When it rains here, West Texans brace for the worst. With nowhere to go, water collects across sidewalks, roads and highways — the flat, desert landscape becomes a wetland in the blink of an eye.
Local officials in Ector County, which includes Odessa, said the region’s drainage system is out of date. But paying for upgrades will be a tremendous challenge.
Population, housing and commercial development have spiked, and the infrastructure has not kept up. Its drainage system, installed in the 1970s, is not equipped to handle the growth, county officials said.
Knowing this, county commissioners approved a plan last week to update its drains and alleviate flooding. To start the process, the county is hiring an engineering firm to scope the city. The study will cost them $1.5 million. That doesn’t include the cost of construction and labor. The county will work with Odessa as part of the overhaul.
Flooding in Texas and across the U.S. is becoming increasingly common. Every Texas county has declared a flood disaster at least once, according to the Texas Water Development Board. At least nine, from 1980-2024, have cost the state billions of dollars to remediate the consequences of flooding.
Despite a call from the state’s first-ever flood plan to emphasize preparing for a flood, it can be hard to secure funding ahead of a disaster. At least two federal programs intended to help with disaster prevention were sunsetted under the Trump administration.
It is likely to fall to city and county governments to front the high costs—and hope to be reimbursed eventually through state grants or other remaining federal programs.
“To be frank with you, we can’t afford to do this on our own,” said Jeff Avery, the county’s public works director. “We don’t have the money, so this plan is going to allow us to go out and get grants.”
Efforts to update the county’s drainage system began a year and a half ago, Avery said, when he started to receive calls from residents. The county had to first put out bids to engineering firms that could assist the county in designing a plan. Once the blueprint is complete, the county will have an estimate of the cost to update the drains. County officials, Avery said, can use that plan to apply for grants and reimbursements.
The goal is to create retention ponds, which reduce flooding by holding large quantities of water runoff. The county has to figure out what areas are prone to flooding and where the water travels and build according to those findings. Determining that could take up to two years, Avery said. And several more years before the update is finished.
Planning for a natural disaster is a complicated endeavor, said Jaimie Masterson, director of Texas Target Communities at Texas A&M, which focuses on the challenges rural towns face.
County-level emergency managers and public works officials don’t have the authority to compel a city or county to account for flood mitigation measures. This leaves towns unprepared to take the brunt of a natural disaster, leading to widespread devastation. Compounding the problem are jurisdictional disagreements between cities and counties over how to develop or expand domestic and commercial infrastructure.
And if a county government wants to be proactive, it can expect complicated bureaucratic and reporting requirements from applying for grants that match its expenses to receiving them, Masterson said.
It is more common to secure funds after a disaster than to prepare for one.
“There’s just more available to assist communities with their facilities and infrastructure if they’re impacted,” Masterson said.
Still, Masterson said the state has made strides. Local governments now have to join regional flood planning groups within the Texas Water Development Board, which serves as additional support. And the Texas General Land Office, she added, is encouraging local governments to apply for hazard mitigation programs to help pay for disaster planning.
A Texas Tribune analysis found that as of last year, more than 100 Texas counties lack a hazard mitigation plan. Hazard mitigation includes flooding.
Eligible counties can get between $20,000 and $100,000, and the deadline to apply is December 2025.
Residents welcomed the West Texas county’s plan. Julia Cole, a resident of West Odessa, said the roads in her neighborhood flood several times a year. She said she is “constantly anxious” about finding a way home when it rains.
“There are no clear options … once water starts collecting on the roads,” Cole said. “The flooding cuts off access in every direction, and once you’re in it, there is often no safe option except to push through and hope you make it.”
Disclosure: Texas General Land Office has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Texas Flood