Major Houston water and sewage plants threatened by power outages after Beryl

A top emergency official sent requests to CenterPoint to fast-track the repairs of critical infrastructure facilities in the wake of the hurricane.

Houston could be on the verge of a massive water problem and sewage failure as city officials warn CenterPoint Energy that repairs need to be done "ASAP to prevent a Boil Water Notice for 4+ million regional residents," according to a new report from Mike Morris and Taylor Goldenstein in the Houston Chronicle.

A senior Houston official sent out the warning in a dire 1:00 a.m. Thursday email to CenterPoint officials that power needs to be restored to a southside water plant and also four sewer plants before they dump untreated sewage into local bayous.

The email was written by Houston Transtar director Brian Mason, who, according to the Chronicle said he had emailed, texted and called numerous CenterPoint officials but had "seen few results" with "very few responses and no status or progress updates."

"I have sent a total of 8 top top top priority critical infrastructure sites," he wrote, per Morris and Goldenstein. "Of the 8, only 3 have had power restored, and I have received no updates on the status of the other five other than 'these have been sent to the CPE (CenterPoint Energy) priority desk.'"

The out-of-service sites are on a list of critical infrastructure sites, Mason noted, adding "therefore I assume (CenterPoint) has a complete understanding of the importance and urgency of my limited requests."

The five facilities Mason cited in his email to CenterPoint did not have power as of Thursday night, Houston Public Works spokesperson Erin Jones confirmed to Chron. Three of the sewer plants and the water plants were running some equipment using generators, Jones said. "But we still need power," she added. "The water is still safe to drink - but generators do not provide full power to keep critical infrastructure running." 

Mayor John Whitmire confirmed Thursday that pressure in Houston's pipes had dropped, but not the level required to boil water.

Hurricane Beryl caused widespread power outages and destruction across Houston and Southeast Texas, and four days after the storm hit, cities and communities are still dealing with the aftermath,

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 160 boil water notices in effect across eight Southeast Texas counties, including dozens in Harris County. "You have 135 wastewater treatment plants that are offline right now," Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said yesterday. Kidd added that the state was working to provide clean water in those communities.