2 Lower Valley Colonias To Get Water

By ABC-7 Reporter Darren Hunt

El Paso, Texas – A more than two-decade long struggle by two Lower Valley subdivisions to get water is finally over. Today, Commissioner’s Court approved water and wastewater hookups from the Lower Valley Water District for the Conquistador and Lourdes subdivisions near Clint, off North Loop.

Maria Rojo, Conquistador Subdivision resident, 8 seconds) “Twenty years ago, when we bought here, they promised right away, that within five years, they were going to put water, but its been a big struggle,” said Maria Rojo, a Conquistador subdivision resident.

It wasn’t until today that Commissioner’s Court approved a $1.2 million plan to bring water to this area. The effort was headed by a Lower Valley group of women called Triumphant Families. Commissioners called the situation a health issue. Children who live out here told us it means a lot to them. For many, cold well water was the only way to wash themselves. Commissioner Veronica Escobar said this is all part of a bigger plan to eliminate colonias. “We’ve had decades of issues trying to resolve the creation of colonias when developers went in and built colonias and didn’t provide water and sewer hookups,” Escobar said. “A lot of these families were left with less than safe and healthy living conditions.”

The County Attorney’s office is now levying heavy penalties for the creation of colonias without water and wastewater hookups. In the meantime, Commissioner’s Court continues to try and fix those problems in places like this.