Flood warning toolset for the Sabinal River near Utopia, Texas

First posted February 28, 2023 For additional information, contact: Director, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center U.S. Geological Survey 1505 Ferguson Lane Austin, TX 78754–4501 Contact Pubs Warehouse Floods are one of the most frequent and expensive natural disasters that occur across United States. Rapid, high-water events in local areas––flash floods––are especially difficult for emergency managers to predict provide advance warning public, insufficient data can hamper postflood recovery efforts. Central Texas is hilly, it known as a “flash flood alley” because its high-intensity rains, shallow soils, steep terrain, all which combined result loss life property damage. example, flash event during July 2002 claimed 12 lives central Texas, including 1 town Utopia, on east bank Sabinal River flash-flood-prone area along Balcones Escarpment. During event, peak discharge recorded 5, 2002, at (USGS) streamgage 08198000 near Sabinal, Tex. (hereinafter referred “Sabinal gage”), was 108,000 cubic feet per second (corresponding stream stage [also called gage height] 33.74 feet). To put into context, typical year median daily only about 23 second. In 2021, USGS, cooperation with Bandera County Authority Groundwater District Development Board, developed toolset Utopia. This study builds earlier USGS work Medina County. The newly consists installed collect continuous (streamgage 08197970 Tex.; hereinafter “Utopia gage”) 13 miles upstream from gage, hydraulic model an online library digital flood-inundation maps referenced Utopia gage.