Staff of the Lower Brushy Creek WCID recently completed a re-fresh of more than 120 easements related to the 23 dams in eastern Williamson and Milam counties that it oversees.
“This increases transparency and will help alert potential that there are flood control easements on the property,” said James Clarno, the district’s general manager.
The year-long project included researching property records for the easements, many of which were filed more than 50 years ago.
“This wasn’t always easy,” Clarno said. “We were able to clean up a lot of incomplete records, which will save a lot of time and trouble as the east part of this county grows.”
The district’s clerk, Sue Lilly, conducted the research, and obtained copies of the original documents while Jamie Kaatz, of Hejl & Schroeder, prepared and filed the legal notices.
The project was initiated by the Texas Association of Watershed Sponsors in April of 2024 and modeled after a program from the San Antonio River Authority. It was supported by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board who developed a Flood Control Easement Notification Area map to compliment the work.
Clarno noted that the work was completed just prior to National Dam Safety Awareness Day which is held annually on May 31st to commemorate the 1889 South Fork Dam failure near Johnstown, PA, the deadliest dam related disaster in US history.
That catastrophic failure killed 2,209 people and caused $17 million in damage (about $500 million in 2020 dollars). Over time, this led to the creation of federal programs designed to prevent similar disasters in rural America, including the National Resource Conservation Service under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Jamie Kaatz, of Hejl & Schroeder, Ed Komondasky, WCID board president, Sue Lilly, WCID district clerk, and James Clarno, WCID general manager, after Komondasky executed more than 120 easement refresh notices.