Texas leaders are adopted the state’s very first flood plan, one that would cost $55 billion to reduce flood risks for the whole Lone Star State. The Texas Water Development Board has spent five years working on the assessment, identifying more than 4,600 flood reduction solutions and 15 regional strategies.
Almost half of the cost is dedicated to the “Ike Dike” project, which is building a barricade to protect the Galveston Bay from storm surge and reduce flooding risks. It’s also a prioritized task among the plan’s proposed projects.
Other construction plans include storm sewers, detention ponds, levees, ditches, and more.
The plan also gave legislative recommendations, such as to increase funding for flood mitigation and low-water crossing safety, enhance technical assistance for rural areas, expand early warning systems, and improve dam and levee safety.
According to the plan, about 5.2 million people, or one in six Texans, live or work in flood-prone areas. Among more than 1.6 million at-risk buildings, about 6,300 of them are medical institutions, fire stations, and schools.
Following the passing of Senate Bill 8 in 2019, the Texas Water Development Board took five years of more than 550 public meetings to develop the plan. The next step is to inform Texas lawmakers to request funding of at least $55 billion.
Governor Greg Abbott praised the plan on social media, calling it “a big achievement for Texas” and that it “will help Texas better prepare for the threat of severe floods.”
