Houston Water Update: City Could Lift Boil Notice By Monday

HOUSTON, TX — A day after millions of Houston residents were told their water was unsafe to drink, Mayor Sylvester Turner said it could be Monday before a citywide boil order is officially lifted.

During a Thursday briefing, Turner also urged residents to continue to preserve water.

“If water pressure is up in your home, for example, don’t just go out and start washing a lot of clothes," Turner said. "We still need to enhance water pressure and to build it up and then to stabilize it."

Houstonians on Wednesday awoke to the boil order, an impossible ask for thousands who were still dealing with power outages caused by this week's winter weather.

By Thursday afternoon, CenterPoint Energy showed that 99 percent of customers had power, a vast improvement from Wednesday when that percentage was in the 40s most of the morning and afternoon, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Water is another story.

By Wednesday, a large number of Houston households had lost water pressure altogether or had their pipes freeze, preventing access to the city’s water system, the Chronicle also reported. Additionally, local hospitals and the Harris County Jail were affected by the water issues.

Throughout Houston, water pressure has somewhat improved over the past 24 hours, Turner said during the briefing, adding he expects pressure to be stabilized by Friday.

Turner also announced that water distribution sites would open in each of the city council districts around 2 p.m. Thursday. See which district you live in by checking this map.

Watch a recap of the briefing below.