They will distribute water throughout the city and prepare financial aid to repair pipes

The Dallas government says it is distributing water throughout the city and preparing financial aid for people who have burst pipes in their homes.

The water distribution points will begin operating on Saturday, Rocky Vaz, the city’s director of emergency management, announced at a news conference Thursday.

It is not yet determined when the financial aid would be awarded and how it could be applied for. City Manager TC Broadnax said they are figuring out how to get that money.

The Dallas government announced Thursday that it is soliciting donations for a disaster relief fund administered by The Dallas Foundation.

The money will later be distributed in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations to assist the community in recovery actions from the winter storm and blackouts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shipped water, blankets and other items to the state after the series of blackouts, and some will likely be delivered to the city of Dallas, Vaz said.

At a news conference Thursday, Dallas officials asked people to be patient, keep an eye on each other and call 311 for municipal services or assistance.

Police officers and other municipal employees have been bringing food, water and blankets to people stranded at their homes, officials said.

Although neighboring cities have asked the public to boil water after the freezing and bursting of pipes due to extreme cold, Dallas authorities insisted Thursday that the city’s water is safe to drink and that there is no danger of it running out. .

But they asked the population to save water as much as possible.

Terry Lowery, head of Dallas Water Utilities, said there have been reports of more than 250 feeder line breakdowns since Sunday.

The city has also answered more than 1,500 calls from users who have burst pipes.

The calls came from private homes, apartments and commercial buildings throughout the city as well as from Fair Park facilities.

A women’s shelter and transitional house complex also leaked.

As of Wednesday, the city’s water use was 658 million gallons, when the average winter use in Dallas is about 300 million gallons, Lowery said.

“It’s a combination of people leaking their taps, leaking, and power lines breaking,” Lowery said after the news conference.

The city mobilized 40 trucks to dump sand on avenues, bridges, hills and other areas where accidents caused by snow and ice can occur.

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