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Floodplain board approves 12‑acre pond for agricultural use; officials say project reduces flood elevations
Summary
The Oklahoma County Floodplain Management Board approved a permit for a 12‑acre pond at a site off Santa Fe and Waterloo Road, with engineers saying the work will provide compensatory storage and lower 100‑year water‑surface elevations; the project will require a Letter of Map Revision to update FEMA maps.
The Oklahoma County Floodplain Management Board on Jan. 16 approved a floodplain development permit for a proposed 12‑acre pond on a property east of Santa Fe and near Waterloo Road, intended for agricultural use including horses and cattle.
Planning staff explained that because the affected floodplain is entirely on the applicant’s property, the conditional letter of map revision (CLOMR) step typically required when a project affects multiple properties is not required at this preconstruction stage. Staff said the project will still require a subsequent Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) after construction so FEMA’s flood maps reflect the new pond and its effect on water‑surface elevations.
Engineer Dean Kalida of Veil & Environmental Consultants presented the hydrologic and hydraulic work for the project and described it as compensatory storage that reduces water‑surface elevations downstream. "The substantial water surface decrease once we build upon is going to do nothing but be like a floodplain management," Kalida said, noting modeled drops in water‑surface elevations of several feet at some stations.
County engineers had asked about backwater effects toward Santa Fe; Kalida and staff said the site has a two‑ to three‑foot drop at the roadway box structure and that the modeled backwater would not affect property owners east of Santa Fe. Staff and the engineer also discussed erosion and sediment controls: soil stockpiles left on the property must be stabilized and the project will need an OKR‑10 (DEQ) permit for erosion and sediment control during excavation.
Kalida said excavation would produce a substantial volume of dirt that the applicant plans to haul off to nearby projects that need fill; if approved, work could begin in a matter of weeks and will proceed over an extended period as contractors remove and sell or transfer material to other sites.
No opponents spoke at the hearing. After board discussion, the floodplain permit motion was approved. Staff said the applicant must complete required erosion controls, obtain the state OKR‑10 permit as needed and follow the LOMR process with FEMA once construction is built to ensure maps are updated.
