Millions under winter weather alerts as Texas faces water crisis

Hospitals in Texas are grappling with a series of issues, including water, staffing and supply chain disruptions, due to severe winter weather across the state, Carrie Williams, spokesperson for the Texas Hospital Association, said in a statement Friday.

Many hospitals don't have running water or are facing low water pressure or pipes have burst, according to the statement. The hospitals are also under boil-water notices.

Williams said that there are also issues with staffing as some staff have had to stay on site in order to care for patients, putting a strain on food, linens and water.

There are also issues with supplies and medication stocks running low, although there are some supply trucks moving today, Williams said.

Covid-19 vaccinations have been delayed across many hospitals and public health partners due to weather and shipping delays.

Patients who were discharged have stayed in hospital lobbies because they either don't have transportation to return home or can't return home due to power outages, according to Williams. 

There is also a delay in trash pickup due to vendor issues, Williams said.

Williams said that while there are challenges related to dialysis services and plasma/platelet supplies, the hospital association doesn't have more specific details on those issues.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday he's still waiting for President Biden to sign a federal disaster declaration for the state.

He said Biden called him Thursday to tell him he was going to approve the major disaster declaration.

Biden said he spoken with Abbott on Thursday night. The President said he would ask acting-Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Bob Fenton on Friday afternoon to accelerate its response to the request from Abbott for a major disaster declaration. Biden already approved an emergency declaration for the state over the weekend, but the major disaster declaration would allow FEMA to provide more resources and assistance.

The Democratic mayor of Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation, says he still has not spoken with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, even as a boil-water notice remains in effect for the city's 2.3 million residents and thousands remain without power. 

"I have not spoken to him," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "I have had several conversations with the Biden administration. Several of them. So I have had those conversations but I've not had an opportunity to speak with the governor."

Regardless of Abbott's silence so far, Turner said he remained willing and ready to work with the administration to solve the region's water and power issues.

More than 14.9 million people have been impacted by disruptions across more than 1,300 public water systems, Tiffany Young, spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, told CNN in an email Friday evening.

Water systems in 159 counties have also been impacted in Texas, Young said.

Some background: Authorities warned overnight that, while power has been largely restored, water supplies remain especially low.

Some hospitals have been operating without water service. As of Thursday afternoon, that included Houston Methodist West and Houston Methodist Baytown hospitals, said hospital system representative Gale Smith.

"They have been creative, from trucking water in for consumption to collecting rainwater to use for flushing toilets," Smith said. Both facilities, Smith said, were "still effectively caring for our patients."

In Austin alone, the state capital's water supply lost 325 million gallons due to burst pipes, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said during a news conference Thursday.

In Houston, the fire department received almost 5,000 reports of broken pipes, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday at a water distribution event.

 Approximately 165,000 Texas households remain without power Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference.

Abbott reiterated that there are no longer any residential power outages due to the lack of power generation but may persist as the result of downed power lines or the need for the power company to manually reconnect the residence to the power system.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CNN today that the state's power grid, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), is an agency of the state, and that it cannot be the scapegoat for lack of leadership from state elected officials.

Turner was a state legislator in 1999 when energy was deregulated in the state, introducing retail competition to the electricity market. 

When asked whether Turner now has second thoughts on that, he said he thought it was the right decision, but also recognized the need for greater oversight over ERCOT.

Turner explained that he introduced a bill in 2011 that would have mandated ERCOT have enough energy capacity to prevent blackouts, but said the bill never got a hearing.

"It was designed for summer heat, not for winter storms,” he added.

Asked whether ERCOT should be part of the national grid, Turner said that the closed system in Texas is archaic and needs to be upgraded.

In reaction to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s trip to Cancun, Turner said, “It’s good to have him back."

Turner continued: "People who are fighting to stay warm, taking care of their families, looking for a way to move forward, if nothing else, they expect their leaders to be where they are, to remain on the ship and not to abandon the ship so you can have some comfort.”

The mayor added that this has been a difficult week amid a difficult year. 

"This has been a hard week, ok? I’ve dealt with Harvey, I’ve dealt with social civil unrest, the coronavirus for almost a year, and now dealing this week. This has been a hard week," he said.

After millions of homes and businesses lost power for several days this week in Texas, about half of the state’s residents are now dealing with undrinkable water, broken pipes, and offline treatment plants.

Much of the state is still dealing with near-freezing temperatures and officials are warning some lingering power outages could drag on for days.

Here are the latest updates on the situation in Texas:

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said that she spoke with the White House yesterday and requested additional resources to respond to the weather damage in her area, including direct individual assistance to help those impacted by the weather emergency.

Hidalgo said during a virtual call with other county officials that she has requested a 100% reimbursement rather than 75% reimbursement because they are already overburdened because of Covid-19.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

While power outages have mostly been restored, the county continues to deal with water and food issues, Hidalgo said.

She asked all residents to assume they are under a boil water advisory unless they know otherwise.

It should be a few days before water issues are resolved, Hidalgo said, noting that some of the damage to pipes hasn't yet been identified and there is another cold night forecasted for tonight. 

Once all leaks are identified and pressure is restored to the system, bacterial sampling will still need to be done to lift boil water advisories, Hidalgo explained.

One district has begun using their potable water trucks that they would normally use for projects such as sink hole work and watering down roads to provide residents with non-drinking water to flush toilets and conserve the drinking water they do have, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner R. Jack Cagle said during the call.

Cagle and Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey both said they are planning to reopen parks to give people a place to go outside of their homes. Ramsey also said that he was opening community centers so people can access WiFi if needed.

Food availability has also been an issue because grocery stores lost power and food delivery trucks were unable to deliver shipments due to the roads, according to Hidalgo.

She said major grocery stores expect to be caught up with supplies this weekend.

Hidalgo reminded residents not to hoard food and only buy what they need for their families.

As of 2:30 p.m ET, at least 179,316 customers are without power in Texas, according to Poweroutage.us.

An additional 281,373 customers are without power in Mississippi, Oregon, Louisiana, and Kentucky. 

Here's a look at the top areas with outages: