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South Midland County Residents: "We Don't Have a Reliable Source of Water"
South Midland County Residents: "We Don't Have a Reliable Source of Water" 1/28/13
Jennifer Samp
jsamp@cbs7.com
January 27, 2013
Midland, TX - Residents who live in south Midland County on CR 1195 say they have gone up to three days with little to no water.
Anna Romina is one of dozens of people who live in an area without reliable water.
"Our husbands come home from work from the oil field dirty and sweaty," she said, "but they come home to no water."
She took us in her mother's home to demonstrate how she has to carefully ration the water they have.
From cooking to getting the children ready for school.
"You can brush your teeth and you can't take a shower," eight-year-old Michael Romino said.
Residents CBS 7 spoke to say the water well owner, Ramon Gonzalez turns off the water without notice and has kept it off for several days.
"It goes out unexpectedly sometimes," she said, "I'll be doing the dishes and it'll go out."
Gonzalez says the residents are using the water up and when the wells go out because the water levels are lower than it can pump then it impacts the water to the residents.
"There is a water shortage and water from the tanks can be used up in one night," Gonzalez said, "there is no way I can tell when a well is running dry or notify the residents."
Gonzalez says he services 90 households, but only 15 of those households have paid their water bill this month. Contrary to what residents say, Gonzalez says he has not cut off water their supply.
We also spoke with the precinct's commissioner Luis Sanchez who says his hands are tied because it's a private matter between the customer and business owner, but he says they are constantly looking for new water sources.
These hastily developed neighborhoods with unpaved roads are considered "Colonias". There are state grants to fund these kinds of areas, but the commissioner says without a water supply the areas wont even be considered for money.
While the county looks for a solution Anna says they will have to make-due with what they have.
Ector County has similar issues,Judge Susan Redford says they put their colonia grants to tap into the water supply from the city, but county commissioner Sanchez says that is not possible because the city of Midland will not share their water with the county.