Historic community near Dallas has never had running water

SAND BRANCH, Texas - A small settlement located just 15 miles south of the ninth-largest city in the country has operated without running water for its entire 148-year existence.

Sand Branch residents face daily water crisis

What we know:

Sand Branch is an unincorporated town of roughly 150 residents that was originally founded as a freedmen’s settlement in 1878. Despite its proximity to Dallas, the community has no running water infrastructure.

Residents previously relied on well water. However, after the city of Dallas constructed the nearby Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant in 1964, well water became contaminated with fecal matter and phosphates. Now, the population is forced to rely on donated bottled water.

Living conditions are further complicated by land restrictions. Most community members live in campers or worn-down homes, unable to build on or renovate their properties because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) classifies the area as a floodplain. Local residents note that Sand Branch has not experienced a flood in over a century.

The other side:

For decades, Dallas County leaders have been aware of the struggles Sand Branch residents face daily. The county offered to voluntarily relocate residents in 2002 and then again in 2016. About 150 residents did accept the offer. The other 150 people were reluctant to leave the place they call home.

"FEMA said if you’re going to leave them here, you’ve got to build a levee. A levee cost us in 2003 somewhere between $7 and $10 million. It’s not economically feasible. We just want to relocate people. And we’ll find the wherewithal to do that, but we can’t force them out unless we’re going to come under the health and safety code," Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price told FOX 4 in 2016.

Community efforts offer temporary relief

Local perspective:

Christina Parks, who moved to the settlement four years ago, has stepped up as the "unofficial mayor" of Sand Branch to organize local aid efforts. Parks established a food pantry in front of her home to distribute quick meals, animal food, and bottled water—making it the only location in the settlement that provides bottled water all day long.

In addition to running the pantry, Parks launched a program called "No One Goes to Sleep Hungry in Sand Branch," preparing 100 warm meals every Saturday to deliver door-to-door. 

She's partnered up with Derek Avery, the founder of the Water for Sand Branch Coalition, to increase outreach through monthly community events and social media campaigns.

What they're saying:

"I get a peace of mind knowing that everybody is full," Parks said regarding her nonprofit and weekly meal deliveries. "I can go home, and I can relax knowing that everybody has ate and they’re going to sleep good tonight."

But there’s only so much Parks, Avery, and others can do to help in a community where there is limited access to basic human needs like clean water. Long-term change is necessary.

"If my civil engineer and I can sit down in two and a half hours and map out the solution, this could have been solved decades ago… if people had the political will to do so," Avery said. 

"The whole community is in a crisis," Parks said. "One thing about Sand Branch is that we are strong. We are not begging for help, we are just asking for our basic needs."

Dallas County