Dallas closes emergency water distribution sites early Sunday after running out

The city of Dallas’ emergency water distribution efforts were put on hold Sunday afternoon after three of four locations handed out all the supplies they had.

Statewide, governmental and charitable organizations, including food banks, have begun distributing food and water to the many people who are in need after last week’s extreme winter cold caused widespread power outages.

In Dallas, the Office of Emergency Management handed out hundreds of cases of bottled water Sunday at Oak Cliff’s Kiest Rec Center, Mattie Nash-Myrtle Davis Rec Center in West Dallas, Harry Stone Rec Center in Far East Dallas and Fretz Rec Center in Far North Dallas. But by 3 p.m. only Fretz had supplies left.

Unlike other cities in North Texas, Dallas’ Water Utilities service never went out during the storms, nor did the utility have to issue a boil water notice to residents. But freezing temperatures led to widespread plumbing damage at homes and apartment complexes that have left many people without water.

The city’s distribution sites have planned to continue to hand out water from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Tuesday, or until supplies run out. The city said Sunday on Twitter that it was “expecting more water deliveries [Monday] but may have delayed openings.”

The city also has begun a bulk water program at four recreation centers: Jaycee Zaragoza, Nash/Davis and Anita Martinez in West Dallas and Walnut Hill in nortwest Dallas. Residents can fill up their own containers with up to 15 gallons of water per visit, according to the Office of Emergency Management.

“The city is sourcing water from a variety of avenues, including purchasing and donations,” Emergency Management spokeswoman Rhonda Simpson said.

The city does not have a total count of how much water it has purchased or received through donations, she said.

At the Kiest Park Rec Center on Sunday, about 10 city workers and parks and recreation employees distributed pallets of bottled water and boxes of food from the North Texas Food Bank. Park Ranger Robert Scalice said hundreds of vehicles moved through the line the rec center.

At the distribution site at the Nash-Davis Rec Center in West Dallas, bottled water and food went quickly. The site still had suplies at 1 p.m., but they began to run out as vehicles formed lines in the parking lot.

Dallas City Council member Omar Narvaez, whose district includes West Dallas, was at the center Sunday and invited local nonprofit and grassroots groups to serve meals.

Mama 30′s Off The Bone BBQ, owned by Tyrone and Erika Acy, was serving 300 hot lunches in the parking lot. Many of the volunteers Sunday were without power and water themselves, some of them for as long as five days.

West Dallas Community School basketball coach Dederick Tubbs said he’d been without electricity and water for several days. He came to the center with several kids from the area to help serve food with the local organization Konnect to the Konnection.

“We’ve been tired, but the energy from everyone and the need here is so great,” Tubbs said.

Narvaez said West Dallas residents were some of the hardest hit in the city — among the first to lose power and some of the last to have it restored.

”Every 10 years we go through something similar,” the City Council member said.

He blamed the outsized impact on the community on institutionalized racism. But he said he recognized Oncor Electric Delivery had faced unprecedent challenges in the storm.

“There will be time for finger-pointing later,” he said. ”This isn’t done.”

He expects there will problems that need to be addressed even after everyone has power restored – chief among them plumbing repairs.

Narvaez said many of his constituents lack insurance that would help compensate them for losses from water damage and the loss of electricity. The snow and water also collapsed roofs and damaged homes.

Senior citizens will be among the people who are most in need, he said.

”When you have lower income, the last thing you’re thinking of is another $20 to $30 bill,” he said.