Water pressure improving across city
But many residents still haven’t had access for a few days; officials call for conservation
Houston’s water pressure levels began to rebound Thursday after falling low enough the day before to prompt a citywide boil-water advisory, though many residents still spent a third or fourth straight day without access to running water.
The city water crisis showed early signs of abating after Houston Public Works gained five new generators overnight and brought four water well stations back online by Thursday morning, increasing the average city water pressure to 26 pounds per square inch by 10 a.m., Public Works Director Carol Haddock said at a news conference.
The rate was not enough to restore water access to most Houstonians, but it marked an increase from the citywide pressure level of 18 psi recorded at the end of Wednesday — low enough to pose the risk of contaminants forcing their way into pipes and under the state threshold that triggers a boil-water advisory.
Despite the steady progress, Houston was slated to return Thursday night to the same freezing weather that originally had caused water pressure to plummet by bursting pipes and damaging city water equipment. Temperatures were expected to drop to the mid- to high 20s in Houston overnight, according to Matt Lanza of the Space City Weather blog.
Haddock did not indicate the cold weather posed a threat to the city’s water distribution system, despite having caused equipment failures earlier in the week. However, she advised those who have avoided burst pipes so far to turn off their water and drain their pipes Thursday evening.
“You can turn them back on in the morning,” Haddock said. “Your pipes can’t burst if there’s no water in them to freeze.”
She and Mayor Sylvester Turner pleaded with Houston residents to conserve water by using it only for “truly critical functions” and turning off water mains in the event of a burst pipe. As water pressure gradually returns, the system could become strained if residents across the city rush to take showers and turn
on their faucets at the same time, a Public Works spokeswoman said.
“I want all Houstonians to understand that we absolutely understand how critical access to safe drinking water is for basic health and safety,” Haddock said. “And so it’s really important that we as a city, once again, we ask you to come together on everything that attacks the city of Houston, and Houstonians stand up every single time.”
As crews worked to improve water pressure levels, the city focused first on supplying water to hospitals and fire hydrants, after some Houston-area hospitals canceled nonurgent surgeries and other procedures amid water shortages Wednesday. The Houston Fire Department also has seen an uptick in structure fires during the winter storm, Chief Sam Peña said.
CenterPoint Energy, the utility company that supplies electricity to the Houston area, restored power for 98 percent of its customers by Thursday morning, allowing those with water access to safely boil their water.
Much of the Houston region remains under boilwater advisories, including Galveston and most municipalities in Harris County. Houston most likely will remain under its advisory until Monday, Turner said. The city cannot lift the advisory until Houston’s water system reaches a stable pressure of 35 psi, at which point it must draw water samples and ensure bacteria does not grow in the samples for 24 hours.
Progress in fully restoring water pressure also will have a bearing on whether students return to Houstonarea schools Monday. Education leaders said decisions on whether to open school doors Monday will depend on whether they have enough water service
to flush toilets and if boilwater advisories are lifted.
A survey of local districts Thursday revealed most schools escaped major damage from ruptured water pipes, though some area campuses are likely to remain closed after suffering extensive damage.
Mike Harris, a master plumber with Roto-Rooter in the Houston region, echoed Haddock in recommending residents shut off their home’s water main. The shut-off valve “looks like a sprinkler box and is usually in front of your home by the street,” he said, and the process requires pliers.
Harris said residents should turn on all their faucets after shutting off the main line to let the remaining water out of their pipes. And he advised those with running water to inspect the pipes throughout their home for leaks while letting the water run.
Half the faucets stopped working in Edgar Salvador’s house near Aldine Bender and Interstate 45 on Saturday night. By Sunday, the rest stopped working, too.
Salvador, his wife and four children went to his sister’s house, where the water flowing out of her faucets was “like a string.” They kept it running and took shifts filling buckets and boiling the water. Salvador was able to bathe once by pouring cooled water into buckets and into cups, and his family waited two hours to buy one 24pack of bottled water Wednesday.
Their power and water came back on that day, but the liquid coming out of the taps Thursday was light brown, with black flecks.
“It smells like dirt, like how it smells after it rains,” said Salvador, who is a plumber. “It looks dirty, with sediments from iron.”
Thursday was the first day Saldavor’s family could buy a more significant amount of water — five 24packs for $7 apiece, from
the back of a stranger’s truck.
Alex Ortega, 27, hoped to buy more reasonably priced water and food at the H-E-B in Third Ward.
He and his two roommates lost water Sunday but got enough of a drip back Wednesday to fill a 5gallon tank in 15 minutes.
They started the week with five cases of water, eventually going through two and refilling the tanks three times.
“We boiled water and put it in the tanks, small containers, cups — whatever we could find, so I was able to shower,” Ortega said.
In an attempt to help ease the burden, city officials Thursday distributed tens of thousands of bottles of water throughout Houston. At Turner’s direction, all 11 district City Council members set up distribution sites at community centers, churches and other buildings to distribute packs of bottled water. Each council office gave out about three pallets, or more than 6,000 bottles.
Turner said he planned to set up a fund, similar to one established by the city after Hurricane Harvey, to help cover home repairs for those who suffered damage from burst pipes during the storm.
Still, local officials said they lacked the resources to help Houstonians fully recover. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday urged representatives from the White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency to approve a major disaster declaration for Texas, which would unlock a massive amount of federal resources for Harris County and the rest of the state. Gov. Greg Abbott also has asked the Biden administration to approve the declaration.