Trust Index: SAWS ‘will not’ shut off water to city amid winter storm

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Water System officials said Tuesday that rumors about the utility shutting off water to residents is not true.

Officials said that local power shortages have affected SAWS pump stations and have caused low water pressure or outages near you, but they have back-up systems in place to provide the city with water.

SAWS says the freezing temperatures have frozen pipes in many homes across town.

Here are some tips to troubleshoot those issues:

• Check multiple faucets around the home. Are they all off or is it just one or a few? If so, your pipes are likely frozen.
• Leave cabinet doors open under the kitchen and bathroom sinks to allow warmer room air to circulate over the pipes.
• If there are rooms without heating ducts, leave doors open to allow ambient heat in, especially if the room is on the north side of the house.
• Allow faucets to drip in various areas of the home to keep water in the pipes moving.
• SAWS does not recommend applying heat to pipes to defrost them.

Note: Once warmer weather has returned, it’s important to check the plumbing in areas that might have frozen. Broken/cracked pipes can produce lasting – and expensive – water damage.

• Please pay special attention to those pipes because leaks from there could cause significant damage to homes and businesses.
• So, before that happens, we’d like you to check now and know where you can turn off your water at the meter and be prepared to turn it off should your pipes start leaking. See the video below for more information.
• From there, you will need to contact a plumber to make the repairs.

Stay Informed

As always, Your Weather Authority team will keep you updated. You can get the very latest forecast anytime by bookmarking our weather page and downloading the KSAT Weather Authority App - available for both Apple and Android devices.

Read also:

• Bitter cold continues, a chance of freezing rain returns Tuesday night
• Pipe-bursting cold! How to protect your pipes during the South Texas freeze
• TxDOT: Highways remain closed in San Antonio as crews prepare roads for freezing rain on Tuesday night
• CPS Energy: Most customers subject to rotating outages as winter weather continues
• Crews restoring power, but outages likely to persist, ERCOT says
• Check current road conditions, closures in San Antonio area
• ‘No one to speak to’: CPS Energy customers frustrated, concerned for vulnerable community members amid rotating outages
• MAP: Current power outages in Bexar County
• Officials: 2 dead in Texas as subfreezing cold sweeps US
• Flights out of San Antonio airport canceled Tuesday due to winter weather conditions
• These San Antonio-area schools, daycares, colleges announce changes, closures due to wintry weather
• These San Antonio-area businesses have announced closures, delays due to inclement weather