ABSTRACT
Poverty more acute than that of Appalachia can be found in the colonias that dot the countiyside of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). Colonias exist all along the US border with Mexico from Texas to California. The worst of the squalor, however, occurs in the LRGV. Residents of colonias are typically Mexican-Americans who work as seasonal labor. Incomes for many are below the poverty level. Securing appropriate waste treatment facilities for the colonias poses two particular problems. First, organizations must be created to install the systems. Second, funding must be secured for the installation. A number of measures requiring federal assistance that would increase the economic ability of colonia residents to afford better living conditions, raise the level of health awareness, and provide appropriate utility services have been proposed by counties containing colonias. Individual counties have also attempted to address the colonia problem, though they have very little statutory authority.
