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Introduction to Community Cultural Wealth

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Introduction to Community Cultural Wealth

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The Community Cultural Wealth model, developed by Tara Yosso, provides a framework for understanding how marginalized communities utilize various forms of capital to navigate environmental challenges.

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First Generation College Students: Navigating Higher Education

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Dr. Yosso's

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Cultural Wealth Model examines six forms of cultural capital that help students of color experience college from an appreciative standpoint: aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistance. This model explores the talents, strengths, and experiences that students of color bring with them to their college environment.
Aspirational Capital
Is the ability to maintain hope and dreams for the future in the face of real and perceived barriers. For FGCS the aspiration of education is a space of financial mobility despite barriers of inequality.

Tip: Center yourself. Spend some time exploring what you've always dreamt of becoming. Grab some magazines or just a blank sheet of paper to create a vision board or map out your college journey. What experiences do you want to have? Will you study abroad? How about a summer internship? Maybe become a member of an organization? How about joining student senate? Maybe write for the school paper? Maybe start your own club? When you need help, do you know who to turn to?
Linguistic Capital
Is the ability for students to develop communication skills through various experiences. For students who act as an interpreter for members of their family as well as the culture being based in storytelling, linguistic capital may enhance a student's ability for "memorization, attention to detail, dramatic pauses, comedic timing, facial affect, vocal tone, volume, rhythm and rhyme." (p. 79)

Tip: For all the times
Familial Capital
Is recognizing and utilizing extended family and community members to enhance social and personal human resources that will assist you as you navigate to and through college.
you've told the same story over again and so has your cousin, aunt, uncle, guardian or friend, yet you still want to hear it again and again. See that experience as an exchange of oral history or your ability to captivate an audience. That is a skill and don't you forget it! Harness your ability to pay attention to detail and have people hanging on your every word. Remember those skills as you present in class, engage in extracurricularactivities, or when you are advocating for your needs. Use your voice!
Tip: Think about what makes your community yours and recreate it at your institution. Have you joined any student organizations? Is there a First Gen student group you can join? Have you c onnected with your roommate or floor mates? How about the Multicultural Center, Pride Center, or Women's Center? Did you participate in any pre- orientation programs? Have you gone to your professors office hours? How about grabbing a bite to eat with someone in your class to get to know them better? Remember you are not in this alone. There are people throughout your college career who will help you in your transition. BUILD YOUR COLLECTIVE!
Social Capital
Is the network of people and community resources that provide both emotional and advice on how to navigate institutions of oppression both within higher education and in the larger society

Tip:
Navigational Capital
Refers to a student's ability to navigate "social institutions", where "navigational capital empowers them to maneuver within unsupportive or hostile environments" (Yosso, 2005)
Think back to your community at home. Who supported you through your K-12 experience? Which teachers, staff, community, and/or family members showed you that they cared? Are you still in contact with them? Have you found those types of people on campus? Seek them out! Connect with people who will help you on your educational journey.
Tip: Seek out your community. Make sure it is comprised of all those who care about you and will challenge and support you on your journey. Do not be scared to question your experiences. Create change if you feel uncomfortable. Find your safe spaces on campus and speak your truth!
Resistance Capital
Your resistance is passed down from generation to generation. It is the ability for marginalized populations to persist and resist in the face of oppression and opposition to become empowered. Your legacy of resistance will assist you as navigate your institution and create change in you community and campus community.

Tip:

How will you share your knowledge with your community? How will return to your community as a change agent? Recall the moments that got you here. How will you continue the legacy and lift as you climb? First Generation College Students : Navigating Higher Education

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First Generation College Students: Community Cultural Wealth

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Embracing & Appreciating Your Experiences

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Historical patterns of discrimination have led to disparities in water access and quality. Understanding this history is crucial for addressing current challenges.

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The Work: The deep roots of environmental racism and the fight for justice

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The resulting environmental justice movement has helped bring attention to the role that public policies, together with market forces and other factors, may play in the genesis or exacerbation of environmental inequities and their often attendant health inequalities.

(Minkler et al., 2008; Morello-Frosch, Porras, et al., 2005; Shepard et al., 2002; Wing, 1998)

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) responds to the many ways of schooling by placing value in ‘sustain the lifeways’ of communities rather than eradicating them, and by positioning cultural dexterity as a necessary good.

(Alim et al., 2020)

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Promoting Environmental Justice Through Community-Based Participatory Research: The Role of Community and Partnership Capacity - Meredith Minkler, Victoria Breckwich Vásquez, Mansoureh Tajik, Dana Petersen, 2008

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Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being used to study and address environmental justice. This article presents the results of a cros…

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Find the Artifact:

Artifacts are present through out this Padlet. Each artifact will correspond to cultural wealth water project.

How to get involved in your own community:

1. Art campaign (e.g. poetry, music, marketing, mural, scuplture).

2. Connect with environmental justice organizations.

3. Participate in community education initiatives.

4. Support water protection efforts.

5. Document and share community stories about water.

6. Contact your local politician.

7. VOTE

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Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2025

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The Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Area (Region M) consists of the eight counties along the middle and lower Rio Grande up to the river’s mouth at the Gulf of Mexico.

Hispanic Texans are helping drive population growth in the Rio Grande Valley. The Hispanic population grew by 10.6 percent from 89.6 percent of the total population in 2010 to 91.5 percent in 2019, reaching nearly 1.3 million. (American Immigration Council, 2025)

Hispanic Texans in the region hold substantial voting power. In 2019, the Hispanic population made up 87.7 percent of eligible voters in the region, including Hispanic naturalized citizens, who on their own made up 13.3 percent. (American Immigration Council, 2025)

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This list of potentially feasible strategies:

Advanced Municipal Conservation

Irrigation District Conservation

Agricultural (On-Farm) Conservation

Industrial Conservation

Conversion of Water Right Classification

New or Expanded Surface Water Treatment

New or Expanded Distribution and Transmission Facilities Resulting in Increased Supplies

Storage Reservoirs

New or Expanded Fresh Groundwater Supply

New or Expanded Brackish Groundwater Desalination

Seawater Desalination

Drought Management

Aquifer Storage and Recovery

Regional Water Supply Facilities

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Region M draws most of its water from the Rio Grande, via the Amistad-Falcon Reservoir system, which is shared with Mexico. The waters of the Middle and Lower Rio Grande are managed by the International Boundary and Water Commission and the TCEQ’s Rio Grande Watermaster.

(Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2025)

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Oil and gas production in the region have changed considerably from traditional oil drilling to hydraulic fracturing and nontraditional development, which has a significant impact on the regional economy and associated water demands.

(Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2026)

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The major economic growth areas are construction, professional and business services, education and health services, and leisure and hospitality; information technology and mining show little to no growth.

(Texas Labor Market and Career Information, 2024)

Despite growth in some sectors of the economy, the region experiences significantly lower income and higher unemployment than the rest of Texas and the nation as a whole. A clear division exists between the urban growth centers (Brownsville, McAllen, Harlingen, and Laredo) and smaller rural towns and colonias.

(Texas Water Development Board, 2024)

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"Legal does not necessarily equal safe."

Arsenic, a potent carcinogen causing cancer, a EWG Health Guideline (0.004) ppb or less.

Utility:

City of McAllen, TX - (2.25), (Legal Limit: 10ppb)

City of Edinburg, TX - (2.15), (Legal Limit: 10ppb)

Harlingen Water Works System, TX - (3.37), (Legal Limit: 10ppb)

Bromodichloromethane, disinfection by product known to cause cancer. a EWG Health Guideline (0.06) ppb or less.

City of Laredo, TX - (9.93), (No Legal Limit)

Chlorite, disinfection byproduct known to decrease hemoglobin levels, a EWG Health Guideline (50) ppb or less.

Brownsville, TX - (307.1), Legal Limit: 1,000ppb

Chromium (hexavalent), potent carcinogen cuasing cancer, a EWG Health Guideline (0.02) ppb or less.

City of Mission, TX - (0.133), No Legal Limit

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BREAKING: March 14, 2023 - The Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new limits to tackle drinking water contamination from the toxic "forever chemicals" known as PFAS. The proposal targets six notorious PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX.

The limits, known as maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs, are the highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water. The MCLs announced are 4 parts per trillion, or ppt, for PFOA and 4 ppt for PFOS. For the other four PFAS the agency is proposing using a "hazard index" which is a tool used to address cumulative risks from mixtures of chemicals.

View water results by state

EWG's Tap Water Database is provided solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You may not copy, reproduce, republish or distribute information from EWG's Tap Water Database without EWG's prior written permission. For information about licensing EWG data and analyses, contact permissionrequests[at]ewg.org.

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EWG's Tap Water Database: What's in Your Drinking Water?

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Look up your local water system to find out which pollutants might be of concern, and find suggestions on the best kinds of home filters to remove those chemicals.

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Environmental Implications of Shale Gas Hydraulic Fracturing- A Comprehensive Review on Water Contamination and Seismic Activity in the United States

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By ALEXANDREA BAILEY editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com SpaceX has filed an application to authorize the discharge of a deluge water system into the wetlands and Rio Grande river systems near Starbase…

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Energy News, Top Headlines, Commentaries, Features & Events - EnergyNow.com

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January 26, 2021 EnergyNow Media

These translations are done via Google Translate

(Bloomberg) Elon Musk recently moved to Texas, where he launches some of his rockets and is building a battery factory. Now, for good measure, he plans to drill for natural gas in the state.The billionaire's SpaceX intends to drill wells close to the company's Boca Chica launchpad, it was revealed during a Friday hearing before the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state's energy regulator.Production has yet to start because of a legal dispute between the SpaceX subsidiary Lone Star Mineral Development and another energy company. Tim George, an attorney representing Lone Star, said at the hearing that SpaceX plans to use the methane it extracts from the ground "in connection with their rocket facility operations."

While it's unclear what exactly the gas would be used for, SpaceX plans to utilize super-chilled liquid methane and liquid oxygen as fuel for its Raptor engines. The company's Starship and Super Heavy vehicles are tested at Boca Chica, and orbital launches are planned for the site.

Starhopper rocket at the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) South Texas launch site in Boca Chica Village in Brownsville, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk had competed for nearly a decade to develop engines and rockets through their privately owned space companies when the perk came their way in 2018. Their companies' sites were included among the thousands of tracts across the U.S. designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones.

George declined to answer further questions and hung up when called for comment. SpaceX didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk said in December he relocated to Texas to focus on SpaceX's Starship vehicle and Tesla Inc.'s new Gigafactory, which is being built near Austin. On Thursday, the billionaire tweeted that he plans to donate $100 million toward a prize for the best carbon-capture technology. His past comments have suggested that he wants to use the tech to produce synthetic carbon-neutral rocket fuel. Until then, fossil fuels will power SpaceX rockets.

Formed in June 2020, Lone Star bought the 806-acre (326-hectare) La Pita oil lease from Houston-based Sanchez Energy, which was later renamed Mesquite Energy Inc. after exiting bankruptcy. Financial terms for the deal weren't disclosed, but the SpaceX subsidiary's drilling plans have been called into question amid a dispute with Dallas Petroleum Group, which claims ownership of some inactive wells sitting on the same land.

Dallas Petroleum took the dispute to the Railroad Commission in August. Two months later, it sued three companies - Sanchez Midstream Partners LP, Sanchez Midstream Partners GP LLC and Sanchez Oil & Gas Corp. - in state court in Brownsville, Texas.

That lawsuit prompted SpaceX's land-acquisition arm Dogleg Park LLC to intervene in November. In a filing to the court, Dogleg said Dallas Petroleum locked SpaceX out of the property and asserted ownership claims for the "sole purpose of extorting money from SpaceX."

Dallas Petroleum Group denies the allegations and maintains it has ownership of both the wells and the 24 surrounding acres.

During Friday's hearing, Dallas Petroleum CEO Matt Williams shared aerial photos that he said showed company equipment near the wells had been disconnected, while drilling and hydraulic-fracturing gear it doesn't own had been moved onto the property. His company, he added, was also given a trespass warning.

"Our signs are all over these tanks and the well head," he said. "Any operation that went on there, we were very much liable for any problems that could have happened."

The Brownsville court is due to hear the lawsuit on Feb. 9 while Railroad Commission Administrative Law Judge Jennifer Cook is likely to take months to propose a decision that will later be voted on by the agency's three commissioners in a public hearing. Cook is expected to scrutinize Dallas Petroleum's claims against property and tax records, which list Sanchez as owner of the disputed land.

The area around the SpaceX facility has seen limited oil and gas development. There are almost a nearby dozen wells classified as either abandoned or dry holes, Railroad Commission Records show. Canadian company Enbridge Inc. owns and operates the nearby Valley Crossing Pipeline, which moves 2.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas to customers in Mexico.

The Brownsville region may see more energy investment in the years ahead. There are separate plans for three liquefied natural gas export terminals about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of the launch site. Environmental reports for those projects say they could safely coexist with SpaceX, although some activists dispute those claims.

More News Articles
(Bloomberg) Elon Musk recently moved to Texas, where he launches some of his rockets and is building a battery factory. Now, for good measure, he plans to drill for natural gas in the state.The billionaire's SpaceX intends to drill wells close to the company's Boca Chica launchpad, it was revealed during a Friday hearing before the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state's energy regulator.Production has yet to start because of a legal dispute between the SpaceX subsidiary Lone Star Mineral Development and another energy company. Tim George, an attorney representing Lone Star, said at the hearing that SpaceX plans to use the methane it extracts from the ground "in connection with their rocket facility operations."
While it's unclear what exactly the gas would be used for, SpaceX plans to utilize super-chilled liquid methane and liquid oxygen as fuel for its Raptor engines. The company's Starship and Super Heavy vehicles are tested at Boca Chica, and orbital launches are planned for the site.

Starhopper rocket at the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) South Texas launch site in Boca Chica Village in Brownsville, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk had competed for nearly a decade to develop engines and rockets through their privately owned space companies when the perk came their way in 2018. Their companies' sites were included among the thousands of tracts across the U.S. designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones.

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SpaceX Plans to Drill for Natural Gas Near Texas Launchpad

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By Sergio Chapa (Bloomberg) Elon Musk recently moved to Texas, where he launches some of his rockets and is building a battery factory. Now, for good measure, he plans to drill for natural gas in the state.The billionaire's SpaceX intends to drill wells close to the company's Boca Chica launchpad, it...

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As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas leaders look to new water supplies to sustain growth

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Leaders hope to treat groundwater and capture more rain as the water from one of the nation’s most iconic rivers becomes less reliable.

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Senate Bill 1967 - Hidalgo County Drainage District Delta Project

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Senate Bill 1967 - Hidalgo County Drainage District Delta Project

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Project that could ‘revolutionize regional water supply’ in RGV will soon qualify for state funding – Rio Grande Guardian

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Previously, the $220 million-plus Delta Region Water Management Project did not qualify for funding under the Texas Water Development Board’s Flood Infrastructure Fund. SB 1967, authored by state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, changes that.

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In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where rainfall can be highly variable, arroyos, dry creeks or stream beds that temporarily fill and flow after heavy rain, can rapidly channel large volumes of water, leading to sudden and severe storm events (Love, 2023).

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Associated systemic water issues:

Drought

Mexico Water Debt

Flooding

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SB 7 - Flexibility on State Water Projects

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SB 7 - Flexibility on State Water Projects

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Jayme Lozano Carver and Alejandra Martinez

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Can Texas lawmakers agree on how to spend billions to save the state’s water supply?

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The Texas House took its first step toward revising a priority Senate bill last week. The changes were lauded by the state’s water community.

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How a new bill could help South Texas turn floodwater into drinking water

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How a new bill could help South Texas turn floodwater into drinking water

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Water-wary officials in drought-stricken South Texas are celebrating a bill that passed a significant hurdle in the Texas Legislature last week.

Senate Bill 1967, a bipartisan bill that would allow certain water infrastructure projects to access previously unattainable funding from the state's Flood Infrastructure Fund, was enrolled on Thursday, May 8, after passing both Texas legislative chambers over the past two weeks.

Specifically, it would allow the Delta Water Reclamation Project - a $220 million project in Hidalgo County - to tap into the state's Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF), which is managed by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).

The project aims to turn stormwater and agricultural runoff, as well as treated wastewater effluent, into clean drinking water.

The bill was authored by the Rio Grande Valley's longest serving state senator, Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a McAllen Democrat, but had the support of the entire Valley delegation in both chambers of the Texas Legislature.

The legislation flew through the House and Senate this week and last, and was enrolled on Thursday, May 8, putting it just steps away from heading to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for final approval.

The legislation is a momentous achievement for Hidalgo County - and the Rio Grande Valley as a whole - which has been beset by numerous water related catastrophes over the last decade.

That includes devastating floods that have caused hundreds of millions in damage in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2025.

It also includes relentless drought and water scarcity that has prompted the implementation of water conservation measures and has spelled the death knell for the Valley's sugarcane-growing industry while ramping up pressure on other agribusinesses.

The $220 million Delta Reclamation Project seeks to kill two water birds with one stone through a first-of-its-kind concept to create potable water that has, until now, been seen as unusable waste.

Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David Fuentes, who has spearheaded the project for the last eight years, got the idea during a visit to the similarly drought-stricken city of Santa Monica, California.

Last April, Fuentes and other county leaders hosted a ribbon cutting at a facility in rural La Villa that was meant to serve as a proof of concept.

There, he opened a tap that unleashed filtered runoff water into a small retention pond.

The water wasn't safe to drink - yet - but the facility helped to satisfy questions from state water regulators as the county makes its way through the years-long serpentine process of making the reclamation project a reality.

"That was a temporary water plant and it was brought in exclusively to be able to do the testing that TCEQ wanted us to do," Fuentes said, referring to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The pilot facility has since been dismantled, Fuentes said.

TCEQ has already given the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 approval to one day construct four such reclamation facilities that are expected to generate a combined 18 million gallons of drinkable water every day.

Further, the drainage district already owns the rights to some 62,000 acre-feet of water, meaning there's nearly boundless room to expand the capacities of the reclamation plants, Fuentes said.

So much so that the reclamation facilities could theoretically produce a volume of water one day that's equal to about 20% the amount that Mexico owes to the United States under the terms of a 1944 water sharing treaty.

Mexico's consistent failure to heed the treaty is what caused the Valley's sugarcane industry to fold last February. And it's what has water managers and farmers across the region losing sleep.

But 62,000 acre-feet of water, produced domestically from storm runoff, would be "enormous," Fuentes said.

"If we still had the same situation - drought and Mexico still doesn't release water - this is a source of water that could potentially... provide us up to 20% of that entire water treaty," he said.

Hidalgo County has already earmarked a total of $30 million toward making the reclamation facilities a reality thanks to two voter-approved bond issuances in 2018 and 2023.

But it will cost millions more to see them come to fruition.

SB1967 expands the kinds of project criteria that the TWDB can consider when weighing which projects to fund, Fuentes said.

Currently, Flood Infrastructure Fund monies go toward funding drainage projects. But the Delta reclamation project is both a drainage and a "water resource," or water creating project.

That two-in-one aspect actually caused the project to score lower on the TWDB funding scoring metrics.

So, too, did the drainage district's classification. Previously, the district was not considered a water supplier - not one that sells water. That changed in the 2023 legislative session, when House Bill 2373 allowed the district to be designated a water wholesaler.

If SB1967 becomes law, it would allow the water development board to give more consideration to dual-purpose projects like the Delta reclamation project, Fuentes said.

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Is this new bill the answer to South Texas' water crisis?

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A Texas bill could unlock state funding for Hidalgo County's Delta Water Reclamation Project, aiming to ease drought and flood woes.

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The Impossibly Expensive Plan to Save Texas’s Water Supply 

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The Impossibly Expensive Plan to Save Texas’s Water Supply 

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Releases from Amistad and Falcon reservoirs are coordinated to deliver water to users throughout the region. The US system of water rights is unique to the Rio Grande: a tiered system prioritizes domestic, municipal, and industrial (DMI) water rights and establishes two classes (A and B) of mining and irrigation water rights.

(Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2025)

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Lawmakers near deal to spend $20 billion over two decades on water crisis

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Lawmakers near deal to spend $20 billion over two decades on water crisis

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Alejandra Martinez and Jayme Lozano Carver

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Lawmakers near deal to spend $20 billion over two decades on water crisis

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The deal allocates $1 billion a year to water projects for 20 years, which some groups estimate is a fraction of what Texas needs to save its water supply.

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Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

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As the manager of state (surface) waters, TCEQ understands the importance of Treaty waters to Texas water right holders.

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Water treaty between Mexico and U.S. faces biggest test in 80 years

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Water treaty between Mexico and U.S. faces biggest test in 80 years

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Water treaty between Mexico and U.S. faces biggest test in 80 years

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The water-sharing systems between Mexico and the U.S. are facing one of the biggest tests in their 80-year history after Mexico has fallen behind on billions of gallons of water deliveries.

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U.S., Mexico agree to new deal that sends water to South Texas

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The latest development in a years-long push by South Texas farmers and officials to get Mexico to fulfill a 1944 treaty would still fall short of what is owed.

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Colonias are semi-rural subdivisions that are often developed with substandard or no potable water and sanitary sewer systems. Without potable waterlines, many colonia residents rely on buckets or drums of water, which may become contaminated. Improper wastewater disposal can add to the health and safety concerns.

(Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2025)

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McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report) - Contaminated drinking water in colonias is drawing new attention to what many say is an old problem for the substandard neighborhoods found on the Southwest border with Mexico.

On Thursday, a faith-based nonprofit teamed up with a major university to announce a comprehensive two-year study of water quality in two colonias in Hidalgo County, Texas.

This comes as 10 lawmakers in Congress this week sent a letter to a federal agency requesting $100 million in additional funds in Fiscal Year 2024 to expand the EPA's U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP), which helps to develop infrastructure projects on both sides of the border to improve water conditions.

"Our southern border states are home to 2,000 colonias, many of which lack basic infrastructure
like water and wastewater services among others. In Mexico, urbanization, geography and
inadequate wastewater infrastructure have led to untreated sewage, trash and sediment routinely flowing into the U.S. through shared waterways. This program is designed to aid those
communities, on both sides of the border," read the letter sent Tuesday to the Office of Management and Budget from U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from South Texas.

Also signing the letter were these border lawmakers:

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas

U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas

U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona

U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico

"Clean water doesn't necessarily mean clean water in the colonias," Jaime Wesolowski, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas Inc., told Border Report on Thursday. "A lot of the colonias have water that they're using as clean water, but they are laced with arsenic, lead, uranium and other contaminants."

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas and Texas A&M University are conducting an aggressive two-year study of colonia water by testing samples for a half dozen suspected main contaminants. The colonias are located in the rural San Carlos community, east of the town of Edinburg; and near the town of Progreso, officials said.

Methodist Healthcare is funding the project, but Texas A&M University School of Public Health will oversee all the data collection and research, Wesolowski said after a panel discussion held about the new project at a Methodist church in McAllen.

"Once we have this data I believe it will force legislators who have a conscious to do something about this," Wesolowski said. "Bring clean safe water to the colonias along the Rio Grande Valley."

The study will include local high school students procuring water samples that are to be analyzed, as well as interviews with area residents and leaders. Regular updates and town hall meetings, held in English and Spanish, also will be part of the study, they said.

The final data, however, won't be ready in time for this current 88th Texas Legislature, which began earlier this month. They are targeting the 2025 Legislature, Wesolowski said.

"We'll have facts to bring to the community to educate our legislators on. And we hope that our local legislators here in the Rio Grande Valley can then partner with us and take those facts to the legislature in the 2025 session and try to get some funding from the state to come here and do what is the right thing to do. We can't have families thinking they're using clean water that are laced with arsenic," Wesolowski told Border Report.

Arsenic is naturally found in the South Texas soil, and in the soil in northern Mexican border towns, A&M scientists said. But it is widely known that higher levels are found in colonias, which currently have unregulated water supplies, and often rely on private well water.

Arsenic can cause cancer, heart disease, and cognitive and other health disorders, including developmental delays in children, they said.

This has been going on for decades, the panelists said, adding that they hope these findings will support the widely held theories about contaminated drinking water in these communities and will force a change in Texas laws to make tougher regulations and improve water quality conditions.

"We are doing our best to give the information back and let them use it in whatever form they want to help leverage this for improved conditions for healthier Texans," said Garett Sansom, of Texas A&M, who will be leading the research.

The lawmakers who signed the letter to OMB this week wrote that clean water on the border must be taken more seriously by lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to help border residents.

Currently, over 600 colonias in Tijuana and Rosarito, Mexico, south of San Diego, are running out of water due to drought and poor infrastructure, and are asking the San Diego County Water Authority for help.

"We must prioritize funding for BWIP to meet the needs of colonia residents who lack basic services, and to meet the broader needs of the border, including first-time water hook-ups and sewage infrastructure," Cuellar said.

To date, 137 projects have so far been financed using U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program funds, including 69 in the United States and 68 Mexico, Cuellar said.

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methodist healthcare ministries of south texas

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Texas A&M, faith-based nonprofit to study water contamination in border 'colonias'

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Contaminated drinking water in poor colonias is drawing new attention to what many say is an old problem for the substandard neighborhoods found on the Southwest border with Mexico.

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Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

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The TCEQ’s primary role in colonias is regulatory, including the areas of enforcement, certificates of convenience and necessity, on-site sewage facilities, and assistance in the development of model subdivision rules. The TCEQ can also provide assistance through “supplemental environmental projects.”

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Fronteras: ‘Improving water infrastructure is essential’ — 2-year study examines arsenic in RGV colonias’ drinking water

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A group of researchers from Texas A&M University and Methodist Healthcare Ministries collaborated to investigate the presence of arsenic and other water contaminants in colonias in South Texas border communities.

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Environmental crisis in RGV is well known; the solution lies in economic development

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Environmental crisis in RGV is well known; the solution lies in economic development

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‘Alarming’ findings show arsenic in water at each home tested in Alamo, Progreso colonias

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‘Alarming’ findings show arsenic in water at each home tested in Alamo, Progreso colonias

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Financial Assistance Announced for Rio Grande Valley Farmers Impacted by Water Crisis

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Financial Assistance Announced for Rio Grande Valley Farmers Impacted by Water Crisis

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Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening provides a statement

PUBLISHED ON

WACO, Texas - "Mexico's failure to deliver the water it owes our nation under the 1944 Water Treaty has created an unprecedented economic crisis for Rio Grande Valley farmers. Texas Farm Bureau is thankful for the efforts of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Texas Congressional leaders who recognized this tremendous hardship and announced $280 million in critical economic relief to help impacted farmers in the area.

"We agree with Secretary Rollins that this assistance is only a short-term fix. It is imperative Mexico deliver the water it owes the United States. Texas Farm Bureau is committed to finding solutions to force Mexico to abide by the 1944 Water Treaty and ensure annual delivery of water to the U.S. This is a national legislative priority of our organization.

"Texas Farm Bureau appreciates the efforts of U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as the efforts U.S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, in securing this important funding. The assistance will be provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a block grant agreement with the Texas Department of Agriculture, and we appreciate Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller for his work to deliver this assistance in a timely manner."

- Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening

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Financial Assistance Announced for Rio Grande Valley Farmers Impacted by Water Crisis

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WACO, Texas -- "Mexico's failure to deliver the water it owes our nation under the 1944 Water Treaty has created an unprecedented economic crisis for...

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$280M announced for Valley farmers struggling amid water scarcity

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$280M announced for Valley farmers struggling amid water scarcity

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The Rio Grande Basin and the Amistad-Falcon Reservoir system refer to the drought spanning from June 1994 to August 2023 (US portion) as the drought of record (DOR).

(Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2025)

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We never got along with District No. 3, admits former McAllen mayor

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We never got along with District No. 3, admits former McAllen mayor

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We never got along with District No. 3, admits former McAllen mayor – Rio Grande Guardian

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Appearing at the Delta Area Summit, Jim Darling is asked to talk about the merger of two Hidalgo County water districts.

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Governor Abbott Champions Texas’ Economic Development At South Texas Alliance Of Cities In McAllen

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Governor Abbott Champions Texas’ Economic Development At South Texas Alliance Of Cities In McAllen

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Governor Abbott Champions Texas’ Economic Development At South Texas Alliance Of Cities In McAllen

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September 24, 2024 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

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New insight into Texas family detention reveals adults fighting kids for clean water

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New insight into Texas family detention reveals adults fighting kids for clean water

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New insight into Texas family detention reveals adults fighting kids for clean water

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A motion filed Friday reveals details about the conditions some immigrant families face at detention centers in Texas.

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McAllen’s new storm water facility tackles flooding issues

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McAllen’s new storm water facility tackles flooding issues

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McAllen’s new storm water facility tackles flooding issues

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MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — McAllen city officials on Monday held a ribbon-cutting for the Northwest Blueline Regional Detention Facility. According to the city, the project is aimed at reduci…

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1. American Immigration Council. “Power of the Purse: Contributions of Hispanic Americans in the Rio Grande Valley - American Immigration Council.” American Immigration Council, 6 Jan. 2025, www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/contributions-hispanic-americans-rio-grande-valley/.

2. CGTN America. “The Work: The Deep Roots of Environmental Racism and the Fight for Justice.” YouTube, 24 Feb. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_9FjpQNAhI.

3. Da Graca, M., & Dougherty, L. (2015, November 23). First Generation College Students: Community Cultural Wealth. First Generation College Students: Navigating Higher Education. https://scalar.usc.edu/works/first-generation-college-student-/community-cultural-wealth.10

4. Hwang, B., Heo, J., Lim, C., & Park, J. (2023). Environmental Implications of Shale Gas Hydraulic Fracturing: A Comprehensive Review on Water Contamination and Seismic Activity in the United States. Water, 15(19), 3334. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193334

5. Minkler, M., Vásquez, V. B., Tajik, M., & Petersen, D. (2008). Promoting environmental justice through community-based participatory research: The role of community and partnership capacity. Health Education & Behavior, 35(1), 119-137.

6. Texas Labor Market and Career Information, Texas Workforce Commission. https://texaslmi.com/LMIbyCategory/Projections. Accessed 7/11/2024.

7. Texas Water Development Board. 2024 State Flood Plan. 2024, www.twdb.texas.gov/flood/planning/sfp/2024/index.asp.

8. Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group. 2026 RIO GRANDE REGIONAL WATER PLAN INITIALLY PREPARED PLAN. 1 Mar. 2025.

9. Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race ethnicity and education, 8(1), 69-91.

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Lower Rio Grande Region from an average of 28 inches at the coast to 18 inches in the northwestern portion of the region, primarily from thunderstorms in the spring and occasional hurricanes in the late summer and fall. These storms can generate tremendous amounts of rainfall over a short period of time and cause extensive flooding because of the region’s relatively flat terrain.

(Texas Water Development Board, 2024)

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Number of identified major constructed flood infrastructure by flood planning region

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Number of identified major constructed flood infrastructure by flood planning region

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1350

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Number of identified proposed and ongoing projects per flood planning region

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Number of identified proposed and ongoing projects per flood planning region

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Water in the Rio Grande is normally of suitable quality for irrigation, livestock, and industrial uses; however, salinity, nutrients, and fecal coliform bacteria are of concern throughout the basin. Salinity concentrations in the Rio Grande are the result of both human activities and natural conditions. Untreated or poorly treated discharges from inadequate wastewater treatment facilities, primarily in Mexico, and nonpoint source pollution on both sides of the river, including poorly constructed or malfunctioning septic and sewage collection systems and improperly managed animal wastes, contribute to fecal coliform levels.

(Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, 2025)

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Water is as destructive as fire, but from the ashes is rebirth and with water there is life.

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Crónicas de una inundación (Poemas para desahogarse) ✍ Julieta Rosso ~ TFK

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▷Prólogo Estos poemas están inspirados en la tragedia que se vivió en mi ciudad, Bahía Blanca, el 7 de marzo de 2025. Algunas son vivencias propias. Otras

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Youth flows like the waves of the ocean, it comes and goes just as quickly as you start to sink in the sand; we should acknowledge that its as fragile as our own lives.

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I need the sea because it teaches me is the opening line from a wonderful poem by Pablo Neruda

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This isn't just about water. It's about a community that needs to survive. A testimony of a local who see the beauty in our community. What will happen if the water disappears? Well, so will the beauty.

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Irrigation pipes of McAllen. Art is a source of life, just like our water.

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Keep McAllen Beautiful - Public Art Project

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The river is a life source that we live with interrelationally.

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With el río grande~bravo in our face This river at its mouth at its source With you at its source its sources With you at the snow the evergreens The million earth holes of water emerging…

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"The Joys of Drinking From Garden Hoses When You're a Kid". (2022). IMAGE. Erik Deckers' Laughing Stalk Blog.

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Drinking from Manguera, a universal symbol of growing up and trying to cool down on a hot summer day.

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Objective:

You will journey into this mind map to discover systemic water issues in the Rio Grande Valley, and discern underlying themes. Follow the arrows to discover new information on systemic issues, how the community is addressing these issues, and consider "Is it enough?".

Use this Padlet to ask questions or leave feedback on any of the tiles through out this mind map.

Questions to consider:

1. What defines “success” in CBPR partnerships?

2. What role does community readiness play in determining the appropriate action?

3. What mechanisms can ensure equitable power-sharing?

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© Nicholas Balderas, 2025 - All Rights Reserved

This project was created for academic purposes. Please give appropriate credit if using or referencing any part of this work. Unauthorized copying or distribution is not allowed without permission.

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Nicholas Balderas M.S.C.S

Graduate Student, Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Nicholas.Balderas01@utrgv.edu