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San Marcos Floodplain Management Plan: A Sustainable Future for Floodplain Management Application for Flood Protection Study Grant The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority will provide in-kind technical assistance in the form of planning, development and review of alternatives, and special teclmical assistance in flood forecasting, for an amount up to $5,000. The Upper San Marcos Watershed District will provide in-kind technical assistance and coordination with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in the form of planning, development and review of alternatives, and special technical assistance in brush management strategies. 12. Detailed description of why proposed planning is needed. The City of San Marcos is a rapidly growing community in central Texas, located along the Interstate Highway (llI-35) corridor between San Antonio and Austin. The San Marcos and Blanco Rivers and their respective creeks and tributaries run through the city, providing a source of drinking water, recreational opportunities, and miles of unique riparian corridor habitat. Nestled against the Brocones Escarpment, San. Marcos also lies in a region known as "Flash Flood Alley". This area of Central Texas is prone to intense rainfall events that have been known to deposit enormous volumes of water in relatively short timeframes. Coupled with steep-gradient topography and hard surface geology, runoff from intense storms frequently causes :flash floods. These flooding problems are further exacerbated by urbanization. While flash flooding can be simply a nuisance in some smaller storms, within the last six years, the San. Marcos area has been hit with four major storm and flood events, resulting in loss of life and extensive damage to property and infrastructure. The City of San Marcos is resolved to undertake a comprehensive view of its flooding risk, and implement a series of solutions that provide the most effective and sustainable approach to mitigating this risk to public health and safety. The City has acted toward this end already by: 1) Participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFlP) and through voluntary efforts, bas achieved a CRS rating of 8, which enables a 10% reduction in premiums to the community; 2) Adopting ordinances and design criteria for effective flood management for new and re~ development; and 3) Completing a comprehensive drainage master plan in 1994 of secondary drainage systems (e. g. tributary drainage systems to primary drainage ways such as Sink Creek, Blanco River, San Marcos River, Cottonwood Creek, Willow Springs Creek, Purgatory Creek and Bypass Creek). In addition, the City enforces its floodplain ordinance, which requires stormwater detention of new development, and has invested millions of dollars in maintaining and updating its stormwater infrastmcture. Yet the City recognizes that in order to build a flood protection program that meets the dynamic needs of a growing city, a comprehensive, sustainable floodplain management plan is required that also includes consideration of its receiving streams: Sink Creek, Blanco River, San Marcos River, M:lactive\04POI2 San Marcos M.D.PIGrant Applic-SMa.docExhibit A, Page 7 December 16, 2004