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Letters to the Editor - Three cheers for neighborhood heroes, Dallas Water Utilities staffer, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins
Readers appreciate help from neighbors during the freeze, the help from a Dallas Water Utilities staffer and the leadership of Judge Clay Jenkins.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins conducts a press conference about COVID-19 vaccine operations with FEMA, on Feb. 23, 2021 at Fair Park in Dallas.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
1 Heroes in the neighborhood We were without power from 2 a.m. Feb. 15 to 1 p.m. Feb. 17. Two of our neighbors checked on us. Ande and Brock brought us soup and coffee on both days. Sean and Julie brought us food and helped us start our small generator. Wednesday evening, our Meals on Wheels client, an older lady who lives alone and is in a wheelchair, phoned crying and said she had water all in her home. Sean had a car that would drive in the snow, and he took us over to her home.
Many people in the line for water said they had severe pipe problems at home.
“We had a pipe that broke in the front yard, so we have the water main cut off and we don t have the money to fix it now,” said resident Deborah Moore.
A $2 million emergency home repair program is on the Dallas City Council Agenda Wednesday to supply grants of up to $10,000 per home.
The combination of extreme cold weather with unexpected power failures produced unprecedented complications.
“This was a situation where none of us could say we were prepared. But that s what we have to do in city government. We have to step up and fill gaps,” Johnson said.
Dallas will give out water, money in response to winter storm
Water distribution sites will be up by Saturday, but it’s unclear how and when financial help will become available.
Rocky Vaz, Dallas director of emergency management, spoke to the media about the drive-up vaccine clinic at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on Jan. 27, 2021.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Dallas officials say they are working to distribute water throughout the city and line up financial help for residents whose homes were damaged by burst pipes.
The water distribution sites will be operating by Saturday, said Rocky Vaz, the city’s emergency management director, during a news conference Thursday.
Millions of gallons have leaked from burst water pipes in just one Texas city: That is an incredible amount of water Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY
How to keep pipes from freezing
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A historic cold snap in Texas left millions of residents without power in freezing weather, many of whom will soon face costly flood damage, even as rising temperatures offer a respite from the cold.
Reports of frozen and burst water pipes in Texas homes and businesses are widespread, and the upcoming thaw may further open the floodgates – quite literally, experts said. It is going to be crazy for a little while down there, said Paul Abrams, director of public relations at Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Water Cleanup. I would bet it s pretty similar to the effects of a hurricane.
A historic cold snap in Texas left millions of residents without power in freezing weather, many of whom will soon face costly flood damage, even as rising temperatures offer a respite from the cold.
Reports of frozen and burst water pipes in Texas homes and businesses are widespread, and the upcoming thaw may further open the floodgates – quite literally, experts said. It is going to be crazy for a little while down there, said Paul Abrams, director of public relations at Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Water Cleanup. I would bet it s pretty similar to the effects of a hurricane.
In parts of the country that typically get freezing temperatures, walls are built thicker and with more insulation, and pipes may be several feet underground or run up through a basement to protect them, Abrams said. In Texas, where pipes are typically weatherized to handle the summer heat, more are on exterior walls or in attics.