The Texas General Land Office last week approved more than $28 million to improve flood mitigation infrastructure throughout Bastrop County.
The GLO announced the grant awards Friday morning to fund street and drainage improvements in the cities of Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville.
These flood mitigation projects are designed to “directly benefit thousands of residents in majority low-to-moderate income areas” where repetitive storm damage has occurred, including in 2017 as a result of Hurricane Harvey, the General Land Office said.
“Texas has led the nation in disaster declarations, and Bastrop County has had more than its fair share of repetitive flooding and destructive wildfires,” Land Commissioner George P. Bush said in a statement Friday. “Many of the areas hit hardest by natural disasters have never had access to funding for critical infrastructure projects to mitigate flooding and protect residents.
As the 10-year anniversary of the Bastrop County Complex Fire approaches this fall, the county’s long term recovery team has announced its plans to memorialize the fire and the lingering effects of it, both positive and negative.
Sheila Lowe, the executive director of the Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Team, told the Bastrop County Commissioners Court on Monday that programming will include community events, a golf tournament and a special magazine highlighting the stories of heroes and survivors from the fire.
“Because (the) Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Team was born out of that historic event, we thought that it’d be only fitting that we lead in the commemoration of it,” Lowe told the court.