Starr County, TX (KRGV) — The Union Water Supply Corporation just received a $781,000 federal grant after low river levels put its water supply at risk this summer.

The company will use the money to buy a new river intake and pumping system. The new equipment will sit lower by the river with new pumps and control panels so the corporation can keep drawing water when levels drop.

“This summer we’d had a day’s worth of water in our reservoir. So, that was bad. We had to provide water to our customers through the county emergency center,” Union Water Supply Corporation General Manager Jorge Bazán said.

For more than 10 years, the corporation has borrowed a farmer’s pump to keep water service going.

Construction is set to start by the end of this year and should take about four months.