Green Tree Estates water crisis

Overview

The Green Tree Estates is a low-income mobile home neighborhood with an estimated 50 residents currently living on the property. The city of Denton annexed the neighborhood in 2011, but the land remained as private property. Landowner, Don Roddy, was supposed to install infrastructure to connect to the City of Denton's water supply but never followed through. The residents living on the Green Tree Estates property rely on the privately-owned well for water. Despite numerous fines for failing to bring their system into compliance, Roddy has cut off the water supply completely. As a private owner, Roddy is within his rights to do so but has not gone on record to explain his decision . On November 13, 2019, Denton Mayor Chris Watts issued a declaration of local state of disaster for the Green Tree Estates neighborhood and two days later, the City of Denton began sending tanks of nonpotable water to Green Tree Estates. Discussions on extending nearby water mains for the homes to connect to have been proposed at city council meetings. However, this idea is currently on hold due to (1) concerns that many residents living at Green Tree estates will not be able to afford the fees required by the contractors, (2) questions regarding which homes are up to code, and (3) concerns on the quality, age, and structural integrity of the private water system. “Denton city council plans to revisit the issue April 21, to give residents and city officials time to see which owners would be able to connect if the water main.”

Timeline

2019

• October 29 – A neighborhood meeting takes place to inform the Green Tree Estates residents of the situation and to collect feedback. However, the majority of the residents are Hispanic and few speak English. No translator is present at the meeting which results in most residents leaving more confused than before. In the meeting, Denton director of utilities, Ken Banks, estimates that bringing in a modern water system to the neighborhood would exceed $500,000. A representative from the Public Utility Commission informs that the city is not in a position to enforce Roddy to keep the water system on any longer.
• November 11 – A second neighborhood meeting takes place to discuss next steps. City Manager, Todd Hileman, discusses how declaring the situation as an emergency would allow for temporary funding to ease the situation until a more permanent plan could be put into action. A translator is also present at this meeting to convey information to the Green Tree Estates residents.
• November 13 – Denton Mayor Chris Watts issues a declaration of local state of disaster for the Green Tree Estates neighborhood.
• November 14 – The City of Denton delivers 55-gallon barrels for the residents to fill up before water turns off. Water is such poor quality that these drums are rendered useless.
• November 15 – Owner and well operator of Green Tree Estates, Don Roddy, turns off private well water.
• November 15 – A special city council meeting is held to discuss how emergency funds will be spent. Denton decides to purchase 14 275-gallon tanks to fill with non-potable water and distribute them to families of the Green Tree Estates. The city also plans to refill the tanks three days a week.
• December 10 – The Denton City Council agrees to extend an emergency declaration over water service to the Green Tree Estates until February. In the meantime, plans to conduct courtesy home inspections and collect a census on property owners and tenants are made and considered “key” to settling on a long-term solution.

2020

• February 4 – An attorney representing the Green Tree Estates neighborhood advises the residents to hire their own inspectors, resulting in none of the 14 homes accepting courtesy inspections from the city of Denton. The residents are seeking to calculate the total costs before deciding to connect to Denton’s water system which means they need more time for the assessments and work. The residents of Green Tree Estates are asking the city of Denton for an extension on the public emergency until May 2021.
• February 18 – Denton “city council plans to revisit the issue April 21, to give residents and city officials time to see which owners would be able to connect if the water main.”

Background

The Green Tree Estates neighborhood had been considered an unincorporated community for several decades before being annexed by the city of Denton, Texas in 2011. This means that before becoming Denton citizens, the “residents had virtually no access to municipal services (i.e., garbage, sanitation, fire protection, street repair, lights, water utilities, etc.)” With a history of neglected basic public services, residents of the Green Tree Estates have not felt as if they have a voice in their community. Even after being annexed by the city of Denton, “the water remains undrinkable, and other municipal services have failed to materialize.” Around October of 2019, system owner, Don Roddy, made plans to cut the community’s water system without giving the appropriate 120-day notification as required by the Texas Public Utilities Commission. Roddy denied Denton City Council’s request to keep the water system going until a resolution was found. The city then reached out to the Public Utility Commission and requested the PUC enforce the full 120-day notice. In the first neighborhood meeting to address the issue, Denton’s director of utilities, Ken Banks, estimated that bringing in a modern water system to the neighborhood would exceed $500,000. An attending representative sent from the PUC maintained that the city could not enforce a longer notice, but declined to make any further public statement. Furthermore, “the Public Utility Commission would not accept the city’s evidence that the well was a retail utility and thus subject to the longer notice.” It was later reported that Roddy had reached out to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality and reported some of the connections were illegal, allowing Roddy to disconnect service at any time. A second neighborhood meeting was held two weeks later to discuss next steps. City Manager, Todd Hileman, discussed how declaring the situation as an emergency would allow for temporary funding to ease the situation until a more permanent plan could be put into action. A translator was present at this meeting to convey information to the Green Tree Estates residents. The residents disagreed with other temporary city plans to alleviate the issue, including the idea to bring in portable toilets and a central community shower trailer. The residents expressed that as tax-paying citizens, they were seeking equitable benefits that any other Denton resident would receive. Deputy City Manager, Mario Canizares, recognized that the residents had “no problem paying. It’s just getting the water there that’s the problem.” Other council members addressed concerns about the legality of some of the solutions posed, as well as concerns regarding the plumbing and electrical work being too difficult to install in the mobile homes.

On November 13, 2019, Denton Mayor, Chris Watts, issued a declaration of a local state of disaster for the Green Tree Estates neighborhood before the water service would be discontinued. This allowed for 90-day temporary funding for the Green Tree Estates residents. The next day, the city of Denton delivered 55-gallon barrels for the residents to fill up before their water was turned off. However, the existing water was such poor quality that these drums were considered useless by any resident who did not have access to a filter. The following day a special city council meeting was scheduled to discuss next steps. It was decided that the city would supply the community with 14 275-gallon tanks filled with non-potable water. The city also made plans to refill the containers regularly. Green Tree Estates residents expressed their concerns that this was not going to be enough water to support their entire families. On December 10, 2019, “the Denton City Council agreed to extend an emergency declaration over water service to the Green Tree Estates until school lets out in May.” Around this same time, “a housing advocacy group threatened to file a fair housing complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on behalf of Green Tree Estates.” The group's coordinator ultimately decided to put a hold on filing the complaint due to the city's decision to extend the emergency declaration. While long-term plans had been discussed, costs were a concern for both residents and city council members. It was decided that commitment towards a long-term solution would be made in February 2020. City leaders asked for the cooperation from the Green Tree Estates residents regarding conducting home inspections as well as helping to identify which residents owned their properties and which were tenants. Through these actions, “advocacy groups and the city of Denton could work together on the needed easements for new water lines.” City manager, Todd Hileman, claimed that the city’s ability to get those easements was “key” to settling on a long-term solution. However, residents of the Green Tree Estates expressed confusion stating that they didn’t understand what was being asked of them.

By February 4, 2020, none of the 14 families living in the Green Tree Estates had completed the courtesy inspections of their homes from the city of Denton. Instead, the neighborhood’s attorney recommended the residents bring in their own inspectors. A Univision television reporter reported that “the residents want to calculate the total costs before deciding to connect to the system.” Lastly, the residents told the deputy director of public affairs that they needed more time for the assessments and the work and asked the city council to extend the public emergency until May 2021. Some council members were uneasy with the request for the extension to continue for more than a year, but other members were more comfortable with it as long as progress is shown to be made. It was decided at a later meeting that council would revisit the issue on April 21 to assess which the residents can connect to Denton’s main water system.

Outside organizational contributions

“Habitat for Humanity of Denton County is stepping in to help residents look for ways to pay for the installation and help the city with the logistics.” League of United Latin American Citizens(LULAC) is an organization that seeks to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs. LULAC has been organizing ways to help the community and make sure their needs are met. They have been serving as translators during meetings to disseminate information to the residents. LULAC has listed an email that directly connects citizens who want to help support the community. Movimiento Cosecha Denton is a nonviolent movement who utilizes strikes and boycotts in fighting for permanent protection, dignity, and respect for the undocumented immigrant population living in the United States.

Media Responses

• On November 12, 2019, NBC DFW reported the neglect towards the Green Tree Estates community due to the legal gray area that the City of Denton calls a "private civil matter."
• On November 13 and 14, 2019, CBS DFW and NBC DFW reported the Mayor of Denton’s declaration of state of emergency and subsequent efforts to provide temporary water and water storage containers to the residents.
• On November 14, 2019, WFAA reported the Green Tree Estates looming water cutoff, as well as the poor quality of water the residents had been receiving up until that point. The report also documents the neighbor's insufficient amount of emergency water.
• On November 15, 2019, NBC DFW and WFAA reported the official shutoff of the water supply to the Green Tree Estates as well as Denton’s plan to extend the emergency declaration.
• On November 29, 2019, Liberation News published an article that gives an insight on how unincorporated communities are mishandled and gives a brief history of the Green Tree Estates.
• On February 19, 2020, WFAA reported how the Green Tree Estates residents are continuing to wait on a permanent solution.
• The Denton Record-Chronicle has been a valuable source for coverage regarding the Green Tree Estates water crisis.

Private Water

Providing a source of clean water to the residents of the Green Tree Estates is critical for the overall quality of life. The residents have expressed concerns about their water quality for years. The murky yellow, orange, and brown water has been reported to cause sores and blisters on the bodies of children that come into contact with it.

References

This article "Green Tree Estates water crisis" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Green Tree Estates water crisis. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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