Nearly half of Texas hit by water shortages

HOUSTON: Nearly half the population of Texas was coping with disrupted water service on Friday in the latest fallout from a crippling winter storm that caused five days of blackouts before the state’s embatled power grid finally sprang back to life.

All power plants in the state were once again functioning, although more than 195,000 homes were still without electricity on Friday morning, while more than 14.4 million people in 160 of the state’s 254 counties were experiencing disruptions in water service, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Jennifer Jordan, a 54-year old resident of Midlothian just south of Dallas, said she and her husband were among those still without power, even though the family’s online account with the provider indicated their issues had been “resolved.”

“I have no power at my house - not one drop of power,” the high school special-education teacher said in an interview. “It’s really hard. You are really longing to get a hot shower, eat a hot meal.”

Ice that downed power lines during the week and other issues have utility workers scrambling to reconnect homes to power, while Texas’ powerful oil and gas sector has looked for ways to renew production.

Hospitals in some hard-hit areas ran out of water and transferred patients elsewhere, while millions of people were ordered to boil water to make it safe for drinking. Water-treatment plants were knocked offline this week, potentially allowing harmful bacteria to proliferate.

In Houston, a mass distribution of botled water was planned at Delmar Stadium on Friday for residents needing drinkable water, the city’s Office of Emergency Management said.

Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, said she was pleased with progress in the past 24 hours, but warned residents to brace for more hardship.

“The grid is still fragile,” she said, noting that cold weather would remain in the area for a few days, which would “put pressure on these power plants that have just come back on.”