Water service remained disrupted for nearly a third of Texas residents Sunday evening, a lingering consequence of the widespread power outages from devastating winter weather and an unprepared infrastructure.
While that number decreased by several million over the course of the day, more than 1,200 public water systems still reported disruptions in service, with many leading to boil-water notices, according to Gary Rasp, media specialist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The issues were still affecting more than 8.8 million people – or roughly a third of the state’s population of 29 million – spread across 199 counties as of 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Sunday. Rasp said 258 boil-water notices had been rescinded.
Houston announced Sunday afternoon it had lifted its boil-water notice effective immediately. “Water quality testing submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe to drink,” the city said in a news release.
Galveston also lifted its boil-water notice midday Sunday and is removing water restrictions, according to a post on the city’s Facebook page.
The water issues are part of the sprawling impacts of extensive blackouts: families forced to sleep in frigid homes and cars, scavenge for a hot meal, forgo medical treatment or use melted snow to flush the toilet.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said around 30,000 people remained without power in his state.
“Based upon the speed that I’ve seen power get restored, I suspect that all power will be fully restored across the state of Texas to every house either later tonight or tomorrow,” Abbott said.
The governor said water services were being restored throughout Texas and that more than 3 million bottles of water had been distributed in an effort by the Texas National Guard, US Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
