Largest City in Texas Now Under Boil Water Notice

HOUSTON, Texas — The City of Houston is now under a boil water notice for the residents of the state’s largest city. The notice comes on top of more than 300,000 Houston residents who are without electricity.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) announced Wednesday morning that residents using City of Houston water should boil before drinking.

A boil water notice is now in effect in our city until further notice.

Please check with your local provider or MUD to see if you are impacted.

For Houstonians who do not have power to boil water, you are advised to use bottled water for consumption. #houwx pic.twitter.com/l19VUjsvDY

— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) February 17, 2021

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the agency that manages electricity transmission across the state, reports that 305,000 residents of Harris County are currently without electricity. Houston is part of, but not all of, Harris County.

Statewide, that number stands at just over 2.7 million customers.

The mayor cautioned residents utilizing water systems other than the City of Houston to check with their providers for water quality issues.

Because so many Houstonians do not have electricity to boil water, Mayor Turner recommended the use of bottled water.

Officials recommend that water be boiled at a rolling boil for at least two minutes and then allowed to cool before drinking.

Turner also urged residents not to run water in their homes to prevent the freezing of supply pipes. The city’s water pressure is low which makes it difficult for the fire department to fight fires.

Water pressure is very low. Please do not run water to keep pipes from bursting. Turn off water if pipes have burst. Please contact us if you don’t know how to turn off water. Be conservative on water usage today. It is needed for hospitals and fires. st

— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) February 17, 2021

The neighboring city of Pasadena, Texas, is also under a boil water notice, as are other areas of the county.

Harris County officials posted a video on Facebook showing the proper procedures for boiling water prior to consumption.