Nueces County Drainage District #2 receives a $4 million grant for flood projects, aiming to transform drainage infrastructure in rural areas like Robstown.

ROBSTOWN, Texas — Nueces County Drainage District No. 2 is getting a major funding boost for its flood projects after being awarded a $4 million grant.

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It’s no secret that rural communities like Robstown and Petronila are hit the hardest by flooding, but that’s about to change thanks to the grant.

Steve Ray is a consultant with Nueces County Drainage District No. 2. He said they will now be able to finish much-needed projects that have been in the works for years.

“The $4 million part of that will go to help with cost overruns and the projects that we already had planned,” Ray said. “The four big projects that we were working on are one called Casablanca, one called the Early Flood Warning System, one called Basques, and one called Ditch A.”

Ray said some ongoing flood issues will now be resolved.

“A lot of those are actually just to move water out in case floods come, or to move water along as the floods fill up. It’s extremely important on a couple of those because one of them, for example, goes by our schools. That area has been prone to flooding, and when these ditches are done, it will move that water fast, and it will be a lot safer for our children to get to school,” Ray said.

State Rep. Denise Villalobos, D-District 34, helped secure the funds.

“The grant money won’t hurt taxpayers in Robstown to fix issues they’ve been dealing with for a very long time. When it rains an inch there, there’s flooding. This $4 million will go a long way toward alleviating their drainage problems,” Villalobos said.

One key project is already in progress, and engineer Terry Yates said it’s one of the first early flood warning systems in the area.

“There will be a sensor in the water that monitors different water levels as it rises and falls, and we can set trigger limits to notify staff and others who are interested whenever we have a situation where water reaches an unsafe level,” Yates said.

Villalobos said the timing couldn’t be better.

“Right now we are in a five-year drought. The last time there was tremendous flooding was in 2019. This is the time period we need to start fixing it. We need to start fixing our flood infrastructure to prepare for when we’re out of drought and for hurricane season,” Villalobos said.

Ray said the community could start seeing a difference soon.

“Things are moving along really fast, and they’re moving in the right way, with the right transparency. I think you’re going to see things happen faster, especially right now,” Ray said.

Ray said project timelines will be announced soon.