October 16, 2018      4:29 PM

Texas House members ready to tackle the cost of flood mitigation

“We’ve talked a lot about the budgetary issues – big ones – that we’re going to be facing over the next few bienniums …I think this is one that we’re going to have to add to the list. I’m not sure how much longer we can afford not to take action.”

The need for flood management in Texas goes without saying on a day like this, when Lake Travis in Central Texas is rising a foot every hour and the Kingsland bridge over the Llano River is collapsing under the weight of flood waters.

Chair Rep. Lyle Larson’s House Natural Resources Committee took up water legislation passed in the last session, including the state flood mitigation plan, which set the stage for up to $30 billion in proposed projects to alleviate flood risks.

The initial process to launch the plan – mapping the state for flood risks – is estimated to cost $604 million. House members like Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, didn’t balk at the price tag.

Ashby told his colleagues lawmakers needed to learn from recent history.

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright October 16, 2018, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved