ORANGE, Texas — Some families in Southeast Texas feel like they are still paying a high price for last month's winter storm.
In some cases, their broken water pipes are just now working again, a month after the storm. Although the ice storm is long gone, the impacts still remain. Residents at the Sabine Park Apartments said they hope they will see a reduction in their rent.
One of the residents, Andrea Llanes, a mother of two, said she is relieved that her water has finally been turned back on.
"They didn't even let us know, they didn't put no note on the door, they didn't call, they didn't send an email," she said. "We had to find it out through other neighbors because we just kept asking, 'Is your water on?'"
Llanes said she was having to get water from a hose near the front office of her apartments when it was the only source of water for the entire complex after the storm.
"People were bringing pots and buckets," she said. "We brought a cooler and filled up our cooler and hauled it back to the house to boil water for showers and to wash dishes."
Many of the residents said they were not reimbursed for February's rent, making them wonder if they will be charged for March rent. Llanes said she hopes her story can help other renters dealing with similar situations to come forward.
"I just think people need to report them," she said. "I think a lot of people are scared to report because they're scared they're going to get kicked out, but it wasn't until we started asking questions and reporting things that they started to get things done."
The Sabine Park Apartments management office did not respond to a request for comment before this story aired.