Dam repairs slated to begin soon in wake of La Union flooding

LA UNION, New Mexico --  For several years, the residents of La Union have been in a constant battle for a solution to the continuous floods that the town undergoes.

Stephen Lopez, director of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for Doña Ana County, told ABC-7 that repairs on the dam that caused much of the flooding will begin in the coming weeks.

“A contract was already given to Smith and Aguirre Construction to start the repair work at the La Union flood control structure. Hopefully people will start to see that in a matter of days, if not a week or two, and that will start to restore some of the water holding capacity that facility had before August 12th,” explained Lopez.

He added that along with the expected repair work, “the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico has been working with one of the mobile home manufacturers and hopes to announce, soon, the awarding of a new mobile home to somebody that may have lost their house.”

For residents that want to know what they can do to receive funding to pay for damages done to their property, Lopez said OEM has also been working with Tierra Del Sol and the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico to help with grant funding.

“We want people to understand, we're going to find the solutions that work best for each one of their areas, knowing that one solution isn't going to fix everything,” he added.

La Union resident Jose Luis Mendez Enriquez was happy to hear the news. He said it was important to fix the dam, so that there is no further damage to his 210-year old home.

“This home has been here since 1811. For the residents of La Union, our homes mean a lot,” said Enriquez. “I want my children and my great grandchildren to preserve this home and that's why it's so important that they built that dam.”

A meeting with the community and experts will take place on Thursday at 6 pm at the La Union Elementary School gymnasium to discuss the latest updates.