Water pressure should be able to be restored to most of the city over the weekend, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said at a news conference Friday.
It might not be full pressure, he said, but Austin Water’s main goal right now is to get every household water.
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Meszaros noted there is still a boil-water notice in effect and asked that residents still conserve water.
“The system is a little tender, so start off slow as you have water or as you get water,” he said. “Just kind of be cautious, and if everyone uses a reasonable amount of water everything is going to be fine.”
That means don’t use major appliances like dishwashers or laundry machines, and don’t take multiple showers in a day.
Austin is also expecting shipments of clean, bottled water that the city purchased and through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. City Manager Spencer Cronk said the city will post where people can pick up that water tonight. Officials are choosing distribution sites based on how easy it is to get to them as roads continue to thaw. Cronk said there will be one case of water given to each car.
Meszaros said he hopes to lift the boil-water notice next week, but right now his agency’s focus is getting any trickle of water to people throughout the city.
A map released by Austin Water on Friday morning shows the entire city as having low water pressure or no water all.
Watch the city's Facebook Live below:
