Winter Storm 2021

Where to find free drinking water across Austin

Water is available at these local companies.

Photo by Peter Dazely/Getty Images

UPDATE: This story has been updated with new locations for Sunday, February 21.

Thousands of Austin residents are now without water, whether due to city issues, pipes bursting, or water heaters malfunctioning, and those who do have access are under a mandatory boil water notice.

With water limits at H-E-B, Target, and other major retailers, dozens of local organizations are stepping up to ensure Austin residents have potable water. Temperatures are rising, which means icy roads are less of an issue and traveling to these places will be easier in the coming days.

According to city council member Greg Casar's office, emergency water trucks are en route to the region, but additional scheduling details have yet to be released. Until then, we've gathered a few places to stock up on potable drinking water on February 21, unless otherwise noted.

For nearly every place, you'll need to bring your own container, and there are limits on the amount of water available. If financially feasible, consider ordering a few six-packs or something else to keep these places running.

Saturday, February 20

Citywide

Natural Grocers — multiple locations across the city
Natural Grocers will be giving out free water from the stores' reverse osmosis water filtration machine until Tuesday, February 23.

City of Austin — multiple locations across the city
The City of Austin will be distributing water to the general public on Sunday, February 21, beginning at 11 am. Nelson Field, Onion Creek Soccer, Guerrero Park, ACC Highland, Garrison Park, Lakeline Station, Walnut Creek Park, Zilker Park, and Anderson High School. Water distribution at ACC Pinnacle begins at 9 am.

East Austin

Blue Owl Brewing — 2400 E Cesar Chavez St. #300
Open 1-6 pm Sunday and 1-5 pm Monday and Tuesday.

Batch — 3220 Manor Rd.
Noon-6 pm. (You can also order beer online because why not?)

Lazarus Brewing—1902 E. Sixth St.
9 am-10 pm. Limit 5 gallons per household.

North Austin

Cedar Park City Hall — 450 Cypress Creek Rd., Bldgs. 3 and 4
Noon-5 pm on Friday and 8 am-5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Limit 20 gallons per family.

Austin Beerworks — 3001 Industrial Terrace
From noon-5 pm on Friday, noon-6 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Adelbert's Brewing — 2314 Rutland Dr., #100
Noon-6 pm.

Hopsquad Brewing — 2307 Kramer Ln.
Noon until supplies run out, limit 5 gallons per household.

Meanwhile Brewing — 3901 Promontory Point Dr.
Noon until supplies run out, limit 5 gallons.

South Austin

St Elmo Brewing — 440 E. St. Elmo Rd., G-2
1-5 pm.

The ABGB — 1305 W. Oltorf St.
Noon to 11 pm today with water, beer, food, coffee and internet. Bring a container around back and they will fill it with clean water.

West Austin/Hill Country

Beerburg Brewing — 13476 Fitzhugh Rd.
Noon until 5 pm both Saturday and Sunday.

Vista Brewing — Driftwood and Bee Cave locations
1-7 pm, Saturday and Sunday

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CultureMap will continue to update this story.

health

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.