By Moses Leos III.
A public input meeting turned into an emotionally-charged forum recounting Buda’s drainage problems during the 2013 Halloween Flood.
It took place Thursday at the city’s Drainage Master Plan public input meeting in Buda Elementary’s Kunkel Room. According to Mayor Todd Ruge, the plan, which was scheduled for two years from now, was “expedited” due to the flood.
The message from citizens was clear – poor engineering, a lack of oversight and a failure to enact previous drainage plans added to the chaos of that fateful night.
Buda City Engineer Stanley Fees and Saul Nuccitelli, project manager for Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam (LAN), detailed the process of the city’s new Drainage Master Plan.
The two-phase plan falls between fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15. The purpose, according to Nuccitelli, is to conduct a “methodical approach to prioritizing drainage needs,” and update several watershed plans and projects.
LAN presented several solutions, including culvert and storm sewer modifications, drainage easements and more retention ponds.
“The goal is to find a cost optimized, efficient design that works, but doesn’t spend too much money on a given area,” Nuccitelli said.
But residents let loose with complaints once staff relinquished the floor.
Austin resident Mary Jane Caudill addressed drainage problems near property she owns on Goforth Road. She said the area had flooded two times prior – a fact she was never told.
“If you want to get a stigma [with property owners], keep this city flooded,” Caudill cautioned city staff. “This is not acceptable. It will not help you.”
Green Meadows resident Matt DeBow said several areas of his neighborhood saw 15 to 18 inches of water pool up.
That brought another problem to the forefront – poor drainage in newer subdivisions. DeBow suggested more oversight of developers by city staff.
“(Green Meadows) is only six or seven years old. It shouldn’t be flooding like this,” DeBow said. “There should have been more engineering. (Flooding) shouldn’t have happened.”
Buda Emergency Service District No. 8 Fire Chief Clay Huckaby said many developers “don’t have a vested interest in Buda.”
His solution is an ordinance that forces Buda to manage development. It would avoid problem areas such as Armbruster’s Curve on 967, where runoff from Garlic Creek and Creekside Park collects.
“That corner never used to flood,” Huckaby said. “If we get three to five inches, that road is impassible now.”
Fees said the only way to combat those issues is to ensure developers “abide by [Buda’s] code requirements.”
“That’s what we have to go by,” he said.
But “bad engineering,” according to Huckaby, resulted in flood problems at the ESD No. 8 headquarters and Bluff Street – two of the hardest hit areas in Buda.
Widened culverts and a direct path to nearby watersheds could alleviate problems. However, previous drainage plans were never acted upon by the city. Huckaby aims to stay the course and make sure they are done.
“[If] culverts are not increased to a larger capacity, we are still going to be a retention pond,” Huckaby said.
Longtime resident TJ Higginbotham shared Huckaby’s concerns. He cited Buda’s lack of communication with other entities to work on drainage issues.
“Get FEMA, LCRA, the Corps of Engineers, the county and city all working together. Don’t piecemeal a plan,” he said. “There’s information the county has done on 967, but the city hasn’t talked with them…that doesn’t work.”
The public’s outcry was not a surprise for Nuccitelli, or for Mayor Todd Ruge, who felt the meeting offered an opportunity to learn about the city’s problem areas.
However, they feel the flood was difficult to prepare for, since it was a 200- to 500- year event.
“It was more than any storm we were ever designed for, based on our criteria,” Fees said. “Anything above that is an anomaly that you have to deal with when it happens.”
Nuccitelli says the next step is to take the priority areas, and begin the process of detailing them. He also said changes to the flood plane could occur.
Ruge plans to ensure the city doesn’t drop the ball once again.
“I don’t know why those plans got dropped or lost in the mix. Up until Halloween, things seemed to be working well,” Ruge said. “Some fixes we’ll have to make now.”
For Caudill and many others, ensuring the city fixes flooding problems has become a priority.
“I have very good tenants that are single parents,” she said. “They deserve to know that their house is not going to flood.”
