FORT WORTH, Texas — For most of us, last month's winter storm is now a mere memory. But for Airic Waller, it's still consuming his every day.
"Since the storm has hit, we've been without water. We have not had one day with water," he said Friday.
You read that correctly: not one day with running water in fives weeks time.
He lives at The Reserve at Bellevue apartments in east Fort Worth, one of three complexes still having water issues stemming from the storm, says Sonia Singleton, assistant director of Fort Worth's Neighborhood Services Department.
"You have two apartment complexes that they have water, but they don't have hot water. But then we have one apartment complex that has basically had a catastrophic failure," she said, referring to The Reserve at Bellevue.
Bellevue Realty Management's Executive Vice President Sana Syed said 55 pipes burst due to the effects of the storm.
No running water has led Waller to have to jump from hotel to hotel for weeks, spending thousands, he said.
"It's terrible. It's terrible. And now we have seven days to leave," he said.
A note that was posted to his front door Thursday said the storm damage was so severe that everyone must now find a new place to live.
Syed said the extensive damage is causing management to have to renovate the entire complex.
"By the time we found out about this at City Hall, I was truly just rattled," said Fort Worth City Councilwoman Gyna Bivens, who represents the district that includes The Reserve at Bellevue.
Bivens said Bellevue management didn't do enough for its 140 or so residents, when help was readily available. Syed said Friday night management did everything in their capacity.
The city has a meeting planned for Tuesday, March 23, so residents can learn about the assistance that's available to them. That meeting is at 4:30 pm at the Crossroads Tabernacle Church at 1470 Morrison Drive in Fort Worth.
"The city has stepped in because it’s a great humanitarian need there," Singleton said.
For Waller, having no water, and now having to move out, has led to a lot of hard questions over the past weeks.
"Are we going to eat today or are we going to get water today? Are we going to sleep in a hotel or are we going to go do laundry today?"
And now, another hard question: where is he going to go?
"I have no idea. Probably to the Super 8 again, possibly," he said.
It's a situation he can't believe he's still in.
For more information on getting assistance in the city of Fort Worth: https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/storm-recovery
Click here for a disaster relief application: https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/files/assets/public/storm-recovery/documents/disaster-relief-app.pdf