TWDB / LRGVDC FIF

Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties, Texas

RATES is partnering with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council (LRGVDC) to implement this Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) Category 1 project. A regional coordination and science-driven decision-making network in which data from both new and existing data sources will be coupled with H & H models. Models will be developed which incorporate data from T 40 new Real-Time Hydrologic Stations (RTHS) across the region’s major drainage network, which are being commissioned as part of the project. Decision-making tools will include early flood warning alerts based on data from strategically placed sites in flood-prone areas, local H & H model forecasts which incorporate RTHS data for improved regional accuracy over existing forecasts such as the National Water Model (which is known to be deficient in regions such as the LRGV), and modeling tools which will aid in the planning of structural and non-structural controls for flood mitigation efforts for regional (Tier 1: HUC-8), Sub-regional (Tier 2: HUC-10), Urban (Tier 3) and Project-Specific (Tier 4) initiatives. The cyberinfrastructure and tools are to be developed for each of these tiers such that they can be utilized not only for this project, but in complementary FIF projects of all categories.