HARLINGEN — For decades, neighbors have struggled with flooding in a subdivision that dips into a “bowl” along the city’s northern edge.
Off Business 77, just south of Loop 499, some residents point to marks on their walls to recall the floodwaters’ crest following the big storms that have hit the Spanish Acres subdivision, built in the 1920s.
As City Commissioner Daniel Lopez knocked on doors during his election campaign early this year, a resident showed him photographs of her brother trudging through floodwaters rushing down the street.
“The water was up to his chest,” he said Monday. “It’s a neighborhood in need — a neighborhood that looks like it’s forgotten. The fact that they haven’t got support in over 30 years is unacceptable.”
DRAINAGE HIGH PRIORITY
Now, Cameron County Drainage District 5 is joining the city in launching a project designed to drain runoff out of the subdivision lying a foot below its discharge point at the North Main Drain during flooding events.
At City Hall, officials are planning about 15 drainage projects totaling about $5 million, with funding coming through the city’s $21 million share of the American Rescue Plan Act, Assistant City Manager Craig Cook said.
Meanwhile, the drainage district is planning a $17.7 million grant-funded project aimed at upgrading the North Main Drain while building four detention ponds in the area, Rolando Vela, the district’s assistant manager, said.
“Drainage will continue to be a top priority for me,” Lopez said. “If you want to help people, we’ve got to protect their home.”
SPANISH ACRES TOPPING PROJECT LIST
On the city’s list, the Spanish Acres project nears the top.
“It is so important to the protection of Spanish Acres,” Cook said. “It’s very important to the subdivision — they flooded in 2019.”
As a result of the big flood, city crews pumped 1.5 feet of floodwaters out of Barcelona, Marchita and La Paloma Avenue.
The subdivision dips into a “bowl,” Lopez, who oversees District 2, said.
“From Business 77 to end of Barcelona’s dead-end is a two-foot drop,” he said. “It’s a gradual two-foot drop. That back part is a bowl. How do we drain the bowl?”
DRAINING THE ‘BOWL’
As part of the project, officials are planning to install two 18-inch-wide, 30-foot-long pipelines along La Paloma and Marchita, Cook said.
The pipelines, he said, are designed to funnel floodwaters into the North Main Drain, which carries runoff into the Arroyo Colorado.
“These stormwater drain inlets will drain excess rain from the end of these two streets as well as alleviate the excess rain that backs up into the existing drainage inlets,” officials stated.
Meanwhile, the drainage district is planning to regrade an open drainage ditch running from Barcelona to Buena Vista while city crews upgrade an entry point to carry runoff from Barcelona to the North Main Drain, they stated.
“The water gets trapped because of the berm along the ditch,” Cook said. “We’re trying to drain it before it ponds and floods that north area.”
Next, city officials are planning to install four valves to control the water’s flow.
“It allows the water to get into the ditch and keeps the water from getting into the subdivision,” Cook said.
So far, he said, officials don’t have a price tag for the project expected to be competed in about 45 days.
