County hires consultant for Black Creek drainage study under FEMA hazard mitigation grant

Hardin County Commissioners Court on May 13 authorized the county judge to execute a professional services agreement with Schaumburg & Polk Incorporated to carry out a drainage study on Black Creek under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program tied to FEMA disaster DR‑4485.

Representatives said field work, including surveying and LIDAR analysis, will begin soon and is expected to occupy much of the summer. Troy Whitehead will lead project coordination with Mark Ochoa responsible for study modeling, county staff said. Commissioners noted recurring flooding at Black Creek, where smaller storms now produce backups blamed on log jams, beaver dams and undersized crossings.

The agreement follows applications submitted three years earlier and is paired with separate grant administration contracts the court approved to manage related projects, including LHS generators. County staff said portions of grant administration costs may be covered by the mitigation program and that some school match obligations remain to be coordinated.

Why it matters: residents and roads in the Black Creek watershed have experienced more frequent flooding, and a drainage study is the first technical step in identifying remedies and project scopes that could lead to construction and mitigation work financed by federal grants.

Discussion: commissioners and consultant representatives described planned field investigation to locate beaver dams and evaluate road crossings and conveyance capacity. Staff said the study will help quantify needs for future mitigation and guide grant‑funded repairs.