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Updated Feb 22, 2021 - Energy & Environment

In photos: Water crisis in Texas continues

Orion Rummler
Crowds of people stand outside a line of cars next to a strip mall

Volunteers pass out water on Feb. 20 in Houston, Texas. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Power has returned to most of Texas after a week of statewide blackouts caused by historic winter storms, but millions still don't have access to safe or running water.

The big picture: A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesperson told CNN that some 8.8 million people, or roughly a third of the state's population, still had issues with their water supply Sunday evening. Food banks and volunteers delivered bottled water to thousands of people in the past few days.

By the numbers: Over 3.4 million bottles of water have been delivered into Texas via helicopters, trucks, and airplanes supplied by the federal government and North Carolina and Kentucky, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said at a Sunday press briefing.

  • “As you can see today, there will be millions more delivered," he said.

Of note: The Public Utilities Commission of Texas has paused customer disconnections for nonpayment, Abbott said, following a spike in energy bills.

Plumber Randy Calazans with One Call Plumbing repairs a burst pipe in a home on February 21, 2021 in Houston, Texas.
A plumber repairs a burst pipe in a home on in Houston on Feb. 21. Plumbers throughout Texas are working overtime to repair burst pipes in homes and businesses following the storm. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A line of cars in a parking lot, as volunteers wearing bright vests hand out boxes of food
Volunteers with the Houston Food Bank at NRG Stadium on Feb. 21 in Houston, Texas. Thousands lined up on Sunday. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A man stands on a pallet piled high with bottled water at the back of a semi truck
A volunteer moves bottled water at the Central Texas Food Bank mass distribution site in Del Valle, Texas, on Feb. 20. Photo: Thomas Ryan Allison/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Dozens of gallons of water sit on the ground next to a car and cardboard boxes
Volunteers prepare to hand out water at the Fountain Life Center on Feb. 20 in Houston, Texas. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A sign attached to a shelf in front of packs of water reads "product limits. Multipacks of water limit 2"
A supermarket in Houston on Feb. 20. Photo: Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images
Water flows into a large bucket of water through a spigot
Workers at the Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches taproom in Austin, Texas, fill up bottles of potable water to donate on Feb. 20. Photo: Thomas Ryan Allison/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A birds eye view of cars wrapped around a parking lot in a line
A drone view of cars lining up for water at the Fountain Life Center on Feb. 20 in Houston. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A person wearing a dark hoodie stands between two tall stacks of bottled water on pallets
A Houston police officer stands near pallets of water at the Astros Youth Academy on Feb. 20. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the number of Texans still affected by the water crisis.

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