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Kaufman County wins state-funded flood study; TWDB to examine two priority areas
Summary
Kaufman County staff told the commissioners court that the Texas Water Development Board will perform a free, no-match flood study covering priority watersheds in the county. County officials said the study could cover two areas and could lead to future grant opportunities.
Kaufman County announced March 24 that it qualified for a state-funded flood study to be performed by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). A county staff member told the commissioners court the study requires no local match and will provide a more detailed analysis than the county could finance on its own.
The staff member said the county previously applied for a FEMA-funded (FIF) grant and that TWDB is now funding regional studies. "We had 280,000 grant from the Texas Water Development Board ... so we're going to get a free, no out of we don't have to match, we don't have an interest free loan," the staff member said. County staff estimated, based on typical costs, the TWDB would study about two areas under the award (the staff described an approximate cost of $250,000 to perform a study that would cover two locations).
County officials said they had submitted six critical areas in an earlier application and that the TWDB’s regional, point-based selection process identified the county as a finalist. The staff member said the TWDB will notify the county of a start date and will coordinate with local officials to pinpoint which flood-inundated areas will be studied.
Judge JK Allen and others on the court emphasized the local significance of the work as development and large impervious surfaces change drainage patterns. The court voted to submit required materials and authorized county staff to work with the TWDB to schedule the study.
Next steps: county staff will finalize and send the application materials (the staff said they must be returned by March 26), await TWDB’s notice of the study start date, and work with TWDB to identify the two priority areas for analysis.
