Drainage problems in subdivisions off of FM 967 in Buda is an issue Hays County officials are now looking into.
The county has authorized the execution of engineering services to look into drainage issues in the subdivisions of Leisurewoods, Coves of Cimarron, Cimarron Park, Oxbow Trails, and The Grove.
A two-dimensional model will be made of the overland flows and will identify problem areas and propose projects to reduce the risk. Halff and Associates, Inc. will make the analysis.
The analysis is needed for the county to request future grants including from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones says the county will also apply for Hurricane Harvey grant money once the survey is done.
According to county documents, issues appear to come from river line flooding from Little Bear Creek and Garlic Creek, but “the main drainage issues in these neighborhoods result from inadequate localized drainage networks.”
Jones added most of the subdivisions in the survey were platted before current drainage regulations, so they wouldn’t meet county drainage standards if they were constructed today.
Recent flooding events have also led to the need for an analysis.
“We’ve had three once in a lifetime floods in the last three years and once you fix drainage in one area, it affects all the other subdivisions since they are all interconnected,” Jones said.
During the heavy rains on March 28 Jones drove through the neighborhoods to check on flooding. Clint Garza, executive director of countywide operations and chief of staff for the county judge, said that the county did not receive any reports of flooding in the area.
“There was some in a few places, but I didn’t see any major problems,” Jones said. He said most of the flooding that day was due to slow runoff on low-water crossings.
Buda is also looking at drainage projects in the area of Oxbow neighborhood as part of Proposition 3 of the 2014 bond package.
Garza said the county has been working with Buda officials for years on drainage projects, however, 80 percent of this project will be outside of Buda.
