Texas

Drinking water warnings issued to thousands in Texas

Published

2 years ago

July 13, 2024

Drinking water warnings issued to thousands in Texas

Officials in Texas continue to urge nearly 163,000 residents to boil their drinking water several days after Hurricane Beryl exited the state.

Beryl made landfall in Texas on Monday as a Category 1 storm near the coastal town of Matagorda, before whipping northeast to directly batter the city of Houston, where over 2.5 million in the area quickly lost their power.

The storm continued to roar through Texas and other portions of the U.S. in a northeasterly path, sparking a swarm of tornadoes in multiple states as it diminished in strength and eventually passed into Canada.

While Beryl left at least 10 people dead in Texas and inflicted significant damage to property, many residents impacted by the hurricane in the Lone Star State were also continuing to struggle with a lack of power and clean drinking water four days later.

Water is pictured boiling in a pot on a stove in this undated file photo. Officials in Texas were asking over 162,000 residents to continue boiling their water on Friday due to damage caused by…

TomBegasse

By Friday, Texas had more than 700,000 power outages that remained unresolved, while some 162,895 residents in 22 counties were under a “Boil Water Notice” (BWN) due to drinking water systems that had been compromised by the storm.

“As of 12:30pm today, we are tracking 259 drinking water systems that are on a BWN serving a population of 162,895,” a spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) told Newsweek via email on Friday. “The drinking water systems on BWNs are spread across 22 counties impacted by the hurricane.”

The following is a list of the affected counties, water systems and number of residents that were still being asked to boil their water as of Friday afternoon:

Angelina County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 53 residents.
Brazoria County: 67 water systems under BWN, affecting 28,460 residents.
Chambers County: 3 water systems under BWN, affecting 446 residents.
Fort Bend County: 7 water systems under BWN, affecting 10,206 residents.
Grimes County: 3 water systems under BWN, affecting 756 residents.
Hardin County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 108 residents.
Houston County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 9,557 residents.
Harris County: 57 water systems under BWN, affecting 32,719 residents.
Liberty County: 9 water systems under BWN, affecting 9,557 residents.
Matagorda County: 11 water systems under BWN, affecting 4,051 residents.
Montgomery County: 35 water systems under BWN, affecting 19,963 residents.
Nacogdoches County: 2 water systems under BWN, affecting 9,834 residents.
Orange County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 99 residents.
Polk County: 33 water systems under BWN, affecting 24,285 residents.
San Augustine County: 5 water systems under BWN, affecting 4,170 residents.
San Jacinto County: 12 waters systems under BWN, affecting 5,687 residents.
Trinity County: 4 water systems under BWN, affecting 3,038 residents.
Tyler County: 2 water systems under BWN, affecting 5,880 residents.
Upshur County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 3,038 residents.
Walker County: 2 water systems under BWN, affecting 653 residents.
Waller County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 240 residents.
Wharton County: 1 water system under BWN, affecting 40 residents.

Residents who are uncertain about the safety of their drinking water should contact their local water utility for additional information and updates.

Water systems can be damaged by hurricanes and other powerful storms due to power outages, service line breaks or flooding, potentially allowing what would otherwise be safe drinking water to become contaminated by dangerous pathogens.

In systems under a BWN, water may not be safe to drink unless it has been boiled vigorously for at least two minutes. The TCEQ website offers a series of safe water use tips for those affected.

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Texas

Opal Lee’s granddaughter advocates for “Grandmother of Juneteenth” to be included in Texas curriculum

Published

2 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Opal Lee’s granddaughter advocates for “Grandmother of Juneteenth” to be included in Texas curriculum

The granddaughter of Dr. Opal Lee, famously known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” was in Austin Tuesday to advocate for the inclusion her grandmother in Texas’ Juneteenth curriculum.

Dr. Lee is nearly 100 years old and lives in Fort Worth. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024 and was by President Biden’s side when he made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021.

“I want to petition for her to be a required person to study Juneteenth,” said granddaughter Dione Sims. “People that have to do with freedom, liberty, and unity; she’s the embodiment of that. Helping to get Juneteenth as a national holiday, I think deserves to be mentioned.”

Sims testified in front of the State Board of Education Tuesday night. A final decision is expected in June.

Lee, born in 1926, played a crucial role in making Juneteenth a federal holiday. The North Texas icon walked two and a half miles every Juneteenth to symbolize the two and a half years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn they were free, after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 2016, she walked from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness.

She didn’t participate in the 2025 walk after being hospitalized.

Lee has also been honored with a Barbie doll that celebrates her advocacy as part of its Inspiring Women collection.

Sims previously discussed expanding Lee’s walk across all 50 states, preserving her grandmother’s legacy with a walk in one city in each state.

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Texas

North Texas Iranian Americans fear for families amid Trump’s threats against Iran

Published

14 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

North Texas Iranian Americans fear for families amid Trump’s threats against Iran

Tensions are rising between the United States and Iran, as a deadline from President Donald Trump fuels concerns about potential military action.

Just hours before President Trump’s deadline for Iran to accept a deal or face military consequences, Iranian Americans in North Texas feared for their relatives on the ground, saying the focus should stay on the people of Iran.

“We’re in a wartime, so everyone’s worried and following the news,” said Homeira Hesami, the chairwoman for the Iranian American Community of North Texas. “The internet’s still being down, you know, we don’t have a very secure way to communicate with our family and friends back home, so sometimes, you know, they may be able to call out, but it’s very patchy.”

Tuesday, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz, following similar threats he made on Easter Sunday. TCU Political Science Professor Ralph Carter offered this perspective on the potential loss of life.

“In the worst-case scenario, President Trump carries out massive attacks against civilian targets, killing thousands or even millions of people, then I think Congress has to act,” said Carter.

Carter added that targeting an entire civilization could amount to a war crime and raises serious questions about Mr. Trump’s legal authority. He said this also shakes up the U.S.’s relationships with its allies.

“I do think that Iran will survive, whatever happens,” Carter said. “I think the Iranian people will be united in a rally around the flag phenomenon to defend their homeland against an aggressor, and I think, again, this is one of those things where a weaker power outlasts a stronger power, because the stronger power gets tired of the price they have to pay to try to get a victory.”

Hesami believes change in Iran must come from the Iranian people, not through foreign intervention.

“War has proven that sometimes it is not the solution, and the solution is relying on the Iranian people and their organized resistance,” she said.

Less than two hours before his deadline for Iran to either cut a deal with the U.S. or face massive strikes on its power plants, Mr. Trump said he agreed to a “double sided CEASEFIRE” with Iran.

“I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

He said the ceasefire, which he agreed to at Pakistan’s request, was “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”