Mid-Valley clearing up drainage ditches

MID-VALLEY — Area officials have sprung into action to ensure that Mid-Valley drainage systems are up to code this hurricane season.

Municipalities between Alamo and Mercedes have joined forces to repair neglected drainage ditches, said Weslaco and Donna Emergency Management Coordinator George Garrett.

"Some of the ditches are just overgrown and there is debris," Garrett said. "People think those ditches are their personal dump sites. So the cities came together and decided to clean as many as they possibly could prior to any hurricane or major rain event hitting us."

Mercedes Public Works Director Jesse Villarreal said it is important to maintain clear ditches to allow for effective drainage.

"Because of the debris and trees growing in the ditch, the water will not flow like it should," he said. "When you have a drainage ditch, you need to make sure there are no obstructions. You need to remove trees, tires and other debris that people throw in."
Ditch renovation work began in Alamo on Tuesday said Villarreal. 

"We're all contributing staff and machinery," he said. "Mercedes, Weslaco, Donna and Alamo all have staff on the job. Once we get done in Alamo, we'll have another meeting. The cities will then assist cleaning a ditch in Mercedes."

Garrett said the coalition will be tackling problem areas once each month in an effort to ease the work load on the individual cities.

"What we don't want to do is take all the equipment, for a prolonged time, from any one city," he said. "So we have to do our normal work and take a couple of days once a month to hit a real problem area. We have a meeting once a month to identify problem areas."

Garrett plans to take action against illegal dumping in the ditches; something he said is a main contributor to degradation.

"We've brought in the Precinct 1 constables and the environmental enforcement," he said. "We will be trying to determine who is dumping. If we can catch people who are dumping, they will be cited or prosecuted under a criminal act. Depending on the size and weight of the items being dumped, it can also be filed in Austin as a felony."