| Onion Creek Floodplain Buyout Program
Austin's creeks are picturesque, but become dangerous when they flood. Onion Creek, above, is no exception.
The City of Austin is buying out homes in the 25-year floodplain of Onion Creek. These homes are being purchased to reduce the risk to lives from flooding. It will also help control the costs of flooding and flood damage. Ultimately, the land will be turned into a park. HDR Engineering has been hired by the City of Austin to handle the real estate transactions on this project.
Current Status: As of December 2008, the City of Austin has bought 223 properties in the Onion Creek Forest, Onion Creek Plantation and Yarrabee Bend neighborhoods, and plans to purchase about 70 more by February 2010 in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Public Meetings: HDR Engineering met with residents in January 2009.
Contact Information: Project Manager, Elaine Verver, HDR Engineering, (512) 453-5501
You may also contact Melinda Ruby, (512) 530-6634, and Roxanne Cook, (512) 974-3382, with the City of Austin.
Buyout Schedule: The City of Austin and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has created 6 different priority areas. They are shown on this priority map. Those in areas 1 and 2 can expect to be contacted in 2009.
Future Park: The proposed park at Yarrabee Bend on Onion Creek would be a large regional park of approximately 100 acres. Preliminary plans call for a full range of park and recreational facilities, such as picnic facilities, playscape, sport courts (basketball, tennis, etc.), multi-use fields (softball, soccer, etc.), and natural areas. The park would have trails running throughout and would connect to other trails along the Onion Creek Greenbelt system. Final plans will be developed with further public input.
Background: There was extensive flooding in these neighborhoods in 1998 and 2001, and they all had to be evacuated. Fortunately, no lives were lost. Because of the extensive flood damage and the risk of future flooding, the City of Austin began a program to buy out homes in the floodplain. Funding for the first phase was secured from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The City is currently using local bond funding and is expecting to receive federal funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in future years to complete the program.
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