BOERNE, Texas – Boerne is known by some people as being part of flash flood alley, said Jeff Carroll, director of development services for the City of Boerne.
“We get those big rain events. When that happens, we have a lot of water come down very quickly,” Carroll explains.
That’s why the city is taking steps to form a master drainage plan and has hired a consultant to collect data and come up with a list of projects to help fix the flooding issues.
The goal is to protect residents and homes, and keep major roads open for emergency vehicles during any major event.
“We have other areas that when we look at an actual 100 year, 1% chance flood event to happen, that we could potentially have some structures that might get water in them,” Carroll said.
A preliminary project list estimated there was about $5 million worth of improvements that the city needed. The city has grown quickly to about 20,000 residents, so the planning is just catching up with the need.
Now funds are available for to begin those repairs.
In 2019 city council approved a stormwater utility fee that will bring in about $600,000 a year.
“It’s not a lot, but it’s more than zero that we had dedicated now. So definitely we’ll be able to start trying to find some projects that we can do right away,” Carroll said. The fee took effect in January 2021. Those funds can only be used to fix roads related to drainage.
The contractor will have a list of projects by the end of the year. Carroll expects to have some projects done in about two to three years.