STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Sustainable
AGENDA DATE: June 25, 2025
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): 7
DEPARTMENT: Dallas Water Utilities Department
EXECUTIVE: Dev Rastogi
______________________________________________________________________
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize the total city direct cost, on a 50 percent cost share with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform an accelerated levee system evaluation of a federally authorized levee for the National Flood Insurance Program established under Chapter 1 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011-4033) - Not to exceed $848,222.70 - Financing: Storm Drainage Management Capital Construction Fund
Body
BACKGROUND
The City of Dallas is the owner and operator of the Dallas Levee System extending from the Elm and West Forks of the Trinity River through the main stem and terminating at Interstate Highway 20. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the City of Dallas play key roles in levee accreditation. An accredited levee system is a system in which FEMA has mapped the levee system on a Flood Insurance Rate Map as reducing the “base flood hazard” (i.e., providing less than 1-percent annual probability of inundation of the leveed area) for the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA uses the levee accreditation process to determine if an area is considered a Special Flood Hazard Area for NFIP purposes.
The City of Dallas, as the local sponsor, is responsible for the long-term operation, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and evaluation of any developments within 150 feet of the levee system. The City of Dallas is responsible for providing the necessary documentation and data, certified by a licensed professional engineer, to FEMA to demonstrate that the levee system meets the NFIP's requirements. The USACE is responsible for inspecting and rating levee systems. They also play a role in the levee safety program, working with local sponsors to manage flood risks, and ensure levee safety. FEMA administers the NFIP and is responsible for identifying flood hazards, including those impacted by levee systems.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, Section 3014(b) of Levee Certifications, as amended, provides authority for the USACE to accelerate a levee system evaluation to provide a levee accreditation recommendation for purposes of mapping for the NFIP. The City of Dallas requests such Risk Assessment and NFIP accreditation from the USACE for the following Dallas Floodway Levees: East Levee, West Levee, and Central Wastewater Treatment Plant levee systems located in Dallas, Texas, to support this effort. This effort is coordinated with FEMA and in support of Dallas residents and businesses currently afforded “levee protection” status in existing FEMA mapping.
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT
Begin Services August 2025
Complete Services August 2027
PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
This item has no prior action.
FISCAL INFORMATION
|
Fund |
FY 2025 |
FY 2026 |
Future Years |
|
Storm Drainage Management Capital Construction Fund |
$848,222.70 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
MAP
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