As of Wednesday night, seven-million Texans were being asked to boil their water.
Many others were told to conserve water because of a growing shortage as pipes freeze and burst.
It’s an added insult to injury for those who’ve been in left in the cold for three days.
During that time, Susana Margraf said the only sources of heat in her Lewisville home have been a fireplace and time spent warming up and charging devices in her car.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
"We've used just about every blanket that we have in the house. We are very thankful that behind our house there's a very large creek. So, my husband's been going there just about every day, several times a day to bring wood back for the fire,” said Margraf.
With two dogs at home, she said they’re committed to sticking it out.
But with new calls to conserve both water and the gas that’s kept their stove going, she’s not sure how much longer they can last.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“How do they expect people to survive,” said Margraf.
Especially, she said, when they can’t get a clear answer on how long they’ll be without.
For the Graham family in Rockwall, 24 hours in the cold was enough to send them fleeing to a friend’s house which still had heat.
Melissa Graham said it was 40 degrees inside by Monday night.
When they returned to see if the power had been restored, she said they arrived to find a pipe running under a bathtub in a second-floor bathroom had burst.
"It had burst through the ceiling and water was pouring everywhere in our living room and the water had spread to our front entry, our front den, to our kitchen,” said Graham. "Being without power the entire time with kids and then, you know, coming home and not being able to be home and dealing with this is definitely overwhelming."
And for those without power who worry they could soon run out of another vital resource, it’s a fear.
"Now the water? Oh my God,” said Mohamad El-Hawary.
It’s a frustration that came after the city’s call to conserve, though he knows it’s a problem that stretches beyond them.
After spending two days in a freezing apartment with his wife, their toddler and a 10-month-old, it was one too many strikes.
Though he’s grateful to have been able to move them to a friend’s warm home, he’s worried about those that didn’t have that option.
"You know how many people, how many families in apartments with little kids that are suffering now because of what's going on? Because the responsible people, the people in charge, didn't make the proper calculations for the power consumption?" said El-Hawary.
