Business View Magazine | September 2019

287 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 and now they do, which opens up the value of the property because when you don’t have water, it’s very difficult for developers to maximize the commercial potential of the acreage.” Last summer, Mercedes was hit by a storm that lingered over the mid-Valley area. It was dubbed a 500-year storm because such a thing hadn’t happened in a very long time, and it gave the city a red flag on things that needed to be done. As a result, they obtained Certificates of Obligation for storm sewer improvements to maximize the outflow of stormwater into floodways and appropriate ditches. Also, the City secured some heavy-duty pumps, so whenever they experience standing water – especially in residential areas – it can be outflowed into the proper canals and ditches. When it was also discovered that certain neighborhoods had never had sanitary sewers, those too were assessed and have recently been extended with sewers. Those residents are, of course, extremely happy, since not only is it a health and sanitation issue but it also improves property values. Another issue of note: there was an old water well that had been dormant for many years, and when the city was alerted about a possible water capacity issue, the powers that be went ahead and explored the potential of reactivating and restoring that water well. Thankfully, work on the well is already underway and should be finished by the fall of this year. According to the city engineer’s report, the well should distribute about one million gallons of water per day once it’s activated, which will help the community, tremendously. Zavala notes, “We also have an ongoing infrastructure project for the restoration of 12 lift stations for the sanitary sewer, so those stations can be upgraded to maximize efficiency for our systems. Then there’s the street infrastructure, which is a circus. We invested $3.5 million into the overlay and/or new construction or reconstruction of 48 current city streets that needed a lot of work. For a city our size that’s a tremendous facelift for our community. We also discovered a long lead of a water line that does not have a second source, MERCEDES , TEXAS