Thousands Of Renters In Garland And Arlington Still Have No Water
GARLAND, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Thousands of Garland renters are still having issues with their water supply following last weeks storm.
Sloan Glaude is one of them.
She's a mother of two boys and is on day nine without water.
"Every day it just gets a little worse and a little worse," she said.
She's using water from a 10-gallon bucket to flush the toilet, bottled water for brushing teeth, washing hands and staying hydrated and body wipes for showers.
"The apartment is giving us two bottles of water per family a day," she said. "That's what they told us so far. We've gotten two emails saying they're working on it, but we don't know when the water will be back on."
She's just one of around 2,000 Garland renters experiencing this.
About 35 apartment are impacted, reporting broken pipes and plumbing issues.
"We're not able to shower," Chassidy K. said. "I have two small children. My kids are at school and I have to go somewhere else just to take them to shower to go to school today. It's ridiculous."
The City of Garland is collections bottled water donations.
Large donations can be dropped off at the Nicholson Memorial Library.
Small donations can be dropped off at Intrinsic Smokehouse or Rosalind Coffee in the square.
"I've let folks know that if they have a need for water at their complex to let us know so we can get it delivered out to their complex," Garland City Council District 5 Rich Aubin said.
He said the city is also working to provide porta pottys.
"I have people reaching out to me with plumbers who have availability and we've been passing those names along to the complexes," he said.
Glaude said she's trying to remain optimistic, hoping this will be over soon.
"It could be worse," she said. "I know that hopefully eventually it'll come back on."
In the meantime, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas recommends tenants send their landlord a written request for repairs through certified mail and keep a copy of their request.
The same factors are also causing at least eight apartment complexes in Arlington, to have no water, too.
Monica Smothers is one Arlington apartment resident using pool water to flush her toilet.
"It's been crazy I feel like I am living in some third world country," Smothers said.
Arlington has opened up sites to help distribute water. You can find those sites here.
The city says they're pushing to get renters their water back within days.
"We are pushing these folks as much as we can, but some repairs you just have to understand, they take a while to get done," said Craig Cummings, Arlingtons Water Utilities Director.
The issues come as plumbers are already slammed with business, and many, booked months in advance.
Now the lack of resources, and the amount of damages, are making the wait for water feel that much longer.
"I know it's not the complex's fault that the water has burst, but now you guys are responsible for getting this water back on," Smothers said.
Nicole Nielsen contributed to this report.
