City’s Newest Ordinance On 100-Year Floodplain

By, Terra Rivers, managing editor  

A new ordinance was approved by San Marcos City Council last week to protect new developments from similar damages seen in previous major floods.

The ordinance will require Developers of new and improved developments to raise the lowest floor level two feet over the 100-year floodplain. The flood prevention ordinance will not allow a temporary rise in surface elevation during construction unless drainage easement is fully contained or designated right-of-way.

The new elevation requirements will be based on the draft of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s most recent flood model. FEMA’s flood model will be finalized in July 2017.

City council members said that the ordinance only applies to new developments along the floodplain, but officials hope the same protections can be extended to developments throughout the city.   

The City of San Marcos has partnered with Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to further study potential floodwater migration projects on the Blanco River.

The study’s goal is to determine ways floodwater can be diverted, detained or redirected to reduce damage. Different projects will be analyzed for cost benefits before a preferred project is selected. Then the city will request federal funding to complete the project.