Laredo river advisory committee asks council to expand scope and hire river expert after safety warnings

The Rio Grande Riverfront Coordination and Advisory Committee voted to ask Laredo city council to expand the committee's mandate to include federally owned riverbed areas as they relate to proposed buoy systems, and recommended that the city retain a fluvial geomorphologist to study how a proposed federal border wall and buoy chain could affect city infrastructure.

The motion to request an expanded scope, moved by the committee chair (speaker 1) and seconded by another member, was carried by acclamation after members raised concerns that the committee's original charge covered only city-owned property. A separate recommendation that the city hire an independent fluvial geomorphologist to assess effects on international bridges, water treatment facilities, parks and other infrastructure also passed by acclamation after an amendment broadened its language to explicitly include buoy-related risks.

The committee acted after a 30-minute presentation by Dr. Mark R. Tompkins, a fluvial geomorphologist and licensed civil engineer, who summarized findings from a report prepared for the Rio Grande…