The Texas Water Development Board is providing $41.7 million for water and wastewater system improvements to Harlingen, according to a news release.

Of that amount, $24.6 million is from grant funding, and the city will need to pay back the rest.

Harlingen Water Works Utility Engineer Gabriel Treviño said the funding targets old pipes and the city’s fast-growing population by replacing fragile clay and cement pipes that are over 40 years old.

“What ends up happening is the pipes just slowly begin to deteriorate and they'll crack and let groundwater in,” Treviño said. “That can hurt a lot when there's flooding, or you can have a line collapse and that can start causing sewer backup.”

The city’s wastewater capacity to handle storms will also be improved.

Officials are expecting minimal

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