Date: 1985-07-17
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. without question. I join the chairman in his concern about the diminution of the Nations infrastructure. My districtthe 15th Congressional District of Texasis a minute section compared to the Nation. but its infrastructure. never overwhelmingly perfect. has been suffering from benign neglect. Not that everything is not working or we arent seeing some successes. but there is room for improvement. Unpaved streets. crumbling buildings. and failing highway maintenance are but just a few of the severe infrastructure problems confronting areas in my district. More life threatening in terms of the health hazards it poses is the lack of potable water and sanitary sewer systems. Out of 28 applications for Federal community development block grant funds submitted by one of the local council of governments in my district. 25 of the cities applications are for waterrelated and/or sewer improvements. Among the water facility needs of the cities are improvements relating to drainage. water pumping storage. wellhead. and replacement of badly deteriorated water lines and fire hydrants. Many of these improvements. if not enacted. could prove perilous both In terms of drinkable water as well as adequate fire protection. To journey through a good many of the small towns and communities scattered throughout my district which extends north from the United StatesMexico border some 250 miles Is to take a step back in time. As an example. the tiny city of Encinal in La Salle County boasts a network of 50 dirt roads. but has no development of any knd. Outhouses abound as there is no sewer system and what water is available is divied out through a coop water system of neighbors sharing. To the southeast of La Salle County is what is known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley lies Starr County which is among the poorest counties in the Nation. A recently awarded community development block grant will make possible the infrastructure development of an industrial factory site which will help substantially in bringing new jobs to the area. Although helpful. this is but one urgent need that will in part be filled. There are households in Starr County that still must rely on cesspools or outdoor privies for their plumbing needs. Adjacent to Starr County lies Hidalgo County whose unemployment in 1984 ranged form a low of 18 percent to a high of 25 percent. Recent housing starts have occurred primarily in the countys numerous colonias which are poor. rural. unincorporated communities with 20 or more dwelling units. Almost none of the.residents of these developments have sewer service and only 50 percent of the households are served with water. When rainfall occurs In these areas. serious flooding is likely to result because drainage is virtually nonexistence. Hidalgo Country officials estimate that it would cost approximately $75 to $100 million to maintain and put into place within the county the basic infrastructure needs of water. sanitation. sewer. roads. and drainage. Due to the small tax base. low personal income and high unemployment rate. the county alone cannot accomplish these means without assistance. To the north of Hidalgo County just below San Antonio lie the mostly agriculture based counties of Prio. Atascosa. Wilson. and Karnes. These countries needs. like most of the rural areas in my district. center around the replacement of corroded water lines. extension of sanitary sewer service and water to areas not .presently served. improved drainage. and the paving and resurfacing of priority roads. Frio County. with the largest city of the four counties. estimate that street improvements within the county would cost in the neighborhood of $6 million. All four countries combined estimate that street improvements alone for the four county region would cost In excess of $18 million. followed closely by water improvements in excess of $6 million. sewer improvements in excess of $5 million. and drainage improvements of around $4 million. These figures do not reflect the three other priority areas of fire. police. and public buildings that the four countries have targeted as areas of concern. Monetary needs for all four countries combined in each of the seven target areas is estimated to be in excess of $43 million. I could go on and on giving you information about the mostly urban infrastructure needs of my districtneeds which most of us live in urban areas take for granted other than on those infrequent occasions when we are required to rough it up on a camping expedition or we have the misfortune of suffering property damage at the hands of a violent tornado or some equally dangerous inclement weather fluctuation. What comprehensive infrastructure presently exists in my congressional district was largely developed through the Economic Development Administration and other Federal agencies. It was the EDA who was responsible for sanitation facilities being brought to the untold thousands of povertystricken people in my part of the country with the construction of the Military Highway Water Supply Corporation. You must consider that this project meant for the first time people could remove outdoor privies. have running water and forgo taking a burro or a bicycle to the Rio Grande to draw water. The Farmers Home Administrations water projects have also been of help. There have been water districts developed that have provided water supply services to thousands of households. The expanding population has taxed these facilities overwhelmingly. If existing infrastructure conditions prevail during the next 10 years. the already bleak situation will further deteriorate. We must look toward ways of effectively resolving the growing infrastructure crisis if we want to arrest the problems before they intensify.e