Colonias residents won't do without this Christmas

Five colonias in Nueces County received septic tanks through TCEQ's Supplemental Environmenal Projects.

"I am in the colonias everyday and I've seen a marked improvement in the areas that received septic tanks," Lionel Lopez said. "Not only has the appearance of the people and their living areas changed, but their demeanor as well."

Rose Acres Colonia

Legal battle causes delay for colonia. Rose Acres colonia residents have waited years for basic upgrades. http://www.caller.com/news/2008/nov/30/legal-battle-causes-delay-for-colonia/

Concerns For Colonia Safety Around Prison

With the correctional facility in Robstown set to open in October, advocates are worried that the warning system for a prison escape is not adequate to notify the residents. Lionel Lopez set up a town hall meeting with L.C.S. officials about adding a loud siren to alert those living in the area. Officials were originally going to warn the 6000 residents by calling those within a 2-mile radius and canvasing the area. With the concerns for those without phone service, the prison officials were willing to add the siren. KRISTV has a couple segments on the meeting including an interview of Lionel.

Know Solar Power: Solar Water Purification Project

A great article about a project the El Paso Solar Energy Association is working on with the border colonias to generate clean drinking water.

http://solarpower-gorahara.blogspot.com/2008/08/solar-water-purification-project.html

Millions to improve Texas colonias go unspent

An Associated Press story on the $78 million is being picked up by online news outlets across the country, from USA Today; to local outlets in Dallas, Las Cruces, and Midland; to Arianna Huffington's website. There's nothing like a little national attention to start fires burning.

Petronila Creek Cleanup

After residents had been asking for years, Petronila Creek is being cleaned up. The May 10 post talked about the concerns residents had about the area. It has been reported that the prison contractor, LCS Corrections Services, will "clean the major blockages" to prevent any additional flooding that may be caused by water run-off from the 1,100-bed prison. As reported on Channel 3 KIII TV, while happy about the efforts currently underway, the residents are still concerned about whether the cleanup will be enough. Here's an additional report by KRISTV Channel 6.

$78 Million of Colonias Wastewater Grant Unspent

A federal has audit sharply criticized the Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of a $300 million grant towards the Colonias Wastewater Treatment Assistance Program, designed to provide sewer service for thousands of people living in border colonias. It was recently discovered that since the last of the grant money was awarded in 1999, nearly $78 million has remained unspent due to "numerous difficulties". The Star-Telegraph article can be read here. With a 2010 deadline for the grant, each delay reduces the purchasing power of the grant's money and delays needed public health improvements.

A copy of the EPA Inspector General's audit can be read here.

What is a "colonia"?

According to the Texas government's Office of Colonia Initiatives, a colonia is "defined as an unincorporated community located within 150 miles of the Texas-Mexico border, or a city or town within said 150 mile region with a population of less than 10,000 according to the latest U.S. Census, that has a majority population composed of individuals and families of low and very low income, who lack safe, sanitary and sound housing, together with basic services such as potable water, adequate sewage systems, drainage, streets and utilities." You can read a few more definitions here and the federal definition here.

...and just found the "definition" page on the the Texas Secretary of State's website. It lists all the definitions of "colonia" based on the state agency.

What can be done?

A reminder of something that can be done to help the residents of the colonias...

On February 17, 2008, a group of people provided free medical checkups and educational materials to over 60 residents of Robstown and the surrounding colonias. Local doctors and medical students from the UTHSCSA Frontera de Salud provided free check-upsl; Christus Spohn was present to allow access to a health care community if needed; AmeriGroup and sCHIP set up for insurance information; Humana came to offer free glucometers and additional information; flu and pneumococcal vaccines were offered to those who needed them; and rapid HIV screening per the new CDC protocol to screen everyone over 13 years old as well as additional testing for high risk individuals.

Colonia Residents Want Feds to Improve Drainage System

KIII-TV Channel 3 aired a report from the Tierra Grande colonia on May 3, 2008. The residents are frustrated over the flooding problem. They said county and state leaders have failed at fixing the drainage issue, so now they're trying to reach out to the federal government. A staff member of Senator Cornyn's office came to visit and talk with residents with Lionel Lopez.

Colonia residents concerned about creek

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times ran an article on Petronila Creek back on April 27, 2008. The article is on the need to clean up the creek, the effects of dumping, how some residents are reporting both sores on children's arms and sickened livestock, and possible effects on the area with the opening of the federal prison just north of Lost Creek.

While the article is very informative, the posted comments are equally telling. There seems to be a lack of knowledge of who actually lives in the colonias, what kind of lifestyles they live and why they are there.

If nothing else, this article lets us know that we have a long way to go in educating the public about what colonias really are and why they exist.

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• The article was commented on by Texas Prison Bid'ness.
• The public meeting mentioned in the article regarding the prison is at 7pm on Thursday, May 15 at the Holiday Inn Airport for more info read here.

Texas Stream Team Photos - 2007

The Texas Stream Team at Texas State University, San Marcos posted some pictures of Tierra Grande and Petronila Creek.

Shantytowns Migrate Far North of the Border in Texas

Washington Post article from August 2, 2004.