When Marcella Dean took office as mayor of Annona — a small town in Red River County in northeast Texas — in late 2023, she stepped into a whirlwind. The town’s water system was unreliable. The sewer system had been deteriorating for years. And the city’s finances? Barely functional.

But just over a year later, thanks to Dean’s leadership — and support from the Community Infrastructure Team at Communities Unlimited and a growing network of partners — Annona is finally gaining ground.

A Working Water System, Meter by Meter

One of the first things Dean tackled was Annona’s broken water meters. Of the town’s 117 water connections, nearly 75 had meters that didn’t work. Today, only about 10 remain out of service.

Fixing the meters has been key to restoring both service and revenue. One household, after receiving a new meter, showed usage of more than 20,000 gallons a month — triggering two consecutive $700 bills. Dean, seeing a possible leak and communication barrier, personally found a Spanish-speaking plumber to assist the family. They’ve since shut off their water and are slowly working to repay the bill, drawing water from a neighbor in the meantime.

Beyond billing, water quality has also improved. Chlorine and monochloramine levels are consistently within range, and Water Superintendent Tyler Rowell performs weekly checks and monthly bacterial testing to keep things on track.

Addressing a Collapsing Sewer System

While the water system is stabilizing, Annona’s wastewater system remains in crisis. Officially shut down by the state in March 2024, it has been nonfunctional since at least 2018. A smoke test conducted with the Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA) revealed widespread failures, including collapsed sewer lines.

Annona’s entire sewer collection and wastewater treatment systems — installed in the 1960s — are in disrepair. The dysfunctional system poses a serious public health threat, with untreated wastewater surfacing throughout the town and contaminating local waterways with microbial pathogens. In response, Red River County issued a public health urgency letter, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is pursuing enforcement actions due to the system’s severe deficiencies.

With support from CU and engineering partners, the town submitted a $1.7 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) application to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for the first phase of a multi-phase replacement project. If approved, this initial phase will replace approximately 20% of the system and lay the groundwork for full rehabilitation. The total estimated cost to replace the sewer system is estimated at $7.4 million.

Rebuilding the Budget

Dean has also worked hard to repair the town’s financial foundation. She paid off a loan from the previous administration that had been draining $5,000 a year from the budget — no small feat for a town with limited income. That single step freed up cash, which Dean invested into a short-term certificate of deposit earning 4% interest.

She’s also exploring a move to HilltopSecurities, a government-only investment group offering higher interest on municipal reserves. These strategic shifts are helping the town meet its $15,000 match for a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which could help repaint the water tower and rebuild the town’s dangerously outdated chlorine room.

That building, Dean explained, is literally held together with spray foam insulation. The wiring was so corroded from chlorine exposure that fuses had disintegrated, posing a real safety hazard. Despite reports that the room had been rebuilt with grant funds in 2012, the structure is unchanged since 1967.

“We’ve done what we can — we’ve had electricians come out and repair what’s there — but the building is in bad shape,” she said.

Overall, the town’s debt has dropped by about 10%. For the first time, the city isn’t scrambling at the end of the month to cover bills. Dean no longer has to delay paychecks, as she once did with Rowell, who worked two months without pay in the beginning.

“We’re not where we want to be yet, but we’re finally able to breathe,” she said.

Partnering for Progress

Throughout the journey, CU has been a consistent partner. Community Environmental Management Specialist Janelle Saucedo and East Texas Coordinator Tom Fulton have helped guide the town through rate studies, USDA grant applications, and connections with additional support agencies.

Dean said she often feels like Annona has become “a poster child for neglected towns” — and in a way, that’s helped shine a light on the need for investment in small, rural places. CU’s advocacy at statewide Texas Water Infrastructure Coordinator Committee (TWICC) meetings has helped keep Annona on the radar of funders and state officials.

“Other cities had audits and financial records in place. We had none of that,” Dean said. “We didn’t even have documentation to prove we could manage funds.”

Thanks to ongoing technical assistance from CU and Water Finance Exchange (WFX), Annona now has a work plan, a path toward audit completion, and improved bookkeeping practices that will make future funding possible.

Holding on to Hope

Even with the progress, the weight of the job hasn’t lifted. There are still sewage backups in people’s yards. The sewer plant is overgrown, rusted, and fenced with broken gates. Dean remembers crying the first time she saw it in person.

But she also remembers what keeps her going. “Every time I want to quit, God sends someone or something to help me keep going.”

Her goals for the town are simple:

As she sees it, Annona may have been left behind for years — but not anymore.