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Comal County OKs NRCS variance request, budgets for Echo Blank Dam rehabilitation
Summary
County staff told commissioners the Echo Blank (Kamau 4) dam fails current high-hazard standards; NRCS recommended either a $2.5 million roller-compacted concrete option or a lower-cost repair path that would rely on a variance. The county has $5 million budgeted for rehabilitation in 2026 and provided written concurrence supporting the NRCS variance.
County staff briefed the Commissioners Court on safety concerns and funding options for the Kamau 4 (aka Echo Blank) dam at Hansen Quarry, which NRCS evaluated in 2014 and found to fall short of current high-hazard safety and performance standards.
"The cost to do either of those is about $2,500,000," the presenter told the court when summarizing NRCS's recommended reinforcement options — either a roller-compacted concrete spillway or articulated concrete blocks — and contrasted that with an alternate approach that would retain the earthen spillway but require a variance and would cost an estimated $181,000 to repair after an extreme event. Staff said NRCS has granted a variance contingent on written concurrence by the sponsor, Comal County, and recommended the court acknowledge and interpose no objection to that variance request.
County staff also told commissioners that the county has budgeted $5,000,000 in 2026 to secure the county's share should federal funds become available. The court approved the recommended acknowledgement and related action by voice vote.
The presentation noted the broader funding sequence NRCS typically uses: federal funds would cover roughly 65% of construction; the state would be asked for about 35%; if state funds are unavailable, local sponsors would be asked to cover the remaining share. The court's concurrence helps keep the project eligible for federal construction funding when it becomes available.
