Hundreds of thousands may stay without water for a while

By BRADLEY OLSON

A quarter of a million people in the Houston region were without running water Tuesday, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates more than 2,500 public water systems in the 10-county region hammered by Hurricane Ike.

Commission officials did not know about another 600,000 people because they have been unable to communicate with those utilities in the wake of the storm.

The result is hundreds of thousands of people who cannot bathe, use the bathroom, or even cook nearly two weeks after they lost access to running water.

Restoring it may prove complicated. The problem has myriad causes, including power outages and severe infrastructure damage in coastal areas. Some public water systems, which Texas regulators require to continue pumping in spite of power outages, have failed to do so, according to residents they serve and state officials.

"I can do without the lights or the air conditioning, but I can't do without water," said Rose Melchor, 69, who lives near Hobby Airport.

Melchor filled bathtubs and old kitty litter containers with water before the storm but ran out in two days. She has depended on neighbors for water needs, and her relatives have had to bathe and cook with bottled water. They only pour water into the toilet to flush it after using the restroom several times, she said.

"We expect this kind of thing for a couple days, but not this long," she said.

Melchor lacks water because trees uprooted by the storm damaged city water lines. A spokesman said the city is working on the problem, which is affecting several dozen people.

Otherwise, Houston officials said, the city and the 400,000 customers it serves are back online, although some apartment high-rises are unable to pump water above the fourth floor because of a lack of power.

'This event was huge'

Many served by public utility systems and private water companies in Houston and Harris County, however, remain without running water. The same is true in many of the communities battered by Ike — including in Fort Bend, Chambers, Brazoria and Liberty counties — where, with a few exceptions, water and sewer delivery managed by major municipalities is working. Elected officials there have used generators, while some of the minor water systems in those areas have been unable to do the same.

In the event of a power outage, private utilities are required to keep water flowing through the use of generators or by having enough elevated storage so that gravity will move it into homes. But many have been unable to do so, state officials said.

"This event was huge, and in this kind of situation, it takes time," said Elston Johnson, manager of the TCEQ's public drinking water section. ....