(May 2, 2008)

PETRONILA--Colonia leaders and residents are reaching out to the federal government to help them fix the drainage problems in the colonias around Petronila.

Now to a problem that for years, has plagued the colonias in Nueces County. Of course those low-income neighborhoods typically do not receive regular water and sewer services. So drainage in the aftermath of a heavy rain is virtually non-existent.

There's never been enough local funding to address the problem, but today a representative from U.S. Senator John Cornyn's office toured a couple of colonias near Petronila, to look at the idea of securing federal funds.

Residents in the Tierra Grande colonia are frustrated over the flooding problem. They said county and state leaders have failed at fixing the drainage issue, so now they're trying to reach out to the federal government.

This is what happens after there's flooding in the Tierra Grande Colonia. There's stagnant water for months before it finally goes away.

Residents blame the poor drainage system. While it's improved in recent years, it's still a problem.

"We use to be up to our hip," said Diana Acevedo, a Tierra Grande Colonia resident. "Now we're just to our ankle. It still floods where we have to carry the kids to the car."

Acevedo said the standing water causes problems for everybody.

"They're always getting sick because of that," Acevedo said. "The mosquitoes are bad because the water stands for a very, very long time about a month or month and half."

A staffer from Senator Cornyn's office came to visit the colonia. Area leaders said they've brought Daniel Mezza here to see if his office could help fix the problem.

"It's contaminated," said Lionel Lopez of the South Texas Colonia Initiative. "The ground is contaminated because of drainage. We need to fix it or get the people out."

Last year, county leaders brought the state to look at the same problem, but residents and leaders say nothing was done. They just hope *this visit will lead to something.

"We're trying to get drainage at least for Tierra Grande," Lopez said. "That's one of our first priorities at least Tierre Grande."

"Maybe they can help or maybe they can," said Acevedo. "Whatever they say is what goes."

The staffer wouldn't promise anything, but his visit was appreciated by some living in the colonias.

--Manuel De La Rosa, Area 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com