Development
BY JAMIE MOORE
The Blanco Gardens drainage improvement project was completed to mitigate the severity of future ooding events in the area. San Marcos city sta celebrated the completion of the infrastructure project at a ribbon cutting on Jan. 14. The overview In 2015, Hays County experienced two major ooding events within six months: the Memorial Day oods and the All Saints ood. The ooding resulted in severe property damage and the loss of life, according to the city website. The new drainage improvements are intended to mitigate future ooding events and include a storm sewer system, new inlets, concrete channels within alleyways and an electric duct bank. Shaun Condor, director of engineering and capital improvements, said the new channels will direct water from the neighborhood to the San Marcos River, rather than allowing it to ow through the neighborhood. The electrical duct bank involves relocating electric and telecom lines to underground con- duits, improving reliability and reducing outage risks during storms. Construction on the drainage improvements began in March 2022, according to the city’s capital improvements projects website. Zooming out These drainage improvements complement the Blanco Riverine Flood Mitigation Project, which Completed drainage project to address ooding
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City ocials celebrated the completion of the Blanco Gardens drainage improvements on Jan. 14.
COURTESY CITY OF SAN MARCOS
was completed in October. The project included the construction of a berm and oodwall, and a relief channel, which will help prevent oodwaters from entering the Blanco Gardens neighborhood during a 50-year ood event, according to city documents. The city of San Marcos secured funding for these projects through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, receiving $33.8 million, according to the city website. Additionally, the city received $24 million through HUD’s Community Develop- ment Block Grant Mitigation program. What’s next Condor said the city is currently updating its stormwater master plan by reviewing plans from the past 20 years, identifying gaps, and analyzing new developments and future needs.
Project timeline May 23-24, 2015 The Memorial Day Flood
Oct. 30, 2015 The All Saints Flood
March 2022 work on the project begins
October 2024 Blanco Revine Flood Mitigation Project completed
Jan. 14, 2025 Ribbon cutting to celebrate project completion
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOSCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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