In October 2023, Marcella Dean became the mayor of Annona, a small town in northeast Texas with just 184 residents. She didn’t seek out the role because of a passion for politics, but to fix a major problem: the town’s unreliable water supply.

Before she became mayor, Annona residents often went without water for days. “We had water breaks, and the previous mayor didn’t see the urgency in fixing them,” said Mayor Dean. In spring 2023, a major water leak left the town without water for a week, frustrating residents. When no one else ran for mayor, Dean, who had been working on the town’s water issues with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), stepped in.

After talking with the outgoing mayor, who had served for 31 years and was ready to retire, Dean took the job. It was no small task. “The water would come out brown. If you had water, it was a good day,” Dean recalled. Annona had 137 violations from the TCEQ, a huge number for a town with just 117 water connections. Dean quickly started working on the problem, hiring a water superintendent, Tyler Rowell, who had been helping for two months without pay.

The Environmental Services Team at Communities Unlimited (CU) soon got involved, as Community Environmental Management Technician Janelle Saucedo started to assist through an EPA grant. Janelle worked with Mayor Dean, TCEQ, and engineers to assess the water system and prepare a rate study. She also helped the town apply for a USDA grant to get a new backhoe and connected them with financial support for bookkeeping.

But water system repairs weren’t the only challenge. Dean discovered water theft was inflating the town’s water bills from $7,000 to $8,000 per month, far more than they could afford. Texas House Representative Gary VanDeaver and other officials got involved, and after a visit from Riverbend Water Resources District’s CEO, the theft mysteriously stopped. Dean is now working with Riverbend to pay off the outstanding bill over six years and is gradually replacing the town’s outdated water meters as the budget allows.

The job has taken a toll on Dean. In September 2024, she nearly resigned because she was so overwhelmed by the financial strain. At one point, she considered paying Riverbend to take over the town’s water system, but that would have raised household water bills to $180 — too much for Annona’s mostly retired, Social Security-dependent residents. Instead, she raised rates by $18 a month to cover essential services.

Mayor Dean, along with Saucedo and CU East Texas Coordinator Tom Fulton, is also dealing with the town’s collapsed sewer system. The system has been shut down since March, but has been failing since 2019, causing sewage backups in homes and yards. Janelle is helping the town through another EPA grant, coordinating repairs and looking for long-term solutions.

Amid these challenges, a small but meaningful donation from CU made a difference. CU gave the town two new laptops to replace their outdated computer, which was struggling to handle city tasks like processing online payments. “It meant so much,” Dean said. “I had been praying about that.”

Mayor Dean is grateful for all the help she’s received from CU. “It’s been a blessing,” she said. “I believe God brought you all here because he knew I needed help.”

Saucedo, who has worked closely with Mayor Dean, admires her dedication. “Whether you live in a big city or a small town like Annona, everyone deserves clean water,” Saucedo said. “Mayor Dean’s kindness and determination will always stay with me.”

Despite everything, Mayor Dean is committed to leading Annona.

“This is my home. Someone had to step up because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have a town. We deserve clean drinking water. God put me here to fight, and we have 184 people we are fighting for.”

— Marcella Dean, Mayor of Annona