San Benito, TX (KRGV) — The state has awarded $22 million to Cameron County Irrigation District No. 2 to improve canals and help prevent water loss.

The state made $500 million available to irrigation districts in Texas. Cameron County Irrigation District No. 2 will use the money to line 16 miles of canals and convert 4 miles of open canals to pipelines.

The project is expected to help people like Ovi Atkinson. He grows cotton, corn, and sorghum east of Rio Hondo in an area known as La Tina, and he says the irrigation canals that bring water to his fields in northern Cameron County are taking longer to fill his fields.

“The canals themselves are not good,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson said a job that used to take two days now takes twice as long.

“I’m 76 years old, and when I was a little boy, as far back as I can remember, those canals were there,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson said if it does not rain, “We ain't gonna plant. We ain't gonna make any money.”

He said he breaks even on a good year.

Cameron County Irrigation District No. 2 General Manager Ben Escobar said the changes from the state funds will save 12,000 acre-feet of water. Escobar said that is more water than San Benito, Rio Hondo, and the East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation use in a year.

“We found that several of our canal systems have been silted in. They have too much sediment in them. Once you dig them out, you get full pressure on the farmer,” Escobar said.

“The cost per acre-foot would be about $92 in comparison to the cost of brackish treatment or desalination,” Escobar said. 

Watch the video above for the full story.