Dallas County freedmen's settlement still lacks running water, survives on church donations

For families in Sand Branch, a historic freedmen's settlement just outside Dallas, access to clean running water remains out of reach.

People there have depended on donated bottled water for drinking, bathing, and other everyday needs, The Dallas Express reported.

Here's what to know

According to the Express, Sand Branch is an unincorporated Dallas County community of about 150 people, founded in 1878, that has never had a municipal running-water system.

The community relied on well water, but testing found the groundwater unsafe to drink.

Wayside Baptist Church has helped distribute water in Sand Branch. Pastor Frank Alexander described the conditions: "This is the year 2026, and we are still a community living in a primitive state."

He said the lack of water affects nearly every part of daily life, hitting children especially hard.

"So, the children, the children that are here, they cannot brush their teeth. They cannot do a hygiene method for wiping off or taking a bath," Alexander told the Express.

Fernando, a resident who said his family has lived in Sand Branch for six years, put the burden this way: "It's a little bit complicated."

More background

Only a few miles from downtown Dallas, the community remains without basic infrastructure, Ajua Mason, interim chair of the Dallas County Republican Party's Candidate Resource Committee, told the Express.

"Many families have died waiting. Many homes have burned down because there's no running water, many places have horses that are dying, livestock that are thirsty for water," Alexander said.

The Express said an Aug. 29 fire burned about 10 acres, reached two structures, and required firefighters to bring in water because Sand Branch has no hydrants.

The outlet could not independently confirm claims from Mason and a resident that unsafe water has caused illnesses and infections.

What's being done?

Churches and local supporters are trying to cover some of the need.

Wayside Baptist Church is handing out water by the roadside, and other outside groups have stepped in at times, including the Dallas Mavericks, which donated water after the August fire.

The Water for Sand Branch Coalition has been working with officials and organizations to secure water and sewer connections for residents who live there.

KDFW reported that Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said the county offered voluntary relocation in 2002 and 2016, and that floodplain rules and the cost of a levee have blocked permanent infrastructure.

Critics argue that asking residents to leave a historic freedmen's settlement is not the same as providing the basic infrastructure their community deserves.

"We don't know why. We don't know what the holdup will be. But we're yet just still praying and believing," Alexander said. "We want and need water."

Where can I learn more?

Sand Branch's water crisis is part of a pattern of communities dealing with unsafe, unaffordable, or unreliable water service. 

• In Texas, residents fought a $4,500 meter demand that threatened to cut off water service.

• In Dimock, Pennsylvania, families endured 14 years without potable water before a $16 million line.

• In Corpus Christi, officials warned the city's water crisis could foreshadow deeper shortages across Texas.

• In Wayne, Oklahoma, lightning knocked out the well, and many residents distrusted the tap.

• In Pennsylvania, a retiree asked who is responsible after data centers drained household water.

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