Texas faces “plumbing catastrophe,” food shortages after devastating storm – Millions of gallons leak from Austin water system – “It’s safe to say we’ve literally never seen anything like this”
By Suzanne Gamboa and Corky Siemaszko
25 February 2021
SAN ANTONIO (NBC News) – The number of Texans who were boiling their water to make it safe to drink plunged to 3 million Wednesday from 8 million the day before as platoons of plumbers and engineers worked around the clock to repair the countless homes and businesses damaged by a cruel winter storm.
Many Texans also faced food shortages as grocery stores tried to stay stocked, huge crowds descended on food pantries, and the pandemic continued to threaten a state where, according to the latest NBC News data, nearly 43,000 people have died of Covid-19 and 2.6 million people have been infected.
Some 13,000 people were without any running water Wednesday after the public water systems they rely on were rendered “nonoperational” by the unseasonably cold winter blast, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported.
And in some places where the water was recently restored, what was coming out of the tap left a lot to be desired.
“The water itself, it’s really coming out all yellow,” San Antonio mom Evelyn Esquivel said Tuesday.
But at least Esquivel had water. Water service in rural areas is being restored at a much slower pace, officials said.
“It’s safe to say we’ve literally never seen anything like this,” Toby Baker, the executive director of the environmental quality commission, told NBC affiliate KXAN on Tuesday in the state capital, Austin. “So our regional offices are systematically trying to reach out and being proactive to try and reach those smaller, rural water systems to say, ‘Hey, what do you need?’”
Still, the commission reported that considerable progress had been made since Saturday, when 1,445 public water systems reported service disruptions due to the cold, affecting 14.4 million Texans across 190 counties.
Also, while power had been restored in much of Texas after the state’s power grid buckled in the face of historically low temperatures, many people have also been hit with massive electricity bills because scarce power means higher prices in the state’s market-based system. […]
“Nearly half of the residents in one of the largest states in the U.S. are experiencing a plumbing catastrophe due to burst pipes from freezing temperatures and significant power outages,” said George Greene IV of Water Mission, a South Carolina-based Christian engineering organization that normally works in developing countries on safe water and sanitation community development projects, and responds to disasters where emergency safe water access is needed.
“Not having water in your home means you can’t flush toilets, shower, or wash clothes,” said Greene. [more]
Texas faces ‘plumbing catastrophe,’ food shortages after devastating storm
Millions of gallons have leaked from burst water pipes in just one Texas city: ‘That is an incredible amount of water’
By Ryan W. Miller
18 February 2021
(USA TODAY) – A historic cold snap in Texas left millions of residents without power in freezing weather, many of whom will soon face costly flood damage, even as rising temperatures offer a respite from the cold.
Reports of frozen and burst water pipes in Texas homes and businesses are widespread, and the upcoming thaw may further open the floodgates – quite literally, experts said.
“It is going to be crazy for a little while down there,” said Paul Abrams, director of public relations at Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Water Cleanup. “I would bet it’s pretty similar to the effects of a hurricane.” […]
In Austin, pipe leaks — both in the water system and in homes — have been blamed for continuing water outages in the city.
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Austin Water saw 325 million gallons leak out of the system. Residents typically use about 100 million gallons a day.
“That is an incredible amount of water and nothing I’ve ever seen before at that rate,” Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said, “So that’s what we’re managing is to not return to that state of affairs, where 100 million gallons of water could leak out of our system in one night.”
The Insurance Council of Texas, a nonprofit trade association, said the number of claims due to frozen and burst pipes will be “unlike any event the state has experienced.” [more]
