MERCEDES — City officials released a fact sheet to help clear the air and point out who has keys to drainage gates and pumps when heavy rainfall hits the city.
The city of Mercedes has continued to encounter confusion in the aftermath of June’s flooding, causing residents to question if city officials did all they could do.
One June 20, Mercedes and other cities in Hidalgo County sustained heavy damage from intense rainfall.
The storm was an event that uncommonly hovered over the mid-Valley area and in particular, over the Mercedes area.
Many residents suffered flood damage.
After the rain ended, residents looked to city leadership to act quickly in opening flood gates to help release floodwaters from the town.
In one instance, Mercedes residents went as far as knocking on Mercedes Mayor Henry Hinojosa’s door demanding he open the flood gates.
“The city of Mercedes did all that could be done,” said Sergio Zavala, Mercedes interim city manager.
A news release offered by the city examines the primary concern of “who is responsible for locked gates to be opened, and pumps to be turned on” in a question and answer format.
Who is involved?
According to Zavala the city of Mercedes has some ditches and drainage lines with inlets to properly divert floodwaters.
“Theses were cleaned and cleared starting in March,” Zavala said.
Hidalgo County Drainage District #1 is the county’s agency to maintain the larger drainage ditches, and they also control their gates and pumps.
According to the release, HCDD#1 has ongoing projects to improve drainage in the county areas and Valley cities use county ditches to inflow their rainfall.
The third player is the International Boundary and Water Commission. The IBWC is a federal agency, and one of its functions is to protect the border lands along the Rio Grande from floods by systems of levees and floodways.
Zavala said over the phone that had IBWC opened its gates early enough it would have helped reduce flooding in Mercedes.
The fourth agency involved is Irrigation District No. 9, which oversees a jurisdiction of acreage that uses canals and ditches to provide irrigation waters to shareholders — farmers and others.
The HCDD#1 and Dist. No. 9 have had agreements for years to allow No. 9’s ditches and canals to be used for drainage purposes.
And the last agency is the Texas Department of Transpiration, which owns the Expressway. TxDOT engineers designed incoming rain waters to be choked down when going into its drainage system. This regional drainage system cannot be changed and is noted because it affects the drainage to all cities bordering the Expressway.
“This fact sheet will help people understand who has authority over the keys to gates and pumps regarding area drainage,” Zavala said.
Q and A with Sergio Zavala, Mercedes Interim city manager, regarding area drainage gates and pumps
Q: If the gates to the county ditches are locked, who has the keys?
A: The Hidalgo County Drainage District #1 has the keys.
Q: What about the pumps to the county ditches? Who has the keys to the pumps?
A: The HCDD#1has the keys to their pumps; Mercedes officials do not have keys to the county pumps.
Q: What about Irrigation District No. 9? Do floodwaters go into No. 9’s ditches?
A: Yes. For years, the HCDD#1 has had agreements to use District No. 9’s ditches for floodwaters. Some of No. 9’s ditches need to be cleaned. Mercedes will now help to maintain some of the more important ditches to improve Mercedes’ drainage.
Q: What about the gates to the floodways? Who has keys for the levee and floodway system?
A: The IBWC staff has the keys to all the floodway’s gates. At this time, the city of Mercedes has licensed access to one gate only, which was open during the rainfall event.
Q: What can be done now to improve the drainage response to forecasted heavy rain?
A: Mercedes, the HCDD#1 and IBWC must site–verify that the gates are open. We must have pumps ready to be used. On July 2, Mercedes sent a proposed agreement to the HCDD#1, where it includes giving Mercedes keys to the county’s pumps and gates in the Mercedes area. Of course, HCDD#1 would provide training. The agreement is currently being reviewed by the county attorney.
