'Third World' Conditions In Border Colonias: No Running Water

Is Texas failing to protect the human rights in its “colonias,” where poor residents live without running water?

"Colonias" are neighborhoods in Texas, along the Mexico border, that lack some of the most basic living necessities, such as potable water and sewer systems, according to the Texas Secretary of State office.

“Immigrants, mainly from Mexico, own the lots, and have added on new homes and shacks to accommodate the new generations. But while most residents are now US citizens, the colonias are still among the most impoverished, underserved communities in the country,” VICE News explained.

The Atlantic recently did an in-depth article on the colonias, considering whether it is the responsibility of the Texas government to provide basic water infrastructure in these long-suffering neighborhoods.

“Texas prides itself on its low taxes and lack of regulation, but it’s possible that decades of turning a blind eye to unregulated building is starting to catch up with the state. Today, around 500,000 people live in 2,294 colonias, and many still lack access to basic services, such as running water or sewer systems,” The Atlantic recently reported.

“Lots of residents live in dilapidated homes with shoddy plumbing and electrical wiring that they’ve cobbled together themselves to save money on contractors. And now, they want the state to pay to extend basic services in their homes. Water, for instance, should be a human right in America, they say,” the report said.

Veronica Escobar, the County Judge of El Paso, who functions as a county chief executive, weighed in.

“You have families that live in third world conditions in the state of Texas with a modern city just miles away,” she said. “But the state of Texas has essentially put counties in charge of health, safety and welfare, at the same time they give us very limited authority.”

It is not exactly clear whose responsibility it is to ensure these residents have running water.

“The developers who sold the land promising water and sewers are long gone. And for many the thinking — at least according to Escobar — is that if the homeowners wanted to buy land without access to running water, that’s their problem,” the report said.

Some critics say residents who buy properties without running water should be responsible for installing it, but that’s not exactly “realistic,” according to the article. “More than 40 percent of colonia residents live below the poverty line,” the news report said, citing a 2015 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The United Nations recognizes both water and sanitation as fundamental human rights. But one percent of Americans are living without running water. On the Navajo Nation, for instance, a lack of infrastructure and decades of uranium mining have made clean tap water unavailable to many. About 40 percent of residents on the Navajo Nation lack access to tap water, VICE News reported.

For more on how water infrastructure is managed, visit Water Online’s Asset Management Solutions Center.