Febuary 18, 2021

Millions of Texans are facing water shortages after the deadly winter storm ravaging the state caused pipes to burst and treatment plants to back up, disrupting services and contaminating supplies.

Texas officials ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the population of the nation’s second-largest state – to boil tap water before drinking it following days of record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and froze pipes.

The disruption to water supplies comes after winter storms caused widespread blackouts as they wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid and utilities, leaving millions without power for days.

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