Needed remapping for Burnet County

BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - Burnet County, in conjunction with FEMA , is remapping its floodplain.

The current floodplain maps are from the early 1990s. Herb Darling with Burnet County Environmental Services said the area has changed a lot in 20 years.

“We’ve had a lot of development, a lot of new subdivisions, a lot of growth,” said Herb Darling, Director of Burnet County Environmental Services. “It’s tough. We have a hard time actually pinpointing properties on the old maps."

Burnet County borders five of the Highland Lakes and is one of the most flood prone areas in the state.

“Everybody wants to live near the water,” said Darling. “We hear the term quite often that this is a constant level lake. Well, it is until it floods. There’s no such thing as a constant level lake.”

The plan is to integrate the new floodplain maps with aerial pictures, road maps and low-water crossing data into a computer database. Darling said this will provide more complete information for residents about where they live so they can be prepared when flooding occurs.

The floodplain maps are not finalized yet. Other counties, like Llano, are also going through the remapping process. Llano County resident Tyrone Powers said while some residents are unhappy with the changes, he is not. The floodplain dropped six feet on his property.

“FEMA has gotten better equipment,” said Tyrone Powers. “Surveyors have done a lot better job than they did in 1991. So, I think there’s a lot of people happy and some people unhappy with it.”

There is an appeals process for the new maps through FEMA. Darling said he hopes the process will wrap up in the next six months.