Socorro residents file suit over September flooding

Were homes in Socorro intentionally flooded to save another neighborhood?

That’s the allegation made by those filing a lawsuit.

Residents argue an earthen dam along Stockyard Street was diverted after Storm 2006. They claim this was done to keep the flow of water upstream from Sparks and Horizon City from flooding the new Valley Ridge neighborhood below it. But residents downstream say that caused heavy flooding of an older Socorro neighborhood at Patti Jo and Arlene Circle.

Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid is heading up this lawsuit. It calls for up to a million dollars in damages and a permanent solution from the City of Socorro.

“What happened is in September that arroyo breeched that diversion and that caused that entire neighborhood where our clients live to be flooded under several feet of water,” said Alberto Mesta, an attorney for Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. “This had never happened before in the history of that neighborhood. Some of our clients have lived there since the 70s.”

Mesta says the City of Socorro is to blame for the damages. He accuses it of diverting the arroyo and sacrificing an older neighborhood to save a newer neighborhood.

“I had like three to four feet inside the house and it just damaged everything,” said Lorenzo Lara, who has lived on Arlene Circle in Socorro since he built two homes there with his brothers in 1976. “We’ve seen floods like his, but they run on Horizon (Boulevard) and they stop on North Loop and they flood that corner there. They’ve never gone into our property.”

“Our homes were under more than five feet of water,” said Laura Rizo, who also lives on Arlene Circle. “I lost a lot, like 80-percent of my things.To this day we’re all still suffering and to this day we’re all still on the edge of our chairs because the rain comes and we’re just wondering what’s gonna happen.”

“No. 1 priority is the flood issue,” said Socorro City Rep. Sergio Cox, who agrees Socorro has a big flooding problem. “Are we to blame? I don’t know. I know that nature had a lot to do with this.”

But Mesta disagrees.

“This was not an act of God where flooding is going to happen,” Mesta said. “This was an intentional act of man. This was action of the City of Socorro to prefer one neighborhood over the other ones.”

Socorro Mayor Jesus Ruiz released a statement saying the Socorro city attorney is reviewing the lawsuit and investigating the claims. He had no further comment.

Cox said he hopes to meet with County and State authorities to see what kind of help the City of Socorro can get from them in addressing the issue.