The Upper Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District is planning to develop a local hazard-mitigation plan to identify vulnerabilities of flood-control structures in the area. The district, which includes portions of Austin, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Hutto, Leander, Round Rock and Williamson County, would also include possible mitigation strategies in the plan.
The WCID will develop the plan with grant funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which awarded the grant in February. The funds will be distributed through the Texas Water Development Board, said Ruth Haberman, the general manager of the WCID.
The grant covers up to $24,000, or 60 percent of the cost to create the regional plan. Haberman said the total cost is expected to be about $40,000, and the plan must be approved by FEMA by Sept. 30, 2017.
The plan will use data from existing studies that have been completed within the watershed. The WCID completed a watershed study, which also included grant funds distributed by the TWDB, in September 2014. The district used the analysis to create a flood-protection plan later in the year, which identified flood hazard areas throughout the region.
Haberman said the water development board next suggested preparing a hazard-mitigation plan.
“During the flood protection plan [development] we identified potential flood-mitigation projects,” she said. “The hazard-mitigation plan will identify those projects and potential flood-mitigation actions that can be taken pre-emptively to mitigate flooding.”
Aside from identifying possible mitigation strategies, Haberman said the plan would be beneficial if the region experiences a natural disaster. Since the plan will need to be approved by FEMA, the projects listed will already be vetted by the agency, so the region could receive grant funding quicker.
“If you have shovel-ready projects, which this [plan] would have listed, it’s a whole lot easier [to receive grant funding],” she said. “Especially since FEMA has to approve this hazard-mitigation plan, so they would have already approved the concepts.”
The WCID is coordinating the hazard-mitigation plan for its region, and it is also reaching out to the jurisdictions within the watershed for input. Haberman said most of the cities and Williamson County have their own hazard-mitigation plans, but this regional plan will identify problems that do not fall within one city’s jurisdiction.
“We will be looking more at regional flood projects that one particular city would not be able to accomplish on their own,” she said.
One example is a project the WCID is partnering on with the city of Round Rock. The two are studying possible construction of two dams along Lake Creek that would alleviate flooding for at-risk homes and roadways. Haberman said the city would not be able to launch the project without the partnership with the WCID because the dam construction area falls outside of the city’s jurisdiction.
“It’s projects like that [that will be in the plan] that cities wouldn’t be able to accomplish on their own, but that could help mitigate flood damage in the future,” she said.
Engineers from both Cedar Park and Leander will serve on the technical advisory committee for the plan. Leander City Engineer Wayne Watts said one to two Leander engineers will attend the committee meetings.
“We’ll be at the table,” he said. “We’ll be an active participant to be a part of it and represent Leander.”
Two engineers from Cedar Park will attend meetings and help identify projects that directly impact Cedar Park, and other projects in the region in WCID jurisdiction, Engineering Project Manager Randy Lueders said.
“Cedar Park will benefit from having representatives with local knowledge of known drainage problems and the impacts of flood events serving on the [plan committee],” he said. “It is likely that projects in Cedar Park will be identified in the study to help mitigate the effects of flooding, but the specific projects have not yet been identified.”
Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell said the city is interested in learning more about the plan and about partnering with the WCID on future projects.
“We are taking a comprehensive look at our flooding issues in our city, and we look forward to working with the WCID and others as we explore potential solutions,” he said.
The WCID also is looking for residents to provide input on the plan. The district will hold an open house Aug. 30 at the Allen R. Baca Senior Center in Round Rock, at 301 W. Bagdad Ave., from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Haberman said.
