San Antonio was already at this point.

Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Chief Jerry Bialick said on Thursday that the water supply was the main concern as firefighters tackled a blaze at a large apartment in San Antonio.

“Right now the firewall is working quite well. Our main concern is the water supply, ”said Bialick.

Many standpipes at the scene were frozen and there was no water, Bialick said. The crews had to take to the streets to fill their water reserves.

“That’s our problem. Once we get on the fire a bit, we run out of water,” he said.

Broken pipes and abnormal freezing have 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 CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday that he and his girlfriend were “getting by” and resorted to boiling water after receiving advice from strangers.

He said many of his neighbors had to go to other homes that had electricity, but he voiced concerns about the gatherings given the current Covid-19 pandemic.

“Lack of preparation… our infrastructure just isn’t ready for something like this,” Black said when asked how the water fell on the fan.

Black also posted more photos of his apartment building of flooded hallways, water flowing from ceilings into utility closets and ice on interior entrances.

When asked why he decided to post the footage on social media, Black said, “I think every Texan’s blood should boil that this is the very reality we live in … we are. in a bad situation and it gets worse. “

Government response to storms

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday evening that a state-requested major disaster declaration from the federal government will “allow eligible Texans to seek help to help remedy broken pipes and property damage related, “according to a press release.

President Joe Biden spoke to Abbott about the winter storms on Thursday, and a White House statement said the president “shared his intentions to task other federal agencies to review any immediate steps that could be taken to support the Texans “.

Abbott also intends to ask the legislature “to mandate the wintering of the Texas power system and the legislature to provide the necessary funding for the winterization,” according to the press release.

Abbott spoke earlier Thursday about the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state’s electricity grid, and took ownership of failures to provide heat and power to Texans during storms.

“I take responsibility for the current status of ERCOT. Once again, I find what happened unacceptable,” he said.

“We’ve already started the process to make sure things like this never happen again in Texas, and it starts with reforming the Texas Electric Reliability Agency, which is not. what happened this week, ”Abbott said.

“Five days before the winter storm, the CEO of ERCOT assured ERCOT, and I quote:“ We are ready for the cold temperatures that are coming. “”

CNN has reached out to ERCOT for comment on the governor’s latest statements.

ERCOT officials also said the power grid was “seconds or minutes” away from a catastrophic outage and a complete blackout if not for the controlled outages implemented early Monday.