'America's dirty little secret': the Texas town that has been without running water for decades
Its a sweltering Saturday in October and Pastor Eugene Keahey is becoming agitated. His flock live in a Texas town that hasnt had running water in 30 years and the donated bottled water they rely upon is in short supply.
We got six cases of water from a donor but two have already gone in the last hour, said Keahey, eyeing the line of people waiting for their weekly handout of food and water from the Mount Zion Baptist church in Sandbranch, a largely African American community that lies 20 minutes and a world away from Dallas.
Recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida have diverted the attention of non-profits away from the sisyphean struggle endured in Sandbranch. Im going to have to come up with a plan, get on Facebook and beg or borrow water from somewhere, said Keahey.
People come for donations from outside the town and its difficult to say, No you cant get water because youve got running water at home. My test is to say What do you do with the bottled water? If they just say they drink it, I have to say no because people here shower, brush their teeth with it, everything.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/23/texas-town-without-running-water-sandbranch