
Costs for Rural Towns Surge after Hurricane Harvey Hits Water Systems
In Patton Village, some residents went weeks without access to clean drinking water, and now their sewer system is running on a “Band-aid.”
Since 1954
Christopher Collins is a freelance writer and formerly an associate editor at the Texas Observer. The Wichita Falls native graduated from Midwestern State University in 2012 with a degree in Mass Communication. He previously has worked as a reporter at the Abilene Reporter-News and the Wichita Falls Times Record News.
In Patton Village, some residents went weeks without access to clean drinking water, and now their sewer system is running on a “Band-aid.”
The Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA, however, are mum on an estimated death toll.
A disaster food aid program deployed after Katrina and Sandy has yet to be approved in Texas.
The river has flooded Edgewood Trailer Park twice in two years.
“So far, [FEMA has] been helping us,” Tracy Douglas said. “But after September 26, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
The coastal counties devastated by Harvey are also home to an estimated 1.2 million cows, more than a quarter of the state’s total.
Education advocates don’t think the funding will be enough to avoid staff layoffs and cuts to student services.
The same conservation efforts that saved Texas from the Dust Bowl may have opened the door to a new man-made disaster.
The president’s proposed budget cuts billions in federal aid for residents of the state’s sparsely populated areas.
An Observer investigation finds that the Texas Department of Agriculture often allows serial offenders to keep flying despite hundreds of complaints.