GOVERNMENT Flood planning group awaits state water board approval for flood plan
FLOOD PLANNING IN THE HOUSTON AREA The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group covers 11 Houston-area counties, including Montgomery County, and 15 watersheds. It is the second-most populous flood planning region in Texas.
A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
BY JISHNU NAIR
of the San Jacinto Regional Master Drainage Plan. The flood planning group will meet in September to receive further public input and will receive a formal response from the TWDB in October. The final plan will be submitted to the TWDB in January, when the state Legislature will also reconvene. The voting members of the flood planning group, which was estab- lished in October 2020, represent interests ranging from industries to municipalities as well as the public. Risks in The Woodlands The Woodlands is rated as a “flood- prone area” by the Texas General Land Office. Seven The Wood- lands-area gauges used to forecast flooding are included in the draft report’s account of existing flood infrastructure in the region. The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Water Agency, which manages 10 municipal utility districts in The Woodlands, are listed as two potential sponsors for flood mitiga- tion projects along Lake Creek, which would involve dams on Walnut and Birch Creeks. If all the recommendations from the plan’s San Jacinto River West Fork strategy are completed, the estimated benefits would include the removal of 28 miles of roadway and 1,460 residential structures from the 100- year flood plain. The plan categorizes 200,000 residential structures, including 16,919 in Montgomery County, as expected to be damaged from flooding.
The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group unanimously approved a draft regional flood plan for 11 Houston-area counties in the San Jacinto River watershed July 14. The draft will be submitted to the Texas Water Development Board, the agency responsible for compiling a statewide flood plan by 2024. The final plan for the San Jacinto region, also referred to as Region 6, is set to be approved by December. Specific recommendations for flood management strategies include 16 proposals for property acquisitions costing $1.1 billion and eight “critical maintenance” updates costing a total of $16 million for drainage systems. The group does not have the authority to enact any of the recom- mendations it offers. According to the draft document, standards are devel- oped for potential implementation by flood-related authorities, such as the Harris County Flood Control District. Montgomery County was listed as an entity along with The Woodlands Township, although the county does not have its own separate flood authority. The San Jacinto River Authority, including Montgomery County, is also named in several plans on the San Jacinto River’s West Fork. SJRA Flood Manager Matt Barrett, who was part of the flood planning group, said the authority reviewed and provided input during the process, such as the 16 large-scale plans that were part which manages surface water resources in several counties,
including 16,919 in Montgomery County. 200,000 structures in the 100-year flood plain expected to be affected, The SJRFPG categorized nearly
San Jacinto
Walker
Grimes
LAKE CONROE
Montgomery
A combined 478 projects, studies, and strategies have been recommended in the plan in the Houston area. The draft plan’s San Jacinto River West Fork measures would remove 1,460 residential structures from the 100-year flood plain if fully implemented.
Liberty
LAKE HOUSTON
Waller
Harris
Chambers
GALVESTON BAY
Fort Bend
Galveston
Brazoria
N
San Jacinto Flood Planning Region 6
DEFINING PLANNING TERMS The flood planning group uses evaluations, strategies and projects to reduce risk factors. FME: Flood management evaluations study whether an area needs further flood prevention projects. FMP: Flood management projects , such as dams, are planned to reduce flood risks and carry a cost element. FMS: Flood management strategies look at ways to reduce flood risks such as property acquisition.
SOURCE: SAN JACINTO REGIONAL FLOOD PLANNING GROUP/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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