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Consultants present DeSoto drainage master plan, identify top 5 flood projects with $14.285M estimated cost
Summary
Half Associates presented a citywide drainage master plan that identified 40 flood-prone locations and prioritized five capital projects (Mockingbird Hill $2.4M; Westmoreland Heights $6.7M; Club Parks $340k; Ellerson Trace Park $845k; Summermeadow $4M) and proposed outreach and funding paths for implementation.
Consultants from Half Associates told the DeSoto City Council on Jan. 6 that a new drainage master plan updates the city's 2001 guidance, digitizes stormwater assets, and ranks flood-risk areas to guide capital projects.
"We identified top 40 flooding areas of concern," consultant Wakaar Fatima said, describing a watershed-level analysis that used 2D HEC-RAS modeling for 2-year, 10-year and 100-year storm events to estimate depth and frequency of flooding. Fatima said the team also collected historical complaints and created a digitized stormwater database to support prioritization and public outreach.
Project manager Catherine Jennings laid out cost estimates for the five highest-priority projects analyzed in more detail: Mockingbird Hill ($2,400,000), Westmoreland Heights ($6,700,000), Club Parks ($340,000), Ellerson Trace Park ($845,000) and Summermeadow ($4,000,000). Jennings said those costs were updated to 2025 dollars and that the plan includes stream-bank stabilization solutions for six sites with proposed fixes such as retaining walls, stone toe protection and gabion baskets.
Council members asked about selection criteria and resident outreach. Fatima said the comparator combined modeled depth, number of affected structures, complaint frequency and field verification; she said staff maintained an internal list of prior complainants and attempted targeted contact, and noted public meetings and an online QR code and flyer would be used for broader outreach. Fatima said the plan remains at a conceptual/feasibility level and will require further design work before designs are submitted to federal agencies such as FEMA.
The consultants also identified likely funding sources and the common requirement that many grants expect up to a 50% local match and cost-benefit analysis. Staff said next steps include design-level analysis and public outreach meetings to brief affected neighborhoods and collect additional input.
The master plan presentation was informational; staff will return with refined designs and more detailed funding strategies for council consideration.
