A Thirst in the Garden

The lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the most productive farming areas in the world. Yet, something appeared to be badly amiss to those involved in programming KERA-TV, the public television station serving a wide circle of Texas from Dallas. The problem was basically one of thirst amidst what should have been plenty. Many who lived and worked in the valley were forced to secure drinking water from filthy, polluted irrigation canals or from contaminated shallow wells. In their moving documentary A Thirst in the Garden, KERA-TV explored the reasons why such conditions could exist and what the factors are that permit such to continue. For shedding the revealing light of a quality television documentary on this dark blot, a Peabody Award to KERA-TV in Dallas.