WESLACO – A Weslaco resident said county maintenance responded to his cleanup request from several weeks ago.

Refugio Galvan said Irrigation District No. 9 crews went out to the canal and cleaned up the tall grass last week.

Irrigation District No. 9 General Manager Randy Winston said hundreds of miles of banks lie in Hidalgo and Cameron County. He said tending to all of them is a time-consuming process.

Winston said the crew’s entire day is spent on tractors mowing away at the grass by the numerous canals throughout the district.

“We run two sets of tractors, two crews to continually run and maintain the canal systems we’ve got,” he said. “They strictly maintain the system, and cut the grass and keep up with it right.”

Winston said getting around to every area in nearly 350 miles worth of canals is difficult.

“If we’ve got a priority, we’ll certainly get on that. But, otherwise, we strictly try to maintain a cycle to take care of all the canals within the system,” he said.

The district tries to get to each canal three to four times a year. However, for some people that may not be enough. The grass around their canal may grow quicker.

Winston added summer is their busiest time of the year. He said crews sometimes work overtime to stay on track.

Cutting grass around canals is just one of the many issues the district looks at. Winston said other problems include clogged trash in canals, drains and water pumps.

If it presents a problem, Winston said it’s preferred that residents call the district to place a special order.

“If there’s ever an issue, they call in and we can certainly take that information, know where it is and then be able to check into the issue for them,” he said.

He said people living in the Irrigation District No. 9 area can call their office at 956-565-2411.