Removing Valley Ranch from the 100-year Floodplain

When it was decided that the City of Irving would construct the Valley Ranch community, they first had to address a major problem: flooding. The region where Valley Ranch was to be built resided in a 100-year flood plain, due to its proximity to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. While this hadn’t posed problems previously, as the land was mainly ranch land, changes had to be made before homes, businesses and community resources could be constructed in the region.

What does it mean to be a 100-year floodplain?

Many people assume that a 100-year floodplain is an area that experiences flooding once every hundred years. However, this term describes an area’s hydrological systems having a 1% annual exceedance probability. In other words, this area would have a 1% chance annually of flooding each year.

The location of floodplains is determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and can be viewed in their Flood Map Service Center. Valley Ranch was designated as one of these 100-year floodplains due to its position in relation to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

Removing Valley Ranch from the 100-year floodplain

Beginning in 1983, IFCD 3 constructed Valley Ranch’s levee, an embankment that prevents the Elm Fork of the Trinity River from freely flowing into the Valley Ranch community. IFCD 3 then developed a stormwater pump station, 5.5 miles of canals and ponds to control the water levels throughout the community, moving water to either side of the levee as needed to maintain proper water levels. These efforts have protected residents, businesses and their respective assets from the impact of flood-related water damage for the last 40 years!

Thanks to IFCD 3’s decades of oversight, FEMA no longer classifies Valley Ranch as a “1% annual chance flood hazard,” but instead classifies it as an “area with reduced flood risk due to levee.”

To learn more about IFCD 3 and our work to prevent Valley Ranch from flooding, explore more of our Waterways blogs today. You can also follow IFCD 3 on X and Facebook for ongoing updates.