LYNDON B. JOHNSON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS POLICY RESEARCH PR~JECT REPORT Number 18 • COLONIAS IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY OF SOUTH TEXAS: A SUMMARY REPORT A Report by The Lower Rio Grande Valley Policy Research Project The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs The University of Texas at Austin Library of Congress Card Number: 77-620086 @ 1977 The Board of Regents The University of Texas Price: $3.00 FOREWORD The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs has established interdisciplinary research on policy problems as the core of its educational program. A major part of this program is the Policy Research Project in which a team of several faculty members, each from a different profession or discipline, and graduate students with diverse back­grounds work together on an important public policy issue. These projects have a user orientation and bring the stu­dents in direct contact with administrators, legislators, and other officials involved in the policy process. This summary report was produced by a 1975-76 Policy Research Project which focused on development in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It is a summation of a much larger report prepared by the Policy Research Pro­ject, which also may be obtained from the LBJ School. In addition to the reports, the project also produced a color film presentation entitled The Magic Valley. We express appreciation to the Office of the Governor of Texas; the National Science Foundation, Division of Re­search Applied to National Needs; the Ford Foundation; and the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation, for support for the project. It is the intention of the LBJ School to develop men and women with the capacity to perform effectively in public service and to develop information that will· enlighten and inform those in decision-making roles. It is our hope that this report on the problems faced by the colonias of South Texas and its recommendations for dealing with these prob­lems will be of value both to policy makers and to the public. Alan K. Campbell Dean PREFACE During the 1975-76 academic year a Policy Re:;earch Project of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs focused on development in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Several organizations had an interest in and supported the project. This support included a primary grant from the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation, which stimulated the focus on South Texas. A contribution from the National Science Foundation, Division of Research Applied to National Needs, encouraged interaction with the Texas Coastal Zone Resources Research Project working in the Lower F,o Grande Valley. A grant from the Texas Governor's Office was given to the project in order to continue development of social impact analysis within a resource policy framework. Finally, the Ford Foundation provided important indirect support through its institu­tional development grants for programs and schools engaged in public policy research. The project concentrated on examining the water-related problems of the colonias of the the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. We believe, as a result of the findings of our study , that through the "208" Regional Water and Waste Water Planning Program of the Federal Government there is a rare opportunity for the state and the region to create the environment within which positive local decisions can substantially assist an important but poverty stricken group within the Lower Rio Grande Valley . It would not have been possible to carry out this study without the cooperation and support of many individuals in both the public and the private sectors of the region. Jn particular, we wish to acknowledge the assistance of Alejandro Moreno, Jr., managing director of Colonias del Valle, Inc., San Juan, Texas, and his staff. This report will be of interes~ to the State of Texas and its citizens, but more importantly, we hope that it will create the basis for understanding and knowledge required to bring public policy to bear on the pressing problems of colonia residents. The challenge is great and the task is long overdue. Kingsley E. Haynes Project Director POUCY·RESEARCH PROJECT PARTICIPANTS Bruce Broberg, B.S. (Political Science}, University ofMinnesota Steven Clyburn, B.A. (Sociology), The University of Texas at Austin Norman Davis, B.A. (Government), The University of Texas at Austin Scott Fleming, B.S.F.S. (International Relations), Georgetown University Elsa Flores, B.A. (Latin American Studies), The University of Texas at Austin Jorge C. Garces, B.A. (History}, The University of Texas at Austin; M.A. (Latin American Studies}, The University of Texas at Austin Jesus Garza, B.S. (Education}, The University of Texas at Austin Martha Katz, B.A. (History/Social Work), The University of Texas at Austin Peler Lewonias, B.A. (Political Science}, University ofMichigan Joe Morir1, B.A. (Political Science}, Southwest Texas State University John Riddle, B.A. (History/Middle Eastern Studies}, The University of Texas at Austin Leilani Rose, B.A. (Sociology), Southwest Texas State University Luis Vallejo, B.J. (Journalism), The University of Texas at Austin Dale Whittington,B.A. (Economics/American History), Brown University Mark Estes, B. Arch. (Architecture}, Louisiana State University: M. Arch, (Architecture}, The University of Texas at Austin Kingsley E. Haynes, Project Director, B.A. (Geography/History/Political Science), Western Michigan University; M.A. (Geography), Rutgers University; Ph.D. (Geography and Environmental Engineering), The Johns Hopkins University . Jared E. Hazleton, B.B.A. (Accounting), University of Oklahoma; Ph.D. (Economics}, Rice University TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD iii PREFACE iv POLICY RESEARCH PROJECT PARTICIPANTS v INTRODUCTION FILM SYNOPSIS: "THE MAGIC VALLEY" 2 CHAPTi T'. I: THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY 3 CHAPTER II: THE COLONIAS OF THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY 5 Profile of the Colonias and Their Residents 5 The Development of the Colonias 9 The Problems of the Colonias 9 CHAPTER III : WATER RELATED SERVICES FOR COLONIAS 11 Water Resources in the Lower Rio Grande Valley 11 Water Supply in the Colonias 11 Sewage Treatment for Colonias 11 Institutional Alternatives for Water Supply 12 Institutional Alternatives for Sewage Treatment 12 CHAPTER IV: COLONIAS AND LAND-USE MANAGEMENT 14 Institutional Controls of Land Use 14 Land-Use Controls in the Lower Rio Grande Valley 15 CHAPTER V: RECOMMENDATIONS 17 APPENDIX: COLONIAS AS RURAL HOUSING 18 INI'RODUCTION This report is a summary of a much larger report prepared by the Policy Research Project. As a summary it has the advantage of informing the reader quickly and concisely of the findings of the researchers. For some readers , however, this summary will lack the depth and detail necessary for research, planning, and decision making. Copies of the full report are available from the Office of Publications of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. .3riefly , the full report contains the following : Part une presents a comprehensive overview of the Lower Rio Grande Valley in an attempt to define the setting within which public policy decisions must be made . Chapter Two and Chapter Three examine the demographic and economic characteristics of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Chapter Four presents a regional factorial ecology study. Chapter Five details the institutional structure of government at all levels in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Pan Two focuses on the socio-economic characteristics of colonias and on public policy alternatives for providing them with water-related services. Chapter Six presents a comprehensive overview of colonias, examining their origins, their physical characteristics, the characteristics of their residents, the problems facing them, and their future outlook. Chapter Sei•en presents detailed estimates of the costs involved in providing fresh water and sewage treat· ment to colonia residents. Chapter Seven also analyzes the institutional alternatives for providing and funding these services as well as major public policy issues related to such efforts. Chapter Eight examines the current institutional controls of land use in the region and analyzes alternative land-use policies as 'they pertain to existing colonias and their future development. Appendices to the report contain methodologies used for research and cost estimating, copies of pertinent legislation, and other related m·aterials. FILM SYNOPSIS ~THE MAGIC VALLEY" One product of this study is the film The Magic Valley . physical aspects of those communities. This is a 28~ minute color/sound film available in !6mm . It Also shown is the life of a typical seasonal farm laborer was prepared on location in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and his family who live in a Valley colonia. Their story by Cary White. a graduate student in radio, television, and · serves to illustrate life in a colonia and the serious film in the School of Communications at The University of consequences of not having pure water available. Texas. The film is a good introduction to the colonias. It should The film focuses on the water-related problems faced by be excellent for television and classroom use and as a colonia residents in the Lower Rio Grande Valley : flooding, discussion builder for group meetings. impure drinking water, and inadequate sewage disposal. Persons interested in The Magic Valley should contact Interviews with. public officials reveal the magnitude of the the Office of Publications of the Lyndon B. Johnson prohk1:1r and the difficulties that local governments face in School of Public Affairs. solving them . Tours of the colonias show the viewer the CHAPTER I THE LOWER RIO GRANDE V AI .I EY The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, shown on the map in Figure l, is bordered on the east by the Gulf uf Mexico and on the south by the Republic of Mexico. More than th rec-quarters of its residents are of Mexican origin. Orn;c part of Mexico, this region still has strong cultural and commercial ties with that nation. In fact, to many of the residents of the Valley and the northeastern part of Mexico, the international bounda1y line between the two nations exists more in theory than in reality. The Valley consists of three Texas counties: Cameron, Hidalgo , ? 1d Willacy. Cameron (population 140,368*) and Hidalgo (181.535*) have many medium-and small-sized towns, the hugest of which is Brownsville (52,522*). Approximately one-fourth of the residents of these two counties live in rural areas. Willacy County (15.570*), by contrast, has only one town of any consequence, Raymondville (8,212*), and nearly half of Willacy's resi­dcn ts are located in rural areas. United States Census figures show a decline in Valley population from 1960 to 1970. Calculations by the Census Bureau and by this project's researchers indicate that this decline has continued. Other experts, however, feel that the population of the region is in fact increasing. The region known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley is first mentioned in the journals of I6th century Spanish explorers. Early settlements were started along the Rio Grande River and slowly spread northward with the extension and development of irrigation systems. For most of its history the Valley economy was dependent on agriculture and on trade with Mexico. The discovery of oil, gas, and mineral deposits more recently added new jobs and capital to the region. Since World War II manufacturing and other light industries have become increasingly important and may represent the Valley's prime economic component in the future. Finally, the last few decades have seen a dramatic increase in tourism. Notwithstanding its economic growth over the last 50 years, the Lower Rio Grande Valley remains one of the poorest regions of America. More than 40 percent of the Valley's families fell below the poverty line in 1970, according to U.S. Census repo.rts. Wages are unifonnly low and unemployment high. Since many Valley workers are employed in agricultural industries, their jobs are seasonal at best, sporadic at worst. Formal education levels are the lowest in Texas, althougl1 _there has been significant improvement during the last few years. "'1970 United States Census figures. FIGURE 1 THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY REGION CHAPTER II TIIE COLONIAS OF TI-IE LOWER RIO GRANDE VAI.IEY Poverty pervades the Valley and is nowhere more ap­parent than in the colonias. As defined by the researchers, a colonia is a poor, rural unincorporated community with 20 or more dwelling units, where home ownership is the rule. Colonias residents are almost exclusively Mexican-American. Colonias have no formal ties with the governments of cities and towns. Therefore they often do not benefit from the kinds of services and amenities offered in urban areas such as piped water, treated sewerage, and street main­tenance. On the other hand, the colonia residents do not have to p..1y the high property taxes of town dwellers, nor do they have such restrictions as zoning ordinances and building codes. For the purpose of this report, two factors may be seen as contributing to the problems of colonia residents. First is the factor of poverty, and as one planning agency has put it, the colonia residents are "the poorest of the poor". Second is the factor of isolation. The colonias are physical­ly isolated from urban areas where residents might obtain essential services such as health care and education. Also, many of the social services designed to help poor people are located in urban areas. Finally, residents of colonias are isolated from urban commercial centers where they might obtain low-cost food, clothing, and other necessities. Besides the physical isolation common to colonias there is also the problem of legal isolation : the colonias are not part of towns and cities and thus cannot benefit from those governmental units' taxes, nor may they benefit from the many federal and state programs that are administered by towns and cities. Programs aimed at rural areas often are not set up so as to aid the peculiar institution known as the colonia in the solution of its problems. The one branch of government to which colonias might normally tum-the county-is often too poor and too powerless itself to be of much assistance. The colonias differ from poor urban neighborhoods in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in three important ways : the residents of the colonias are poorer than those in the city; it is more difficult for them to obtain access to regular services ; and the universe of solutions to their problems is much smaller. While the problems facing colonia residents (and the problems colonias present the rest of the Valley) are many, this report focuses on water-related problems, including access to clean drinking water and sanitary sewage disposal. These are some of the most immediate, tangible concerns of colonia residents and serve to illustrate the depth of poverty prevalent in these communities. These problems, which have clear technical solutions, also show the diffi­culty of finding real-life solutions in rural areas under the existing structure of public institutions and programs. PROFILE OF THE COLONIAS AND THEIR RESIDENTS Data on colonias was obtained by a complete house count of all communities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley meeting the researchers' definition, and by a one percent spatially stratified random sample of colonia households. Data was collected during February and March, 1976. Researchers identified 65 colonias in Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, but none in Willacy County. Assuming an average household size of 5.5 persons, total colonia population was estimated at 34,000 with 9,500 persons found in 21 Cameron sites and 24,500 in 44 Hidalgo sites. Approximately 10 percent of the Valley's total population resides in colonias. These communities range in size from 100 to l ,500 residents. Locations of colonias are shown on the map in Figure 2 and their estimated populations in Table l. The predominate structure found in colonias is a single-family wooden dwelling, constructed by or for the current owner, with an average of four rooms (including bathroom and kitchen). Most of these homes would be considered substandard by any set of criteria. Houses are generally constmcted on small lots and construction of several houses on a single small lot is not uncommon. Streets in colonias are uniformly unpaved. Many colo­ nias are poorly drained, and frequent rains, even though they may be light, regularly bring floods to these communi­ ties. lighted streets are the exception rather than the rule. More than three-fourths of the households surveyed were owned or being purchased by their residents. These ..residents purchased lots from realtors or land owners, and most built their own houses. P\Jrchase of lots was made through conventional mortgages, or, quite often, by con­tract for sale, where the seller retains equity until the debt TABLE 1 COLON/AS IN CAMERON AND HIDALGO COUNTIES, TEXAS FEBRUARY, 1976 Total Vacant Units Under Mobile Occupied Estimated** Colonia Name Units Units For Sale Construction Homes Units Population Hidalgo County 4736 213 13 50 338 . 4460 24541 Abram 168 IO 0 I IO 157 864 Acosta 21 1 0 0 1 20 110 Ala Blanca 56 0 0 2 33 54 297 Agua Dulce• 86 9 0 1 11 76 418 Campo Alto 108 10 0 1 3 97 534 Capisallo Park 102 6 3 0 8 93 512 Chihuahua• 28 3 0 0 2 25 138 Cuevitas 48 4 0 0 3 44 242 El Gato 42 0 0 0 1 42 231 Evans 111 l 0 0 s 110 605 Faysville 61 5 0 1 0 55 303 Granjeno•· 100 0 0 1 5 99 545 Havana 32 0 0 0 4 32 176 Heidelberg 99 7 0 I s 91 501 Hidalgo Park 248 9 1 0 20 238 1309 La Cuchilla 186 3 1 7 12 175 963 La Escondida 70 9 0 0 15 61 336 La Leona/Los Leones• 42 3 0 2 5 37 204 Las Milpas 77 0 0 0 6 77 424 Lopezville 178 7 0 0 11 171 941 Los Ebanos 150 0 0 0 0 150 825 Lull 241 29 2 5 .12 205 1128 Madero 141 9 0 0 4 132 726 Martinez* 30 1 0 0 1 29 160 Milla Cuatro• 20 1 0 0 3 19 105 Milla Seis 148 6 0 6 11 136 748 Milla Doce 62 0 0 2 4 60 330 Milla Quince 50 0 0 0 2 50 275 Nueva 111 2 0 0 6 109 600 Palm View 136 s l 4 20 126 693 Penitas 194 10 l 3 14 180 990 Perezville 57 0 0 0 3 57 314 Progreso 280 0 0 0 17 280 1540 Relampago 39 0 0 0 7 39 215 Rodriguez 76 2 2 0 2 72 396 Salazar #2 63 1 0 0 3 62 341 San Carlos 180 16 2 2 0 160 880 San Juan 173 3 0 1 10 169 930 Small #1 105 5 0 0 3 100 550 Small #2 152 7 0 3 6 142 781 Sullivan City 180 8 0 3 8 169 930 Tierra Blanca• 47 3 0 1 8 43 237 Villa Uano Grande* 124 7 0 1 6 116 638 Walston Farms 114 11 0 2 27 101 556 Total Vacant Units Under Mobile Occupied Estimated** Colonia Name Units Units For Sale Construction Homes Units Population Cameron County 1825 80 1 16 94 1728 9508 Blue town 80 8 0 0 3 72 396 Cameron Park* 130 17 I 9 8 103 567 Cavazos 44 2 0 0 2 42 231 Pelmar Heights* 41 3 0 4 1 34 186 El Jardin 99 2 0 0 16 97 534 La Coma• 30 0 0 0 4 30 165 La Palma/Juarez* 233 14 0 1 13 218 1199 La Paloma 137 5 0 0 3 132 726 Las Rusias 63 0 0 5 62 341 Las Yescas* 45 1 0 1 0 43 237 La Tina* 61 3 0 0 4 58 319 La Torre* 75 0 0 0 1 75 413 Laureles* 68 2 0 0 2 66 363 Los Indios 136 4 0 0 6 32 726 Maranca Alta• 34 0 0 0 0 34 187 No Name #1 * 23 0 0 0 4 23 127 No Name #1.* 49 0 0 0 8 49 270 Ranchi to 144 5 0 0 1 139 765 San Pedro 149 5 0 0 5 144 792 Santa Maria 150 8 0 l 6 141 776 Villa Nueva* 34 0 0 0 2 34 187 Cameron and Hidalgo Counties: Total 6561 293 14 66 432 6188 34049 Source: Survey based on house counts by project field researchers. Notes: •Not served by public water system. ••Estimated population calculated by multiplying the number of occupied units by S.S, the uawned number of persons per unit. Note: Some Colonla:r are known by two or more names. Where this occured, the researchers used official designations as recorded In county records. 0 is retired. In this latter manner residents are able to purchase a Jot for "a few dollars down and a few dollars a week". While the real interest rate over time may be quite high under the contract for sale system , low down payments and low monthly installments make land owner­ship a possibility for even the poorest. Of the households surveyed, 97 .5 percent had electricity and utilized butane or propane gas. Only about 44 percent had a telephone and less than 30 percent received garbage removal service. An estimated 57 percent of all colonia houses do not receive treated water, although 45 of the 65 colonias identified in the study had access to treated drinking water. Of the households surveyed, 46 percent obtained water from a public water supply system , 40 percent from wells, 6 percent from irrigation ditches, and 7.5 percent from other sources. Of the households surveyed, about half disposed of sewage by cesspool or septic tank and about half by outhouse. None of the colonias has access to a sewage tre a tme at facility . The household survey revealed that about 56 percent of the colonia population is under 20 years of age. The median age of colonia residents was found by the survey to be -16.4 years, as compared with 26 .5 years for all Texas residents and 19.3 years for all Spanish-surnamed Texas residents. The household survey also revealed that the median years of school completed for colonia residents age 25 and older was 4.8 years, as compared with 11.6 years for all Texas residents and 7.2 years for all Spanish-surnamed Texas residents. About 28 percent of colonia residents age 25 and older reported that they had no formal education, as compared to 3 percent for all Texans and 15.3 percent for all residents of Cameron and Hidalgo Counties com­ bined. Only 6.7 percent of these colonia residents reported completing the 12th grade, compared to 48.8 percent of the Texas population and 32.3 percent of the combined Cameron and Hidalgo Counties populations. Of those persons surveyed who were employed, 44 percent reported working as farm laborers and most of the remainder said they were engaged in blue collar work. Of those who worked, 32.5 percent reported working in a Valley urban community and only 6.1 percent said they worked within their own colonia. The mean amount of time worked by all employed persons 16 years of age and over in 1975 was seven months, according to the survey. About 16 percent of all households in the survey reported .no wage earners. Given that employment is apparently sporadic and low~paying, an