Monday, August 28, my husband turned on the kitchen faucet and there was hardly any water pressure. He quickly filled up some pitchers. We were afraid we were going to lose our water. I still had some weekend dishes to wash so I brought in a 2-gallon bottle of water and heated it for dishwashing (so I didn’t have to waste water coming from the water heater in the attic). We had filled bathtubs with water for the toilets so that wasn’t a problem unless we lost our sewer system, too. I pulled out all the paper goods – plates, bowls, flatware, cups – and we went into water conservation mode. Gratefully, the water pressure came back within a few hours and a call to the water district office confirmed that it was safe to use. I’m really glad we had water stored. We would have managed but I would much rather be without electricity than water.
Currently (2017), there is an area in west Houston where the wastewater treatment plants are under 8 feet of water. Residents in 8 zip code areas have been asked to conserve water and minimize wastewater to avoid sanitary sewer backups. This includes not running the dishwasher, minimizing laundry use, flushing toilets less often and taking shorter showers.
Store a MINIMUM of 14 gallons of water per person. Stock up on paper goods, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and anti-bacterial wipes. Learn how to conserve water.
Learn about the multiple aspects of water during an emergency situation here.
