The City of Aransas Pass broke ground on their new pump station, which city leaders hope will strengthen the city's ability to respond to severe weather and reduce the risk of flooding.
The station, located on Wheeler Avenue, will add an anticipated 15,570 gallons per minute of stormwater capacity.
“We know one day it’s going to flood," Mayor Jason Knight told KRIS 6 News. "This pump here is going to greatly reduce the problem residents have had going back since they built their houses, going back 40, 50, 60 years."
Knight continued, "I've been on the council since 2020 and I've actually been pushing for this pump since day one of me being up here."
"I knew the history that a pump was recommended to be put here in 1983, and everybody in town knows when we get a bad rain there's a big flooding problem on this side of town. And we feel that this will solve a big majority of that drainage problem."
The project was made possible through the Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Recovery and funded by the Texas General Land Office.
“We’re relieving stress on other systems, and having a pump station with that much capacity to get water out quickly and efficiently, that’s the goal here," Outreach Coordinator for GLO, Elijah Casas, told KRIS 6 News. Casas continued, "We're looking at over 15,000 gallons per minute, which is going to have, incredible impact, citywide impact, and when we're looking at flooding events, this funding is over $12 million."
Casas added the funding was part of the continued response to Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
There is currently no set completion date, but Knight told KRIS 6 News he's optimistic the station will be pumping by February of next year.
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