Texas Border Business
Weslaco, Texas – At a meeting of the Texas Water Development Board held Thursday, Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David L. Fuentes was designated to serve on the initial regional flood planning group for Region 15, which includes Hidalgo County. Fuentes was nominated for the designation by the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 Board of Directors on June 23, 2020, and becomes one of twelve voting members, each representing one of twelve interest categories that will guide the direction of the regional flood planning process.
In April 2020, the Board designated the Flood Planning Region boundaries that created 15 Flood Planning Regions in Texas, required to implement the flood planning requirements of Senate Bill 8. The Texas Water Code requires the Regional Flood Planning Groups to deliver regional flood plans to the Board on January 10, 2023 and every five years thereafter.
The Board sought interested applicants who played a public active leadership role in regional flood planning in their area of expertise, and accepted nominations from across the state to represent the various interests of each region. According to the Texas Water Development Board, the ideal candidates “should have experience in and a continued strong interest in working cooperatively on public issues; be committed to and possess expertise in flood risk-related issues; be strongly affiliated with and endorsed by the interest category for which they are nominated, and be capable of playing a leadership role in a regional flood planning group.” Fuentes was designated as the representative for the Flood Districts interest category for Region 15 – Lower Rio Grande.
“By the nature of the geographical area I represent and having been thrust into taking on a key leadership role after several devastating flood events that severely impacted our area, I quickly became extremely knowledgeable about the need to advocate for resources to improve infrastructure to mitigate flood control issues,” said Fuentes.
“I am honored to be among the initial representatives designated to tackle these issues from a regional perspective, and I look forward to developing and implementing strategies to assess and manage our local flood risk,” Fuentes added.
For more information regarding the Initial Regional Flood Planning Groups, please visit https://www.twdb.texas.gov/board/2020/10/Board/Brd04.pdf
