In Border Towns, a ‘Dangerous Combination’ of Heat and Water Cutoffs

PUEBLO DE PALMAS, Texas — On a blistering morning this week, the kitchen sink in Kathy Quilatan’s house was delivering only sputtering water. With temperatures climbing into triple digits most afternoons these days, she knew exactly what she had to do to keep her two young children, ages 2 and 6, from overheating. She gathered plastic containers and set out on a quest for water.

The neighbors could not help: Problem-plagued delivery systems have meant that entire neighborhoods like Quilatan’s along the Texas border have gone without water for hours or even days during the brutal heat that has gripped much of the Southwest this summer.

For families like the Quilatans who live in colonias, the impoverished settlements outside established cities in Texas, just the ability to cool off has become a painful reminder of the social divide prevalent in border communities.

Even in Texas, where people are accustomed to sweltering weather, the unrelenting triple-digit temperatures of the past few weeks have taken a toll, especially in low-income Latino neighborhoods like this one, where people cannot afford to turn on air conditioners.

The disparity is more visible in the colonias, mostly unincorporated neighborhoods that often lack such basic services as running water, sewer systems, paved roads and streetlights.

The excessive heat this summer has been deadly in Texas. The state has recorded at least 36 heat-related deaths so far this year, but officials warned that the figure was likely to rise, as it could take weeks to release a cause of death. In the border city of Laredo, 10 people died from heat-related problems between June 15 and July 3.

Three years ago, Quilatan and her family moved to a colonia called Pueblo de Palmas, not far from McAllen. The water went out in mid-June and did not return until mid-July this year, she said. She rallied her neighbors to pack meetings with the water district, Agua Special Utility District, to complain about the lack of water, to no avail. They were not given answers, she said. When the water did come back on, residents were advised to boil it before using it.

Representatives with the utility district did not respond to requests for comment, but a notice on the district’s website said a boil advisory was required by the state as a result of “reduced distribution system pressure.”

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/us/texas-heat-colonias.html">The New York Times</a>.