HOUSTON – Floods in Austin left residents and visitors with not enough clean water to drink.
The high water left lots of mud and silt in the Highland Lakes, and emergency managers said that slowed down the water treatment plants and limited the amount of clean water available to customers. On Tuesday, emergency managers said the order to boil water could last longer than expected and could be extended up to two weeks.
That impacts nearly 900,000 people.
"Bottled. Pre-boiled. So we don't have to worry about getting y’all sick,” said Steven Edge as he held up bottles of water.
Edge owns a food truck off of Congress Avenue near the state capitol. He said the hardest part for him, as a business owner, is washing the dishes.
"Everyone freaked out and ran out and bought bottled water and every single store you can imagine. I can bottle water! It doesn't bother me too much! But I have gone out and bought large 5-gallon jugs of water just so I can be safe about serving food to everybody," Edge said.
Businesses, including coffee shops, served a greatly reduced menu Tuesday.
Many people relied on bottled water. That rush on the stores initially left a shortage.
Daniel Smith of the Levy Funeral Directors in Bellaire recognized the need and went to work helping a city that helped his community after Hurricane Harvey.
"As someone who got 4 feet of water in their house, I really feel like Austin stepped up when we needed it. So, as Texans, as human beings, we should be there for them when they need it," Smith said.