City of Amarillo discusses future playa lake plans
Published: Mon, 07/17/23
City of Amarillo discusses future playa lake plans
Myhighplains.com
by: Mya Clark
Posted:
Updated:
AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — After severe weather caused flooding throughout Amarillo, city officials are planning ahead to conduct playa lake maintenance work.
The projects will help mitigate flooding during heavy rains.
In 2022 McDonald Lake underwent repairs and implemented a new intake pipe so the pump could continue functioning after debris blocked the intake pipe.
“Our crews were able to build off a small area with a small dam to keep water out where they could work, dig down to that intake pipe, cut it, and install a fitting and a piece of pipe coming up with a new intake structure that would allow water to get into the well,” said Interim Director of Public Works Alan Harder.
With the project complete storm water from around the city was properly pumped in and out of the lake.
Harder continued, “what it did is it just replaced the intake pipe so that the pump could continue to function. The benefit of that with all the rain we got this year is that pump was functioning, and I think functioning very well. As we’ve seen from the water going down at McDonald Lake has allowed us to dewater Playa seven into McDonald Lake and then take that water out of McDonald towards that Medi Park and the Canadian River.”
Harder shared if the pumps weren’t working it would have caused more flooding around Coulter, 45th Street and made flooding last longer at Playa Lake Seven.
Through the community investment program, the city identified five years’ worth of projects that are necessary. With the recent flooding, officials identified having a pumping station for Playa Lake Seven is now a priority.
“So right now we’re in what we call year three of the current plan, there is identified a pump station for Playa seven,” said Harder. “We’re discussing ways to try to fund that design sooner than that time, so that we can start the design of that, and then looking for opportunities to fund that project through either grants or other avenues.”
Currently, there is no timeline for the project, as it will take time to design, properly bid and construct.
“One of the things we want to ensure that we do is make sure we design a system that doesn’t just have a single point of failure,” said Harder. “That it’s something that if one pump fails, there’s another one or maybe even more there to back that up.”
To help mitigate recent floods, on Tuesday Amarillo city council voted to continue funding the temporary pump at Playa Lake Seven to remove as much water as possible and have it prepared with capacity for rain received in the future.