Flooding feedback needed from residents, organizations across West Texas

EL PASO If you live in West Texas and have experienced flooding at your home or business, the Upper Rio Grande Regional Flood Planning Group wants to hear from you.

As part of the Texas Water Development Board’s statewide flood planning process, the Rio Grande Council of Governments has sponsored the URGRFPG to ensure West Texans from across the 23-county area have a voice in helping the state prioritize flood control projects. The ongoing Upper Rio Grande (Region 14) Flood Plan is identifying and evaluating projects to mitigate flooding for people, property, and businesses across the region.

“The URGRFPG brings together technical experts from across the state and across the region to help leaders strategically plan investments in flood control infrastructure,” URGRFPG Chairman Omar L. Martinez of the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 said in a news release. “Since the planning area is larger than the state of Indiana, public input from across the region is critically important to ensure local issues from El Paso to Sonora and from Presidio to Kermit are addressed.”

Participating in the planning process helps ensure that flood mitigation projects, strategies and priorities are represented in the Upper Rio Grande Regional Flood Plan and ultimately, the 2023 State Flood Plan. Going forward, only the projects listed in the 2023 State Flood Plan will be eligible for funding support through TWDB’s Flood Infrastructure Fund.

Here’s How You Can Get Involved:

  • Attend Regional Flood Planning Group meetings and subcommittee meetings in-person or online.
  • Complete this online survey at tinyurl.com/k7n9d8ud to provide feedback for your community or for flooding impacts to your home or business. The survey is also available in Spanish.
  • Review the online data collector and submit observations for flood prone areas in your community and other information at tinyurl.com/f4djp2zf.
  • Attend one of three open house public meetings which will be held in El Paso, Presidio and Pecos later this year and in early 2022.  When those meetings are scheduled, they’ll be posted here, tinyurl.com/f4djp2zf.