Alamo is turning an old dump site into a flood prevention pond
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The city of Alamo is transforming a former dump site at Laguna Park into a detention pond designed to reduce flooding. The area, located off Nebraska and Papalote Drive, was cleaned up after years of illegal dumping left it filled with tires and trash.
"It was really really bad," Alamo resident San Juana Uvalle said.
For decades, the site was used as a dumping ground. Uvalle, who lives nearby, said the conditions were hard to ignore.
"They did burn some tires... throughout the night we got up and it was smelling like smoke, like a house was burning or something like that," Uvalle said.
She also dealt with rats and opossums around the property.
Alamo Mayor J.R. Garza said the site has a long history.
"40-plus years ago I was told this was a place where they were coming pulling dirt to build on the expressway. After that, it stayed as a caliche pit. Ultimately it was full of tires," Garza said.
After months of work, more than 250 trailers worth of trash have been removed from the area. What's left is a clean site and a 20-foot-deep pit now being turned into a retention pond.
"This neighborhood just to the north of us had experienced some severe flooding during the last floods that we had, which in turn alerted us to start looking at this area," Garza said.
Uvalle said the change is already noticeable.
"That’s going to be good for us because we're going to have somewhere to walk," Uvalle said.
City leaders say this is just the first phase of transforming the area. Plans for a trail and park amenities are still in the works. The city will be asking for community feedback through an upcoming survey.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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