Drainage project aims to ease flooding

The City of Brownsville has launched a drainage enhancement project in the Tradition Estates subdivision on Dennet Road to manage stormwater issues and reduce the risk of flooding in the area.

 The project costs approximately $300,000 and is funded by the City’s Capital Improvement Program.

Maribel Guerrero, deputy and interim director of Engineering and Public Works, discussed the recurring flooding and how the current project is intended to help.

“I mean, I don’t know in terms of feet or anything, but the water in this neighborhood has reached into people’s homes and has flooded homes,” Guerrero said.

The drainage project, which began in March, is part of the city’s broader efforts to increase stormwater flow while still protecting residential areas.

Guerrero outlined the technical aspects and expected outcomes of the program.

  “So what we’re proposing to do is to install a drainage project,” she said. “… It’s adjacent to the hiking bike trail next to the neighborhood, and it’s going to include 2,330 linear feet of 18 reinforced concrete pipe. Okay, and also about 3,050 linear feet of open ditch … and so this drainage project is going to help with the flow, it’s going to help move the water faster out of the neighborhood.” 

According to Guerrero, the city has a “hard deadline” to finish the project before the start of hurricane season.

The initiative is part of a larger effort to improve Brownsville’s infrastructure and better protect neighborhoods prone to heavy rain and flooding.

Roy De los Santos, District 3 city commissioner, explained why Tradition Estates was one of the focus of improvement in the city. 

   “[Tradition Estates] is one of the worst areas when it comes to flooding,” De los Santos said.  “When we have torrential rain storms, while lots of different parts in the city will see streets and flood, the residents of Tradition Estates typically end up with water inside their homes.”

 The city commissioner explained, how along with the engineering department and public works team, they came up with a long-term solution. 

 “I believe it’s a mile or two of pipe, they’re going to have to run to a retention pond out in the [FM] 511 area, that will give them the elevation grade that they need to be able to move water from Tradition Estates out to a drainage area,” he said. 

The city commissioner explained to The Rider about interruptions that could extend the finishing date for the project. 

“I know we ran into some issues where the path for the drain line ran into some utilities and water except liner that we had to work around, so there may be a small delay, but I expect by the end of July we should be up and running,” De los Santos said. 

He went on to tell The Rider about the city’s enhanced building requirements.

 “We have increased the standards and that’s something that I absolutely championed,” De los Santos said. “So now instead of building to 5- or 10- year storms, we’re now building for 50- and 100- year storms. So there’s got to be a lot more water retention with any new development that happens.”