Zincwarrior
Diamond Member
Anyone see lumberjack competitions where they have to stay upright on spinning logs? I feel we about to have a new sport. Barrier surfing! 
They need to hurry up though. A lot of our rivers are historic lows right now.
Feds plan to install 536 miles of floating barriers on Rio Grande to deter migrants
Feds plan to put 536 miles of floating barriers on Rio Grande
The government is installing the first 17 miles of industrial-grade buoys in Brownsville. Experts warn the buoys could intensify flooding and change the river’s course.
www.texastribune.org
The government is installing the first 17 miles of industrial-grade buoys in Brownsville. Experts warn the buoys could intensify flooding and change the river’s course.
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This story is published in partnership with Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here.
BROWNSVILLE — An experiment unfolding at the southernmost tip of the state could irrevocably change the iconic Rio Grande and the communities it sustains.
Contractors are installing a 17-mile stretch of cylindrical buoys in the river to prevent illegal crossings from Mexico. These are the first of 536 miles of buoys that the federal government plans to stretch from the Gulf of Mexico deep into South Texas. The Department of Homeland Security has waived environmental laws and issued more than $1 billion in contracts to private companies to install them in continuous chains. Each industrial-style buoy is more than 12 feet long and four to five feet in diameter.
Federal agencies have not made any environmental assessment or flood modeling for the border buoys available to the public. Experts have criticized the secrecy surrounding the project and warn that the buoys could intensify flooding and change the river channel.
Mark Tompkins, a geomorphologist who studies the flow of rivers and conducted an analysis of the buoys for a group opposed to their use, said the lack of public documentation violates the “basic professional standard of care” for projects of this magnitude. The city manager in Laredo, one community where the buoys are planned, said the city is working to obtain engineering and design information from federal agencies.
Experts consulted by Inside Climate News said they knew of no comparable undertaking on a dynamic river anywhere in the world. They warned that the buoys could speed up flood water in a region that already struggles with flooding. The buoys could also accumulate sediment and create new landforms in the river, provoking treaty disputes with neighboring Mexico. The buoys are planned through Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, Webb, Maverick and Val Verde counties.
“The design requirements for these barriers, set by CBP and implemented by contractors, mandate that they withstand a 100-year flood event — consistent with CBP established design standards,” a Customs and Border Protection(CBP) spokesperson told Inside Climate News. “Additionally, the barriers are engineered to endure increased currents and elevated water levels, ensuring operational reliability during extreme weather conditions.”
