Operation Lone Star Floating Marine Buoys in Rio Grande River Could Cause a “Flood” of Issues
By: Victoria Martinez, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc, Copyright 2024
As we enter into the midst of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, the question of how the City of Eagle Pass, Texas will be affected continues to rise.
On June 13, 2024, El Nino/Southern Oscillation Diagnostic Discussion was issued by the Climate Prediction Center and stated, “La Nina is favored to develop during July-September (65% chance) and persist into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2024-2025 (85% chance during November-January)”. La Nina brings higher-than-normal temperatures and atmospheric conditions favorable for hurricane development. The heavy rainfalls created by these hurricanes could greatly affect Eagle Pass with potential flooding.
In 1954, the City of Eagle Pass had one of its worst floods caused by Hurricane Alice leading to approximately 500 deaths between Piedras Negras and Eagle Pass.“People ended up on their roofs,” stated Jeff Taylor of “Eagle Pass Back in the Days” during an interview at the Fort Duncan Museum, adding “my dad had to swim to go home that day.”
Unfortunately, the change in militarization of the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial Operation Lone Star, including the installation of floating marine buoys in the Rio Grande River, has taken a large turn since its last catastrophic flood in 1954. The launching of Operation Lone Star by Governor Greg Abbott in March of 2021 has caused many damaging environmental impacts on the Rio Grande. “What Operation Lone Star has done for the potential of flooding is catastrophic,” informed Jessie Fuentes of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, adding “they have these shipping containers along the bank of the Rio Grande and none of them are tied down, none are moored, and none of them are secured. They’re just there.”
As the State of Texas began clearing the banks of vegetation on the Rio Grande for surveillance, the loose sediments altered the flow of the Rio Grande. “Moving sediment will change the shape of the river which changes where water goes,” informed fluvial geomorphologist, Dr. Adriana E. Martinez of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, adding “the buoys are also changing the direction of water flow.”
In July of 2023, the state installed the floating marine buoys as a migrant deterrence, though have only served as a political stunt and an environmental concern. Dr. Martinez began her study on the impact of the buoys on the Rio Grande shortly after they were installed. “Sediment is being deposited on the American side of the buoys and eroded on the Mexican side,” reported Dr. Martinez, “It’s creating a bar and island on the US side, and the concrete blocks on the Mexican side that are being eroded and no longer stable.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 4 to 7 major hurricanes during this 2024 Atlantic hurricane season with winds reaching 111 miles per hour or higher.
“If a flood were to come, they (the shipping containers) would just float up, they would float downstream, they would hit bridges, and they would hit the dam,” voiced Mr. Fuentes, “they could get lodged somewhere and start flooding areas. It’s just so careless and so reckless.”The outdated Flood Protection Study for the City and County also concerns the local citizens. “It hinders the county’s ability to understand comprehensive valid and effective flood control projects,” stated Lynn Balderas, President of Elm Creek Park Greenbelt Advocacy.
With these new environmental obstacles caused by Operation Lone Star, the local citizens deserve a re-evaluated Flood Protection Study administered for the City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County. “A study conducted 15 years ago isn’t relevant to what we are dealing with now with Operation Lone Star,” remarked Amerika Garcia Grewal of the Eagle Pass Border Vigil, “our population and development have grown drastically since 2009.”
