Mayor Highlights BPUB Projects During City Address

It has been a busy year for the city of Brownsville and for the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, and the annual State of the City Address and Symposium was the opportunity for the mayor to inform all the residents of what has happened and what is to come.

But this year’s event was so much more than that as many different groups gathered to show what makes Brownsville so special. The Brownsville Economic Development Council, Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, Brownsville Community Improvement Council and the city of Brownsville staff were on hand to inform attendees about what their groups do to benefit the city and local businesses. There was even a voter registration booth for those who want to perform their civic duty during this election year.

There were also rows of vendors from the Brownsville farmer’s market, selling everything from grapefruit and pecans to coffee. It was an opportunity to support local growers and learn more about sustainability.

On this night, BPUB put the spotlight on the city’s commissioners and showed what BPUB is doing to benefit each district in Brownsville, with projects that included:

• Sendero Wind Farm – a 200-acre wind farm capable of producing 78 megawatts (MW) of electricity
• Resaca Restoration Project – continued efforts to clean the city’s resacas and to improve the banks at Cemetery Resaca through revegetation and additional upgrades
• Downtown improvements – conversion of overhead power lines to underground
• Robindale Wastewater Treatment Plant Renovation and Expansion – the addition of ultraviolet (UV) treatment to treat wastewater and an odor control system as well as an increase in plant capacity
• Southmost Regional Water Authority – an expansion increased the amount of drinking water produced at this reverse osmosis plant to as much as 10 million gallons per day

In our kids corner, Leo the Lineman taught children and adults about electricity and gave people a chance to try Leo’s own gloves on for size. Our partners, the Gladys Porter Zoo and the Children’s Museum of Brownsville, shared this corner with us. The zoo brought along animals that are native to our city and our resacas while the museum’s mascot Sunny spread good cheer. These two entities were essential partners in BPUB’s Junior Resaca Explorers program as well the Resaca Restoration Project exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Brownsville’s Outdoor Learning Garden.

During the mayor’s speech, he highlighted the importance of BPUB’s continued work in the Resaca Restoration Project. Much like the water in the dredged resacas, the vision for Brownsville is clear, and we look forward to another year of growth and progress.

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