BlueTriton Brands steps up to water access challenges by supporting DigDeep’s mission of bringing running water to Texas communities

The $1.1 million donation allows DigDeep to bring clean, running water to families in Texas communities   

Stamford, Connecticut – March 23, 2023 – As we honor World Water Day, BlueTriton Brands, through its Ozarka® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water and Pure Life® Water brands, is responding to water access challenges by supporting human rights nonprofit DigDeep. BlueTriton is committed to donating $1.1 million over the next two years to DigDeep’s Colonias Water Project, which is bringing clean running water to families living in under-resourced communities along the Texas-Mexico border. The Texas colonias are located outside city limits and often lack basic infrastructure, including water, sanitation, trash services and streetlamps.

“BlueTriton has a long history of donating drinking water as a safety net for communities in their times of need. With the Colonias Water Project, we are proud to extend those efforts beyond emergency relief by helping DigDeep to develop longer-term solutions which provide more Americans with safe, easy access to clean, running water,” said Ed Ferguson, Chief Sustainability Officer for BlueTriton Brands.

Texas colonias residents purchased homes from developers who sold them on the promise of installing paved roads, water and electricity but then disappeared. With the support of private funds, including a prior $400,000 donation by BlueTriton Brands, DigDeep broke ground on project work in the Cochran colonia, near El Paso, Texas in July 2022 to install piped water lines and fire hydrants for the entire community. Cochran was connected to municipal water in December 2022. 

"This has been a long fight,” resident Jack Duran said. “I remember that, for years, my parents would go fight for this dream of having running water. They asked for help, and were told they'd receive it, but in the end nothing would happen. It was all false promises. Growing up in Cochran, I always wanted to know: why is it that they won't help us get water? Never once did I think less of myself because of the lack of water, but I did think it was unfair.”

Duran grew up in Cochran. He has been fighting to get water for his family and community members for decades. When DigDeep’s project manager, Kathryn Lucero, began exploring plans to bring tapped water to Cochran, she hired Duran to help with community outreach and project assistance.

With the completion of work in Cochran, DigDeep has already begun laying the groundwork to bring running water to five more Texas colonias.

World Water Day, an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on March 22, 2023, raises awareness, and inspires action to solve the global water crisis that affects 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water.