Sand Branch doesn't have a water sewer system, its homes are old and in dire need of repair and mosquitoes infest the garbage that is sporadically collected. In some unincorporated areas in Fort Bend County, residents who lacked sewer systems have contaminated their drinking water wells from dumping human waste outside their homes. Colonias are not just limited to the border, just like poverty is not limited to the border. But under state and federal definitions, funding for colonias is limited to an area along the international border. Other poor, unincorporated areas are just poor and unincorporated, based on the rules.
Opinions differ, however, on the definition of border proximity.
The Secretary of State, the chief liaison to the governor on border and Mexican affairs, defines a colonia as being within 62 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. So does the Environmental Protection Agency. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs says a colonia must be within 150 miles of the border. And, a program at the Texas Water Developement Board addresses economically distressed areas, generally referred to as colonias, that are primarily located along the border. Some lawmakers are working to make that happen.