College Station Flooding: Causes, Risks, and Mitigation Strategies
College Station and the neighboring city of Bryan, Texas, share similar geographical and climatic vulnerabilities that make them prone to flooding. This article examines the causes of flooding in College Station, the risks associated with it, and the mitigation strategies available to residents and the city.
Factors Contributing to Flooding
Bryan, similar to other cities located in the eastern part of Texas, presents a confluence of factors that contribute to flooding:
- Terrain: The mostly flat terrain and some rolling hills of the region do not naturally facilitate rapid water runoff.
- Urban Impervious Cover: Significant amounts of urban impervious cover (concrete, asphalt, and homes) prevent water from being absorbed into the ground, increasing surface runoff.
- Slow-Absorbing Soil: The soil in the area tends to absorb water slowly, further exacerbating runoff issues.
- Heavy Rainfall: The potential for heavy rainfall from thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes can overwhelm drainage systems.
Due to its humid-subtropical climate and general proximity to the Texas coast, Bryan is susceptible to large amounts of rainfall that are often too great for its infrastructure and creeks to handle. The city’s streets and thoroughfares drain into the following creek systems: Carters, Burton, Briar, Hudson, Thompson, Still, Cottonwood Branch and Turkey.
Risks and Impacts of Flooding
Future flooding in the Bryan area will undoubtedly occur. Predicting when and where the next flood will take place is virtually impossible. Even though your property may not be located in the floodplain, it is still possible your property may incur damage caused by flooding.
Flooding poses several risks to residents and property owners:
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- Property Damage: Floodwaters can cause extensive damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.
- Health Hazards: Floodwaters can contain contaminants, leading to health risks.
- Displacement: Severe flooding can force residents to evacuate their homes.
- Financial Burden: Repairing flood damage can be costly, and flood insurance may be necessary.
One specific example highlights the real concerns of residents. A proposed sewer line project in College Station, with a line running through Rosemary Drive, has raised concerns among Vine Street residents. These residents fear that shifting the line to Pin Oak Creek, which already experiences flooding due to an existing Bryan sewer line, would worsen their situation. Carl Aberth, a resident, believes that adding a pipeline and developing the ground near the creek would cause more blockage and increased runoff, exacerbating flooding issues. James Mulvey, another resident, fears for his family and worries that if College Station chooses the creek option, his home might be at risk in the future.
Mitigation Strategies
The City of Bryan and College Station have implemented several strategies to mitigate flood risks:
- Floodplain Management Ordinance: The City of Bryan’s Floodplain Management Ordinance requires all new or substantially improved properties to elevate the lowest finished floor to a minimum of one foot above the 100-year floodplain. Floodproofing also is an acceptable structural method for protecting a non-residential structure from flooding.
- Development Permits: All development within the floodplain is required, by city ordinance, to have development permits. Substantially damaged or improved structures require special permits and documents. If any proposed grading or improvements involve property in the floodway, a hydraulic flood study prepared by an engineer licensed in the State of Texas is required.
- Flood Mitigation Plan: On April 10, 2007, the City of Bryan adopted a Flood Mitigation Plan to create a strategy for implementing flood mitigation measures for the community. Each year a progress report is prepared as part of the city’s Community Rating System annual recertification process and copies of the progress report are provided to the Bryan City Council and made available to the news media and the public. The plan identified several items for floodplain planning that the city has worked on implementing.
- Drainage System Maintenance: The City has a storm sewer and maintenance program. As a citizen, you can assist by keeping the banks of ditches, streams and creeks clear of brush and debris, and not allowing grass clippings, oil or other contaminants in storm sewer inlets.
- Flood Insurance: Homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage; however, flood insurance backed by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is unconditionally available to all residents in Bryan. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has introduced a new flood insurance rating option for the NFIP to help reduce the financial burden placed on property owners whose buildings are newly mapped into a high-risk flood area. Flood insurance can be purchased from the NFIP or through your local insurance agent.
Understanding Floodplains and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)
A floodplain is typically a lowland area adjoining a watercourse. At a minimum, the area is subject to a 1% or greater chance of flooding in a given year. Floodplains are natural features that serve to detain the stormwater from invading urbanized areas caused by overwhelmed drainage systems. Keeping the floodplains clear of adverse encroachments can help retain their beneficial functions.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has mapped the floodplains of most of the major channels in Bryan. These floodplains are shown on Federal Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) and are the basis for flood insurance rates. Citizens of Bryan, lenders, insurance agents and real estate offices can obtain flood information concerning flooding, flood maps, mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements, flood insurance requirements and inquiries and flood zone determinations; including location within floodway, historical flooding hazard area or local drainage problem areas. All determinations are made using the “FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Brazos County, Texas and Incorporated Areas” with an effective date of May 9, 2014. These maps are the basis of Special Flood Hazard Area information and designate Zone A and AE areas. In the Zone AE areas, we can also provide Base Flood Elevations as well as known floodway locations.
To access the FIRM map that covers your area, click on the link below. This will open an overall map of the FEMA grid area. Then click in the square your property is located within. This will bring up a more detailed map of the area surrounding your property.
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Elevation Certificates
Elevation Certificates are official documents prepared by Registered Professional Engineers licensed in the state of Texas or by licensed Professional Land Surveyors that provide specific elevation and flood zone information for structures located in the 100-year floodplain. Elevation certificates and development permits are on file and available at the City of Bryan Engineering Offices in the Municipal Building, 300 South Texas Avenue.
The Elevation Certificate is an important administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It is to be used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment or Revision (LOMA or LOMR-F). The Elevation Certificate is required in order to properly rate post-FIRM buildings, which are buildings constructed after publication of the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
Use of this certificate does not provide a waiver of the flood insurance purchase requirement. Only a LOMA or LOMR-F from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can amend the FIRM and remove the Federal mandate for a lending institution to require the purchase of flood insurance. However, the lending institution has the option of requiring flood insurance even if a LOMA/LOMR-F has been issued by FEMA. The Elevation Certificate may be used to support a LOMA or LOMR-F request. This certificate is used only to certify building elevations. A separate certificate is required for floodproofing.
These certificates are prepared by Engineers, Architects or Land Surveyors registered in our State.
Preparing for a Flood
In the event of a flood warning, take the following precautions:
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- Relocate your furniture and belongings to a higher elevation in your home, if time is sufficient.
- Place important documents in a dry location.
- Preserve as much water and non-perishable food as possible.
- Take your family and yourself to a safe location.
- Do not use electrical appliances that may have become wet.
- Do not walk through flowing water or drive through a flooded area. Ten inches of water on the roadway where water is flowing rapidly will carry away most cars and small trucks.
- Listen for information by tuning to local radio and TV stations. Also, be aware of the Emergency Alert System and familiarize yourself with different warning signals.
To protect property from future floods, permanent retrofitting structures, such as elevating foundations and floodproofing basements, should be considered.
Community Involvement and Responsibility
While the City does have a storm sewer and maintenance program, keeping all drainage systems clear at all times is almost impossible. As a citizen, you can assist by keeping the banks of ditches, streams and creeks clear of brush and debris, and not allowing grass clippings, oil or other contaminants in storm sewer inlets. Dumping of debris into ditches, streams or creeks is a major cause of local drainage problems, and is a violation of the Bryan Code of Ordinances.
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