# @statesman on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CMJFwEhg3aU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/15004454-statesman-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/91cdb1a49a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-03-08T03:05:37.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Austin Statesman (@statesman) — https://gondola.cc/statesman

## Caption

It’s been three weeks since February’s winter storm and still many Austin residents are without water. As of March 4, Austin utility officials said all or portions of about 50 apartment complexes across the city still were without water. “People all over the city have no idea that there are thousands of homes without water — and have went without for one to three weeks,” said Wesley Stewart, who runs Austin Needs Water austinneedswater. The organization has been hosting water drives at the Long Center in downtown Austin. Everyday Stewart and his volunteers load up vehicles and deliver water to communities hit hardest by water shortages. And Plumbers, like Joe Ochoa, have been working nonstop to restore water to homes. But parts and supplies are running low or are on back order at Lowe’s and Home Depot, he said. Some property managers have set up portable toilets outside apartment buildings and have kept their leasing offices full of food and water. But many residents, like Maria Mata, 22, have been forced to collect water from pools in order to wash dishes and fill toilets. "It's really hard," Mata said. "It's more than just not having water. You can't wash clothes. You can't wash dishes. You can't even cook — because if you do, the dishes are going to pile up. You have to spend more money." Making things more difficult for some is a Texas law that says tenants have to be current on rent before they are entitled to repairs. Many residents lost wages during the storm and may be behind on rent explained Shoshana Krieger and Mincho Jacob, both who work for BASTA - an organization that tackles renter’s issues and educated renters on their rights in Austin. "A lot of Austinites right now don’t realize all the ways in which the impacts of the storm are still really real to thousands of residents," Krieger said. #austin #texas #atx #watercrisis #texasstorm 📸 brontewittpenn

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 864
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- **Comments:** 17

## Tags

austin, texas, texasstorm, atx, watercrisis

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