New Territory & Telfair Raising Levees

Telfair’s LID 17 and New Territory’s LID 7 are working full steam ahead to raise their levees to levels recommended by a Fort Bend County Technical Review Committee before FEMA releases preliminary flood maps in early 2008 which are expected to show many areas of the county to be in the 100-year flood plain. Although the maps wouldn’t become effective for perhaps another two years and the area wouldn’t be classified to be in a 100-year flood plain until that time, the two communities are taking proactive measures to avoid potential complications.
LID 17 is concerned that home sales in Newland Communities’ Telfair development could be effected by even an unofficial, floodplain designation. “We are shooting to get the recertification package to FEMA before the preliminary maps are released,” said the engineer for LID 17. They are also working on the levees to raise them six inches in order to meet the recommendations of the technical review committee which said that local levees should be four feet above the 100-year flood level. The west levee borders New Territory and is shared with LID 7. The New Territory LID agreed to give LID 17 the necessary easement to raise the levee and LID17 is incurring the construction costs, said the attorney. “We agreed to work together to reduce construction hours and noise,” she said.
It should take about four months to complete the west levee project, said the engineer.
That levee between the two communities will become redundant and unnecessary once LID 7 raises and completes the New Territory levee and once LID 17 ties into it at the southwestern corner, said the LID 7 engineer. However, LID 17 is working on raising the internal levee anyway because the preliminary flood maps will be released before the New Territory LID is able to raise their levees and they don’t want it noted that Telfair is in a 100-year flood plain.
According to the technical review recommendations, New Territory’s LID 7 will have to raise their south (along the river) and west (from Cambridge Park to High Meadows) about four feet. There is no levee behind High Meadows and in order to complete a U-shape, as required by FEMA, LID 7 is proposing to build an eight foot concrete wall from the point where the levee ends to 90-A. They prefer this type of levee over a dirt one because limited right-of-way in that area due to a power line and road would make it more expensive to build.
There is also work to be done to US 90-A where the levee will end. LID 7 will need to raise the east bound side and median of US 90A to a level that will match or exceed the level of the west bound side. TxDOT will construct the improvements, but at the LID’s expense, said LID 7 engineer.
In order to raise the dirt levee four feet, LID 7 will have to acquire from the NTRCA a 2.1 mile stretch of right-of-way along the south levee, said the engineer. In the June board meeting, the NTRCA directed Community Manager Dwayne Lowry to determine fair market value for the land and propose a sales price to LID 7.
The LID 7 attorney said the district has enough bonds authorized to fund the project, estimated to cost $8 million, and that they probably won’t have to raise LID taxes to do so. The engineer estimates it will take 12 to 18 months to raise the levees, which will probably leave them enough time to get the preliminary FEMA maps recertified before the final maps become effective.
LID 7 will likely schedule a public meeting on the subject of the FEMA maps and raising the levees, said the LID 7 attorney.