An $8.1 million rehabilitation of the Plum Creek Watershed dam on Goforth Road in Kyle is finished four years after construction began to retrofit the once earthen structure.
Hays County and the Plum Creek Conservation District (PCCD) officials unveiled the finished project to the public during a Sept. 28 ribbon cutting ceremony.
The dam, which is now made of concrete, has been brought up to standards set for high-hazard areas and is one of several Central Texas sites undergoing construction. The project was financed by a combination of the federal and state government and the conservation district.
Johnie Haliburton, executive manager of the PCCD, said the organization had to apply for federal and state dollars, which made up the majority of the project’s funding. The PCCD only funded 1.75 percent of the total.
“It has been upgraded to meet state safety standards, so it’s made not to ever breach,” Haliburton said. “We’re planning for the future.”
The dam at Plum Creek Site 6 reservoir is one of 28 within the Plum Creek Watershed designed to prevent roads and neighborhoods near waterways from flooding. It’s the second site on Plum Creek to meet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality safety criteria for flood control standards since plans began in 2009.
The dam’s previous structure was natural grass and dirt with a flattened top that stood between the reservoir and the neighborhood on the other side of the road. The reconstructed dam is now a massive concrete labyrinth estimated to stand at least 100 years.
County Commissioner Mark Jones said the new dam structure is built to withstand rainfall and flooding worse than Hays County has ever seen, unlike the previous structure that was predicted to break when construction started.
“When we were about a month into the project we estimated we would get 10-15 inches of water coming,” Jones said. “That would’ve broken the old dam. I remember, we gave 700 evacuation notices in that area. Luckily, we only got 9 to 10 inches that time. We can’t imagine an instance too much for this dam.”
The PCCD plans to rehabilitate four more local dam sites within the decade between Hays and Caldwell counties. The next two Hays County dams to be upgraded in coming years are at Site 10 and 12 near FM 2001.
