Marble Falls Town Hall meeting to probe October flood response

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

From water and infrastructure provisions to public health and safety response, an upcoming Marble Falls Town Hall Meeting will examine the municipality's response and community's recovery in the wake of the October flood event.

The Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for 6 pm. on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the Marble Falls Public Safety Facility (police station/municipal court building), 606 Avenue N in Marble Falls.

“We'll discuss the incident, the response and the recovery,” Assistant City Manager Caleb Kraenzel said. “How did the city do? What feedback? How we can do better?”

On Oct. 16, flood waters from the Llano River rushed into the Highland Lakes submerging lakeside homes and damaging private property as well as some public roadways and city infrastructure. Along with the city of Marble Falls, community's impacted by flood waters included Cottonwood Shores, Granite Shoals, Horseshoe Bay and Kingsland.

The event was also marked by temporary evacuations due to concerns about swift water, flooded low-water crossings and low-lying areas.

The city's water plant on Lake Marble Falls sustained damage to its raw water intake system. In the initial aftermath of the flood, residents were also placed on mandatory stage 5 water restrictions and a boil water notice as workers awaited parts for the city's flood-damaged water plant.

At the time Marble Falls city officials recommended limits on showering and washing dishes as crews repaired damage to the wastewater plant.

Lake Marble Falls and Backbone Creek suffered shoreline erosion; some of which prompted the Lower Colorado River Authority to move a set of transmission lines, 20 feet farther from the shoreline.

Currently, a number of residents are still dealing with damaged homes and debris cleanup.

In the midst of recovery, city crews are currently repairing or maintaining park structures and amenities and clearing debris, while a multi-million dollar planned parks upgrade has gotten underway.

During the upcoming town hall meeting, officials want to help residents discern the city's responsibilities from those of private property owners as well as gather input.

“We're just encouraging people to show up, expressing their opinion or listening to the dialogue,” Kraenzel said.