Whether it’s too much water or too little, high pressure or low pressure, or simply the wrong shape, water was a major issue for Texans during this ongoing disaster.
About 590 local water systems in 141 provinces reported outages in their service, affecting approximately 11.8 million residents.
Here’s a look at how water problems have made a difficult crisis for millions of people even worse.
Firefighters, hospitals and airports are all struggling
With burst pipes, no generators and even frozen fire hydrants, water pressure across the state has taken a hit.
For firefighters at the San Antonio Fire Department, low water pressure due to the cold meant they had to do more with less.
“Our normal attack would include multiple snakes and a lot of water on the fire, so of course we just had to adjust,” spokesman Joseph Arrington said.
Meanwhile, flights at Houston Hobby Airport have been canceled or diverted due to a lack of water.
Hospitals are also not safe for the problems. Judge Lina Hidalgo, judge of Harris, called the low water pressure ‘a huge problem’ for hospitals, and asked the community to stop dripping taps in an effort to keep the water pressure down.
Some use melted snow and pool water to drink and flush toilets
Low water pressure has complicated basic needs such as the use of the bathroom.
At McMurry University in Abilene, residents use melted snow and water from a campus pool to flush toilets, with soccer team members and other volunteers transporting water to residences.
But the lack of water also means the campus had to turn off a boiler to a residence that supplies the dormitory heat. The school has consequently opened a warm-up facility for residents.
And they are not the only ones who get creative.
In Crestview, Smita Pande told CNN she and others may have to use melted snow to drink water when their bottled water is up.
‘We did not expect the water to shut off, but as soon as it happened, we adopted a’ worst case ‘type and just grabbed snow from the balcony and threw it into kettles and pots to drink water in case we got not water back soon, ‘said Pande. “If the power outage is an indication of how long it’s going to be, we’re going to boil some snow for a while.”
Brenda Aly, from San Antonio, finds herself in a similar situation by using a neighbor’s pool water and snow to fill and wash toilet tanks.
“Every time we sit in our cars in the driveway for heat and to charge our phones,” she said. “Once we go through our bottled water, snow is the only drinking water option until we get water back or can open the stores.”
As pipes freeze, ceilings collapse
However, the problem does not stop with hydration.
Sandra Erickson, who lives in Friendswood, just outside Houston, said it got so cold in the house she rents with her husband that the pipes burst, causing the ceiling in three rooms to collapse.
“We could hear water running down between the walls,” Erickson said.
Power had just flickered, she said Wednesday, but they have been without it since Monday. She also does not have much confidence in staying on.
“We’re in the house and have the fireplace for a little warmth,” she said. “We have nowhere to go.”
And they are not alone. Hidalgo, a judge in Harris County, said more than a million homes had no power and were therefore experiencing water problems as some pipes burst from the cold.
“So we see the secondary and further effects of the power. The pipes burst, for example, because the water freezes,” she said. “Others have low pressure because the generators that support the pressure are not available. Many of our cities … report problems.”
About 7 million Texans are under boiling water advice
As of Wednesday, nearly 7 million Texans are currently affected by boiling water notices, said Texas Environment Commissioner Toby Baker – a particularly bad number, as many could cook without water.
More than 260,000 people in the state have been affected by non-operational water systems, a number that has risen dramatically in the past 24 hours.
In Waco, Mayor Dillon Meek is appealing to residents to delay their use of water, after a false rumor said the water would be permanently cut off.
The city’s system needs time to recharge, Meek said. If the capacity at the treatment plants were to drop again, the city would have to go under boiling water notifications.
Meanwhile, the water supply at Galveston places exceptionally low water breaks and system outages.
Even as soon as the water returns, the city will have an advice for boiling water, reads a statement.
CNN’s Carma Hassan, Paul P. Murphy, Keith Allen, Andy Rose and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.