Dow County Drain District No. 1 staff told the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court on Feb. 24 that the North Main Drain project has been selected as one of the Texas Water Development Board's top-10 prioritized projects, a move that positions the project to receive state flood infrastructure funding.

The district's general manager (identified in the meeting transcript as the ACD 1 general manager) told the court the North Main Drain project is a $33,000,000 undertaking. The manager said, based on prior funding formulas, the district expects roughly $12,000,000 of that total to be grant funds; the remainder would be funded with local resources and/or bonds. A public comment period on the Water Development Board prioritization is open, the manager said, and once that closes the agency will begin delivering formal award documentation and next steps.

Why it matters: district staff said the project would add drainage capacity for several communities that drain to the North Main channel — including McAllen, Pharr, San Juan and other municipalities that rely on the North Main facility — and would reduce flood risk and enable infrastructure work tied to population centers in Hidalgo County.

What district staff said: the ACD 1 general manager credited in-house staff for preparing the application and said the district performed much of the design and project management internally to reduce costs. The manager named Yvette Barrera as an assistant general manager who helped prepare the application and identified a project manager (referred to in the record as Mr. Isadou) as the on‑project PM. The manager said the district already owns or controls needed rights of way and easements, which the speaker said would let the project move quickly from environmental review to construction when funding is finalized.

Budget and leverage: the manager said the district has used a formula similar to previous awards to estimate the grant share and that, if the Water Development Board follows prior practice, the district could avoid interest costs by receiving a 0% financing option rather than issuing a taxable bond. The manager and commissioners estimated that saved interest could amount to several million dollars over the life of the financing; the transcript characterizes that as an additional $5–$6 million in savings compared with issuing the full amount into the bond market at a market rate.

Next steps and public input: staff said the Water Development Board's public comment period is active; after that the board must finalize awards and complete environmental reviews. The district indicated it will be ready to start construction once those federal/state processes finish because rights of way and easements are in place. No formal action or vote specifically approving the North Main Drain award or contract was recorded during that item (it was presented as an update).