County hears multi-year flood-study update; LJA says modeling mid-2026, master plan by 2027-28
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Summary
LJA Engineering briefed the court on a CDBG-funded, countywide flood and drainage study: delays tied to late LIDAR data, completion of hydrologic work, integration of bathymetry and 800 structures, $9.2M spent to date with $11M-12M remaining, and a schedule that puts master-plan deliverables into late 2027 or early 2028.
Liberty County commissioners on Jan. 27 received a detailed technical briefing from LJA Engineering on the countywide CDBG-funded drainage and flood-risk master plan and approved a contract extension to allow continued work.
William Common of LJA Engineering told the court that a delay in receiving LIDAR data (flown Jan.-Feb. 2024 and received March-April 2025) prompted the extension request but that hydrologic evaluations are complete and hydraulic modeling and structure integration remain underway. "We have spent about $9,200,000 to date, and we have about 11, 12 to go," Common said, summarizing project expenditures and remaining budget.
Common described the project scope: eight watershed models across the county, bathymetry surveys using remote-control pontoons to collect underwater surface data, integration of approximately 800 structures (bridges, culverts) into two-dimensional surface models, and calibration/validation using historical storm events. He said existing-condition modeling should be complete by mid-2026 with calibration in late summer 2026 and that the full master plan with alternatives analysis and mapping is targeted for late 2027 to early 2028.
The contract will not themselves submit updated flood maps to FEMA, Common said, but the Texas Water Development Board can receive the countys mapping and submit to FEMA on its behalf if the data reach a high level of completeness.
Commissioners pressed on schedule and local applications: they asked when specific crossover or culvert-sizing solutions could be applied. Common said localized analyses and iterative tests could be run as the model allows, and that the project will include stakeholder meetings to validate hotspot identification and proposed solutions.
The court approved the extension request by voice vote, enabling LJA to continue modeling and to prepare public-facing materials and alternatives analyses as the work continues.
