EDINBURG, November 2 - A member of the OWLS watchdog group has warned Hidalgo County voters about tax increases if voters approve a $184 million bond referendum on drainage projects next Tuesday.

The money is slated to fund 25 countywide drainage improvement projects that will move water runoff out of the cities and into the county drainage system and then the Laguna Madre Bay.

To help win support for the bond referendum, Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia has held more than a dozen town hall meetings across the county. Fern McClaugherty, an OWLS activist from Edinburg, has been to all but three of the meetings.

“The public does not attend most of these meetings, usually only city officials, several mayors, school board trustees, and county employees, but not the public,” McClaugherty told the Guardian. “The advertising in the papers and elsewhere by the county and the drainage advisory committee does not mention that it will cost the people who live in these cities extra on their property taxes.”

McClaugherty elaborated on her concerns.

“The cities are not able to just connect to the county drainage without updating all the cities’ infrastructures in Hidalgo County. This will be an additional tax to the taxpayers who live in these cities. I just want the publics’ eyes opened to what it will cost our grandchildren and great grandchildren.”

OWLS stands for Objective Watchers of the Legal System.

The bond issue is expected to pass. It has won support from county officials and city leaders. Early on, Judge Garcia set up a drainage advisory committee whose members have fanned out during election season to help promote a “yes” vote. There has been no organized opposition to the bond referendum.

Some opponents, though, worry whether the money will be spent properly, or whether it is just another ruse to line the pockets of contractors. In 2006, Hidalgo County voters approved a $100 million bond issue which was supposed to fix the county’s antiquated drainage system. However, over $60 million was diverted to pay for construction of the levee-walls. When Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1, which has the same membership as Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, approved reallocating the money it told local residents it would seek reimbursement from the federal government. That has still not happened and recently county commissioners hired two lobby firms - two lobbying groups — Hollis Rutledge and Associates and Dos Legislative Services – to work on getting the money back.

One of the biggest supporters of the drainage referendum is McAllen City Commissioner Jim Darling. He served as co-chair of the Hidalgo County Drainage Advisory Committee. He is a member of the McAllen Public Utility Board and chairman of the Lower Rio Grande River Water Authority.

Darling said the advisory committee identified 25 countywide improvement projects that will move water runoff out of our cities into the county drainage system and out to the Laguna Madre Bay. He said it then made a recommendation to the board of the Drainage District #1 to call a bond referendum to help alleviate the county’s drainage challenges.

“This action resulted in a proposition to pass a $184 million bond that is in front of voters today,” Darling said, in a recent op-ed published by the Guardian.

Darling pointed out that many cities, chambers, economic development entities and school districts in Hidalgo County including Weslaco, Pharr, Edinburg, Mission, Donna, Mercedes and McAllen have endorsed the bond referendum. “They understand that drainage is the #1 infrastructure challenge we face today for the future of our economic development and quality of life,” he said.

Darling said what the advisory committee proposed is a “regional and managed approach” to drainage.

“Because of the nature of the system, no matter how good the drainage is in a city, it will not function adequately if we can’t get the water out of the city. Every city in Hidalgo County receives direct benefit from the drainage improvements that are on the bond referendum. Out of the 25 specific projects, 18 directly impact several county cities by alleviating the choke points we currently have with runoff and help move water faster out of our cities,” Darling said.

The drainage improvement projects have been designed so that all cities can benefit, in Darling’s view, with no one city getting an advantage over another.

“This regionalization approach of drainage is important because it allows us to manage water runoff from one city to another. Flood gates can be opened and closed remotely with drainage pipes that are double the size of current ones. If one city in the county is quickly flooding from the effect of a 3- to 5-inch per hour rain event, while other cities are not, this improved system can focus drainage on this one city and move the water out faster through the county system and into the bay. This lessens the burden on the entire county drainage system for localized heavy rain that affects just one or two cities. Alleviating localized rain from any one city will have a positive impact on our community,” Darling said.

Darling argued that by making improvements to the drainage system today, future generations will benefit for years to come.

“Improvement to the drainage system will help our citizens personally by lowering their insurance rates tomorrow. The cost savings is estimated in the millions. By alleviating water from cities and moving it faster into the county system, shopping center developers will have more flexibility when it comes to creating drainage ditches or holding ponds on their property,” Darling said.

Here is a list of the 25 drainage projects that would receive funding if the $184 million bond referendum is approved by Hidalgo County voters:

City of Alamo
#10-Provide additional capacity in Alamo Lateral drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#13-Assist in moving drainage run-off into the IBWC Floodway system by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
City of Donna
#12- Provide additional capacity in Donna North Lateral drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#17- Assist in moving drainage run-off into the IBWC Floodway system by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
City of Edinburg
#1-Provide additional capacity by J-09 New Lateral drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#9-Provide additional capacity in Monte Cristo Drain, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#15-Provide additional capacity in Edinburg Stub drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
City of Hidalgo
#8-Provide additional capacity in Jackson Lateral drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Floodwater Channel
City of McAllen
#3- Provide additional capacity in West Main Drain, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#6- Provide additional capacity in Pharr McAllen Lateral, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#7-Recertification of the Mission Inlet should provide reduction in flood insurance premiums and release for development several 100 acres once the new FEMA Maps are developed
#11-Assist in moving drainage run-off from the Las Tiendas Development and Expressway System are into the IBWC Floodway System by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
#21-Reconstruction of existing storm sewer system that services as an overflow of the Mission Lateral South into the Mission Inlet Outfall System
City of Mercedes
#19-Assist in moving drainage run-off into the IBWC Floodway system by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
City of Mission
#3-Provide additional capacity in West Main Drain, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#4- Provide additional capacity in Mission Lateral, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the Mission/McAllen Lateral
#7-Recertification of the Mission Inlet should provide reduction in flood insurance premiums and release for development several 100 acres once the new FEMA maps are developed
City of Pharr
#6-Provide additional capacity in PSJA Lateral, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#11-Assist in moving drainage run-off from the PSJA area into the IBWC Floodway System by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
#14- Assist in moving drainage run-off from Las Milpas area into the South Floodway Channel through the IBWC Floodway system by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
City of San Juan
#5-Provide additional capacity in FM495 Lateral, drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
City of Weslaco
#16-Provide additional capacity in Weslaco North Lateral drainage ditch by installing new gated structure into the South Main Drain
#18-Assist in moving drainage run-off through the Weslaco Drain into the IBWC Floodway system by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
#20-Assist in moving drainage run-off through the Mercedes Lateral into the IBWC Floodway system by gravity flow and/or pumping over the levee
All Communities North of Expressway 83
#2-The Raymondville Drain will provide overall relief to the eastern part of Hidalgo County by channelizing flow north of the western part of Hidalgo
Delta Region
#25-This system will provide drainage storage capacity for the Edcouch, Elsa and La Villa Drainage Watershed and provide backup storage for the western part of Hidalgo until the Raymondville Drain is done. In addition, it provides the footprint for the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 water reclamation/re-use project under development.