Cameron County Commissioners’ Court recently approved a contract of over $1.5 million for wastewater system improvements in Brownsville’s Saldivar colonia.
The colonia, which sits east of the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, does not have sewer line connections to systems to the Brownsville Public Utilities Board.
The court approved the award to The 5125 Company, an Edinburg-based underground utilities company, at the March 10 regular meeting.
These first-time improvements for the area would allow for about 70 to 80 houses to be connected to a main sewer line where people can do away with their individual septic tank systems, according to The 5125 company’s President Patricia Espericueta.
The company is preparing paperwork to begin work on the project in April, she said. The first section of about 28 or 30 houses are expected to be fully serviced in the fall.
The company does underground utilities and has been in business for over 30 years, she said, adding that people are normally very pleased when a collection system is installed in their neighborhood.
“They’re so tired of having to clean out their septic systems and contend with the odors in their yard,” she continued.
The septic tanks in the Central Estate-Praxedis Saldivar Colonia do not currently meet the Texas Department of Public Health and Cameron County Department’s minimum sewer service requirements, according to the county’s 2024 project details document.
The existing soil type, the size of the disposal area and the method in which the system was installed also do not meet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s standards for on-site disposal, according to the document.
About 22 acres of the 68-acre project area are within an area that has a one in 500 chance of flooding in a given year, according to a notice about the project from last summer.
The Central Estates-Saldivar Colonia project involves decommissioning 41 on-site sewage facilities, benefiting 197 people, 159 of which are low to moderate income, according to the notice.
The county project was funded through Texas’ Community Development Block Grant program, which focuses on providing decent housing and suitable living environments for low- to moderate-income households, according to project details.
The improvements are meant to alleviate health and safety risks, the document said.
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