A new operator was assigned to fix the well in Midland County, which is still not compliant with state standards.
A playa — or flood plain — borders a neighborhood in South Midland on Feb. 1. For three years, residents from the neighborhood outside city limits consumed well water laced with traces of arsenic. The well can be seen in the bottom right of the flood plain.— a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.
Water quality, supply and infrastructure are tests for many communities in Texas — especially as the state’s population rapidly expands. The challenge is acute in the state’s rural and unincorporated areas, like Borrego’s Midland County community.$1 billion to finance desperately needed water projects in all corners of the state in one of the largest investments since 2013, which voters approved last November.
Records show the well’s water from 2020 through 2023 had chemical levels that exceeded state standards. And in some cases, the levels were unknown due to a lack of testing. The TCEQ said it issued the standard violations to the operator in each case. When the commission identifies serious or continuing violations, regulators can begin an enforcement process, which includes financial penalties of up to $25,000 and a lawsuit. Between 2011 and 2019, regulators sent four notices. On those four occasions, González said he brought the well to compliance, according to records by the regulators.
King and her husband said they had been gradually introducing themselves to the neighborhood as the new operators. The previous operator kept no records of the residents, so they went door by door. “It took us years just to find names,” King said. A study prepared by Sánchez estimates that rehabilitating the water system across the 12,000 acres of the Midland colonias would cost $10 million. A sewer service, the study said, would cost the county $16 million.Kathryn Lucero, director of DigDeep's Colonias Water Project, got running water to a community along the U.S.-Mexico border and aims to do the same for five additional colonias.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lancaster County Commissioners declare county a 'non-sanctuary' for illegal immigrationThe 2-1 vote was in response to a recent law passed by the Lancaster City Council on cooperating with ICE.
Read more »
A county-by-county look at how Illinois voted for presidential candidatesIllinois voted in its 2024 primary election Tuesday and one of the most notable tickets on the ballot remained the presidential races.
Read more »
2024 Florida Presidential Primary Election | County-by-County Voter GuideIn St. Augustine, voters will also vote on removing Article IX from the city charter, which is about pension rules.
Read more »
Voters in Kane County cast ballots in contested recorder race, county board contestsVoters in Kane County on Tuesday cast ballots for contested primary races for Kane County recorder and also for some Kane County Board seats.
Read more »
Weld County Jail staff shortage leads to service reductions, suspensions across countyRobert Garrison is a Colorado native who grew up in Montrose and attended Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. He is an AP award-winning journalist who joined Denver7 in August 2016 after working for several other stations across Colorado and Oklahoma over the past decade.
Read more »
Body of Missing Conecuh County man found in Monroe CountyThe body of a missing Conecuh County resident has been found after a seven-day search, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Read more »