TWDB Estimates Cost To Curtail Damaging Floods In State Is $31.5B Over Next 10 Years

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) officials estimate the cost to reduce the heavy damage of river and coastal flooding in this state will cost at least $31.5 billion over the next 10 years…

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) officials estimate the cost to reduce the heavy damage of river and coastal flooding in this state will cost at least $31.5 billion over the next 10 years and require neighboring cities and counties that share watersheds or coastlines to work together.

The TWDB’s State Flood Assessment Report to the 86th Texas Legislature also recommends state lawmakers adopt legislation using three approaches to end a cycle of repairing and rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Comprehensive planning is key in the three-pronged approach that calls for updating flood mapping and modeling; establishing comprehensive planning rather than piecemeal efforts that have failed in the past; and, adopting policies and procedures to assist in mitigating damaging floods, according to the report released on Dec. 6.

Planning involving neighboring jurisdictions is necessary as much of the state is unmapped and current maps are outdated, causing “widespread misunderstanding about true flood risks.”

For example, more than 50 percent of the flood insurance claims filed this year occurred outside areas identified as high-risk. The cost of updating flood-risk maps for all watersheds is estimated to be $604 million.

The flood assessment report also estimates the cost of river and coastal floods is expected to produce more than $6.8 billion in property losses over the next five years as development and population growth is expected to reach almost 42 million by 2050 and be concentrated in large metropolitan areas, the report stated.