(CNN) – Water service continued to be interrupted for nearly a third of Texans from Sunday evening, a persistent result of widespread power outages caused by devastating winter weather and unprepared infrastructure.
While that number dropped by several million during the day, more than 1,200 public water systems still reported failures, many of which led to the use of boiling water advice, said Gary Rasp, media specialist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. .
The problems continued to affect more than 8.8 million people, or about a third of the state’s 29 million residents, spread across 199 counties as of 7:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. Miami) Sunday. Grater said 258 cooking notices had been canceled.
Houston announced Sunday afternoon that it had lifted its boiling water warning with immediate effect. “Water quality tests filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) have confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe to drink,” the city said in a press release.
Galveston also lifted its boiling water warning on Sunday afternoon and lifted water restrictions, according to a post on the city’s Facebook page.
Water problems are part of the growing consequences of power outages: families are forced to sleep in icy houses and cars, rummage for hot food, forgo medical treatment, or use melted snow for the toilet.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that about 30,000 people were still without power in his state.
“Based on the speed at which I have seen power restored, I suspect that power will be fully restored to every home in the state of Texas, either later tonight or tomorrow,” Abbott said.
The governor said water services are being restored across Texas and more than 3 million bottles of water have been distributed in a joint effort by the Texas National Guard, the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Agency for Emergency Management (FEMA).
The warmer weather and the return of electricity have brought some relief to the Texans, but many are left without clean water or in homes damaged by broken pipes and flooding.
So does Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a Republican, who told CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday that her own home was under water. She said her insurance will cover the damage, but that may not be the case for other Texans.
“At some point we’ll need plumbers and additional resources, but there will have to be dollars to help these people who can’t afford this themselves … and that will have to come from the federal government,” Price said.
At his press conference Sunday, Abbott said residents with broken pipes and uninsured may qualify for a discount from FEMA.
“We have received FEMA assistance from the federal government, and part of that is individual assistance that will help people whose homes or apartments have been damaged by the winter storm,” he said.
Broken pipes and surprising electricity bills
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, noted that water problems were widespread.
“Let me just say that at this point, with so many houses in the city with broken pipes due to freezing weather and major leaks, we need major water damage, a lot of plumbing material and supplies,” he said.
“We have several licensed plumbers, but we could use more,” said Turner. “Most importantly, even with plumbers, it is very difficult to find the necessary materials and supplies.”
Additionally, some Texans are facing unprecedented price increases in their electricity bills as a result of the recent storm. DeAndre Upshaw, a Dallas resident, said he received a $ 7,000 bill from his electric utility, which charges customers at a market-based rate.
The Texas public utilities regulator, the Texas Public Utilities Commission, said on Saturday that it is investigating “the factors that, in conjunction with the devastating winter weather, are disrupting energy flow to millions of homes in Texas.”
Moratorium on disconnections
Abbott announced in her press conference on Sunday that the state commission on public utilities had issued a moratorium on disconnecting customers for non-payment to address the “skyrocketing utility bills” that some Texans would be facing.
He said the committee would also restrict electricity suppliers from sending bills to customers at this point.
“Texans who have experienced very cold days without power should not be subject to skyrocketing utility bills as a result of a revival of the energy market,” Abbott said.
The governor said he had an emergency meeting with legislators “to protect Texas families from outrageous bills” as a result of the winter storms.
“This is something that is accelerating, lawmakers are working as we speak … We will have meetings this week to find out, as well as to bring help and support to Texans,” Abbott said.
When asked about legislation to restore the state’s electricity infrastructure, Abbott said, “We will not end this session until the state of Texas – and all of its power generation facilities – are fully winterized.”
In a subsequent statement, the commission said it had issued a series of orders “to protect Texas electricity customers while state leaders discuss solutions to the financial toll of the winter storm on the grid.”
In addition to the moratorium, the committee recommended the continuation of a covid-19 measure requiring electricity suppliers to offer customers deferment of payment when requested.
It has also “strongly encouraged” retail electricity suppliers to delay billing for residential and small business electricity customers.
“The order and guidelines are intended to be temporary, probably until the end of this week, to absorb potential financial shocks that are particularly challenging at this extremely difficult time,” said President DeAnn Walker.
The winter weather has also caused long delays in the application of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, but this is only temporary, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Sunday.
“The figure is six million doses that have been delayed, we’ve already released two million and we expect to catch up by mid-week,” Fauci told NBC’s Chuck Todd.
CNN’s Anjali Huynh, Chuck Johnston and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.