BY NORMAN ROZEFF
When Uriah Lott’s railroad reached Harlingen on 4/22/04, the plans were to build the longest span bridge on the line. This was needed to traverse the Arroyo Colorado. By May 2, 1904, a wooden structure had been completed. Four months later a major surge on the river affected Presidio in the west and continued its sweep toward the ocean.
At Fordyce just west of Mission, the river flooding was 15 miles wide. Advancing eastward it demolished the newly erected, almost completed steel railroad bridge across the Arroyo.
The temporary wooden bridge was also damaged to the extent that its repair took Brownsville out of train service for 28 days. It took over a year to build new concrete pilings and erect another steel bridge. Stream gages indicated that water levels exceeded the previously measured highs of 1846.
Periodic flooding of low-lying areas north and east of the Hidalgo County seat in the town of Hidalgo along the river hindered county business transactions. As a result the commissioners, A. Champion, R. L. Savage, C. Schunior, and William F. Sprague, selected a new neutral site to be occupied in November 1908.
A new county courthouse and adjacent park were constructed upon land donated by John Closner, Dennis B. Chapin and William F. Sprague. At first it was called Chapin, but after he was involved in a homicide the town site was renamed Edinburg in 1911.
Little is noted of floods for five years thereafter, then, at the end of June 1909, a powerful tropical storm struck the area as its center moved inland between Brownsville and Corpus Christi. Reports are made of corn and cotton being lost, canals being broken, the Arroyo Colorado filled from bank to bank, the sagging of some railroad trestles, and of levees breaking. This great flood even frightened the residents of Donna as it moved north six miles, only stopping at the rise upon which the townsite was laid out.
In September 1910 heavy rains coupled with saturated soils contributed to serious flooding once again. The river waters reached the railroad line at Mercedes in a three mile wide swath after cresting on 9/19. Still the water levels were four feet below those of 1909.
Because of the erratic nature of Rio Grande flows there were Valley people who were foresighted or, at the very least, desirous of looking out for their own needs. Such were Mission-area truck farmers led by Edward C. Dustin and Charles Volz. In July 1910 they proposed a treaty with Mexico to establish a large river dam and reservoir. The fulfillment of their dreams was a long time in coming.
Lower Valley residents wanted, at minimum, to be forewarned about flooding possibilities. Fred J. Cutting, president of the Mercedes Commercial Club, wrote Congressman Garner in mid-year 1912 asking if federal help could be secured to monitor river flows including the San Juan tributary in Mexico.
After lobbying for some time they were told in October 1912 that the federal government would establish observation stations at Eagle Pass, Laredo, Rio Grande City, Mission, and in Mexico at Monterrey and Aldamas. The latter two stations were closed as the year ended because it was learned that there was no law allowing the establishment of such stations on foreign soil.
At the end of September 1913, river flooding affected the San Benito and Brownsville areas among others. A month later with waters coming from the San Juan, a second flood washed out two hundred feet of track of the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railway between Mission and the river. The line to Monte Christo was unaffected. Access to the canal pumping station was cut as water rose to the 24.5’ level.
In Hidalgo bad bank erosion caused the removal of the U.S. Immigration Station and Custom offices. Water at that point rose to within two and a half feet of the top of the bank. When banks south of McAllen were cut to protect the canal, backwaters came within two miles of the city.
River flooding was again a fact of life on 6/1/14. The Arroyo Colorado was “bank full” and at its highest level in four years. For a period of three weeks the Rio Grande was also bank full.
In the Landrum area south of San Benito, 50 acres of cotton were flooded and lost. Three months later there was a record rise of the river. Camargo was submerged, and Matamoros was mostly under water. Old river beds on either side of the river were submerged.
In May of 1916, Elephant Butte Dam on the upper reaches of the Rio Grande in New Mexico was completed. At the time it created the largest reservoir in the world with 115 billion cubic feet capacity, enough to irrigate 200,000 acres.
The dam, located 120 miles north of El Paso, stood 315 feet tall. It did not offer much insurance against flooding in the lower reaches of the Rio Grande, since flood waters usually came into the river downstream of El Paso.
In early October 1917 parts of Brownsville were flooded despite efforts to shore up the nearby levees. It was claimed the flooding was exacerbated by the damming of the Arroyo’s head in Hidalgo County.
Matamoros was again flooded in May 1918 and Brownsville threatened. The latter was saved by a newly constructed levee just completed before the May 3-5 event.
The old Indiana Cooperative Canal pumping plant at Brownsville was undermined and fell into the river in early July 1919 after a quick flood affected the lower reaches of the river. Its worth was set at $3,000. This was a prelude to what was occur three weeks later when high waters once again peaked in the river.
On July 26 reports were coming in that the flow where the San Juan River out of Mexico met the Rio Grande was at its highest level in history. As the river level stayed high in the days that followed, levees south of San Benito were a mere two feet from being under water. Other areas overflowed, but still others were saved from inundation when breakthroughs sent water into Mexico and somewhat relieved the volume coming toward Brownsville.
In September flooding was once again impacting the river. By the time one crest passed Brownsville on October 3, water at the time covered lowlands as far north as Combes Station.
August 1920 saw Brownsville again under attack by flood waters, and in less than two months time the city is again threatened but receives fortuitous relief. A break at the Carmen Ranch seven miles north of the city carries flood waters into the Rancho Viejo (or Six Mile) Resaca then on to Jackass Prairie. On 9/13/20, a short ten days later, heavy rains so flooded the Harlingen-San Benito road that traffic has to be routed fifteen miles north to Rio Hondo in order to cross the Arroyo there on the ferry.
On May 1, 1922 came the first of several telegraph reports to the lower Valley. It warns of a rise in the river. Six days later predictions were made for San Juan River flooding. Nothing immediate comes to pass, but these warnings were a harbinger of things to come. Northern Mexico had been saturated by heavy rains. On June 17 the Monterrey section received a second series of high precipitation storms.
The U.S. Weather Service issued warnings for the Valley, especially applicable after Camargo and Mier were evacuated. Mission to Alamo farmers took action by moving stock and equipment to higher ground. By 6/24 the flood waters were well upon the Valley. All businesses closed in Mercedes so everyone could work to shore up the levees in the vicinity.
“Water Wins at Mercedes – South Levee Breaks” headlined the paper the following day. The water at the railroad depot at Mercedes reached 42” above the building’s foundation. The water then pushed on past Mercedes toward Sebastian and Lyford. On June 25 the river level reached its maximum. Breaks on the Mexico side ameliorated U.S. flooding, especially for Brownsville. Matamoros, as had been the case numerous times before, was a disaster when waters turned the city into a lake. After the 1922 flooding the Red Cross stepped in to donate $10,000 flood relief for 1,025 Valley families, 60% of whom were Mexican ethnics.
In the Harlingen area, flood fighters had also been galvanized into action. Alfred Tamm, the engineer in charge of the Harlingen Water District; H.A. Beckwith, water engineer; and C.P. Bobo, manager of the district were leaders of efforts to shore up the levees south of the city.
Their efforts succeeded in keeping farmland from being flooded as well as the pumping station. The cost was $3,100 of which the city picked up $506. The city gave them a vote of thanks on 7/2.
