SHERMAN, Texas (KTEN) -- The City of Sherman said the status of its water supply Wednesday night was "critical."

Thousands or households were without running water because of frozen pipes that prevented the treatment plant from functioning for days.

Now parts of the city are left  with little to no water at all.

Sherman's water system is made up of two parts:  Pumps that send groundwater to the city's eastern and southern sectors, and the treatment plant that treats water from Lake Texoma that then flows through the pipes of northern and western Sherman.

While both systems were affected by the power outages and frigid temperatures, the treatment plant took the hardest hit.

The system was left to rely on that groundwater as the treatment plant works to turn out more supply to meet the demand. Until it can be restored to full capacity, the city is asking all residents to cut back on water use.

"We do need you to conserve water, because the less water we're using, the more quickly the pipes will fill up and push water to the areas of the city that don't have it yet," said city spokesperson Nate Strauch. "If you can avoid bathing; if you can avoid running the dishwasher, doing laundry, things like that; anything that's high intensity use." 

The city asked industries that normally use large amounts of water -- like Tyson Foods and Texas Instruments -- to shut down to help the water system to build up a reserve.

Sherman residents who run out of drinking water can go to the city's Municipal Court building to pick up a supply until the system is restored. The bottled water is available 24 hours a day.