CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Residents of the English Acres Colonia in Jim Wells County are excited to get a steady source of clean water.
Jim Wells County Pct. 1 Commissioner Margie Gonzalez said she and General Manager of the Jim Wells County Fresh Water District Octavio Flores recently secured $800,000 of state emergency funding to work on one of the water wells central to the colonia's water supply.
This after residents called and complained about having an inconsistent water supply, an issue that Gonzalez said has persisted for months due to the water well's outdated structure.
The well was in such disrepair that residents in the Colonia had to go without. Gonzalez said there was a summer where they were without water for 13 days.
“It seems like ever since then it’s been like every three or four months we’ll be without water. Or one or two days. Of Course the water well got worse," she said.
Ruben Pena is one of 75 residents who was impacted. He said when he tried to reach out for help from other sources, it took days to get a resolution and there were no lasting solutions.
"We had called them a lot before we started calling her. We used to call them a lot, we used to call Houston, and sometimes they wouldn’t fix it until Mondays," he said.
Pena said that his lack of clean water drastically impacted his day-to-day life.
“It’s hard for us to take a bath, wash clothes and wash stuff," he said.
Gonzalez said she is optimistic about the opportunities that the funding will provide residents of the colonia.
“The people have already noticed a big difference. They come in and cleaned up the lines and area," she said.
Flores said that the funding he and Gonzalez have applied for will go toward bettering colonias in other surrounding parts of Alice.
“We applied for grants from the Texas Water Development Board and I think we’re gonna get some," he said.
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