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Issues remain for some Austin Water customers after boil notice lifts
Though the boil water notice was lifted city-wide Tuesday, many Austin Water customers still face issues in the aftermath of the winter storm.
AUSTIN, Texas - The boil water notice for the entire Austin service area was lifted Tuesday, but there are still some residents with no water even to boil.
Fiona Zhu and her husband said their complex told them they are dealing with plumbing problems. "Their pipe got busted or something like that and they are trying to fix it. They sent out five or six teams of plumbers. Their worker said the pipes won’t hold. If they don't hold you're out of luck until tomorrow," said Timothy Donnelly, Zhu’s husband.
They said Tuesday afternoon the water was turned back on, but off again as plumbers worked to make repairs to the damage the freezing temps inflicted.
They have been saying in a nearby hotel. "We're a low-income family, we lost almost everything just paying for the hotel," said Donnelly.
Amy Dominguez said her apartment flooded on Tuesday after pipes burst. "Tuesday afternoon about 5. They couldn’t get the water turned off until 8:00. So that was two hours of water just pouring into my bedroom. There were several residents who had issues, they told me mine was the worst," said Dominguez.
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Water quality remains a concern for some Austin Water customers
Even though the boil water notice has lifted, some Austin Water customers still have concerns about what's coming from the tap.
Paige Ellis said she is getting multiple reports of this same issue in District 8.
"There are still so many apartment complexes that have had busted pipes that still need to be fixed and water damage they are still trying to work through. With apartment complexes sometimes what will happen with a broken pipe is the entire building has to be turned off of water service," said Ellis.
Ellis said the recovery from this event is only just beginning. She has been out giving out water to those still without. "District 8 was the first area to go on boil water notice and very quickly it turned into the situation where most of the district was without water as was most of the city. Since then we have been the last to come back online," said Ellis.
But one thing she has been glad to see is neighbors helping neighbors.
Residents just want the city and state to be better prepared for the inevitable. "I'd like to see better leadership from Congress. It's embarrassing that our own senator ran off in the midst of all this when people were freezing in their homes," said Donnelly.
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Energy expert talks about Texas moving forward after winter storm
The state's power grid hit a breaking point and many are asking what's next and how does Texas move forward? Energy Fellow at the University of Houston Ed Hirs shares some insight.