The project builds on work the city has already completed, including the construction of a detention pond designed to capture stormwater during heavy rainfall.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi is taking another step toward reducing flooding along La Volla Creek after city council unanimously approved applying for more than $6.6 million in grant funding Tuesday.
The long standing flood issue greatly impacted the Los Encinos and LasColonias neighborhoods.
The resolution authorizes the city to submit an application to the Texas Department of Emergency Management for funding through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. If approved, the grant would cover about 75 percent of the construction costs for the next phase of the La Volla Creek drainage improvement project.
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The city would provide a required local match of approximately $2.2 million from its Storm Water Capital Fund.
“This is an important project, and I will be supporting it fully,” said council member Gil Hernandez.
“We knew back then but they didn’t listen to us, this is a great project,” said council member Carolyn Vaughn.
The next phase, known as Package B, focuses on widening culverts and improving drainage along La Volla Creek to eliminate bottlenecks beneath South Padre Island Drive and Holly Road.
“This resolution is to get grant funding to continue with the second part of the solution to that area,” said Ernie De La Garza, Interim Assistant City Manager and Director of Public Works. “We’ve historically had issues there in La Volla Creek and around that drainage area. So this is going to help us improve the culverts, improve drainage, and solve some of those drainage issues in that area.”
The project builds on work the city has already completed, including the construction of a detention pond designed to capture stormwater during heavy rainfall.
“The detention pond was the first part, and it’s currently in service,” De La Garza said. “These storms that we just had… all of that rain was captured by that detention pond. Now the second part of the project, which is the culvert widening, will help with the upstream drainage so we don’t have those choke points underneath SPID and Holly Road.”
City officials say the improvements would not only reduce flooding but could also shrink the size of designated floodways and flood zones in the area.
“The areas that are considered floodway will get decreased, as also the flood zone areas will be decreased, so it improves the area in general and helps with the flood insurance program as well,” De La Garza said.
If the grant is awarded, the city plans to complete final design work before coordinating with the Texas Department of Transportation, since construction will take place beneath South Padre Island Drive. Officials hope construction can begin after those agreements are finalized.