Updated at 7:56 a.m. Feb. 25 with number of apartment complexes without water.
Every day for the past week, McKaylah Mireles has driven 20 minutes to a relative’s home to fill up buckets of tap water.
She transports the water to her Irving apartment, which she shares with her husband and two sons, ages 1 and 4, so they can wash their hands, brush their teeth and clean a few dishes.
The Mireles family, who lives at The Surround Apartments just east of State Highway 161 near Belt Line Road and Walnut Hill Lane, has been without water since last week’s winter storm.
“It’s very frustrating,” Mireles said. “A lot of people here are trying to get out of their leases.”
Although Irving never issued a boil water advisory, many who live in apartments around the city are still without water due to burst and broken pipes. Residents report showering at friends’ homes, gathering water from their complex’s swimming pools and checking into hotels.
City officials say they are working with apartment complexes to remedy the issue as quickly as possible. The city has issued violation notices to some complexes requiring them to complete repairs and reinstate service by certain deadlines.
A total of 46 apartment complexes have been reported to code enforcement for failing to provide water, according to the city. As of Wednesday, 23 of those still had not restored water.
“Providing safe, clean water is essential, and the city of Irving continues to supply water service to residents with no disruption,” city spokeswoman April Reiling said. “Although water is available, multifamily owners and operators have turned off water service while making repairs and have full power to restore water as repairs are made.”
Emran Khan, who lives with his wife and 9-year-old son at Woodwind Condos, has been without water since Monday of last week. For a couple of days, Khan scooped snow, then boiled and strained it to have water.
Khan tried unsuccessfully to get answers from his complex. Frustrated, his family eventually checked into a hotel in Lewisville while they wait for water.
“The whole situation was and still is difficult,” said Khan, adding that he has missed seven days of work from power and water outages.
Mireles, whose bathroom and kitchen flooded when pipes burst, said she has been told by her apartment managers that it could be two weeks until water is restored. Meanwhile, her family has been forced to walk to a nearby gas station to use the restroom.
An employee at The Surround Apartments, who declined to give her name, said crews are working on the issue and hope to have water restored in about a day.
Residents who live in apartments or rental properties that are without water should contact Irving Code Enforcement via email at codecomplaints@cityofirving.org, or call 972-721-4829 to talk directly with a Code Enforcement team member, or call 972-721-4929 to leave a detailed message.
