With hurricane season upon us, it is time for Cameron County residents to ask ourselves again how long will residents of Brownsville and other cities will put up with the heartache many families faced during chronic flooding events when many of them saw their homes and property under water?
How many times will Brownsville residents in low-lying areas have to tear out their carpets and have their furniture ruined every time we get a hard rain?
How many times will local residents have to fix their cars because they had to drive through flooded streets as a result of a poor drainage system?
How many times will the bone-jarring shocks of potholed streets damage tires, windshields, shocks, and other automobile parts that result when the patchwork of asphalt repairs washes away time after time?
City elected officials and administrators should know that kind words of concern will no longer do. Soothing words about the flooding being an unusual event won’t do either.
This problem has to be fixed. And it has to be fixed now.
The much-vaunted drainage improvements done along Boca Chica Boulevard in the recent years have proved to be a farce. Millions of dollars in taxpayer money seemed to have been spent in vain. Who’ll answer for that?
In fact, in a world and nation where accountability is the byword, who’s accountable for the recurring flooding in our community?
It’s time to acknowledge that the system we have in place does not work. City officials talk up the Impala pump as if it were the salvation to all our drainage problems. Obviously, it is not. It takes a long time to prime the pump, and when it works the city has already been under water for hours.
The dike and levee systems in place to keep water from spilling into the city from the Rio Grande actually prevent rainwater from getting to the river, the natural drain for runoff from the Rio Grande watershed. Until a hurricane makes a direct hit (as in Beulah), it has been decades since there was any danger of the river overflowing its banks.
Cameron County faced recurring problems with flooding in Valle Escondido and found a solution by building an outfall to the river. Recent experience indicates the outfall works and kept the colonia from flooding, and with septic tanks still being used still used in some colonias along the river, the health justifications for preventing disease-bearing sewage from flowing through the subdivisions is critical.
Isn’t it time the city and county got together and explored whether we can construct two or three outfalls along the river where water collects to divert water to the river? Under the current system, water is diverted toward the port channel, where it flows out into the Gulf of Mexico. However, if there is a high tide, it will take longer for the water to drain since we are practically at the same water level as the port.
What we have in place in Brownsville and the surrounding (and rapidly developing) rural areas is basically an irrigation system passing as a drainage system. That irrigation system worked fine if the goal was to water crops. It does not work as well in carrying off rainwater. To argue otherwise is to ignore the sad reality we have experienced in the recent past.
The system dates back to the 1920s, with minor improvements made over the years. Still, it remains what it was designed for: to carry water from the river to the farmlands. Our region is basically a watershed of the Rio Grande. Before it was dammed upriver, it periodically changed course when it was running full from rains upstream and from its tributaries. The resacas are testament to that fact. They take us back to the times that the river changed course on its way to the Gulf.
Now is the time for the city, the county, the PUB, and all irrigation and drainage districts to come together and form a solution to this recurrent problem. Otherwise, we can continue pumping money into street improvements only to see them washed away because we have not had the political will to tackle this problem.
How many times will local residents have to fix their cars because they had to drive through flooded streets as a result of a poor drainage system?
How many times will the bone-jarring shocks of potholed streets damage tires, windshields, shocks, and other automobile parts that result when the patchwork of asphalt repairs washes away time after time?
City elected officials and administrators should know that kind words of concern will no longer do. Soothing words about the flooding being an unusual event won’t do either.
This problem has to be fixed. And it has to be fixed now.
In fact, in a world and nation where accountability is the byword, who’s accountable for the recurring flooding in our community?
It’s time to acknowledge that the system we have in place does not work. City officials talk up the Impala pump as if it were the salvation to all our drainage problems. Obviously, it is not. It takes a long time to prime the pump, and when it works the city has already been under water for hours.
The dike and levee systems in place to keep water from spilling into the city from the Rio Grande actually prevent rainwater from getting to the river, the natural drain for runoff from the Rio Grande watershed. Until a hurricane makes a direct hit (as in Beulah), it has been decades since there was any danger of the river overflowing its banks.
Cameron County faced recurring problems with flooding in Valle Escondido and found a solution by building an outfall to the river. Recent experience indicates the outfall works and kept the colonia from flooding, and with septic tanks still being used still used in some colonias along the river, the health justifications for preventing disease-bearing sewage from flowing through the subdivisions is critical.
Isn’t it time the city and county got together and explored whether we can construct two or three outfalls along the river where water collects to divert water to the river? Under the current system, water is diverted toward the port channel, where it flows out into the Gulf of Mexico. However, if there is a high tide, it will take longer for the water to drain since we are practically at the same water level as the port.
What we have in place in Brownsville and the surrounding (and rapidly developing) rural areas is basically an irrigation system passing as a drainage system. That irrigation system worked fine if the goal was to water crops. It does not work as well in carrying off rainwater. To argue otherwise is to ignore the sad reality we have experienced in the recent past.The system dates back to the 1920s, with minor improvements made over the years. Still, it remains what it was designed for: to carry water from the river to the farmlands. Our region is basically a watershed of the Rio Grande. Before it was dammed upriver, it periodically changed course when it was running full from rains upstream and from its tributaries. The resacas are testament to that fact. They take us back to the times that the river changed course on its way to the Gulf.
Now is the time for the city, the county, the PUB, and all irrigation and drainage districts to come together and form a solution to this recurrent problem. Otherwise, we can continue pumping money into street improvements only to see them washed away because we have not had the political will to tackle this problem.
Since many of these projects are to be paid from future taxes on local properties, we are actually indebting ourselves and future generations. Currently, we are literally throwing money down the drain.
Enough is enough. It’s time for our leaders to act and solve this problem. We don’t need to create new taxing entities. We are already taxed to death.
Additional outfalls to the river may only be part of the solution. But it’s a beginning. And we need to start now.
Enough is enough. It’s time for our leaders to act and solve this problem. We don’t need to create new taxing entities. We are already taxed to death.
Additional outfalls to the river may only be part of the solution. But it’s a beginning. And we need to start now.
7 comments:
A major factor causing the flooding in B'Town is development along the roads and streets which force (or cause) the water to drain to the lowest spot. We see too that businesses like H.E.B. (particularly the Paredes Line H.E.B. have made holding ponds to allow drainage away from their parking areas and buildings. Making drainage a part of development; especially housing development should be looked at. Developers should be required to keep drainage from flooding streets. It is good to discuss this issue, but let's not just discuss it when it rains. Our city and its citizens seem to complain when it floods, but never do anything when the sun comes out. And, why is it we can get funds to make bike lanes, but can't get money for drainage. Politics is part of the problem....and "pet projects" of the commissioners seldom address what is really needed. Maybe Rose Gowen and her commission compadres should seek money for drainage because it limits bike riding in areas that are prone to flooding.
The problem lies with the elected . They get elected and sit on their asses; enjoying their benefits, collecting bribes from vendors, neglecting their duties,etc. Where is every body ?
The Bike Riding Campaign is good if all bike lanes and routes were safe and they were actual bike lanes like those in REAL ALL AMERICAN CITIES. Only a few streets in Brownsville are bike friendly. Yes, this is Ms. Gowens "class project" but I would like to see her project reach out everyone, city-wide lanes, not just a block or two in the down-town area. Gowen how about putting some funds towards ensuring that the supposed walk/bike trail have proper lighting, install some cameras as some parts are way to sketchy to get on and yeah, Make our street and infrastructure a PRIORITY! Pot-holes all over, street lanes are all blurred....surely not the All American City.....jajajaj
Da Mayor, La Gowan. aunt J where tied to the Mt. Everest bicycle ride. For their exploits they were awarded the Panchen Lama Medal. The local paper mentioned this exploit in theirSports page.
juan drainage projects are very costly some can ranged into the millions of dollars, maybe that's why the city don't want to do them or have money to do them either.
The Titanic might be hidden in Bro flooded areas.
According to the National Geographic a great discovery was made in Brownsville's flooded waters. The Titanic was finally located. We extend the efforts and credits to our Naco sailors .
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