Weslaco credits new drainage work for reduced flood damage, approves $4.5 million Kansas and Los Doritos project

Mayor Adrian Gonzalez and the Weslaco City Commission on April 2 approved a $4,504,898.30 contract with Morewill LLC to start the first phase of the Kansas and Los Doritos drainage improvements, a project officials say will addcapacity to carry stormwater from Sinclair to the city’s retained detention facility at Mayor Pablo Peña Park.

The action came as city emergency-management officials reported that a March 27 storm produced ‘‘historic’’ rainfall across Weslaco and prompted a large operational response. The city’s emergency-management chief told the commission the city identified about 94 homes with water intrusion after the event, a sharp reduction from the more than 2,000 homes affected in the 2018 flood, and said the lower count shows steps taken since 2018 have…