to Hondo: sewage water makes us sick

Dear City Government Officials:

We are writing and speaking before you at the City Council meeting today to bring up a longstanding, grave environmental health hazard that continues to plague the Hondo community. Sewage overflow into the Eastside community near Elm Slough was recognized as a threat to public health after the Hondo Empowerment Committee highlighted the issue before City officials as early as 1992. However this completely unacceptable problem of standing sewage water persists today.

The neighborhood adjacent to Elm Slough was awash in standing water for several weeks this summer following the heavy rains. Improvements to the sewage system made in the late 1990s have not stopped manholes from continuing to overflow with sewage, as witnessed this summer. Children and residents are forced to wade through this contaminated water, which also has a powerful odor. The presence of sewage in the water presents a continued, serious health risks to these families of communicable diseases. The City needs to address this problem immediately to avoid disease outbreaks such as the Hondo Hepatitis A and Shigellosis outbreaks of 1992 and 1993.

It is also in violation of the City of Hondo’s wastewater permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to have sewage spewing onto the streets. HEC has informed TCEQ of the persistence of this problem and will continue to do so until it is addressed.

We call upon you to do the following:

1. Immediately engage the Medina County Health Department (MCHD) to assess health risks from this summers standing sewer water

2. Work with MCHD to put up warning signs about playing or walking through water

3. Fund drainage improvement in the area so that the community no longer needs to wade through water

4. Fund and construct a bridge on 16th Street as has been discussed and promised for over 10 years

Hondo’s Eastside community has been dealing with this issue for far too long. We are tired of empty promises for bridges and other improvements. Please inform us within two weeks as to how each of these issues listed above will be addressed.

Sincerely,

Chavel Lopez
Hondo Empowerment Committee