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Pumping operations continue in Hidalgo County

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Texas Border Business

Hidalgo County continues to experience localized flooding in several locations near the interior levee, along drainage ditches and along the Rio Grande due to ongoing rainfall. The county’s priority is to provide relief to affected communities so operations continue with personnel working day and night. 

Hidalgo County Emergency Management reports that all local pumps are in commission, and several more have been requested and are in use from the state in coordination with the regional Public Works Task Force. An estimated 75 to 80 pumps have been deployed to strategic locations. Additionally, cities have their own pumping operations on the outskirts of their city limits.

“Drainage ditches that normally discharge into the interior floodway have been blocked off for several weeks because of the river diversion,” said Tony Pena, Hidalgo County Emergency Management Coordinator.

 “The drainage ditches are full, and the only way to relieve them is to pump the water from them over the levee into the floodway, which still has capacity. We have had those pumps deployed ever since Hurricane Alex; however, the pumping operation has ramped up significantly in the past two days due to the heavy rainfall we received — about two inches in some places.

“Eventually, as the weather improves and the pumping operations carry on, we will see water recede, giving some relief to the affected communities,” Pena said.

The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission also announced today that releases from Falcon Dam would diminish to 53,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), down from 60,000 cfs, taking into account the recent rains.  

Nevertheless, residents should expect waters to remain in the floodway for another two to three weeks as long as another tropical event does not impact the area. River flooding seems to have stabilized, and now the most dynamic part of Hidalgo County’s continued disaster response is the dewatering operation, Pena said.

Hidalgo County Emergency Management is working closely with the state, IBWC, area cities, the regional Public Works Response Team and the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1, all of which are supplying manpower and pumps for this operation. 

“While we work as a team to provide relief to impacted communities, we are asking residents to be patient and to remain aware of their surroundings, especially if they live near a drainage ditch,” said Godfrey Garza, Hidalgo County Drainage District Manager.

 “Flooding concerns should be reported to a person’s respective municipality, county precinct or emergency management office. Residents are also asked to stay off the levees and not to drive over any hoses. Tampering with gates also remains a problem, and we ask that people do not try to take this operation into their own hands. It is critical that our operations go according to plan to get the water out of our communities in the most expeditious manner as possible.” TBB

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