After months in hotels, family displaced by El Paso water main break finds new home

EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — After spending about five months living out of hotel rooms following a major water main break, Candy Arellano and her family have moved into a new home, but she said they are still dealing with the fallout from the flooding and the damage it caused.

Arellano described the moment her family realized the water was threatening their home.

“It’s a lot of water. It’s about to come into the house,” Arellano said.

The water main break in January cut water to thousands of homes across Northeast and parts of Central El Paso, leaving more than 100,000 people with little or no water. While water service was eventually restored, Arellano said the problems for her household were only beginning. Nine family members were living in her home at the time.

After months in hotels, family displaced by El Paso water main break finds new home (Credit: KFOX14)

Arellano said her family had to leave late that night and that El Paso Water paid for them to stay in hotel rooms.

“They did help us out with a hotel room. Each one of us did get a hotel room, and we stayed there till just recently,” Arellano said.

Now in a new home, Arellano said she is grateful, but said some of the damage is still being felt. She said that after the family reached a claims agreement with El Paso Water over damage from the break, they opened storage pods where their belongings had been moved and found more damaged items.

“We have a lot of broken things. Our stuff was not taken care of,” Arellano said. “As we’re opening the boxes, we just continue to find broken things.”

KFOX14/CBS4 asked El Paso Water about Arellano’s concerns over belongings she said were damaged after being in storage.

The utility provided the following statement:

“El Paso Water has remained in communication with the Arellano family since the main break in January. EPWater addressed the family’s claim consistent with its authority and applicable laws,”

Arellano also said her family received help through a GoFundMe after being displaced, and that community donations helped pay for necessities such as food, clothes, toiletries and other basic items while they lived in hotel rooms.

“It did help us, and we’re very thankful, you know, thank you to the community. Thank you to everybody that did help us,” she said.

Arellano said she now wants other families to document what they own in case they experience a similar emergency.

“Save your receipts,” she said. “Keep your paperwork in a plastic bag where you know water doesn’t get into it. So that way you guys get the first thing you can grab and get out.”

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