In today's editorial the El Paso Times lauds the city council's resolution to support some BS lang grab in Las Cruces. Yeah for the land grabbers.
Their reasoning behind supporting the trespass on American's property rights is "Storm 2006."
The El Paso Times incorrectly determined that building in arroyos caused the damage. They base this assumption on one kooky Environmental Engineer/Professor from UTEP. The emphasis should be placed on the fact that the only person who claims that arroyo development was the cause of the damage is an Environmental Engineer. The proper type of engineer to assess the reasons for the damage from flooding is a Civil Engineer.
The entire false premise that arroyo development caused the problems in 2006 was born out of a the local media's ignorance as to who was an expert on what. Asking an environmental engineer his thoughts on flow paths and drainage is like asking a pharmacist about neuro surgery. You wouldn't ask a computer repair man about your roof leak, would you?
Not one civil engineer in the entire region has indicated that construction in arroyo caused the problems we experienced. In fact, many have said that in many cases that arroyo development is the only thing that kept massive rock slides from happening. Had the land been left as it was, water would have come crashing down to the valley at such a rate that thousands would have drowned pinned to their living room ceilings. You don't' hear much about that, do you? That's because the local media never took a minute to call an expert on the issue.
The reason for the damage was quite obvious and led to the controversial transition of the storm water care from the city to the PSB. This happened because 50 percent of the damage was caused by clogged and unmaintained drainage infrastructure. Had those stormwater solutions been operational we would not have had the problems in the severity that we had them. I liken the situation to a motorcycle rider not wearing a helmet and dying in an accident that had he been wearing a helmet he would have walked away from.
Another 25 percent of the damage came from errors in math. Simple problems with calculations. Those familiar with the exact issues can attest to that.
And the final 25 percent of the damage came from the fact that people chose to develop in low areas where water collects. If you live near the river (lowest point) and it rains on the mountain; guess who's getting all the water?
For the El Paso Times to perpetuate such a myth is sad. They have zero facts to back up their theory, yet they constantly shout that theory at the top of their lungs. How do they expect to be trusted?
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