Texas officials gave an update Saturday on the state’s response to winter weather that led to widespread power outages and created water issues for millions.
As of Saturday morning, the storm had been linked to at least 27 deaths in the state, and food and safe drinking water were in short supply for many. Seven million people — roughly a quarter of the entire state’s population — remained under a boil water advisory, limiting their access to safe water.
Residents with no water dropped from 350,000 to 156,000 overnight, according to Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Baker said Texas has now partnered with enough labs to test samples from more than 1,000 of the state’s 7,000 public water systems still under a boil water notice.
Baker said the state has never seen a winter weather event of this magnitude. “We’re not the northeast, we’re not Minnesota,” he said, calling the storm a “huge learning experience.”
A “full review” of the regulations that allowed millions to go without power for days has been called for. Governor Greg Abbott has issued an executive order which added emergency items to the state’s legislative session asking the legislature to investigate ERCOT’s preparation and response to the storm.
“If this happens again in our lifetime we will be prepared for it,” Baker said.
President Joe Biden has declared that Texas is experiencing a major disaster.
People in 77 of the state’s 254 counties will be eligible for federal funding to help with recovery efforts. The assistance includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, as well as “low-cost loans” to cover uninsured property losses, the White House said Saturday in a statement.
Li Cohen contributed reporting.
