Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 is expanding the Panchitas Outfall Canal north of La Villa to help protect thousands of homes from flooding during heavy storms.

Crews are more than doubling the canal's size from 150 feet to 325 feet. The nearly $3 million expansion will allow the canal to hold 4 million more cubic yards of water — roughly the same as 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"A tremendous number of property owners will be impacted when we make these types of improvements in this system," Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 General Manager Raul Sesin said. "[There are] a lot of urbanized areas in the county, so those households will receive a lot of benefits."

Sesin said the larger canal will move stormwater through the system faster after heavy rain.

"With these improvements, it's going to create an opportunity to better flow water through the system after heavy rain events, so it should bring a benefit to our community," Sesin said.

Construction started in January 2026 and is expected to wrap up by the end of October 2026. The project is funded through a 2023 voter-approved bond.