Ten years on March 18 2026

Dump trucks lined the intersection at 4th and West Fleming during the early morning hours of March 18, 2026. They were waiting their turn to dump the cement for the parking around the new IC ISD transportation facility up the hill from my home.

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Ten years ago on this date is when I first started my efforts to get relief from the stormwater flooding from the campus of my next door neighbor, Irion County ISD.

The email that started it all.

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So much has changed, indeed, improved, especially with the efforts of Supt. Nikki Moore. Yet, in so many ways, the issues remain identical today as they were back then.

The apron around the new transportation facility was poured early this morning. Try as I did, I was not able to convince the District to put this facility elsewhere. This location will add stormwater to the basin where my home is located.

Part of my morning today was spent in a walking meeting on 4th Street with Mertzon Mayor Aubrey Stewart.* We met so I could show him my concerns about whether the design of the new detention pond was going to work sufficiently to give me some relief. Go here to see some photos. Mayor Stewart is well seasoned now and we are accustomed to one another. It was a good meeting.

Lest anyone doubt it, at 10 years in I’m not at a stopping point. There is still more left to do…

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*Why the Mayor? In Mertzon, as is the case in all Texas cities, the city streets are owned and regulated by the municipality. The primary authority to go to when there is street flooding is the local municipality. Mertzon is unique in that it does not have a municipal flood plan or building codes. This gives great latitude to IC ISD and its design and construction agents (Parkhill and Gallagher) to build with little regulatory oversight. And, this puts the onus on the property owner to protect their own property. Thus, I met with the Mayor to see if he would intervene with IC ISD. The street, 4th St., is still closed due to the flooding, so the City of Mertzon has a real incentive to get this flooding corrected.

Copyright 2026 G. Noelke