After much anticipation, the hundreds of residents living in Las Colonias could finally see running water and say goodbye to plastic water bottles and metal water tanks.

The Sand Hills Water Improvement Project is back in motion after some major setbacks.

The district and United States Department of Agriculture and Rural Development broke ground on the project last August.

The $10 million project was intended to bring running water to the 380 residents living in Las Colonias by July.

But not too long after construction began, the district ran into some problems.

In December, one of two tanks was built on the wrong property. The other was vandalized in July.

"We know it's been a long time. We have had some hurdles, but we've been working every single day to get this project back up and going, and finally it looks like it's going to happen. Nov. 1 is our last deadline," said Saul Trejo, the district's engineer.

The Lower Valley Water District started filling one of the newly constructed water tanks Monday morning.

"This tank is going to provide the water for the other tank that we have close to College Park. Once these tanks are in service, then we're going to continue with disinfecting the main lines and put everything in service," said Trejo.

KFOX14 spoke to a resident who lives in Las Colonias.

"We just want to see the water already," said Jose Armendariz.

Armendariz and those living in the area have been waiting for more than 20 years for that to happen.

That's why, despite the new deadline, Armendariz still has doubts.

"I just really hope it's a reality this time. We're really, really frustrated because we've been waiting so long. This should have been done by July, and by the looks of it, I still think it's going to take another year," he said.

But Trejo tells KFOX14 the district doesn't foresee any other problems, and everything is back on track to meet the new deadline.

"Every home has a service right now, and we're going to keep adding some services as the project goes on. Once we put the water meter and once we release the water, then we're going to check the pressure. This will be continuous for the next two to three years to make sure everything is working properly," he said.

To prevent any other vandalism to the water tanks, Trejo said the district plans to install sensors and security cameras at the tank sights.