Austin’s boil water advisory, which is expected to last another “handful of days," has affected area shelters, which serve populations that are often unable to access clean water, either by boiling it themselves or purchasing bottles.

Kitchen staff at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless downtown are boiling water and storing it in freezers on-site, said Kay Klotz, communications and development director for Front Steps, which operates the shelter. Water fountains on-site have also been turned off.

“It will be a problem,” Klotz said, if the advisory is not resolved soon. “We’ll just be spending all of our time boiling water.”

The Salvation Army, which operates two shelters within Austin city limits, is also experiencing an increased need for clean water, development director Kelly Perkins said.

Houston-based supermarket chain Randall's donated more than 36,000 bottles of water to the Salvation Army's Austin branch Tuesday, which Perkins said will serve as a short-term solution to the advisory.

In addition to bottled water, the Salvation Army shelters are also experiencing a need for hand sanitizer, which is easier to use for hand-washing than bottled or boiled water.

"We're dealing with [the water situation] like any other family in Austin," Perkins said, "just our family is about 300 people."

On Tuesday, the Central Texas Food Bank also received a truckload of bottled water from Randall’s that will soon be available to its partner organizations, which distribute food to people in need across the city.

“It’s important we provide water to our clients if at all possible because their budgets are already strained,” said Paul Gaither, marketing and communications director for the Central Texas Food Bank. “Buying bottled water is not something that’s part of their normal budgets, and some of them might not have the means to boil water or boil as much water as they need.”

A spokesperson for Keep Austin Fed, a local nonprofit that works with area grocery stores to recover leftover food that is distributed to people experiencing food insecurity, said that, while there is “definitely a need” for bottled water, the organization has yet to receive any donations.

Many grocery stores are struggling to keep bottled water on their shelves, and some have closed their produce, meat and prepared food departments because of their advisory.

As a result, Keep Austin Fed expects to see a decrease in the amount of food recovered over the next few days as grocery stores deal with the effects of the advisory, the spokesperson said. 

Austin Humanists at Work, a local nonprofit that provides short-term supplies of basic living items to people experiencing homelessness, posted a call on its Facebook page Monday requesting bottled water donations.

“Help boil water for someone who can’t. Bottled water is selling out everywhere. Help those who can’t access water,” the post read.

Animal nonprofits receive help

Following the advisory announcement, the Austin Humane Society and Austin Pets Alive also posted urgent calls for water donations to help ensure the animals in their care stayed hydrated.

The Austin Humane Society needs at least 50 gallons of water each day to care for its animal population, according to a Monday press release.

As of Tuesday, Austin Pets Alive had received an “overwhelming” number of donations and no longer had any storage capacity for additional water supplies at its shelter location.

“[W]e feel very confident that we’ll be able to sustain our shelter for the duration of the ... restrictions,” the nonprofit wrote in an update on its Facebook page.