Families Displaced By Levee Breach Protest
Their chants were loud and clear: “We want our homes back! Where is the justice? We want answers!”
About a dozen protesters marched and held signs outside the office of the El Paso County Water Management District #1 Friday afternoon. They were demonstrating on behalf of the families left displaced by flooding waters from a levee breach at the Franklin Canal more than a month ago. The protesters say the people in charge of repairing the damaged homes have taken too long.
“We’ve had no answers,” said one protester. “These people have nothing.”
The water district’s general manager, Jesus Reyes, said its insurance company, The Hartford Insurance, is still reviewing claims. ABC-7 spoke with a Hartford Insurance representative who would not answer any questions regarding when the Ramos residents may be able to go back home or whether it will help pay for alternative temporary housing. The representative confirmed only that Hartford is currently evaluating the liability claims filed by the Water Improvement District last month.
Reyes said he understood why the Ramos families are upset. “I certainly feel for the people and what they’re going through,” said Reyes. “They may feel like we haven’t done enough, but I can tell you we’ve done everything we can legally. At this point, we turned it over to (Hartford).”
The people of Ramos Court have hired local attorneys to represent them in this process. For now they are staying at a local hotel paid for by the city of El Paso. The city has extended funding for their housing until July 25, but beyond that there are no guarantees.
“We just want this resolved,” said one protester.
