BEE COUNTY, Texas — As the City of Beeville enacts Stage 4 water restrictions, residents are voicing a mix of concern, frustration, and a call for community cooperation amid a severe water crisis.
Speaking with long-time residents, they expressed alarm over the unprecedented situation.
“No, sir,” said Victoria Vega when asked if things had ever been this bad prior to the October 9, Local State of Disaster declaration. “Never, not to the point where it's kind of scary.”
The sentiment was shared by Ellie Castillo, who believes the water issue has been a long time coming. “I think this is a problem or an issue that has been prolonged and has been a problem for many, many, many years," Castillo told KRIS 6 News. She continued, "It's sad to see that the City of Beeville really didn't take it seriously and plan ahead."
Some residents attempted to locate the root causes of the shortage.
Jimmy Jackson, who lives outside the city and uses a well, tells KRIS 6 News, “It's too many people and too little water." Jackson added, “The lack of water because of drought is something that only God can make that sort of thing.”
The new restrictions, are looking for a reduction of 500,000 gallons of water per day.
Patricia Lopez noted the difficulty, saying, “there's still people that water their grass and try to get away with it.”
Despite the frustration, residents are grappling with the new reality and hoping for a solution. “I just hope everything gets taken care of well and, we get back to having, good water,” said Castillo.
“It's kind of scary because now we're thinking like, are we going to have to drill our own wells? What do we do?” Lopez added. “Do we go to families that live in the country to get water?”
The Beeville City Council has a special meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15, where the city will vote to amend restrictions to comply with Stage 4.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
