San Patricio County staff told residents on Oct. 27 that two linked drainage projects—the Taft Channel and the Sitton Channel—are at roughly 90% design and require right-of-entry forms so survey crews can confirm boundaries and determine whether any land acquisition will be necessary.

County staff said the Taft Channel runs south from State Highway 181 through a neighborhood toward Farm-to-Market Road 1944, and the Sitton Channel is a separate nearby channel. “We are at the beginning phase of the acquisition, which we’re looking for the right of entry forms for the surveys,” a county staff member said. The staff member added that federal grant rules (the URA) would apply if the county must acquire land.

The projects are intended to reduce flooding for nearby neighborhoods and some farmers, county staff said, and were designed to provide relief for smaller-storm events (roughly a two- to 10-year storm). Staff told the meeting the work is county-led, coordinated with the local drainage district and that the county expects construction could begin within about a year if surveys and property access are secured. “This is to be a fast paced project if we’re gonna be able to do it. We have federal funds. These funds expire within 2 years. It’s use it or lose it,” the staff member said.

Residents at the meeting pressed county staff on several issues: past surveyors reportedly on private property, potential loss of productive farmland if channels are widened, and whether enlarging the channel would make flows faster and cause downstream impacts. One longtime landowner said the drainage channel “has got considerably bigger. It’s darn near twice the size it was when I was a child,” and warned that widening could be “extremely large and consequential” for farms.

County staff responded that no surveys tied to this project have been performed on properties that have not returned right-of-entry forms, that the county will call property owners before entering, and that any acquisition would follow federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (URA) procedures, including compensation where land is taken. Staff also said engineering work has been reviewed by the drainage district, multiple engineering firms and the county’s floodplain manager, and that this site is the first of several projects in a county master drainage plan.

Staff said the county expects to coordinate with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on a separate highway‑widening project affecting State Highway 181, but that the Taft/Sitton channel work is a distinct county project. Staff offered to provide residents a copy of the master drainage plan and to hold follow-up meetings with the drainage district and affected landowners.

Residents described recurring operational problems when ditches are cleaned—soil placed on banks, salt washed into crops, and damage from heavy equipment crossing wide channels—and asked how those impacts would be mitigated. County staff said the project will avoid major structures where possible, may shift the channel alignment to reduce acquisitions, and that the county will remove dirt placed improperly during cleaning operations. Staff reiterated the need for returned right-of-entry forms so survey crews can define exact limits and any acquisition needs.

No formal votes or final decisions were recorded at the meeting; staff said the next steps are to collect right-of-entry forms, complete surveys and then determine whether acquisitions are required under URA procedures. Staff provided a contact card and asked residents to report any suspected unauthorized survey activity so the county can verify whether crews are working for the project.