Commissioners approve $1.25M MSA to develop county flood early-warning plan

The court approved a master services agreement (MSA) with a waterway-engineering firm for up to $1,250,000 to develop a countywide flood early-warning plan funded through Senate Bill 3 flood-impacted county allocations.

Bruce Clements, chief of the Office of Emergency Management, said the contract covers three phases: technical review of flood mapping and modeling to identify high flash-flood risk areas and where sirens make sense; a plan to be returned to the court by the end of November; and up to eight months to complete procurement and installation work once the plan is approved. The county will build on existing flood gauges and integrate siren placement, he said.

Clements said 20 of 30 impacted counties are partnering under an approved interlocal agreement and that the county may separately procure other devices if it chooses to deviate from the multi-county plan. The court approved the MSA by motion (5-0).