Project Description and Statement of Public Benefit: Towns and communities within the sixth district of Texas are at continued risk of both floods and droughts.  Flooding can result in loss of life, damaged and destroyed infrastructure, and severe economic losses.  Although flooding cannot always be prevented, the development of accurate and robust flood flow models, combined with Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS), high-water safety awareness education components, and flood management planning can help meet the overarching goal of reducing flood-related risk.  In addition, as the State of Texas grapples with increasing water shortages due to drought conditions and a growing population, it must adopt an integrated approach that combines scientific insight and engineering solutions with public education initiatives and strategic management plans not only to mitigate high-water risks but also consider the potential of flood flows as water sources to bolster dwindling water supplies.

Working with county governments within and adjacent to the District, Texas A&M Blackland Research and Extension Center (BREC), a part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, proposes to develop an Integrated Decision Support System to support Water Security (IDSS-WS) to help local communities design land and water management strategies that will make it possible to make use of excess water during flooding events to recharge groundwater and surface water storage resources so that this water is then available later to mitigate droughts.  These decision tools will make it possible to help mitigate harm from flooding while at the same time mitigating future droughts. 

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