Ground Breaking Held for Resaca Restoration Project Museum Exhibit

The Children’s Museum of Brownsville held a ground breaking Oct. 22 for a 3,000-square-foot outdoor expansion that will feature an exhibit about BPUB’s Resaca Restoration Project.

BPUB’s contribution to this project is an exhibit that will teach children about the dewatering system used in the Resaca Restoration Project. The way it works is that a dredger, essentially a specialized boat, is used to break up and remove built up sediment and debris. This material is then sent through a series of pipes until it reaches the dewatering system.

The dewatering system separates large trash and debris as well as sand from the water. Specially designed sediment removal equipment is being used to separate the dredged sediment particles from the slurry in order to produce dry sediment material and a clear, clean effluent that can be discharged back into the resacas.

It is an essential part of the Resaca Restoration Project as BPUB seeks to improve aesthetics and park areas, increase storm water and raw water storage capacity, enhance habitats for birds and other wildlife, create opportunities for recreation and eco-tourism, and produce opportunities for growth.

BPUB Chair Noemi Garcia spoke at the event on behalf of BPUB. She noted the importance of educating the children so that there won’t be as great of a need to clean the resacas in the future. Reducing litter and trash will go a long way toward ensuring the health of Brownsville’s resaca system for many generations to come.

The Outdoor Learning Garden is scheduled to open in early 2015.