Region 9 Upper Colorado Flood Planning Region

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is administering a new state and regional flood planning process with flood planning regions based on river basins. The initial regional flood planning groups were formed on Oct. 1, 2020; the first regional flood plans will be due in January 2023, amended regional plans were submitted in July 2023, and the first state flood plan will be due Sept. 1, 2024. The Upper Colorado Regional Flood Plan identifies existing and future flood risks, as wells strategies for flood mitigation and identification of areas for future study. The Upper Colorado Regional Flood Planning Group (RFPG) has unanimously approved the amended Region 9 Upper Colorado Regional Flood Plan. The TWDB will approve the final Upper Colorado Regional Flood Plan by December 2023 and will prepare the statewide flood plan by September 2024.

Quick links

Meeting agendas

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Word Viewer

Our goal is to create a Regional Flood Plan that represents all community needs, including tailored solutions to meet those needs that are unique from other areas of the state. For this process to be a success, please take a moment of your time to participate in this important data collection task by:

Making a public comment on Region 9 flooding

Visiting our interactive map to share your experiences with flooding in your area and help us identify flood risks in your community, such as low water crossings

Completing a short survey to let us know if you’ conducted any previous drainage or flood studies or know of any proposed/ongoing flood mitigation projects

Sharing any flood data or photos you have with the consultant team by emailing FloodRegion9@hdrinc.com.

region 9 map

The upper reaches of the Colorado River and its tributaries flow from the High Plains ecoregion near the Texas-New Mexico border towards the Edwards Plateau. The Upper Colorado and Concho rivers merge at O.H. Ivie Reservoir, which marks the border between the Upper Colorado (Region 9) and Lower Colorado-Lavaca (Region 10) Flood Planning regions. There are 15 major lakes and reservoirs in this region.

View the Texas Water Development Board site.

Population estimate (2019): 629,788

Approximate area: 21,254 square miles

Approximate stream miles: 8,044

Approximate NFIP claims (1975-2019): $5,860,005

Counties represented

Andrews*
Borden*
Cochran
Coke
Coleman*
Concho*
Crockett*
Dawson*
Ector*
Gaines
Garza*
Glasscock
Hockley*
Howard
Irion
Lynn*
Martin
Menard*
Midland*
Mitchell*
Nolan*
Reagan*
Runnels*
Schleicher*
Scurry*
Sterling
Taylor*
Terry*
Tom Green
Upton*
Winkler*
Yoakum

*Indicates this county is partially within this RFPG and represented by at least one other RFPG

Major cities (population greater than 25,000)

Big Spring
Midland
Odessa
San Angelo
West Odessa

Major lakes & reservoirs

Champion Creek Reservoir
E V Spence Reservoir
Lake Ballinger/Lake Moonen
Lake Colorado City
Lake J B Thomas
Lake Nasworthy
Lake Winters / New Lake Winters
Mitchell County Reservoir
Natural Dam Lake
O C Fisher Lake
O H Ivie Reservoir
Oak Creek Reservoir
Red Draw Reservoir
Sulphur Springs Draw Storage Reservoir
Twin Buttes Reservoir

Ecoregions of Texas represented

Edwards Plateau
High Plains
Rolling Plains
Trans-Pecos

Board members

Voting members
- Kenneth Dierschke, Agricultural Interests, Dierschke Farms
- Rick Bacon (At-large), Counties, Tom Green County
- Vacant, Electric Generating Utilities
- Shannon McMillan (At-large), Environmental Interests, Air Force Civil Engineer Center
- Vacant, Flood Districts
- Morse Haynes, Industries, Andrews Economic Development Corporation
- Russell Pehl, Municipalities, Texas Department of Transportation
- David Loyd, Public, Retired Physics Prof. and Dean, Angelo State University
- Scott McWilliams (Secretary), River Authorities, Upper Colorado River Authority
- Chuck Brown (Vice-chairman), Small Business, Hydro Corporation
- Allison Strube (Chairwoman), Water Districts, Colorado River Municipal Water District
- Shane Kelton, Water Utilities, City of San Angelo
Non-voting members
- John McEachern, Natural Resources Specialist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Natalie Davis, Hazard Mitigation Planner, Texas Division of Emergency Management
- Larissa Place, Field Representative, Texas Department of Agriculture
- Ben Wilde, Field Representative, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
- Jet Hays, Deputy Director, General Land Office
- Sarah Magana, Regional Flood Planner, Texas Water Development Board
- Winona Henry, Regional Director - Abilene, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Ann Yakimovicz, Region 10 Liaison, Lower Colorado River Authority