In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 directing the creation of the first-ever State Flood Plan for Texas. The preparation of this new flood plan is being led by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and follows a similar regional approach used for water supply planning in Texas for the past 20 years. As part of this effort, TWDB will establish a clearinghouse of information about state and federal flood planning, mitigation, and control programs that may serve as sources of funding for flood projects.
The TWDB has designated fifteen (15) flood planning regions within the state based on the corresponding river basins (click here to reference TWDB map). The overarching goal of regional flood planning, and the comprehensive state flood plan that will result from the plans created by these regions, is to protect against loss of life and property from flooding. The first regional flood plans were submitted in July 2023, and the first state flood plan was submitted to the Texas Legislature in September 2024.
Now, the flood planning regions are beginning the second planning cycle. The second San Jacinto Regional Flood Plan is due to the TWDB by July 31, 2028, and will be incorporated into the overall 2029 State Flood Plan.
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is a state agency formed in 1957 in response to Texas’ record-breaking drought. Based on the most recent legislative session, the agency’s main responsibilities include the following: assisting with regional water planning and preparing the state water plan every five years; assisting with regional flood planning and preparing the state flood plan every five years; collecting, analyzing, and distributing water-related and geographic data; and providing loan and grant money for Texas water, wastewater, and flood projects.
The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group (San Jacinto RFPG) includes all or part of 11 counties and extends from Galveston in the south to Huntsville in the north. Fifteen (15) voting members, appointed by the TWDB Executive Director, serve on the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group and represent the following interest categories: Agriculture, Industries, Counties, Electric Generating Utilities, Flood Districts, Industries, Municipalities, General Public, River Authorities, Small Businesses, Water Districts, Water Utilities, Environmental Interests, and Coastal Communities. The primary role of the San Jacinto RFPG is to develop a regional flood plan for the Region 6 San Jacinto Flood Planning Region that identifies flood risks, establishes flood mitigation and floodplain management goals, and recommends evaluations, strategies, and projects to reduce flood risks.
The San Jacinto Region is the second most populous flood planning region, despite being the second smallest region by area, and is subject to many sources of flooding, including:
The State Flood Plan will be based on regional flood plans developed by local stakeholders representing diverse interests. The second San Jacinto Regional Flood Plan is due to the TWDB by July 31, 2028, and will be incorporated into the overall State Flood Plan.
The ultimate goal of conducting regional flood planning is to protect the public against loss of life and property damage from flooding events; the comprehensive state flood plan will be based on the flood plans created by each of the 15 regions. The San Jacinto RFPG will develop a regional flood plan that meets TWDB requirements and also establishes a solid foundation for future TWDB flood planning cycles, based on flood-related characteristics in the San Jacinto Region.
The key tasks to be accomplished through the Regional Flood Plans include, but are not limited to the following:
Comprehensive floodplain modeling for the San Jacinto Region is not included in the Scope of Work developed by the TWDB for the San Jacinto Planning Region. Flood risk assessment efforts will primarily be based on the floodplain quilt developed using best available data throughout the region.
Limited flood modeling will be performed for isolated areas across the basin to assess flood risk within the region and identify flood risk management projects.
The Texas GLO is currently conducting the Combined River Basin Flood Studies across the counties that received a presidential disaster declaration due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey. This one-time study focuses on the following goals in order to better prepare communities for future flood impacts associated with extreme weather events:
This study complements and will work in conjunction with TWDB’s Regional Flood Planning Groups, including the sharing of flood data through the Texas Disaster Information System (TDIS), a critical tool used by the state to assist communities. Information collected for this regional flood plan will be shared with the GLO study consultant to avoid the duplication of data collection efforts. The target completion date for the Texas GLO Combined River Basin Flood Studies is Summer 2026.
The San Jacinto RFPG is seeking participation and input from everyone knowledgeable of and affected by flooding issues in the basin. Visit the San Jacinto RFPG website (sanjacintofloodplanning.org/) to provide feedback on the interactive map, or contact the team at https://sanjacintofloodplanning.org/contact-us/.
This regional plan will serve as a roadmap for flood planning in your river basin; its success depends on your involvement! The plan will assess flood risk in your community and potential mitigation strategies and measures. The plan will recommend studies, where needed, to evaluate flooding problems and identify potential solutions in greater detail. More importantly, proposed flood mitigation projects must be included in the Regional and State Flood Plans in order to be eligible for State financial assistance.
Flood mitigation projects tend to focus on avoiding or reducing the negative impacts from flood water during and shortly after high rainfall events. Water supply projects focus on providing reliable water supply throughout periods of extremely low rainfall. A potential project that would capture flood water and store it to be used later for water supply could be evaluated as part of water supply planning, as well as flood management.
No, the State Flood Plan will not produce new FIRMS. FIRMS are official maps approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that delineate special insurance-related flood hazard areas and risk zones within communities. Activities conducted to produce FIRMs follow a four-phase process according to FEMA’s guidelines and standards and typically take a minimum of five years to complete. However, modeling and other technical activities that will support the development of the state flood plan will result in tools and preliminary maps that could be used by communities to support and complement FEMA’s existing process for producing updated FIRMs.
Harris County serves as the sponsor for the San Jacinto RFPG. The planning group sponsor is responsible for the following:
FMEs, FMPs, FMSs, and FMXs are terms related to flood planning and mitigation, commonly used in regional flood planning efforts. Here’s a breakdown of each term:
Eventually, implementation of adopted regional flood plan policies and projects will rely on local and regional entities and specific project sponsors in cooperation with participating entities, as necessary.
Regional flood planning groups are expected to consider a wide variety of available, relevant information and tools when developing regional flood plans, including other regional and local flood planning studies. The planning groups will be expected to work cooperatively with other entities conducting flood planning activities in the region to avoid duplication of effort and to make the best and most efficient use of local, state, and federal resources. Additionally, no funds will be provided by the TWDB to regional flood planning groups for activities for which the TWDB determines existing information, data, or analyses are sufficient for the planning effort.
The development of regional flood mitigation projects is a potentially feasible flood management strategy that must be considered in accordance with Texas Water Code §16.062(e). The decision to recommend a particular flood management strategy or flood mitigation project is the responsibility of the regional flood planning groups.
All meetings of regional flood planning group and their committees or subcommittees are open to the public and subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code. The minimum public notice for planning group meetings is 7 days in accordance with the TWDB’s regional flood planning rules, which require additional notice and public comment periods for some regional flood planning group activities.
If you are interested in learning more about the flood planning process or want to get involved, there are several ways to connect with the San Jacinto RFPG:
Together, we can build a safer, more resilient future for the Region 6. Your voice matters—join us in shaping a flood-ready tomorrow!
