Hurricane Beryl’s Aftermath Leaves Texas Residents in Crisis
Officials in Texas have issued boil water notices to nearly 163,000 residents following the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl.
Storm Impact and Power Outages
Beryl, which made landfall as a Category 1 storm near Matagorda, Texas, caused widespread destruction as it moved northeast, directly hitting Houston and leaving over 2.5 million people without power. The storm continued to wreak havoc as it traveled through Texas and other states, eventually weakening as it moved into Canada.
The hurricane resulted in at least 10 fatalities in Texas and caused significant property damage. Four days post-storm, residents are still grappling with power outages and a lack of clean drinking water. Over 700,000 power outages remain unresolved, and a substantial number of residents are under a boil water notice due to compromised water systems.
Boil Water Notice Details
As of Friday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reported that 259 drinking water systems are under a boil water notice, affecting a population of 162,895 across 22 counties. A TCEQ spokesperson said, “The drinking water systems on BWNs are spread across 22 counties impacted by the hurricane.”
Affected counties and water systems
Below is a detailed list of the affected counties, water systems, and the number of residents still required to boil their water:
- Angelina County: 1 water system, 53 residents
- Brazoria County: 67 water systems, 28,460 residents
- Chambers County: 3 water systems, 446 residents
- Fort Bend County: 7 water systems, 10,206 residents
- Grimes County: 3 water systems, 756 residents
- Hardin County: 1 water system, 108 residents
- Houston County: 1 water system, 9,557 residents
- Harris County: 57 water systems, 32,719 residents
- Liberty County: 9 water systems, 9,557 residents
- Matagorda County: 11 water systems, 4,051 residents
- Montgomery County: 35 water systems, 19,963 residents
- Nacogdoches County: 2 water systems, 9,834 residents
- Orange County: 1 water system, 99 residents
- Polk County: 33 water systems, 24,285 residents
- San Augustine County: 5 water systems, 4,170 residents
- San Jacinto County: 12 water systems, 5,687 residents
- Trinity County: 4 water systems, 3,038 residents
- Tyler County: 2 water systems, 5,880 residents
- Upshur County: 1 water system, 3,038 residents
- Walker County: 2 water systems, 653 residents
- Waller County: 1 water system, 240 residents
- Wharton County: 1 water system, 40 residents