The Texas Water Development Board recently awarded Irving $70 million for major improvements to the city’s flood mitigation infrastructure.

By the end of the project’s four phases, more than 240 homes along local creeks will see a significant reduction in flood risks from intense storms, according to city engineer Walt Thomas. The first phase of the project is currently ongoing.

“These neighborhoods are so flat the [flood waters] jump the creek and go through the residential streets,” Thomas told KERA. “Keeping the water in the creek without it going into the neighborhood, the first thing the neighborhood is going to experience is that of relief.”

The project aims to update one of the city’s “largest and most outdated” drainage channels, officials write . It includes excavating 10,

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