The City of Arlington is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
This FEMA-funded grant is administered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management. The grant project includes the purchase and demolition of six homes located within the Sublett Creek floodplain, which is a tributary of Rush Creek and the Johnson Creek floodplain. Acquisition of these homes will remove floodprone structures from the floodway and floodplain, thereby eliminating future damages and health and safety risks for those homeowners.
This includes eliminating the need to provide emergency response services, subsidized flood insurance, and future federal disaster assistance. The acquisitions will also bring cost savings to the National flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through reduced flood insurance claims. Once the homes are demolished the property will be converted to permanent green space, restoring the natural function of the floodplain.
The total project amount is $1,172,142 with 75 percent grant funding in the amount of $879,107 and 25 percent City funding in the amount of $293,036. Funding of the City's share is through the Stormwater Utility Fund.
The City of Arlington participates in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System (CRS) Program. The CRS program provides flood insurance discounts to property owners within a community based on the City's floodplain management efforts. Flood insurance policy holders within the City of Arlington currently receive a 15 percent discount on their policies. Flood mitigation buyouts such as the ones included in the HMGP grant enhance the City's CRS score which increases the potential for larger discounts.
Flood mitigation buyouts are one tool that the City uses to enhance flood protection and public safety related to floods. Some of the other tools the City uses include:
- Constructing Drainage improvement projects to increase system capacity and efficiency,
- Ensuring development within the floodplain areas is appropriate and floodplain development rules are met,
- Routinely inspecting and maintaining storm drain facilities to ensure that they are functioning properly, and
- Studying and modeling the City's watersheds to identify flood risk areas and solutions to the risks.
These tasks are performed by the City's Stormwater Management Division of the Public Works and Transportation Department. For more information about what the Stormwater Management Division does, please visit its website at http://www.arlington-tx.gov/stormwater/.
Stormwater
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