City of Sunland Park addresses wastewater spillage

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico (KVIA) -- The City of Sunland Park said there's no more wastewater spillage in the Anapra area after today's community meeting.

City Manager Mario Juarez-Infante said that the city is constructing a new stormwater drainage system in the area to help with flooding and it should be done by late August.

"Phase one is currently under construction. The storm drains about 80% done," said Juarez-Infante. "We are scheduled to be done in about 60 days. So end of August, that will really address some of the flooding issues historically has been experienced by the residents for decades."

The city says they are expecting a heavy El Niño season, and wants to get ahead of problems in the area. They also have a 5 year bi-national plan to help with potential flooding from Mexico into the United States.

"The issue is that we're having a lot of growth in Anapra, Mexico. A lot of that growth stems by relocation of central and southern Latin Americans that are migrating to Mexico for the industry to find jobs. That comes from our conversations with our Mexican counterparts. It's unregulated," said Juarez-Infante. "We have photos and drone evidence of sewer systems that are overflowing through the manholes. So it's telling us that it's been pressurized and it's spilling over into the surface and combining with stormwater and ending up into a road."