EAGLE PASS – The buoys floating along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass have been the center of backlash and lawsuits tied to immigration.
A professor said the buoys created ecological impacts on the river itself.
“It’s going to change the way that the water’s moving in that area,” said Dr. Adriana Martinez, a fluvial geomorphologist and professor at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
“I study rivers,” Martinez explained. “I study how rivers move sediment around them and shape rivers.”
Martinez has been studying the floating border barriers since they were installed by State of Texas in July 2023.
“I don’t want to be doing this research,” she said. “It makes me really sad, in particular, because I have a really strong connection to this river. It’s my river. It’s the river I grew up on.”
She spent the last week collecting sediment samples, taking measurements, getting drone video and releasing dye near the buoys to watch the water flow.
While some data will take weeks to analyze, Martinez said there are some changes she doesn’t need a lab to spot.
“There is significant plant growth,” she said. “What I think are willows are growing in the buoys. And there’s also just a lot of debris that’s been caught up.”
Martinez said a change in the health of the river could also have international implications.
“You know, so, it’s going to change the way that the water’s moving in that area,” she said. “And that actually violates a couple of international treaties that we have with Mexico.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the buoys protect the border.
Martinez doesn’t believe they’ve had an impact on immigration but believes it could harm people’s health.
“Anytime you’re messing with sediment in the river, that means you’re releasing pollutants into the river,” Martinez said. “And that’s the, of course, main drinking water source for the entire Rio Grande area.”
Dr. Martinez spoke to Eagle Pass city council on Tuesday and is pushing them to ask the state more questions about the buoys.
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