El Paso residents set up water stations to beat the heat
Nina Gallegos
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso locals are putting up community water stations around the city to keep residents cool amid the summer heat. The initiative was started by Sun City Pickers, who just put up its first Downtown water station Tuesday.
Sun City Pickers is a volunteer-run nonprofit that hosts weekly litter pickups to beautify El Paso and increase sustainability in the community.
You can identify the group’s water stations by seeing a water dispenser with paper cups attached. Some of the dispensers have paintings.
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Its Downtown water station is on the corner of Missouri Avenue and Kansas Street outside of Amigo Bail Bonds.
Water station host Jud Burgess explained the importance of the program, noting that people in the area tend to overheat.
“In places like Paso where you have a lack of water and a lack of rain and high temperatures like in mid-100s, you know, people tend to overheat here,” Burgess said. “So this is a great way of just getting people, you know, getting their thirst quenched, but at the same time keeping them healthy and, you know, hydrated.”
Wednesday, El Paso could reach a high of 109 degrees. Staying hydrated can reduce the risk of heat-related illness.
The nonprofit covers the entire cost of setting up these stations.
Local business owner Maria Serrano initially declined when Sun City Pickers first approached her about setting up a community water station outside her business. Serrano recalled a past negative experience where a customer asked for water and then stole a doll from her store.
“Since then I would never give out water,” Serrano said.
Her hesitation was overcome when a volunteer from the nonprofit offered to set up the water station outside her business and pay it.
“I would’ve never thought of it,” Serrano commented.
Serrano now sees a positive impact from the station.
A local artist also views the water stations as a way to beautify the city. She hopes that appreciating the aesthetic of the stations will encourage people to see more beauty in nature around them.
Sun City Pickers is continuing to seek additional locations for water stations, considering both businesses and residential areas.