A West Texas county wants to better prepare for floods. Paying for it will be tricky.

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy , and give us feedback .

ODESSA — When it rains here, West Texans brace for the worst. With nowhere to go, water collects across sidewalks, roads and highways — the flat, desert landscape becomes a wetland in the blink of an eye.

Local officials in Ector County, which includes Odessa, said the region’s drainage system is out of date. But paying for upgrades will be a tremendous challenge.

Population, housing and commercial development have spiked, and the infrastructure has not kept up. Its drainage system, installed in the 1970s, is not equipped to handle the growth, county officials said.

Knowing this, county commissioners approved a plan last week to update its drains and allevia