Jose Elizondo Jr. washes cars for a living.

The La Villa resident says water is important to his business, but he doesn't drink the water from the tap.

“The quality of the water right now is kind of poor, you could smell it,” Elizondo says.

In the near future, Elizondo might be getting water from a new source — treated agriculture field runoff and street runoff.

Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David Fuentes said the project is currently in pilot testing phase.

The goal is to increase water capacity at a time of critical shortage.

Fuentes told Channel 5 News the county is asking the state for funding to make this project a reality.

They need nearly $200 million to create retention ponds to collect water and build a plant to treat the water, before sending into homes.

“If we don't have water, then people are gonna start leaving our area,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes said the project includes creating four water treatment plants. If funding is secured, the new water source will provide clean water to 72,000 people.

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