McALLEN, Texas—If Hidalgo County’s levees along the Rio Grande are breached by flood waters, the damage would cost $1.76 billion, an economics professor says in a new study.

Daniel Sutter, an associate economics professor at the University of Texas-Pan American, conducted the economic impact study for the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1. The bulk of the cost would be $1.55 billion in damage to structures and their contents. The 50,000 households that would be displaced would cost another $507 million to re-settle and automobiles would be damaged to the tune of $154 million, according to the study. Work to repair levees in Hidalgo County is scheduled to begin in May. The county is putting up about $40 million for the repairs but is fighting for reimbursement since the levees are a federal responsibility.