Hays County Commissioners Court Takes Steps For Flood Safety

Hays County Commissioners Court Takes Steps For Flood Safety

Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – The Hays County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution at its February 10 meeting to support the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority’s application for a flood protection planning grant from the Texas Water Development Board. If it receives the grant, GBRA will use the funds to help complete Phase 3 of its three-part Flood Feasibility and Flood Protection Study of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Basin to study drainage of small tributaries in the southern part of the county into the Guadalupe River.

The resolution also commits Hays County to funding 50 percent of the third phase of the study if the TWDB approves the grant for the other 50 percent. The County’s portion of the local match would be $117,300, to be paid equally in FY 2016 and 2017, with participation expected from the cities of Kyle and Wimberley.

The study began in 2011 with preliminary assessments of the Blanco and San Marcos rivers and followed in 2012 with more detailed investigation of the river basins and tributaries and an inundation model for five Natural Resources & Conservation Service dams on Sink and Purgatory creeks.

“The more we know, the safer we will be when flooding occurs,” Judge Cobb said.

In separate action, the Court also authorized Judge Cobb to execute an inter-local agreement with the GBRA to assist in the placement of an U.S. Geological Service stream flow gauging station in the San Marcos area that will be used to assist the National Weather Service’s riverine flood forecasting model.

“Hays County is in ‘flash flood alley,’” said Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe. “The $8,300 we have budgeted for our share of this part of the station will be well spent. There has been quite a lot of devastating damage from flooding along and around our rivers.”