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On the fifth day of a statewide super crisis, Austin Water customers are experiencing either a water outage or low pressure in addition to a citywide boil water notice, which has been in effect since Wednesday evening.
Although Austin Water announced that production is up, service has returned to three major hospitals and pressure has been restored "in major pipelines that are the backbone of our water distribution system." The local utility forecasts it will be "a multi-day long process to restore water service," at which point the boil water notice may be lifted.
For many residents, this news arrives as their power is being restored. Austin Energy reports that more than 96% of its customers have power as of Friday morning, leaving more than 18,000 without. Meanwhile, rising temperatures and ongoing efforts to distribute food and water offer glimmers of hope.
Water update
A citywide boil water notice remains in effect and tens of thousands of Austin Water customers are experiencing outages, Director Greg Meszaros said Thursday afternoon. The remainder are experiencing low pressure.
This map shows how the water system is currently performing. Each zone is an area experiencing outages (red) or low pressure (orange). The goal is for each zone to get to green again, where the system is operating normally & the boil water notice can be lifted. pic.twitter.com/KFtkWMg1fA
— Austin Water (@AustinWater) February 19, 2021
Restoring water for these customers will take days as the utility works to repair leaks in the system, refill reservoirs that drained due to leaks and restore pressure.
Early Friday morning, Austin Water announced on Twitter that:
- Its three water treatment plants are operating in a stable mode and produced 86 million gallons of water in the previous 12 hours (more than half of their normal daily production this time of the year)
- It was able to restore water service to three major hospitals on Thursday
- It was also able to restore water pressure in major pipelines that feed all parts of the city
- Crews are working to fix water main breaks and help customers who need their water service turned off because of busted pipes
"We made progress today but we still have many challenges to overcome," the utility wrote.
Once Austin Water is able to restore pressure, the utility will have to go through a sampling and testing process as required by state law before it can lift the boil water notice. Texas Commission of Environmental Quality Executive Director Toby Baker said there are only 135 labs in the state that can do the necessary sampling, which means such notices could linger, according to the Texas Tribune; approximately 12 million Texans across nearly 600 public water systems were experiencing disruptions as of Wednesday afternoon.
With 18,165 Austin Energy customers still without power to boil water and many area grocery stores wiped clean in recent days, Austinites are in need of safe drinking water and other provisions.
The Texas Department of Emergency Management is due to deliver two 18-wheelers full of water from a FEMA site in Fort Worth Friday morning, Travis County Judge Andy Brown announced during a Facebook live on Thursday evening.
City officials have also ordered one million gallons of water in 16-ounce bottles from six states in the Southeastern U.S. that are due to arrive this weekend. "Trucks are on their way," Brown said.
National Guard members are also helping to get a "flotilla of delivery trucks" full of food from H-E-B storehouses in Temple and San Antonio to Austin, Adler said.
You can find places offering water in town today here.
Power update
Austin Energy reports that 96.45% of its customers have power, as of 8:40 a.m. on Friday, and that its crews were able to restore power to about half of its affected customers overnight. This is a significant improvement from earlier in the week when, at the peak of the energy crisis, more than 40% of the utility's customers were experiencing outages. This still leaves 18,165 customers without power, however.
Officials at the Electric Resource Council of Texas, which maintains around 90% of the state's power grid, announced Thursday morning that they are no longer requiring outages to prevent a total grid collapse and that utility companies can restore service to those customers impacted by such mandates.
Remaining power outages are likely due to circuit damage caused by inclement weather—trees on power lines, blown line fuses, etc.—that will require on-site repairs, which take time, Austin Energy tweeted Thursday morning. "Process can still take several more days to get everyone back online," according to the thread.
⚡Many of the customers who are still without power have issues, such as trees on power lines, line fuses that need to be replaced, etc. This repair process takes time.
⚡Process can still take several more days to get everyone back online.
(2/4) pic.twitter.com/S5MZgu0Gun
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) February 19, 2021
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(AUSTIN, TEXAS) Austonia has hired Claire Partain as a reporter covering Austin FC, the MLS expansion team that will be Austin's first major league sports franchise.
Partain is a former sports editor for the The University Star, Texas State University's daily newspaper. She edited, covered sports, produced podcasts, and hosted a pre-game TXST football tailgate live series. Partain has been freelancing with the company since January, prior to accepting a staff position.
A native of Fairfield, Texas, Partain grew up playing youth soccer. In her high school years, she played alongside her mother in what was then called the Freestone County Hispanic Women's Soccer League.
Claire's coverage philosophy: "I like to bring out the humanity of sports, and I want to make this the most accessible sports coverage possible."
She notes that soccer is the predominant sport for young people. "It's a global sport, and we're more connected to the world than older generations."
That approach fits the team's already visible presence in Austin, says Austonia CEO Mark Dewey. "Austin FC has established itself as a leading Austin brand, one that stands for a more unified Austin community, a bigger global presence for Austin and fun. Austonia shares those values."
Partain's soccer coverage begins immediately, with her free, hosted text service—Austonia FC. For updates, special access and inside info, all moderated by Claire, sign up below.
Austonia is the city's independent, free, locally-owned and all-digital source for Austin news, information and entertainment.
Connect with Austonia through its daily email newsletter and text updates, @austonianews Instagram feed, @austonianews and @austinist Twitter feeds, @austonianews Facebook page and its website austonia.com.
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Austin Public Health will release another batch of first dose COVID-19 vaccine appointments for Thursday on Wednesday evening. A department spokesperson estimates between 3,000 and 4,000 slots will be available.
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