BY JOEL VALLEY
The details
What else?
between city officials and the general public,” according to the report. For Bastrop, the focus includes identifying: • The difference between base-level engineering and flood insurance rate maps, how to interpret them, and how they can be utilized • Local drainage challenges and responsibilities • Flood insurance options and affordability • Regional and local risk mitigation measures
During an Aug. 12 council meeting, Elizabeth Wick—a project engineer with the city of Bastrop— highlighted objectives spurred by the workshop, such as floodplain education and outreach for local leaders and residents, and a framework for “resilient development” with green infrastructure opportunities. “Multiple data sources, unknown personal risks and confusing drainage decisions all suggest a need for improved education and outreach
The city of Bastrop is one of 11 participating jurisdictions in the Bastrop County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and Federal Emergency Management Agency require communities to adopt a hazard mitigation action plan to be eligible for the full range of pre-disaster and post-disaster federal funding. Although the Bastrop County Hazard Mitigation Plan was last updated in 2022, FEMA recently released its preliminary flood insurance rate maps for residents and business owners in the cities of Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville, as well as those in the unincorporated areas of Bastrop County, to review. It will also be a tool that Bastrop officials will rely on in the coming weeks, months and years as they continue their work toward building a safer community.
Summary of historical flood events, January 1996-2021
Number of events
Jurisdiction
Deaths
Injuries
Property damage
Crop damage
Bastrop County City of Bastrop
62
1 1
115
$20,334,206 $3,818,900
$322,599
15 12 11
0 0 0
$0 $0 $0
City of Elgin
0 0
$26,396
City of Smithville
$0
Total losses
100
2
115
$24,502,101
SOURCE: BASTROP COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Zooming in
“The last massive rainstorm that flooded our city [was] because of unmanaged drainage in the city. ... [The ditches] were cleaned out, but that was enough years ago that it might be time to do that again.” JOHN KIRKLAND, BASTROP MAYOR PRO TEM
Bastrop City Council approved an amendment to its Bastrop Code of Ordinances on Aug. 26 to adopt a 50% credit, which will allow property owners or developers to reduce their total calcu- lated impervious surface area. Wick said the parties will also be required to file a maintenance agreement for the drainage facil- ities with the County Clerk’s Office and submit a biennial inspection report to the city to ensure the facilities are properly maintained. “There is currently no such agreement or
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inspection report required, which leaves the city in a precarious position during a flood event,” Wick said.
SOURCE: CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
TREATS 707 Highway 71 W, Bastrop, TX, 78602
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BASTROP - CEDAR CREEK EDITION
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