♪ ♪ >> this is "nightline." >> tonight, the power of water. millions without access to running water here in the usa. >> the water is a human right because without it you can't live life and you can't live life with dignity. >> families relying on trucks for one of life's necessities. washing dishes with bleach. >> as a person, we don't deserve to be without, but yet it's a reality. for go what happened when a grassroots nonprofit took on the task of changing their lives? plus, jake gyllenhaal, the oscar-nominated leading man who broke hearts in "brokeback mountain," inside his new role. u arheralate.t of ur

>>ct to inrpr about the war in afantan. guy ritchie's "the covenant." >> these people have done extra ordinary things, but the people who fought and also their interpreters. the ethos is no one left behind. >> and the real-life heroes. of the moment that made jake tear up. also, free falling for the record. what these 101 skydivers all had in common is the sword to new heights. >> "nightline" will be right back.

but do they really? do they see all that you are? at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. ♪ ♪ always in that state of mind ♪ ♪ living on a high vibration ♪ ♪ so hot gonna make it melt ♪ ♪ and i'm lovin' what i'm tastin' ♪

♪ nos gusta mezclar ♪ ♪ como malteada ♪ ♪ aqui hay lugar ♪ ♪ yeah we livin' in the golden state ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good evening, thank you for joining us. it's one of the basic necessities of life, something none of us can live without. clean water. both of us in the u.s. take it for granted, but not the millions who are living without clean running water right here at home. on this earth week across our shows on "abc news," we bring you stories about the power of water. here is abc's john quinones. >> it's early july and amid the dry, sweltering texas summer... a lifeline for one small rural community just outside el paso.

today, this home is getting a delivery of water, a scarce resource here in the town of cochran. >> even though it's just two cleaning dishes, shower, restroom, something you need constantly. >> she and her family have lived in this neighborhood for more than 20 years. the cochairs. relying on trucks like this one to deliver water to their home every two weeks. >> the price has gone up. before i was 70, then 75, right now it's up to 85. >> it's a costly and tedious process for the family, who moved here to the u.s. from mexico decades ago. making matters worse is knowing that a few blocks away, all the other homes have access to unlimited utility water. >> [speaking non-english language]

>> the garcia's are just one of nearly two dozen families in this small texas neighborhood that do not have access to safe, drinkable running water. >> other people who live in the city do a few dishes and then they let the water go down, and over here, no, we have to wait until it looks kind of dirty so we can change the water because we don't have enough water. >> it subpoints me from my city because we live here. we pay our taxes, yet you can't help us. >> the local community of cochran and it's residents are not alone. a report released last june found that about 2.2 million people across the united states lack access to running water or basic plumbing. 44 million more don't have

access to clean water that's safe to drink. >> i think when most americans think of a places without water they think about someplace so far away and it's important for us to wake up and look in our own backyards and realize that these problems have been here at home too. >> among the places hardest hit are small low income unincorporated subdivisions with the majority of latino residents. they are located along the texas-mexico border. but now a glimmer of hope. [applause] the human rights nonprofit organization called dig deep stepping into. it's funded in large part by grassroots donations from everyday people. >> [speaking spanish] >> when it comes to funding, people are looked at as numbers and not necessarily as people. there wasn't enough numbers here to meet the criteria's to qualify for fund or less, so many of the doors got closed.

we could dig deep has taken on a herculean task of building water infrastructure, laying down more than 10,008 of piping to bring clean drinking water to each and every tab in cochran. all in all the project cost over a million dollars. dig deep has already made a world of difference in places like central appalachia and the navajo reservation. >> access to water is a human right because without it you can't live life and you can't live life with dignity and what is more essential than running, clean, predictable water? >> we usually use a lot of clorox to do the dishes because sometimes, you know, there might be some microbes or something within the water, so we try to disinfect. >> a cap or two of bleach while washing dishes goes a long way to protect her family of 12. they all live in this

five-bedroom home in cochran. in the summer she says the heat causes mold to grow in the tank where she stores her water. >> it has a certain smell. i don't want them, you know, to get sick and then we end up in the hospital. >> it's just one more thing to cope with when you don't have safe, running water. >> there's so many things that people right now are taking for granted. sometimes we have water, sometimes we don't. >> in some ways, she feels lucky. hers is one of the few homes along the borders that has a jerry-rigged piping system. it allows water to flow from her tank into her home. but even with that, there are problems. >> right here, as you can see, it's kind of getting rested, so it won't get that much water and then it burns out eventually. sometimes it might take up particles there from the pump to

inside the house, so it's kind of dangerous, but i mean, we have to do it. it's been a hard path that we have to go through. as a person, we don't deserve to be without, but yet it's a reality. it's hard to have quick showers because while you want to go in and out, but since it's a little bit of pressure it's impossible for you to just go in and out. and that's all the pressure we get. >> [speaking spanish] >> worries like those have

plagued bertha garcia and her family for years. so much so that she and her late husband, along with other members of the community mobilized and protested, pleading with local officials for help. >> [speaking spanish] >> and moving, just picking up and leaving, just wasn't an option. >> everything is so expensive now. it would have to be may be selling this home, but then again, i don't know if there is anybody willing to buy a house where there is no services. >> now with dig deep construction already underway on the new water main, she and her mother, like many of their neighbors, are looking forward to a new day. >> [speaking spanish] >> long showers, long bath.

the kids, they're really excited for a pool. there really excited to just get water. let them wastewater for once. >> [speaking spanish] >> the garcia family is making tamales on this special day of celebration. >> [speaking spanish] >> for two weeks now, the garcia's and their neighbors have been able to relish in something that so many millions of us take for granted. unlimited clean, running water. instead of paying hundreds of dollars in water deliveries, they are now paying only a fraction of the cost in utility fees. >> we are just really excited

and thankful and joyful and we are just happy. really happy. >> their bathroom now chock-full of new bath products. they can finally enjoy long showers at full pressure. >> we have a little bit more luxury. for us. >> [speaking spanish] >> as for bertha, well, she finally got her wish. >> how do you think your husband would feel if he was here today? >> [speaking spanish] [applause] eco-clean water and joy flowing

abundantly now through cochran. a reminder to all of us that water truly is the stuff of li life. >> honestly, i still can't believe it. i think more than anything, water has brought peace, sense of of peace and tranquility to this community. >> our thanks to john. when we come back, oscar-nominated heartthrob jake gyllenhaal pulling no punches in his new movie, "the covenant." putting a human face on america's longest war. us®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus®

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♪ ♪

>> oscar nominee jake gyllenhaal was known for a variety of roles, but his latest about the bond for a less forged in war is close to his start. here is "nightline" coanchor. >> i think we tend to sentimental his good deeds. there's like an over sentimental is asian of like -- is that a word >> you just pointed. >> it is a movie about doing, not saying. >> jake gyllenhaal isn't pulling any punches. in his latest movie, guy richie's "the covenant." >> don't ever override my authority again. >> the hollywood heartthrob nominated for an oscar in "brokeback mountain." >> sometimes i miss you so much i can hardly stand it. >> who disappears into roles like "the night crawler." >> i will never ask you to do anything. to that i wouldn't do myself. >> now teaming up with renowned danish actor. >> why do you this job?

>> i need the money. >> it's an action thriller putting a human face on the 2-decade-long war in afghanistan and the bonds forged in battle. >> you guys have quite a bromance off-camera. >> [laughs] it's hard not to love him. >> i get on camera your bond is very over, very quiet. >> i think it's very unsentimental, which i really liked. it's two guys who don't necessarily like each other to begin with. they don't necessarily trust each other, there from different background, different cultures, but they are kind of forced to be in this life and death situation. >> jake gyllenhaal plays army sergeant john kinley fighting the taliban. hochman, his afghan interpreter. >> during the film their relationship starts to develop and you learn that despite of everything that divide us, more things actually unite us as human beings. >> you are out of your bounce, you are here to translate.

>> actually i'm here to interpret. >> what does that mean in that moment and throughout the movie? >> this is my territory and even though you are in charge i want to be alive when this day is over, i'm here to interpret the situation for you as well. that's also an interpreter's responsibility, not just the words. >> the translator saves his commanders life, dragging him through the desert after an ambush. >> could you blame him if he just left the guy and just ran home to his own family? but that's -- you know, when you put reluctant heroes in situations like that and then when humans make the right choices, that's very inspiring very inspiring. >> and it's literally inactive what the remains say, leave no men behind. >> yes, that is the ethos. >> "the covenant," written and directed by guy ritchie, known for multiple blockbusters including "snatch" with brad pitt. >> while we were shooting the movie guide which was constantly saying what is the movie about, you know? in the end. and what we realized was this was about a promise. it was about ultimately a covenant. >> i don't member any of it.

>> but the strength of their covenant tested when gyllenhaal's character returns to the u.s. severely wounded, leaving his interpreter behind. >> everything all right? >> no, everything everything is not all right. there is a hawk in me. he and his family are in trouble. >> we can't intervene. >> something you can't see, but it's there. in some ways like being given his life it's been taken away if you can help the person that has helped you. i think we assume because they are, you know, from a different culture, that they are bound by the same idea, and i think that the character of ahmed, he takes on that ethos because he's, you know, promised a number of things. in exchange for that period >> and is "the covenant." this promise that you do well by us and we will take care of you. >> yes. >> for his starring role, celine drew from parts of his own life. >> you were born in iraq,

refugee, major life in denmark. what part of your personal narrative do you think helped inform the way that you portrayed him? >> when you grow up and live in different cultures, you come from a war-torn country, you see generations before me who lost their future and having to start all over. they have never fulfilled their potential, but they gave my generation a chance as i am giving my son an opportunity. >> did you feel a burden to want to humanize this person in a way for a big hollywood movie? >> i felt it as an honor and a privilege to portray someone from that part of the world is a real human being. because it can very easily become stereotyped. >> the duo took a black hawk helicopter to share the film with troops at fort irwin army base. >> why is it so important to be able to share the story with the boots on the ground folks? >> i believe the power of storytelling, particularly

narrative storytelling, is that it allows subjects to come back in the light and touch a part of us as people that say something reading the news doesn't. [cheers and applause] >> the film, a cinematic look at a war that lasted 20 years, and almost to countless u.s. troops, their families, and afghan citizens who supported them. >> i mean, 300 afghan interpreters since 2001 have been killed by the taliban for their connection with the u.s. government and the soldiers there. and there are still so many there waiting for visas. geico at the end when the real photos of soldiers -- >> done. done. >> reactions. >> first of all -- i -- yeah. >> i watched it in a screening in london with my son and he looked at me and said are you crying? and i'm like yeah, i am.

it was a beautiful moment. >> these people have done extraordinary things, both the people who fought and also there interpreters. so it's just to shine light,lef. [cheers and applause] >> our thanks. guy ritchie's "the covenant" is in theaters friday. up next, the skydivers who broke a record and proved that you're a record and proved that you're never too old. th rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable, i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. and left bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc got in my way, i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when my gastro saw damage, rinvoq helped visibly repair the colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief. lasting, steroid-free remission. and a chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check. check. and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb.

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♪ ♪ >> finally tonight, one for the ages. if 101 skydivers joining as one,

the group jumped out of five planes to form this record-breaking snowflake formation. but not everyone can join this team. all the skydivers are between the ages of the and 80. i qualify, but the roster is full. that's the ten for this evening, catch our full episodes on hulu, we will see] same time tomorrow, ask for the company, america, good night.