AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) recently voted to adopt the 2024 State Flood Plan, providing the first-ever comprehensive statewide assessment of flood risk and solutions to mitigate that risk.
“Adopting the first-ever state flood plan is a monumental achievement for Texas,” TWDB Chairwoman Brooke Paup said, “and it would not have been possible without the collaboration and dedication of everyone who touched this extensive effort, including the 15 regional flood planning groups and their volunteer members, sponsors, technical consultants, other stakeholders, fellow state agencies, and TWDB staff."
The plan incorporates the findings of 15 regional flood plans and includes legislative and floodplain management recommendations to guide state, regional, and local flood control policy to reduce the risk and impact of flooding.
According to the plan, approximately one in every six people in Texas lives or works in known flood hazard areas. While the extent and types of flood hazard vary by region due to differences in population, land development, topography, rainfall patterns, and proximity to rivers and the coast, the plan found there is significant risk of flooding within all 15 planning regions.
“One of the greatest successes of this first cycle of regional and state flood planning is that we now have some level of flood hazard information for the entire state,” TWDB Board Member L’Oreal Stepney said. "That is a tremendous accomplishment and an essential foundation for not only understanding flood risk, but also working to mitigate it to keep people and property safe.”
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The plan presents approximately 4,600 solutions — flood management evaluations (studies), flood mitigation projects, and flood management strategies — recommended by the regional flood planning groups with a total estimated implementation cost of more than $54.5 billion. Planning groups reported an estimated 843,339 people and 214,292 buildings would be removed from the 1 percent annual chance (100-year) floodplain if the state flood plan is implemented.
