River Drops In Presidio, Easing Fear Of Flooding

PRESIDIO, Texas (AP) – The Rio Grande continued to recede today in Presidio after the town faced the threat of massive flooding for more than two weeks.

Presidio County attorney Ron Ponton says the river has dropped to about 22 feet, from a high of nearly 29 feet a week ago.

The river eclipsed its banks before filling a wide channel between a pair of earthen levees that help mark the U.S./Mexico border.

The flooding is blamed on weeks of torrential summer rains that filled lakes and reservoirs in Mexico, forcing Mexican officials to release water from the Luis Leon Reservoir.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)