ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) — The City of Abilene says water issues caused by power outages may continue for “some time,” even after power is restored.

City Manager Robert Hanna called a news conference Monday evening to address the issues and answer questions after all water treatment plants used by the city lost power.

Director of Water Utilities Rodney Taylor said at the conference that they expect it to take “some time” for water service to be restored, even if power comes back soon.

“There’s really not anything we can do right now to remedy that situation,” Taylor said.

Hanna says AEP has no timetable for when power might be restored.

Mayor Anthony Williams is asking businesses, specifically restaurants, to remain dark in light of the current utility issues.

“This could be 24 hours, it could be four days,” Williams said.

The City of Abilene says they have contacted state emergency management and is working to provide water trucks for drinking purposes in the event water service cannot be restored.

A boil water notice has also been issued for the City of Abilene.

Vincent Cantu, emergency operations coordinator, says they’re working with state agencies to restore power to customers in Abilene.

The city on Monday evening asked customers to limit their water usage to cooking and drinking only as the supply dwindled amid electricity outages that have stripped more than 20,000 customers of power in the Big Country.

Less than two hours after warning customers that the supply was limited, there was no running water in Abilene.

To see the entire news conference, watch the attached video.