BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Brownsville Mayor John Cowen says he had a very positive meeting with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials when they came to the city.
Cowen is hoping to secure millions of additional federal dollars from the agency for Brownsville’s desalination plant.
He went to Washington, D.C., in June as part of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership’s RGV-2-DC trip. His No. 1 goal on that trip was to meet with Bureau of Reclamation officials. That goal was achieved, and this was followed up with Bureau leaders coming to Brownsville to learn more about the desalination project.
“So, we visited the Bureau of Reclamation, and they actually came down to Brownsville, one of the deputy directors and he brought a lot of staff to have a follow up discussion about our needs and opportunities,” Cowen told the Rio Grande Guardian. “It was very positive.”
Asked if he has a dollar amount in mind for the desalination plant, Cowen said:
“There are a number of projects that we need funding for. The main one, in my opinion, is the optimization and expansion of our desalination plant. And that's, I think, a $253 million project.”
Cowen said when the desalination plant was built in 20024 it cost around $30 million.
“You can see the costs have exponentially increased over the last 20 years. And so, my whole message is, time of the essence. If we don't do it now, it is going to cost a whole lot more in the future.”
Cowen said he was also encouraged by discussions the South Texas Alliance of Cities held with Gov. Greg Abbott when he visited McAllen recently.
“Governor Abbott indicated that next session, at the state level, the legislature will be very much focused on water and water solutions. So, I'm hopeful that there'll be a lot more funding available,” Cowen said.
"But I think whatever they are proposing, it's probably not enough, right? Hopefully it’s a start.’
It was put to Cowen that the chairman of Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, state Sen. Charles Perry, was bullish about finding more money for water solutions at a recent committee hearing. Asked about this, Cowen said: “I'm glad to hear that, because I think we’ve been dealing with this drought issue in the Rio Grande Valley probably longer than most parts of the state. So, I’m glad to hear state leadership is talking about that.”
In his interview with the Guardian, Mayor Cowen also spoke abbot the City of Brownsville’s new $133.2 million budget. He said the budget emphasizes investments in public safety, infrastructure, community services, and employees.
“We're doing very, very well. Our budget is ten percent more than last year. And we’ve got a lot of initiatives in terms of investing more in our infrastructure and our equipment and technology. This year, we're going to be building a new public safety center, a new police station, fire station, emergency operations center, cyber security, as well. That's a big project that's definitely needed,” Cowen said.
“And then, obviously, we have the old Highway 77. That’s a $14 million project. And then we have three other roads that we're going to fully reconstruct as well. We’re moving the needle in terms of investing in our community.”
