On a normal day, Ullrich Water Treatment Plant produces roughly half of Austin s drinkable water and is crucial to keeping the city s water system functioning.
State regulations require the plant to either have access to a backup power source or a substantial amount of water reserves in case the plant sees an unexpected shutdown. Ullrich has both.
So when a tree limb fell on an electric line leading to a substation that powered Austin s largest water treatment plant on Feb. 17, backups should have snapped into place to keep power running and water production churning.
But there was a problem: Nobody on site knew how to operate a 52-year-old gear switch that would have restored power to the plant.
Frustration builds as Austin water crisis lingers statesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from statesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A fresh coat of ice overnight reset efforts from local transportation authorities on Wednesday to help make the Austin area s roads more passable.
Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Bishop said crews had to basically start from scratch Wednesday with treating roads after they had managed to completely remove snow and ice from some stretches of the state highways the agency oversees the previous day.
Sen. Ted Cruz had tough words for Austin Mayor Steve Adler after media discovered he had travelled to Cabo San Lucas amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hypocrites. Complete and utter hypocrites, Cruz said in a Dec. 2 tweet. And don t forget @MayorAdler who took a private jet with eight people to Cabo and WHILE IN CABO recorded a video telling Austinites to stay home if you can.this is not the time to relax.
What a difference a series of deadly snow and ice storms make. As widely reported on Twitter and confirmed Thursday by the Associated Press and Fox News, Cruz hopped aboard a plane and flew to Cancún Wednesday for a sunny getaway amid a cold weather crisis that continues to leave left hundreds of thousands of Texans without power and about 250,000 without water, according to state officials. Unlike Adler, he did not take a private plane, allowing for several of his fellow passengers to snap photos of him as he went to his seat.
Austin boil water notice continues but treatment plants online statesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from statesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.