Cameron County Irrigation District No. 2 receives water retention funding

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville, announced Thursday the additional funding of over $1 million to continue to improve and modernize Texas’ water retention infrastructure.

The Cameron County Irrigation District No. 2 will be receiving $1.65 million from the Inflation Reduction Act in addition to the nearly $1 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law announced earlier this week by Gonzalez and Roque Sanchez, deputy commissioner for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

“Unfortunately, South Texans are no stranger to the issues of water shortage,” Gonzalez said in a news release. “For years, communities in the Rio Grande Valley have been plagued by decreasing reservoir levels and drought. That is why I am proud to announce this funding from two pieces of legislation that keep on delivering for South Texas.

“We will continue the work of modernizing and improving our infrastructure so that future generations no longer have to worry about their water security.”

Both funds will be used for projects to modernize open canals to closed and lined pipelines to prevent water loss from evaporation and seepage as well as constructing infrastructure to improve the efficiency of a canal, discharge pipes and adding a pumping plant that will improve water saving and conservation.

“With new resources from the Inflation Reduction Act, Reclamation is pleased to support these projects that help our partners invest in infrastructure that conserves and more efficiently moves water,” Sanchez said in the release.

“We recognize that the Rio Grande suffers from prolonged drought impacts that we see in many basins across the West, and we will continue to work closely with our partners to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and the effects of climate change.”