CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi's Public Work's Department is taking proactive steps to prepare for this weekend's storms.
Public Work's Director Ernesto De La Garza told 3NEWS that his department has five vactor trucks cleaning out inlets and grates across the city to prevent flooding.
The trucks help them manage the storm water systems they are responsible for, stretching from Calallen to Padre Island.
"Our preparation actually happens before the storm, we do this year-round. We have 19,000 inlets and grates that we constantly keep up with," he said.
The department has 100 full-time staff cleaning inlets and grates to maintain their storm water systems. De La Garza said they also have 30 staff members on-call for storms. He said all city departments have a call to prepare for a storm 24 hours in advance.
"The storm is coming this Saturday and we have all our staff in prep right now. So, we're fueling up vehicles, we're getting all our staff ready and then getting the phone numbers ready to call in staff as needed," he said.
De La Garza said public works will get calls about inlets and grates that get backed up by debris before and after storms. The city maintains them all throughout the year but prioritizes ones they know are backed up before a storm.
"It's important in that it makes sure that, you know, we don't get backed up systems and end up with water and flooding on our streets and then you end up with intersections that are not traversable," he said.
There are also erosion protection systems in work zones that prevent sediment and other materials from getting into the local ecosystem. De La Garza said those must be removed to prevent them from backing up storm water on roads. Some storm water systems flood because of their size and need for updated drainage capacity, something he said the city is addressing long-term.
"We do have plans, you know, as far our masterplan to review citywide, you know, what our systems are doing and then come up with future projects to make sure that those areas of concern are addressed," he said.
To report a blockage, De La Garza said to call 311 so they can remove the debris.
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