Presidio orders flood risk study over planned border wall near levee

May 11-PRESIDIO - The City of Presidio and the Presidio Municipal Development District have commissioned an independent flood risk assessment after city officials said federal agencies did not respond to formal written questions regarding the planned construction of a 30-foot steel bollard wall.

The planned steel bollard wall would be built on or next to the city's only flood-control levee, city officials said.

"We had a waiver in effect, specifically for 175 miles, which includes Presidio," said John Kennedy, executive director of the Presidio Municipal Development District. "We have had that waiver since Feb. 17. So right then, we immediately reached out, which was authorized governmental correspondence, and reached out to CBP Homeland Security, as well as the IBWC, which actually owns and operates the levee project, which is the flood control project."

Kennedy said that the next step was contacting the Army Corps of Engineers, which acts as a regulatory agency over all federally funded flood projects.

"We did not receive a response from the Army Corps, unfortunately, and CBP did not give me a substantial response. They basically said that in a letter, we are planning to build a concrete wall up to the height of our levee in a two-mile project," said Kennedy during an interview with the Reporter-Telegram. "It goes upstream and downstream from Presidio, stating that they plan to build a concrete wall with a 30-foot steel bollard wall on top of the concrete wall. A concrete wall would be up to the height of the levee. The levee is about 14 feet high in most places, so that sounds like it would be right inside the levee."

Kennedy said that from there, he had more questions and comments regarding the planned construction and that he moved forward with city officials to commission a flood study of the planned development.

"Because we are learning about the proposed business construction that is going to completely change the functioning of our levee system," he emphasized.

Additionally, Kennedy maintains that under a 1970 treaty between the U.S. and Mexico, the International Boundary and Water Commission oversees the flood-control levee system, border sanitation and water allocation between the U.S. and Mexico along the Rio Grande. The water agency has conducted work within the area, including the Presidio Flood Control Project, which helps protect nearly 4,000 residents.

"They (IBWC) have to certify and be consulted on any major projects in the floodplain, the whole river," said Kennedy. "As far as we can tell, that has not occurred. We were just asking for information for the analysis, of course. The Army Corps is required under a separate law, which is called Section 408, they are required to also certify any modifications to the flood control. So, besides the fact that our entire town could be in danger from a catastrophic flooding event, we are not given any assurance or provided with any real data on what they're planning, and honestly, it doesn't sound like they've put it together yet."

The Presidio Valley Flood Control Project is a 15.2-mile federally authorized civil works levee system that the U.S. section of the IBWC operates. Presidio city officials maintain that the levee acts as the sole flood protection for the municipality as well as for 52 square miles of urban and agricultural land at the junction of the Rio Grande, the Rio Conchos, Cibolo Creek and Alamito Creek.

In 2008, city officials said that the levee was overtopped when floodwaters exceeded its design capacity. In 2014, a reconstruction of the levee restored the structural integrity of the flood-control mechanism but did not increase the system's design conveyance.

Kennedy said that for the Big Bend region, flood season begins in July. As of Monday, no federal engineering review has been produced, and Kennedy said that the most recent FEMA flood map for the area is from 1985.

City officials from Presidio, in addition to the municipal development district, maintain that both the IBWC and the Army Corps of Engineers have independent obligations under federal law and binding treaty commitments to review construction in the Rio Grande floodplain. Those obligations, Kennedy emphasized, are not discretionary and are not superseded by the Department of Homeland Security's February 2026 waiver.

"The City of Presidio is partnering with PMDD on this study because protecting the people who live here, on both sides of the river, is our job, and right now, no one else is doing it," said Presidio mayor John Ferguson, in a press release. "We have asked the federal agencies responsible for this levee for straight answers about what is being proposed, and we have not gotten them. After what this community lived through in 2008, we are not going to sit through another flood season waiting on engineering that should already be on the table."

The independent assessment, Presidio officials said, will analyze the hydrology, geomorphology and engineering implications of the proposed border-wall construction for the Presidio corridor. The work is modeled on an assessment framework developed for the downstream Webb-Zapata corridor by Mark R. Tompkins, which was released in March 2026. The Presidio assessment is being scoped in coordination with the Rio Grande International Study Center.

Public safety

Concerned landowners along the Presidio corridor have also raised separate concerns regarding previously installed concertina wire within the active floodplain. Those hazards, landowners said, could entrain razor wire and T-post debris into the Rio Grande.

"Those landowners have asked IBWC to coordinate removal in advance of flood season," said Presidio officials. "PMDD is aware that IBWC has indicated it will refer the request to the Joint Task Force coordinating DOD support to DHS at the border."

Border security

As the Presidio Municipal Development District continues to act in the best interest of public safety, it still maintains that border security remains the domain of the federal branches of government.

"PMDD does not oppose border security," said officials in a press release. "PMDD's concern is process: that federal agencies follow their own laws, perform their own statutorily required reviews, and engage transparently with the local communities most directly affected. That has not happened here."

"The federal government is required to study and certify projects in this floodplain, and to review modifications to the Presidio Flood Control Project, before any such modifications proceed," said Kennedy. "PMDD has asked the responsible federal agencies, in writing, to do exactly that. They have not. The City of Presidio cannot wait through a flood season for engineering answers that should have been produced months ago. We are commissioning this assessment because public safety requires it, and because federal silence has left local government no other choice."

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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 10:01 PM.