The story is often told that the first attempt to settle what today is Matamoros was abandoned after the original attempt was thwarted by disease and pestilence-loaded esteros that drove them away.
At that time the raging river flooded massive areas of the region as the flood-swollen waterway cut new channels to the Gulf of Mexico. The resacas we see today are some of the old channels.Stagnant waters often breed mosquitoes which sometimes carry diseases. In the past, there were recurring epidemics of yellow fever and malaria.
Believe it or not, there is a recurring problem with one of our resacas in Brownsville. Well, maybe not exactly in Brownsville, since it is located on the north side of the Cameron Park colonia. By a series of actions by governments and individuals, the resaca north of the colonia has become a repository for trash, dead an animals, and a haven for vermin and disease.
Through a series of land developments and action by an existing irrigation district, the resaca has become landlocked and the water does not circulate as it originally did not too long ago. The Brownsville Public utility Board claims it has no responsibility since the colonia lies in a unincorporated area outside the city. And the Texas Water Quality Board says that aside from fining land owners adjacent to the resaca for throwing trash into it, it has not power to order the irrigation distirct to allow the water to circulate freely into the rest of the waterway.The Texas Department of Transportation that has water runoff draining directly into the landlocked resaca claims it has not responsibility for the waterway.
Past Precinct 2 county commissioners had only minimal success in addressing the problem. And yet, it wasn't that long ago that the water in the resaca was allowed to circulate to the resaca system on the northern side of town.For years, the pleas of Cameron Park residents have often fallen on deaf ears. The recent rains created flooding conditions there when the water in the litter-filled resaca spilled over into adjacent properties.
It is inarguable that the majority of the trash in the form of old furniture, scraps of lumber and construction material comes from some of the colonia homeowners themselves. Yet, the fact that the water is not allowed to drain into the rest of the resaca system is something that can be fixed. At the rear of the colonia, the water used to run east into the resaca that starts off by Fish Hatchery Road in the west and east as far as Highway 48 next to the Walmart.
Why the stretch from Paredes Road to the beginning of the resaca managed by the irrigation district was left to stagnate is anyone's guess.
Cameron Park will eventually have to be absorbed into the City of Brownsville. Will the residents of this colonia have to wait that long before this health hazard is addressed? Or will elected officials at the city and county – as well as the appropriate state agencies – step up to the plate and deliver?
11 comments:
What the hell is wrong with you Juanito? Do you really think the people of Texas give a flying shit about a bunch of wetbacks (literally, I might add) that are living in conditions that would make an African dictator blush? Of course not. Get your priorities straight. Screwing your secretary comes way before the health of the natives!!!
Just how they like it over there - like Matamoros, the motherland.
we r no longer flooded Mr. Montoya thanks to the brilliant idea of commissioner Alex Dominguez for releasing the polluted water to the rest of the resacas on Dana n Robindale. Alex Dominguez is doing the same thing as the ex commissioners John Wood nErnie Hernandez.
THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING FOR YOUR DISTRICT, ALEX DOMINGUEZ.
VOTE FOR JOE RIVERA! HE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM AND HE WILL FEED THE FLOCK CHICKEN PLATES ON ELECTIOND DAY!
Alex Dominguez is a sucky lawyer to put it mildly in my and many others' opinion. Do you really think he'll be a better commissioner? I think you already have your answer.
You think that is bad? You should check out the streets in front of St Lukes church next to Hanna HS, behind St. Lukes, the side streets that turn into resacas, lakes or whatever you want to call them. Check out the sidewalks on the left and right side from Old Port Isabel Road to Price Road you have mini trees growing out of the broken cement while the city employees that are supposed to be working on fixing these problems are waiting for another rain so they can say they have not gone to fix the problem because it's raining. MOsquitos (zancudos) are starting to be the size of bees, I have yet to see any city truck fumigating around the city. They are waiting until we get a case of nile virus then they will start implementing some program that will, like always be too late to implement. Coffee Port (Jaime Zapata rd.), Old Port Isabel road, Price road and the majority of the side streets around those areas are full of potholes (some the size of craters) that fill up with standing water with any passing shower, but citizens(myself included) complain in the blogs but dont show up to city comission meetings, dont call in to the 546-HELP and report these problems and, worse of all, on voting day we are too tired or too busy to go vote and we end up with the same people as always.
The problem here are the citizens. They don't get their chit together and initiate action.
Juan years ago exmayor emilio hernandez proposed to all these cameron park residents to be annex and the city of brownsville would put inwater, sewer paved roads n drainage but the folks said no bcuz we dont want to pay city taxes so thats why it is what it is and that was in the 1980, so dont be crying ala george lopez.
Being poor is no excuse for being dirty.
El Perry will be visiting the Balley ; by executive decree he is changing the Ebola to Labola. This conforms to the demographics of the region. Labola will bring economic progress.
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