City of Waco lifts water use restrictions; but leaks still put system under stra…

City utility director Lisa Tyer said the city shut off water mains to about 500 residences on Saturday after leaks on Friday forced workers to cut their water mains. She said between 200 and 300 of those notices have been lifted as of Sunday night. 

City employees distributed free water donated by Coca-Cola Bottling Co. at a pickup site near the Waco Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday.  

The city of Waco received 18 more pallets of water from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with eight left as of Sunday night. City spokesman Larry Holze said the city’s Emergency Operations Center will contact surrounding cities hit by burst pipes and damages from the ice storm. 

The emergency order went into effect Friday and called on the public to avoid running dishwashers and washing machines, and closed certain businesses. The city and county’s top water users must still follow water consumption plans they’ve submitted to Tyer and Waco City Manager Bradley Ford.

“I am immensely proud of our city staff that braved unprecedented circumstances to serve our citizens and keep the water flowing,” Ford said in the same press release. “It was a total team effort that I will remember with respect for many years to come.”

The city is also is asking residents to fill out a winter weather damage self-assessment from the Texas Division of Emergency Management. The first, located at https://tinyurl.com/Waco-McLennan-DonateVolunteer, is an assessment of possible donations. The second, located online at https://tinyurl.com/Waco-McLennan-Request-Aid, is an assessment of what people in the McLennan County area need.