During a Tuesday town hall, residents of McAllen’s Tanglewood Estates subdivision met with members of the city’s engineering department to ask questions, and provide feedback on drainage in the area in hopes of improving it.

Steven Frand was one of about a dozen people who attended the meeting. He said he's lived near the subdivision for close to 30 years, and major storms in the past turned his street into a river.

“I just wanted to see if the city is actually aware of it and if they are willing to work on it,” Frand said. “It's about time to do something about it."

McAllen’s engineering director, Eduardo Mendoza, gave a presentation about some completed drainage upgrades in the subdivision and surrounding areas.

“We have widened the canals and we made a detention pond further north so it helped lower the water surface level for Tanglewood,” Mendoza said.

The city also added localized improvements on Verdin Avenue. The city installed two inlets to catch surface runoff, and they also added in a check valve at the Verdin detention pond to prevent back flows. 

Those improvements were completed in 2024 and cost the city over $107,000 paid for with a drainage bond. 

Mendoza said the work in the area is not done. 

“Downstream, where we have two intersecting ditches, we are gonna put in a check valve so when the system is running full, it stays within its own system,” Mendoza said.

The additional check valve will be added near north 26th street and will cost about $60,000, funded by a drainage fee. 

Work is expected to be completed by October 2025.

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