By Patricia Barrios
The University hopes to establish a long-term partnership with Port San Antonio using other A&M system agencies to address flooding issues at the south end of the former U.S. Air Force Base.
Port San Antonio, located at the former Kelly Air Force Base, is a 1,900 acre aerospace industrial complex and international logistics platform and is designated as a foreign trade zone, according to their website.
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Charles Rodriguez, Ph.D., vice president for strategic initiatives, Institutional Advancement and Military Affairs, said the University hosted a box-lunch working meeting last fall to bring the groups together as a collaborative initiative that is part of the University’s mission of community service to enhance and improve the community.
“Right now, we celebrate the tremendous economic value of Port San Antonio to our community,” Rodriguez said. “The University wants to be helpful. We want Port San Antonio to be successful, because if they’re successful, they’ll have jobs perhaps that our future graduates can apply for.”
At the working lunch, Port San Antonio officials met with A&M system agencies such as Texas AgriLIfe Research, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and Texas Water Resource Institute to begin a dialogue of what can be done in the meantime.
“The idea was to bring people together,” Rodriguez said.
Visionaries see Port San Antonio as a trans-shipment node for Asia, Latin American and even Canada in the long-term future, Rodriguez explained, adding that Port San Antonio has the potential to become a major rail, truck, air commodity and merchandise hub.
“We could become the premiere inland node for international commerce in the United States,” Rodriguez said.
Gil Vargas, Port SA engineer, said the relationship between the University is a positive beginning. “It’s been very, very positive because the University is looking to see how they can help the business community.”
Vargas said that in the future, the University may offer some nontraditional methods of dealing with storm water management and water resources.“We’d like to solve some of our urban problems with new technology.”
Using TAMUSA’s connections with the Texas A&M University System, Port San Antonio officials hope to tap into system resources and expertise to ease flooding issues that have plagued the base since its inception in the 1940s, Rodriguez said. Because the land slopes from north to south, in periods of heavy rain runoff the south end floods, leaving airplane hangars in ankle and knee deep water.
Residential and commercial development north of Port San Antonio has caused more runoff because of the removal of natural land formations that slow or absorb the water runoff during rainfalls, he said, causing the runoff to collect more quickly.
Rodriguez said Texas A&M system researchers could possibly look into the issue, adding that researchers from the system are paid only if there is grant money.
Although the runoff is a challenge, the other challenge is the city’s lack of rainfall, so perhaps some initiatives can be done to store the runoff for later use, Rodriguez said, adding that problem could be turned into something positive if a profitable solution could be found.
Solutions need to be science-based and offer economic incentives for homeowners and businesses.
“We know that heavy rains will come and we don’t want the great aerospace companies at Port San Antonio to think about leaving our community,” Rodriguez said. “In fact, we want them to thrive and encourage other high tech and clean businesses to take up residence at the port.”
