250,000 in Houston still lack running water Hundreds of thousands may stay without water for a while

A quarter of a million people in the Houston region were without running water Tuesday, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which regulates more than 2,500 public water systems in the 10-county region hammered by Hurricane Ike.

Commission officials did not know about another 600,000 people because they have been unable to communicate with those utilities in the wake of the storm.

The result is hundreds of thousands of people who cannot bathe, use the bathroom, or even cook nearly two weeks after they lost access to running water.

Restoring it may prove complicated. The problem has myriad causes, including power outages and severe infrastructure damage in coastal areas. Some public water systems, which Texas regulators require to continue pumping in spite of power outages, have failed to do so, according to residents they serve and state officials.

"I can do without the lights or the air conditioning, but I can't do without water," said Rose Melchor, 69, who lives near Hobby Airport.

Melchor filled bathtubs and old kitty litter containers with water before the storm but ran out in two days. She has depended on neighbors for water needs, and her relatives have had to bathe and cook with bottled water. They only pour water into the toilet to flush it after using the restroom several times, she said.

"We expect this kind of thing for a couple days, but not this long," she said.

Melchor lacks water because trees uprooted by the storm damaged city water lines. A spokesman said the city is working on the problem, which is affecting several dozen people.

Otherwise, Houston officials said, the city and the 400,000 customers it serves are back online, although some apartment high-rises are unable to pump water above the fourth floor because of a lack of power.

'This event was huge'

Many served by public utility systems and private water companies in Houston and Harris County, however, remain without running water. The same is true in many of the communities battered by Ike — including in Fort Bend, Chambers, Brazoria and Liberty counties — where, with a few exceptions, water and sewer delivery managed by major municipalities is working. Elected officials there have used generators, while some of the minor water systems in those areas have been unable to do the same.

In the event of a power outage, private utilities are required to keep water flowing through the use of generators or by having enough elevated storage so that gravity will move it into homes. But many have been unable to do so, state officials said.

"This event was huge, and in this kind of situation, it takes time," said Elston Johnson, manager of the TCEQ's public drinking water section.

His employees are contacting the systems, providing technical advice and visiting some in the Greater Houston area, he said. But in the case of utilities that have not been using generators to pump water, they are not ordering them to do so.

"Our posture is more of helping in those situations," he said.

Ginger Spahni, who lives in the Hampton Oaks subdivision in northeastern Harris County and has not had power or water since Ike hit, said she was angry the companies were not pumping via generators.

Told to pray for power

She has been using buckets of water from her employer to cook, flush toilets and bathe herself and two small children. She said she has seen elderly residents in her neighborhood relieve themselves outdoors.

When she sought information about the delay from the Suburban Utility Co., which supplies water to her neighborhood, a customer service representative told her the company had run out of gasoline for a generator. Later, another representative told her to pray for the power to come back on so the pumping station would work.

"God's giving us a nice, cool breeze," she said. "But I don't think God can make them turn the generator on at their pumping stations."

Company officials did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

In many coastal communities, the culprit was hurricane devastation.

Brazoria County wells

In the beachfront town of Surfside Beach, there is no power, no water and no sewer service. Utilities were so damaged "nobody's trying to fix it yet," Police Chief Randy Smith said.

In Quintana, another Brazoria County beach town, the water system is being operated by generator.

Oak Island, the fishing community in Chambers County devastated by Ike, has no water or sewer service.

Lake Anahuac, one of the county's main drinking sources, was contaminated with saltwater and breached levees. The city of Anahuac has a 90-day supply of water but will have to seek another supply once that is exhausted, Mayor Guy Jackson said.

Residents who rely on wells also have struggled. Since most rely on electric pumps, no power means no water.

"I don't want to be maudlin or anything, but I have to use pond water to flush my toilet," said Loretta Thomas, 57, who lives on Hopper Road, near U.S. 59, in northeastern Harris County. "I'm not saying I have to have everything with a bow on it, but when you're without water, it's kind of scary."

Chronicle reporters Richard Stewart, Eric Hanson, Cindy Horswell, Renée C. Lee and Mark Babineck contributed to this report.

bradley.olson@chron.com