OVER a third of Texans still remain without water on Sunday even as state government officials promise less disruptions while the state enters its second week with frigid temperatures and people still without power.
While a number of people have had water restored to their homes, more than 1,200 public water systems in the state still reported disruptions in their service, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported.
Over 8.8 million Texans, or about one third of the state's 29 million people, reported outages, spread across 199 counties in the state.
Over 250 boil-water notices were rescinded, TCEQ's media specialist Gary Rasp noted, but still was not enough for others living without water.
Houston had lifted its boil-water notice as of Sunday afternoon, saying "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" in a statement.
Still, many Texans are growing in their resentment towards Texas Governor Greg Abbott, asking "where is Abbott" and demanding answers among heat and water from the state's officials.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz got plenty of heat after he ditched his freezing constituents for sunny Cancun, only to return after receiving plenty of backlash.
President Joe Biden on Saturday declared Texas a major disaster, which would provide federal funding to 77 counties across the state. It will also allocate additional funding for more counties should disaster assessments take place.
“I thank President Biden for his assistance as we respond to impacts of winter weather across our state,” Abbott said in a statement.
“While this partial approval is an important first step, Texas will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure all eligible Texans have access to the relief they need.”
As other cities like Galveston join Houston in lifting their notices, millions of Texans are still sleeping in frigid temperatures as they scavenge for hot meals and use snow to flush toilets.
Abbott said about 30,000 people still remain without power in the state as of Sunday, just as resentment towards him and other state officials continues to grow.
"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," he said.
Abbott said more than three million bottles of water were being distributed by the Texas National Guard, the Department of Defense and FEMA, but many argue it's still not enough to cover people going without necessities.
Given that many Texans are now experiencing sky-high energy bills, and the resentment towards the state's officials and companies continues to grow, Abbot announced a moratorium on shutting off power for non-payment.
"Texans who have suffered through days of freezing cold without power should not be subjected to skyrocketing energy bills due to a spike in the energy market," Abbott said.
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