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Resaca Restoration Project Moving Forward

With more funds and continued support from residents, BPUB is moving forward with its resaca restoration efforts through its collaboration with the city of Brownsville and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

Almost a year and a half ago, BPUB received an overwhelming amount of support from residents for a grant that would fund resaca restoration efforts. The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act, better known as RESTORE Act, will help fund future resaca restorations.

Last year, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers completed a feasibility study that consists of restoring 44 resaca segments throughout Resaca de la Guerra and Resaca del Rancho Viejo systems. The plan is to restore 845 acres of aquatic and riparian habitat in both private and public land. Some of those improvements include riparian soil supplementation, planting native vegetation, dredging, restoring the resaca bank slopes, aquatic and emergent vegetation planting and water management control improvements. Sixty-five percent of the costs for the improvements will be absorbed by federal funding. The next resaca to be restored on the list is Calle Jacaranda Resaca.

If you haven’t already, take a look at the newly restored resacas at the Gladys Porter Zoo, Dean Porter Park or Old City Cemetery. The Cemetery Resaca is a good place to spot some of the bank improvements that have been done to combat erosion and further silting of the resacas. These were all part of Phase I of the project, but there are more triumphs to celebrate. In October 2018, the Americas Water Infrastructure Act was enacted and included the Brownsville Resacas Ecosystem Restoration Project. This is an important first step for getting further funding for this project, and BPUB will update Brownsville residents as soon as there are any developments in being awarded funding.