Flowing water is likely to be restored in Houston by the end of Thursday, city officials announced Wednesday, hours after issuing a boiling water notice for the city’s main distribution system amid water pressure levels.
Residents should experience stronger water pressure throughout the day on Wednesday, which is likely to increase enough to flush toilets, Houston director of public works Carol Haddock said.
The city’s water system is expected to be fully operational by the end of Thursday, although the boiling water notice is likely to last longer.
In the notice, residents are requested to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, boiling and most hygiene purposes until the notice is lifted. As northern weather descended on Texas and power outages affected more than a million residents, the city’s water pressure dropped below the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality’s required minimum of £ 20 per square inch, prompting the mandatory notice, according to Houston. Public Works.
The declining pressure is due to a combination of burst pipes across the city and equipment failures at water distribution facilities during the icy weather, Haddock said.
Mayor Sylvester Turner, who said a pipe burst in his own home, asked residents not to drip their faucet, even as Houstonians were freezing pipes in the city. City officials advised residents to use sprinklers, washing machines, dishwashers or other non-essentials.
Meanwhile, only 42% of households in the Houston area have power, according to CenterPoint Energy, as temperatures drop to freezing point and another ice storm moves across the region. Residents with no power can not boil water and must use bottled water. Haddock advised Houstonians to boil extra water when their power returned.
After the water pressure returns to normal, the state requires a 24-hour observation period on water samples before the boiling water notice can be canceled.
Nearly all parts of Harris County had low water pressure or had no water at all on Wednesday morning as the water supply struggled to work amid a nationwide power crisis, officials said.
“It will not improve until more power is restored,” provincial officials said in a statement.
The announcement was followed by a notice on boiling water issued in Galveston, where the water supply is affected by pipes breaking and water breaks.
According to the boiling water notice, residents should only use bottled or boiled water to drink, cook, brush and clean teeth, according to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Do not use water from any appliance, including water from the fridge or ice made with a freezer. Be careful not to swallow water when bathing or showering.
Mayor Sylvester Turner advised grocery stores to store water.
“We are doing everything we can to divert water to our hospitals,” Turner said, adding that officials are asking people across the city to save their water.
Other local jurisdictions that have issued boiling water notices include La Porte, League City, Nassau Bay, Pearland, several Quail Valley utilities, Harris County WCID – Fondren Road, Fort Bend County WCID # 2 Stafford, Fulshear, Harris County MUD # 122 , Katy and Greatwood-Sugarland, according to Fort Bend County officials.
This is an evolving story. Check back for updates.