BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Steve Manning lives in Gatesville and is no stranger to floods, but he says this spring was different.
"The 1991 flood was bad, the 2015 flood was bad, but this one seemed worse to me — it seems like this one had a lot more power to it," he said.
Surrounded by a flooded creek and downed trees, Manning couldn't get out, and even lost access to his livestock — he wants a plan to prevent this from happening to us again.
"I'd like to see something so that we have better warnings that allow us to plan ahead, so our school buses aren't in the water, and people going to work are not getting flooded out — we're safer," Manning said.
Now, Coryell County is working on a plan for that.
They announced millions of dollars in grant money to start flood and drainage projects in the community.
However, there first must be a study showing where the flooding is happening and what to do when it happens.
"This will be able to save lives in the future, and not just lives, but also property," said Director of Communications for Disaster Recovery, Brittant Eck.
"It will protect us and make sure we know when the flooding is going to occur and how to mitigate it best in the future."
The Texas General Land Office set aside $2.5 million for this specific study, which should help ease the worries of local neighbors.
"I'm concerned about how we find a way to not only repair what has been done, but also try to plan ahead to make sure the next one is not so bad," Manning said.
