Correction - 12:30 a.m, ACC Pinnacle Campus (7748 Highway 290 West, 78736) will also operate as a joint Austin-Travis County center for water distribution from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m..

The City will resume normal operations Monday morning. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department continues to assess winter storm damage to its facilities. All facilities will remain closed until thorough site inspections are complete; however, parks and trails remain open. For the latest information, please visit austintexas.gov/parkclosures. 

Water Distribution Sites 

Community access to free water resources expanded on Sunday with the opening of 10 water distribution sites coordinated by the Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center (A-TCEOC) at the following locations: 

• Nelson Field (7105 Berkman Dr., 78752) 

• Onion Creek Soccer Complex (5600 E. William Cannon Dr., 78744) 

• Roy G. Guerrero Park (400 Grove Blvd, 78741) 

• ACC Highland Mall Parking Lot (E. Highland Mall Blvd, 78752) 

• Garrison Park (6001 Menchaca Rd., 78745) 

• Lakeline Station (13625 Lyndhurst Blvd, 78717) 

• Walnut Creek Park (12138 N. Lamar Blvd, 78753) 

• Zilker Park (2301 Barton Springs Rd., 78746) 

• Anderson High School (8403 Mesa Dr., 78759) 

As of 5 p.m. February 21, 2021, A-TCEOC had distributed 19,068 cases of water to the public distribution sites which is approximately 60,779 gallons of water in approximately 457,632 bottles. The City will continue to update information water distribution totals on the Cold Weather and Information Resource page and on the City’s social media pages.   

The free water distribution sites will re-open at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 22 and close at 5 p.m. or until supplies last. 

Residents arriving by personal vehicle are asked to have trunks open or doors unlocked for volunteers to keep lines moving quickly.  

Cap Metro is providing transit service to the water distribution sites. Route and shuttle details are available on the Cap Metro website. Fares on all routes are suspended through the end of the month.  

Residents who will be walking to sites to pick up water are reminded to bring a wheeled cart or carrier that is at least strong enough to carry a case of water which is approximately 30 pounds.  

Residents are reminded to recycle all single-use plastic bottles and jugs instead of throwing them in the trash. 

Food Distribution  

Before this weather emergency, many Austin residents experienced food insecurity. The COVID pandemic compounded that insecurity and this historic storm event caused food insecurity in Austin to skyrocket. Like so many communities, Austin relies on a network of organizations to provide food to our community, including grocery stores and non-profit organizations. With improving weather conditions, the City of Austin and Travis County are working diligently to ensure that our critical partner in providing food to our community can restart operations tomorrow, including the Central Texas Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, area Independent School Districts, and area grocers.

The Austin community is like no other.  Thanks to innumerable organizations like Austin Disaster Relief Network, Community Resiliency Trust, Cooks Nook, Keep Austin Fed, Good Works, and Austin Voices, thousands of Austinites have received meals through mass food distribution efforts and home delivery programs. Additionally, thousands of individual restaurants have provided free food pick ups to area residents.

To supplement these efforts, Austin/Travis County Emergency Management secured approximately 25,000 ready to heat meals from the Red Cross and, in partnership with local organizations, will be implementing a variety of strategies including establishing a mass food distribution site and continuing to offer delivery to homebound individuals.

Water Utility Restoration   

Austin Water is reporting continued improvement in pressure in the City water distribution system. A minimum of 100 million gallons in storage is needed to help build pressure system-wide. Storage was at 90 million gallons and rising as of 5 p.m. on February 21, 2021.

Customers with water service are encouraged to continue limiting water use to essential needs so that water service can return to all customers more quickly. Residents are urged to take short showers and delay using washing machines to wash clothes and dishes. Additionally, the City’s mandatory water conservation measures remain in effect. As a reminder, during water use restrictions customers may not: 

• Use water for irrigation or testing of irrigation equipment  

• Wash vehicles, including at commercial car wash facilities  

• Wash pavement or other surfaces  

• Add water to a pool or spa  

• Conduct foundation watering, or  

• Operate an ornamental fountain or pond, other than aeration necessary to support aquatic life  

Violations of these restrictions should be reported to Austin 3-1-1.  

Please continue to report leaks in your neighborhood using the online issue report form.   

Boil Water Notice  

The Boil Water Notice for Austin remains in effect and customers should continue to boil water for drinking, cooking, and brushing teeth for at least two minutes until further notice. For more information about FAQ's go to austinwater.org.   

Austin Energy Restoration   

Austin Energy (AE) has restored power to more than 99% of its customers who lost service during the recent storms. Information on remaining outages can be found on the Austin Energy Outage Map. Customers experiencing an outage that is not shown on the outage map are encouraged please report it by calling 512-322-9100. 

Recovery Assistance

The extended Winter Weather Event order and disaster declaration for Austin remain in effect to minimize energy demand and ensure the community can continue to tap into every resource available to persevere through this crisis.   

FEMA assistance available for severe winter storm 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has opened assistance for those who were impacted by the winter severe weather in Travis County. 

Residents can apply for assistance in the following ways: 

• Uninsured: Apply online at http://DisasterAssistance.gov.  

• Insured: File a claim with their insurance company and then apply to FEMA. FEMA cannot duplicate benefits if you received insurance from your provider first.

Home Repair Assistance

The Housing and Planning Department’s home repair program can assist eligible homeowners who need repairs following the recent storms. 

The Housing and Planning Department’s priority will be to mobilize resources to address the needs of low- to moderate-income homeowners seeking much-needed resources. 

The Housing and Planning Department is working closely with the Development Services Department and leveraging other City resources to provide an efficient response as possible for households seeking repairs.  

Information related to home repairs for eligible homeowners will be posted and updated on this website the week of February 22. To learn more about the City’s home repair programs and assistance to qualifying households, visit the home repair program webpage.   

Volunteer Information  

There continues to be much interest in helping those in need during the winter storm crisis. The City of Austin created a Winter Storm Volunteer sign up form for those to sign up to help.  

So far, we have received contact information from 1600+ interested volunteers who can play a critical role in addressing both immediate and long-term needs. The volunteer form signs-up residents to receive alerts so they may sign up for volunteer opportunities as they arise. Currently this includes shelter and travel support but will be expanded for clean-up efforts and more.  

Volunteers can visit this webpage: https://www.austintexas.gov/help-atx-winter for information on how to get involved. They can sign up for volunteer opportunities and fill out the volunteer form from there to receive alerts. This page was developed in partnership with Austin Disaster Relief Network and Travis County and will continue to list opportunities developed by both groups as well as the City of Austin.  

Additional City Resources and Information  

Individuals who are looking for available City and County resources, as well as other community resources can visit austintexas.gov/weatherinfo or austintexas.gov/infoclimatica for Spanish. City and County departments will also continue to provide updates on social media channels.