HOUSTON – A large part of Houston and surrounding areas are under a 24-hour boil water notice after a massive water main break in east Houston flooded streets and surrounding neighborhoods Thursday afternoon.
That boil water notice prompted Houstonians to rush to stores to stock up on bottled water. Stores across Houston are now working to keep up with the demand as many of them are selling out quickly.
Frustrated shoppers were greeted by bare shelves and empty pallets at several grocery stores in the affected area.
According to Chirag Patel, he refilled several empty jugs he found around his house.
"I'll probably try to go somewhere else to see if there's something available," said Patel. "I didn't expect it to be cleared out the way it was here."
Some customers, like Rochelle Abrams, splurged on what was left: the expensive brands.
"It as not cheap," Abrams said. "But it tastes good!"
Water flooded much of Houston on Thursday after the main break, but as shoppers like David Strumeyer found out, it was hard to come by inside area stores following a city-wide boil water notice.
“At this point, it’s bare bones what was left in there,” Strumeyer said.
The Kroger off the Buffalo Speedway was one of 14-area Kroger stores that got a late-night extra shipment of water.
Shopper, Thomas DiSalvio said he wasn't going to wait around for the shelves to be restocked.
"They're out of water," DiSalvio said. "So, I'm drinking beer!"
Per the Houston Water boil water notice, residents in the affected area should use bottled - or boiled water - for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, cooking and water for pets.
The running water in your home is safe for washing dishes - as long as you rinse with boiling water, doing laundry and bathing.
According to Houston Water, once the boil water notice is lifted, flush your water system by running all cold-water faucets in your home for at least a minute. Clean out any ice makers and run water softeners through a regeneration cycle.
We called around, and these stores currently have water:
HEB
Address: 5225 A Buffalo Speedway
Phone: (713) 218-1800
In stock, limit 3 on 24 packs of Ozarka, limit one on a 3-gallon multi-pack six.
HEB
Address: 5106 Bissonnet St.
Phone: (713) 218-1600
Two-case limit and 2-gallon limit
Kroger
Address: 5150 Buffalo Speedway
Phone: (713) 661-8305
In stock, no limit.
Randalls
Address: 5586 Weslayan St.
Phone: (713) 668-4778
Limited to 10 cases of 24 packs.
Kroger
Address: 1938 W Gray St.
Phone: (713) 521-1909
No limit.
Kroger
Address: 7747 Kirby Dr.
Phone: (713) 661-7175
No limit right ow, but can reserve at any time.