North Acres Storm Drain Improvements

This project will help protect the North Acres neighborhood from flooding.

Overview

The type of flooding occurring in North Acres in known as local flooding. It generally occurs away from creeks. It occurs when the drainage system of pipes and ditches is overwhelmed by heavy rainfall. In North Acres, the neighborhood’s storm drain system is very limited. Stormwater is conveyed to the creek mostly through the streets. However, due to the way the neighborhood slopes, a lot of stormwater also flows from yard to yard. The water may pass through several yards before it reaches a street.

Our project will help reduce flooding that is coming from the streets. We are planning to tackle this project in two phases. First, we will restore the street gutters where feasible. Then we will install underground storm drain pipes.

Phase 1: Curb and Gutter Restoration

The first phase included restoring curb and gutter, where feasible, to improve drainage. Phase 1 was completed in the spring of 2022. We selected streets where no significant construction is planned as part of Phase 2. We’ll restore the curb and gutter on the rest of the streets as part of Phase 2.

Phase 2: Storm Drain Improvements

Phase 2 includes the installation of storm drain pipes and inlets. We will also restore the pavement, including curb and gutter, wherever we install storm drains. We are incorporating Austin Water's Newport Ave. Pipeline Renewal project into this project, so both will be constructed at the same time. This will save money as well as reducing the construction impacts for the community of two back to back projects.

Project Map

Ponds

There are three ponds in the North Acres neighborhood. These ponds are on privately-owned land and were not built for drainage purposes. The project will not include improvements to these ponds. Two of the ponds typically hold water. You may not be familiar with the third pond because it looks like part of the creek bed. It does hold some floodwaters, but is too small to provide significant flood benefit. Please also note that the City of Austin does not have the responsibility for the maintenance of these ponds. Resources for pond owners can be found on our Field Operations web page.

Springs

Residents have told us about the presence of springs in the area. We identified multiple springs near Denell Circle and adjusted the proposed storm drain system to protect them.

Status

Our capital improvement projects take many years from start to finish. The process typically includes the following phases:

Preliminary Engineering – when a solution is identified and costs are estimated.
Design – when the details are worked out and construction plans drawn up.
Bidding and Permitting – when a contractor is hired and all permits are acquired.
Construction – when the project is built.

Phase 2 is currently in the design phase. We anticipate submitting the plans for permitting in mid-2025. Construction is dependent upon the availability of funding.

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