Regional Overview
In the wake of historic flooding in Texas, the 2019 Texas Legislature passed legislation to create Texas’ first-ever regional and state flood planning process. The Legislature created a state flood planning framework and charged the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) with creating flood planning regions based on river basins and with administering the ongoing work of flood planning.
The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group (San Jacinto Region) is one of the 15 Regional Flood Planning Groups (RFPGs) formed by the TWDB. San Jacinto Region includes all or part of 11 counties and extends from Galveston in the south to Huntsville in the north.
Through this groundbreaking, first of its kind flood planning effort, San Jacinto Region received a flood planning grant from the TWDB to help identify specific flood risks as well as strategies to reduce flood risks in coming years. This effort represents a bottom-up approach to flood planning and is intended to be a transparent process which relies on public input.
Visit the TWDB website for more information.
About The San Jacinto Region
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:
- Fluvial or riverine flooding, where floodwater escapes channel banks.
- Pluvial flooding caused by water trying to reach a stream via overland flow paths.
- Urban flooding, where local drainage systems are overwhelmed or unable to drain.
- Coastal flooding, caused by storm surge and extreme tidal conditions.
- Flooding caused by dam or levee failure.
Facts & Figures
- Population Estimate (2019): 6,297,609
- Approximate Area: 5,089 square miles
- Approximate Stream Miles: 3,696
- Approximate NFIP Claims (1975—2019): $11,661,576,868
Counties Represented
- Brazoria*
- Chambers*
- Fort Bend*
- Galveston*
- Grimes*
- Harris*
- Liberty*
- Montgomery
- San Jacinto*
- Walker*
- Waller*
*Indicates this county is partially within this RFPG and is also represented by at least one other RFPG.
Major Cities Represented (population greater than 25,000)
- Alvin*
- Atascocita
- Baytown
- Channelview
- Conroe
- Deer Park
- Friendswood
- Galveston
- Houston
- Huntsville*
- La Porte
- League City
- Mission Bend
- Missouri City*
- Pasadena
- Pearland
- Spring
- Sugar Land*
- Texas City
- The Woodlands
*Indicates this city is partially within this RFPG and is also represented by at least one other RFPG.
Major Lakes and Reservoirs
- Addicks Reservoir
- Barker Reservoir
- Gulf Coast Water Authority Reservoir
- Lake Conroe
- Lake Houston
- Lewis Creek Reservoir
- Mustang Lake East/Mustang Lake West
- Sheldon Reservoir
Ecoregions of Texas Represented
- Blackland Prairie
- Gulf Prairies
- Piney Woods
- Post Oak Savannah
About the San Jacinto Region Regional Flood Plan
Scope of Work
The scope of the Regional Flood Plan (Plan) is broken into 10 major tasks. The first four tasks are aimed at gathering and analyzing existing data, identifying existing and future flood risks, reviewing floodplain management practices, and evaluating flood management strategies, all of which are expected to be completed by late 2021.
The remaining six planning tasks will make recommendations of studies and projects to be included in the regional flood plan, review current flood response efforts, present policy recommendations, identify project funding opportunities, and ensure continual public participation throughout the process as the regional flood plan is adopted.
Timeline
The Texas Water Code requires RFPGs to deliver regional flood plans to the TWDB by January 10, 2023, and every five years thereafter. The state flood plan, to be based on adopted regional plans, must be prepared and adopted by the TWDB by September 1, 2024, and every five years thereafter.
San Jacinto Region RFPG Members
Voting Members
- Timothy E. Buscha – Industries (Chair)
- Alia Vinson – Water Districts (Vice Chair)
- Erwin Burden – Counties (Secretary)
- Augustus Campbell – Public #1
- Matthew Barrett – River Authorities
- Elisa Macia Donovan – Agricultural Interests
- Connie Pothier – Small Business
- Paul E. Lock – Electric Generating Utilities
- Hanadi Rafai – Environmental Interests
- Stephen Costello – Municipalities
- Todd Burrer – Water Utilities
- Brian Maxwell – Coastal Communities
- Christina Quintero – Public #2
- Vacant – Upper Watershed
- Tina Petersen – Flood Districts
Non-Voting Members
- Hope Zubek – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Natalie Johnson – Texas Division of Emergency Management
- Kristin Lambrecht – Texas Department of Agriculture
- Joel Clark – Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
- Santiago Franco – General Land Office
- Megan Ingram – Texas Water Development Board
- Melinda Johnston – Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Justin Bower – Houston-Galveston Area Council
- Ellie Alkhoury – Texas Department of Transportation
- Tom Heidt – Port Houston
- Michael Turco – Harris-Galveston Subsidence District
- Brandon Wade – Region H Regional Water Planning Group
- Lisa Mairs – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Sally Bakko – Gulf Coast Protection District
Committees
Executive Committee
- Timothy E. Buscha – Chair
- Alia Vinson – Vice Chair
- Erwin Burden- Secretary
- Matthew Barrett – Member, At-Large #1
- Tina Petersen – Member, At-Large #2
Technical Committee
- Elisa Macia Donovan – Chair
- Stephen Costello – Vice Chair
- Neil Gaynor – Secretary
- Bob Kosar – Member
- Vacant – Member
Outreach Committee
- Todd Burrer – Chair
- Paul E. Lock – Vice Chair
- Rachel Powers – Secretary
- Christina Quintero – Member
- Connie Pothier – Member