AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin is shifting from focusing on slope stabilization to reducing the flood risk in response to Shoal Creek landslide. The landslide happened in May 2018 and additional movement took place in May 2019, according to the City.
The City said the landslide deposited rock, soil and debris into the creek, which has "reduced its capacity to convey floodwaters." The City of Austin is now working on a project to restore some flood capacity and protect parkland from further erosion.
The City added that it tried to negotiate a project that would have included a "slope stabilization component" but the negotiations were unsuccessful. That project would have also addressed flooding and drainage issues as well as a wastewater pipe.
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"After it became clear that the contractor was not going to enter into an agreement for the project, the City took the opportunity to reassess the various issues," the City said. "The City reviewed our goals and priorities for addressing the public health and safety concerns, identified which goals were achievable, and put together a plan for the current project."
This new project will remove some of the debris and widen the creek at certain locations. More information regarding the timeline and cost of this project will be available in the spring, the City said.
Mike Kelly, Austin Watershed Protection's managing engineer, said at a press conference Wednesday that one of the concerns this new proposed plan would address is any possible future flooding of Lamar Boulevard.
"That same storm would come and it would back up behind that and it would be two feet higher in depth and therefore spill out over the curb into Lamar," said Kelly. "Going in and creating a new channel for Shoal Creek within the parkland will bring that down."
To date, the City of Austin has expended $715,638.26 for the landslide on Shoal Creek, according to the department.
Kelly said the large material of the landslide is fairly stable.
"Our analysis shows that that massive material has a fairly high factor of safety. We don't anticipate the entire thing sliding like it did in May of 2019," he said.
It's unknown at this point as to how stable the standing fractured rock is.
“Our ability to predict the stability of the fractured rock is really limited," said Kelly.
Two other projects still need to be completed. The wastewater line in Shoal Creek was damaged and a new wastewater line needs to be installed outside of the creek, according to the City. A segment of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail also needs to be reconstructed.
Heath Riddles, CEO of Pease Park Conservancy, released the following statement:
“Pease Park Conservancy's number one priority is the safety of the folks in the park, so we are encouraged that the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department is moving forward on mitigating the flood risk created by the Shoal Creek Landslide. However, we are disappointed that the stabilization efforts surrounding the landslide are unable to move forward at this time. We want the park to be safe, and we want to see the trail replaced, so that folks can get back to fully enjoying Austin's first and oldest public park.”
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