06 Oct Water for the Colonias (Sort of)

More than 200 underserved Webb County households are set to receive atmospheric water generators through a $412,000 initiative designed to deliver immediate drinking water while permanent infrastructure projects move forward.

Funded by a $330,000 award from the Southwest Border Regional Commission alongside an $82,000 county match, the project will distribute 300 generators across communities lacking reliable municipal water systems. The units extract moisture directly from the air and convert it into potable water.

County officials estimate the program will benefit roughly 1,300 residents across 210 households. Under the distribution plan, families of up to four will receive one generator, while households of five or more will receive two.

“This, in the meantime, will provide drinking water to all these families,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Rosaura “Wawi” Tijerina, noting that the initiative expands on a smaller pilot program launched last year.

The deployment serves as a temporary measure as Webb County works to construct conventional water infrastructure, particularly along U.S. Highway 59, where many residents still lack running water.

“I know that we don’t have running water on 59th,” Tijerina said. “We’re working on it, and it looks very, very positive.”

The water crisis in Webb County’s rural colonias (what Tijerina is referring to as the people on 59th) is rooted in mid-20th century land speculation, when developers exploited weak Texas county regulations to profit off low-income families. Between the 1950s and 1980s, developers purchased cheap agricultural land outside Laredo’s city limits, subdivided it into residential plots, and sold them through the predatory “contracts for deed.” These were high interest rate contracts that kept the title with the seller until the property was fully paid off. Think about it as a pay-to-own arrangement that meant anytime a homeowner missed or was late on a payment the owner could kick them out. When selling these colonia lots, developers promised municipal utilities would eventually follow, but instead many walked away—leaving thousands of predominantly Hispanic households in unincorporated communities without running water, paved roads, or basic sanitation. 

By the late 1980s, the resulting public health crisis compelled the Texas Legislature to enact landmark reforms, including the Economically Distressed Areas Program and Model Subdivision Rules, which outlawed unserviced residential land sales. While these 1990s mandates successfully halted the creation of new unserviced colonias, funding the backlog of legacy infrastructure remains a challenge, which is why these wells are being issued as a temporary measure.