Massive Stormwater Project Under Way In Northeast El Paso

Since Storm 2006, El Paso’s new Stormwater Utility has taken on dozens of projects to fix areas that flooded, few of them as big as the one currently under way in Northeast El Paso near U.S. 54 and Sun Valley.

Five years ago, that area was one of the hardest hit areas by Storm 2006.

“It looked like Niagara Falls,” said Gloria Valencia, whose home on Biscaine Street was flooded. Her husband, Jose Valencia, said it caused more than $40,000 worth of damage.

“It doesn’t seem like it was five years ago,” Jose Valencia said. “It seems like it was yesterday. There was water all over the place.”

Since 2006, the neighborhood has flooded several times, although not as badly. A $4 million drain channel overhaul by the Stormwater Utility should prevent that from ever happening again, according to Stormwater Utility officials.

“This project was one of the most important,” El Paso Water Utilities spokesman Martin Bartlett said. “The project runs along Sun Valley and will replace many of the undersized culverts along the Northeast Channel No. 2.”

The old drainage culvert, during Storm 2006, was about three feet wide. The new drainage culvert will be about 16 feet wide.

“The culvert was just too small to take care of the large amount of water,” Bartlett said. “What we’re putting in place is a box culvert that’s bigger to have a much larger capacity. It takes about 4,000 pieces of property all over Northeast El Paso out of the flood plane, just by completing this one critical link in the stormwater system.”

Patricia Neverkovec, who has lived across the street from the Valencias for 12 years, said that’s a relief for her.

“It’ll be a great relief next time it rains,” she said.

Work on the Northeast Channel No. 2 project started back in the spring. It’s expected to be completed in the next few months.