CITY UNVEILS NEW RETAINER POND AT BARNARD AND PRICE

(E.'s Note: The City of Brownsville unveiled an innovative concept in runoff water control: designating street intersections as temporary retainer ponds. The novel idea was hatched in the inner sanctums of of the Public Works and Traffic Control departments. A representative of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) served as a liaison with the city think-tank to provide technical and hydrological expertise to the deliberations.

Actually, the mobile retainer pond idea is not a new one, but it had not been adopted as an official policy until recently, when residents began to complain that the infrequent seasonal rains were causing chronic flooding throughout the city. The immediate response from the city was to send Animal Control officers to flood-prone areas to prevent the occasional stray dog from peeing and causing flooding there.The municipal gurus at administration then hit upon the idea of designating intersections such as the one above at Price and Bernard, the one on Monroe and 9th streets and the Four Corners Area, and Boca Chica and McDavitt, among others, as Temporary Retaining Pond Areas (TRPAs).

"What a great concept," gushed a resident waiting for traffic to maneuver around the high water at the corner above. "If I had known it was a city policy, I would have avoided the area. And our pets can relieve themselves without their owners worrying they might be picked up. That is, if they have their locator chip implanted."

Plans are underway to publicize a list of the TRPAs in the local newspaper and to post it online so that residents can avoid them or visit them to see them work to hold the rain water.)