In Texas and Mississippi, Hundreds of Thousands Still Have No Water Weeks After Winter Storms

[thackney]

In Texas and Mississippi, Hundreds of Thousands Still Have No Water Weeks After Winter Storms
https://weather.com/news/news/2021-03-02-winter-storms-aftermath-water-outages-jackson-mississippi-houston-texas

n the weeks following two deadly and devastating winter storms, millions of people across the South have seen their power restored. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands remain without clean water.

From Texas to Mississippi, cities are telling residents they still need to boil water after the frigid weather cracked water mains, froze equipment and shut down treatment plants.

For many more, boiling water would be a welcome burden. They have no running water at all after their pipes froze and burst during the storms.

In Jackson, Mississippi, where 96 water main breaks or leaks were found, the National Guard is helping distribute non-potable water that can be used to flush toilets, the city said in a news release. Boil water notices were issued for 43,000 homes and businesses on Feb. 17....

...In Texas, nearly 390,000 people are still under boil water advisories, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. On Feb. 19, at the height of the water crisis, nearly 15 million people across the state didn't have access to clean water, TCEQ spokesman Gary Rasp told VOX....

[goatprairie]

The wife and I were down in Terlingua, Texas when the cold hit the state. We lost tv and internet in our motel room for a few hours, but since the owner had a generator, we didn't lost heat or lights.
Most of the few eateries in Terlingua closed down for one day, but one cooked meals by propane so we got a hot meal.
When we left to come back north, instead of staying in Texas cities, we headed for New Mexico and avoided any overnights in the Lone Star State.

[roamer_1]

For folks with a need for it, a water transfer station can be pretty readily assembled out of a 600 gallon food-grade tote, which are usually easy to come by, And any old gas driven pump. You can then go fairly far afield to draw from a resource, get enough to worry about, and be able to unload it once you get home.

Those totes are used up here in that way all the time, as often there is no ready water in pastures... So the rancher will load up a tote and haul it out to the stock tanks.

If it is still rainy, y'all can redirect water off your roof into any large container - to include the tote mentioned above. Just wait a bit before you let t into the container - you want the rain to wash off the bird poop and such before trying to collect anything. But a fair rain can pretty easily fill a 600 gallon tote in a couple hours on an average home, and as a rule (not knowing your roofing material), entirely potable.

And if you have enough water, containers will be your trouble... You can process a whole lot of water with that same gear you boil your turkeys in... or a camp fire and a few stock pots. The trick is finding something big enough to store it in.


 

[thackney]

For folks with a need for it, a water transfer station can be pretty readily assembled out of a 600 gallon food-grade tote, which are usually easy to come by, And any old gas driven pump. You can then go fairly far afield to draw from a resource, get enough to worry about, and be able to unload it once you get home.

Those totes are used up here in that way all the time, as often there is no ready water in pastures... So the rancher will load up a tote and haul it out to the stock tanks.

Those used totes are cheap around here.  Lot of different companies import liquid stuff in them and there is a large surplus.  Some of them used in food grade services.  Lots of farmers have several used one, not too common in the subdivisions but some sell them as part of a rainwater capture set up.



https://houston.craigslist.org/grd/d/houston-power-washer-gallon-water/7284049117.html

[roamer_1]

Those used totes are cheap around here.  Lot of different companies import liquid stuff in them and there is a large surplus.  Some of them used in food grade services.  Lots of farmers have several used one, not too common in the subdivisions but some sell them as part of a rainwater capture set up.

Yep. They're nearing *free* up in here... Like pallets, folks get too many and just want them gone... And they work great, and are easy to plumb to. The only thing is, they need painted or covered in the summer, as they do tend to grow algae if left out in the sun.