Jim Wells County officials broke ground Friday, February 20, on the first of two multi-million dollar drainage improvement projects designed to address chronic flooding problems that have plagued the K-Bar area for years.The gro undbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of a $9.6 million project funded through the Texas General Land Office. County and City of Alice leaders gathered to launch the long-awaited infrastructure improvements that residents say are desperately needed."Well, I hope that will take care of the problem, if it ever rains again," said Jerry Munoz. Jim Wells County breaks ground on flood recovery project to fix K-Bar drainage issuesMunoz, a K-Bar resident and Army veteran, knows the flooding problems firsthand. Neighborhood News Reporter Melissa Trevino first met Munoz in 2024 after Tropical Storm Alberto left his property underwater, highlighting the area's vulnerability to severe weather events.The project will provide residents with a new retention pond, improved drainage infrastructure, upgraded culverts and better roadside ditches. When Munoz learned about these planned improvements, he was excited about the potential solutions."That is great. Cause all these culverts are all clogged up. You know, too small and covered and collapsed," Munoz said.Munoz explains that when rainfall exceeds 4 inches, water remains standing on properties for extended periods. The problem became so severe that he took matters into his own hands, fixing culverts in front of his home in hopes of improving drainage."Right now it's not a problem cause it's dry season. It's very dry. We need it - rain. But when it's wet time - it's very hard for people to come in and out of their properties and stuff," Munoz said.JWC Judge Pedro "Pete" Trevino Jr. said the flooding concerns extend beyond individual properties to public safety and emergency response capabilities."You know we want drainage. When we have any type of flooding or hurricane or anything like that we want to know where the water's gonna go. We want to protect our people. And this is exactly what this gives us an opportunity to do," Trevino said.Trevino emphasized that these projects have been years in development and represent a crucial investment in community safety and infrastructure."It's crucial to them because once we have flooding we have issues getting our emergency management people out there. And if we can't get out there we can't help," Trevino said.County leaders said the completed project will significantly reduce flooding risks and improve road conditions for families throughout the area. The second project is expected to begin within a month, and both projects should be finished by the end of the year."This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today! ...read more read less