Jessups is a small colonia with just 15 houses located at the northern edge of the small rural community of Monte Alto.
The colonia floods with every significant rain because it is located at the site where several feet of topsoil were removed and sold before the are was developed as a colonia.
With each heavy rain, water from the community of Monte Alto and the surrounding agricultural area drains into Jessups which fills up like a manmade lake. The clay subsoil which is left in Jessups after the topsoil was removed holds the water at the surface for a long time after rains.
Colonia Jessups residents are working to fix the problems of their colonia through a self-help housing program in partnership with Proyecto Azteca, a non profit organization.
Detailed demographics of Colonia Jessups can be found in the Colonia Jessups Survey.
The survey provides an in-depth profile of the families which comprise this colonia, their opinions about their community and how they came to live here.