CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Tuesday, the Corpus Christi City Council took a significant step by awarding a contract for the Oso Creek Channel Bottom Rectification program.
The project's cost exceeds $4 million and will help alleviate flooding in crucial areas around the city. According to the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) grant application submission, Oso Creek spans 24 miles across both the city limits of Corpus Christi and Nueces County.
"Living in Corpus, we're a costal area so we are very flat, so we rely on these natural channels," Corpus Christi Assistant Director of Public Works Gabriel Hinojosa said.
The vote to award the contract was unanimous.
"What we look at is making the creek more efficient during rain events, so we look at decreasing the number of flood events that we had in the past due to kinds of the constraints of Oso Creek," he said.
The project is something Kings Crossing resident and Del Mar Professor Dr. Paul Gottemoller said he is itching to see get underway.
"Anything that reduces standing water reduces mosquitos," he said. "Less mosquitos makes me happy, especially as someone who walks down the street."
Gottemoller said he knows firsthand how the neighborhood can get during storm season and urges those in the community to prepare accordingly.
"I think it's really important to keep up to date on the flood maps and have flood insurance, but I think any dredging would be beneficial," he said.
Hinojosa said that there is still work to do on the front end before work crews can begin the project.
"There's going to be a lot of environmental permitting that is going to be necessary," he said. "We are looking at about a two to three year process to finally get documents that we can go to construction for."
Hinojosa said the project will generate approximately $40 million worth of construction and will better prepare the city in the wake of a natural disaster.
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