Flood Research

In 2019, the 86th Texas Legislature appropriated funding to the TWDB to support a variety of flood-related efforts, including research on topics of priority regarding flood. The TWDB subsequently initiated the Flood Priority Research Program and formed a TWDB Flood Priority Research Steering Committee, made up of TWDB staff, to develop research initiatives and oversee the program.

In the 2024 - 2025 biennium, $700,000 was allotted for flood priority research projects. The linked project listed below has been initiated, while the others remain under development.

• Application of Artificial Intelligence in Flood Risk Assessment and Mitigation in the State of Texas
• Guidance on Asset Management of Community Stormwater Systems
• Flood Easements for Water Surface Elevation Impacts

During the 2022 - 2023 biennium, $700,000 was made available to support flood priority research, and five topics were chosen for funding:

• Effective Flood Awareness Communication
• Infrastructure Assessment Methodologies
• Model for Calculating Agricultural Flood Loss
• Nature-based Solutions for Flood Mitigation in Texas
• Developing Future Rainfall Frequency Grids

In the program's first biennium (Fiscal Years 2020 - 2021), $600,000 was allocated to pursue four flood priority research projects:

• Creating a Flood Resource Guide for Flood Officials and Communities
• Creating a Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) Guidance Document for communities
• Assessing the Causes and Predictability of Extreme High Rainfall and Linkages to Flooding in Texas
• Updating the Texas Statewide Highwater Marks Inventory

All project completion dates are estimates and are subject to change. Reports or other products developed by contractors may not be immediately available upon project completion as the TWDB may consider further modifications prior to public release.

Note that funding for some projects is augmented by sources other than Flood Priority Research funding, and occasionally flood research projects are developed exclusively using other funding sources. Click on project names for more information.

For questions on Flood Priority Research work or specific projects, please send an email to floodpriorityresearch@twdb.texas.gov.

Non-Flood Priority Research Funded Projects

Below is a list of projects funded outside of the Flood Priority Research program that are also overseen by the Flood Priority Research steering committee. Click on the project name for more information.

• Statewide Building Footprint Dataset Enhancement- Pilot Area
• Approximate Bridge Modeling Automation
• Alternative Flood Early Warning System Guide
• Compound Flooding
• Year 2060 Floodplain Maps for Texas
• Benefit Cost Analysis Guidance Document
• Texas Flood Social Vulnerability Index (TX F-SVI) Research Project