Darling: RGRWA produced a water resources plan for the RGV; but nobody was interested

2 months ago 78

EDINBURG, Texas – The Rio Grande Valley does not need a new plan to identify potential water sources, says Jim Darling, executive director the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority.

Appearing on Carlos Sanchez’s RGV On The Rise podcast, Darling said RGRWA developed such a plan ten years ago that is still valid. The problem, he said, is that none of the cities in the Valley paid any attention to it.

Sanchez is the public affairs division director for Hidalgo County.

“A major project we did is a groundwater project. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on our regional project, and we did that in 2014, sent out all the cities. And nobody was interested,” Darling told Sanchez.

“It includes water out of the Gulf, includes groundwater through a distribution system. So, I tell people, don’t spend a bunch of money on engineering right now. Everybody’s talking about regionalization. You got the plan. Nothing’s changed. Maybe the demand a little higher, but nothing’s changed from that standpoint.

“So, you could really… they could pick that up and run with it, if the cities were willing to do that.”

The RGRWA website has details of its regional facility plan on its website. Under the Purpose section, it states:

“Due to the recent drought conditions, regional concerns over local water resources have grown in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) that encompasses Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy County.

“The Rio Grande Regional Water Authority (RGRWA), with a grant from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), is to develop a water facility plan that identifies potential water sources that could be developed as a regional solution for the growing water reliability concerns in the LRGV.

“The purposes of these planning efforts are to identify and evaluate the potential water sources and develop design criteria, an implementation schedule, an organization plan and financial details for the selected alternatives.

“This plan takes full advantage of previous studies performed on water resources, water management strategies, populations and demands in its development and evaluation of alternatives.”

Here are some illustrations from the RGRWA plan:

Editor’s Note: Click here to read the RGRWA Final Report with Addendum.

Editor’s Note: Click here to read the RGRWA Lower Rio Grande Valley Regional Facility Plan.

Darling, a former mayor of McAllen, is a noted expert on water resources. In the podcast with Sanchez, he discusses the work of RGRWA, the work of the International Boundary Water Commission, the 1944 water treaty with Mexico, the potential for capturing groundwater, and water conservation.

Editor’s Note: Click here to watch Jim Darling’s appearance on the RGV On The Rise podcast.

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