An infusion of $220 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding is letting the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission accelerate work on 170 miles of levees of the Rio Grande flood control system in Texas and New Mexico. The El Paso, Texas-based commission says the work will improve flood protection for more than two million U.S. residents.
Commissioner C.W. “Bill” Ruth says all planned ARRA-funded construction will be completed by February 2011. “At previous funding levels, we were looking at a 20-year project to complete the work,” he says.