Harlingen residents are speaking out over overflowing toilets and bathtubs filled with sewer water in their homes whenever there’s heavy rain.

The Harlingen Water Works System told Channel 5 News some areas of the city experience this problem because the city's sewer system is almost at capacity.

The city waterworks department is working to try to fix the issue. They have a five-year, $280 million plan to try and increase the capacity of their sewer system so neighborhoods won't be experiencing those sewer backups anymore.

“Recently we received some funding for the wastewater side, we are focused on three major projects” Harlingen Water Works System Interim General Manager David Sanchez said.

According to Sanchez, the first phase includes three projects focusing on widening the main sewer line that carries all the sewage.

There's also plans to add in a basin at the treatment plant that can store excess water when there's heavy rain. 

“The plant is designed for 10 million gallons per day. If you exceed that, we can't treat it,” Sanchez said. “That's why the [new] basin is important in the new design, so we can take that large influx of water to store it so we can treat it later."

All the projects will be paid for with loans, bonds, and revenue from rate increases. 

On Wednesday, the Harlingen city council gave the final approval of a $25 million loan from the Texas Water Development Board to help with construction.

Sanchez said he wants residents to know help is on the way.

“We are listening to them, we understand the situation. We are trying to address the issue, “Sanchez said. “This is an issue that has occurred over time. We are not going to be able to fix the issue overnight."

Construction for the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by late 2027.

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