Anyone got a BILLION to spare?
By G. Romero Wendorf
This week after the city of Weslaco was hit with record foods, there was an interesting post bouncing around on social media:
“WOW! Weslaco made the national news due to the historic fooding we experienced yesterday (Oct. 24)! Apparently a drainage study was ordered about a year-and-a-half ago by the previous administration and was approved on a 4-3 vote! Tafolla, Rivera, Fox, and Cuellar voted FOR, and NORIEGA, PENA, and SUAREZ voted AGAINST!”
In case you’re unaware, there’s a local election next Tuesday, Nov. 3, in Weslaco. Hence, the upper-case letters and the upper-case FOR and AGAINST. Districts 1, 4 and 5 are up for grabs.
In District 1, it’s the incumbent David Fox vs. Leo Muñoz and Oscar Rios. In District 4, it’s incumbent “Jerry” Tafolla vs. Raphael Caballero. In District 5, there is a special election underway: incumbent Lupe Rivera faces challenger Letty Lopez.
But back to the post foating around on social media, speaking about the fooding:
“(The drainage study report) was complete(d) and delivered to city commissioners prior to (the late administration’s) term ending. I guess the million dollar question is, WHAT DID THE CURRENT CITY MANAGER AND CITY COMMISSIONERS DO WITH THIS REPORT???
Obviously, upper-case letters are meant to get across a point.
Asked about the post on social media with regard to the drainage study, Weslaco City Manager Mike Perez said, “Sure, the drainage study was done. But you know what the study said it would cost the city to fix its drainage problems?
How much?
“A billion dollars,” said Perez. “That’s billion with a capital B.”
Whoa.
To get a billion dollars, said Perez, Weslaco would basically have to lay aside all city services, police, fire, street repairs (presumably garbage pickup as well) for 30 years.
“And then we’d still be short the billion,” he said.
Meaning, there’s no way that Weslaco can come up with what the drainage study says the city needs to fix any and all fooding issues.
“Besides,” said Perez, “even if we had done everything the study had recommended we do, if we got 10 to 12 inches of rain in the span of only four to five hours (which is what happened last Saturday), there’s no way we would have avoided some floding.”
Meaning, there’s a limit on how much water drainage ditches and drainage pipes and the levee will hold, and how fast pumps can pump it, no matter the infrastructure in place.
Perez, however, admits there are obviously some things the city needs to work on with regard to drainage.
“We’re clearing some ditches and widening some ditches.”
Four out of five ditches have already been cleared.
The city is also going to buy some new 12-inch pumps, because clearly the 6-inch pumps it currently has don’t cut it when the skies really open the spigot.
Early this week, some neighborhoods in the city were still under water -- Las Brisas Subdivision was especially hard hit -- but Perez said city crews are working as fast as humanly possible to remedy the situation. McAllen has loaned the city two 12-inch pumps to help out; County Precinct 1 Commissioner AC Cuellar brought a 12-inch pump to help out; private entities such as Neuhaus and Company have also stepped up to the plate and loaned the city equipment to help drain the water; and some other public entities have helped out as well.
“We thank them for that,” said Perez.
The city manager also said that for the most part, the Weslaco citizenry has been understanding of the food dilemma.
“Most have been very reasonable. But look, when you have water in your home, you’re going to be angry, upset, and that’s understandable. That’s just the way it is.”
Perez points to the challenging economic times Weslaco went through from approximately 2007 to 2011. Money’s tight. Makes it hard for cities to keep up. Makes it hard to buy new equipment, much less maintain the old.
“We’re going to have to find a way to find some additional resources,” he said. “And then fnd a way that we can pump it (the excess water) over the levee and still meet federal guidelines (in terms of where exactly the new drainage lines are laid).”
Meaning, if Weslaco ever gets hit again with record foods, the city will hopefully be better prepared to handle it. But again, it all comes down to money.
“It’s a lot easier to cope with all the water if you can stay out in front of it,” he said. “When you try to play catch up, it just makes it all that much harder.”