EAGLE PASS, Texas — Questions are growing regarding the installation of a new buoy in the Rio Grande River.
How many units have you installed? How much did it cost? And most importantly, where are they?
The first 300-foot buoy outside of Eagle Pass was a $1 million project funded by Texas taxpayers.
Despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent announcement that additional buoys are being installed to deter illegal entry into Texas, their presence remains elusive.
“We’re going to put more buoys on the Rio Grande and do more to stop illegal entry into Texas,” Gov. Abbott said on Sean Hannity’s show last week.
But when a news helicopter surveyed the river on Friday, the new buoy was nowhere to be seen.
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Sources familiar with the installation said the state initially placed the buoy in the water but later removed it.
Our helicopter video showed similar construction equipment and several buoy chains on land at Shelby Park Friday morning.
The governor’s office did not respond to inquiries regarding the timing or reasons for this measure. I also contacted Texas DPS.
Mr Abbott posted several videos showing the buoys being transported by truck, secured and dropped into the water near the riverbank.
It is unclear whether it was fixed in the river after the video was taken.
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Dr. Adriana Martinez, a river scientist at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, has a long-standing connection to the Rio Grande.
“This is the river I grew up on, this is the river everyone in town grew up on, and we value that resource,” she said.
Martinez, who studies the environmental impact of the original barrier, did not observe the new buoys during recent fieldwork. She says any additions to the buoys could change the flow of water in the Rio Grande and cause further erosion.
She said that was already happening with the original set of buoys.
“Eventually, there will be a shallow area that can sustain vegetation, turning the area into an island,” she said.
When he visited the buoy site in July, he took video of grass and other plants tangled in the buoy. Some of them stopped rotating due to sediment that had accumulated on the bottom.
After heavy rains, much of the plant debris was washed away, but new growth is already appearing.
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Additionally, gates that were supposed to be sunk beneath the buoys protrude above the fence in some areas, potentially costing Texas taxpayers more money.
“We’re going to spend more and more money maintaining buoys when we’re not stopping illegal immigration in the first place,” Martinez said.
In contrast, Governor Abbott’s office maintains that the buoys are effective, that Texas has the legal right to deploy them, and that there are plans to increase their number.
Texas deployed floating breakwaters last summer to deter and repel illegal river crossings. This has been so successful that no immigrant attempts to surpass it. Despite the Biden administration fighting us every step of the way, a court rules that Texas has the right to deploy floating maritime barriers to deter illegal immigration into the state. are looking to install more of these barriers. Until the federal government steps up and gets the job done on border security, Texas will continue to utilize all tools and strategies to respond to the border crisis and protect Texans. – Press Secretary Andrew Mahalelis
The office did not respond to our follow-up questions about how many feet of buoys were installed or where in the river the installations were anchored.
Martinez advocates other solutions.
“There’s got to be a better way that doesn’t damage the river and doesn’t cost as much,” she says.
She plans to take these latest samples back to Illinois and compare them with samples taken in July. She also plans to measure water flow on both the U.S. and Mexican sides of the river.
Martinez said she hopes similar testing will be implemented in Texas.
We have filed a public records request to confirm whether environmental testing was completed.
Governor Abbott has expressed a desire to double the current barrier, but has not disclosed the associated cost. It is also unclear whether this method of deterrence would apply beyond Eagle Pass along the Texas border.
