Engineering Department

Phone:  (936) 633-0414

Fax: (936) 633-0416

The Engineering Department is responsible for many areas related to the inner workings of the City of Lufkin.  Some of those responsibilities cover assessing water and sewer tap fees, maintaining floodplain mapping and assisting citizens with questions regarding floodplain issues, drainage problems and questions, reviewing subdivision plats, assigning addresses, monitoring all new water, sewer, drainage and street construction projects.

Permit Review

After receiving a permit from the Inspections Department, the Engineering Department will determine if the necessary information is provided.  After this, the site plan attached to the permit is reviewed and a determination will be made if the property is properly platted.  Once this is determined, drainage requirements are looked at to determine if a drainage study is required, and if one has been done does it comply with the mitigation ordinance.  Next, it will be determined if the site lies within the 100-year floodplain or in the floodway.  This is done to determine if a floodplain permit is also required.  Driveway locations will be reviewed to determine if a culvert is required, and if so, does it also require TxDOT approval.  Any necessary water and sewer taps will also be noted on the permit.  You may also submit an online application by going to the Inspection Services Website.

Floodplain Management

Floodplain Management involves an array of procedures and practices to ensure the City is meeting its goal of decreasing personal and public property loss.  The City of Lufkin is a participating entity in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  Currently, we are in the process of joining the Community Rating System (CRS).  This rating system, which is administered through FEMA, will give the City a “score”, which will help to lower flood insurance rates for citizens.  Participating in CRS will also help when pursuing Hazard Mitigation grants, as well as other grants offered through FEMA.  Floodplain Certificates are also issued through the Engineering Department.  Any development done in the floodplain must have a floodplain development permit.  This is to ensure structures meet or exceed the minimum elevation allowed in the floodplain.

Drainage Studies

Engineering submittals are required for all activities which may affect the rate, direction, volume of storm runoff or the depth and velocity of flow in primary and secondary drainage systems within the City’s incorporated boundaries or ETJ.  The purpose of the submittals is to show how any impacts to storm water runoff will be mitigated.  Some of the objectives are to preserve public safety, prevent property damage, encourage future development, and preserve the natural environment.  The City of Lufkin Drainage Criteria Manual is available for download.  Within the manual, you can find a list of activities for which submittals are required.

Engineering Design

Engineering design can cover anything from site plans, drainage plans, utility construction plans, and street construction/reconstruction.  A major purpose of doing engineering design in-house is to reduce the cost associated with the designing phase of a project.  However, if a project is rather large, it may be contracted out for the design work.  Engineering design is also done to determine the feasibility of a project, and to increase the speed of the plan review process.  To the right is an example of a project which was designed and engineered in-house.

Surveying

The Engineering Department also consists of a survey crew.  The survey crew assists in the engineering design process through the collection of survey data for projects such as site topo’s, utility location, and staking on construction projects.  Other than standard surveying, the survey crew also collects data for the City’s GIS system.  Currently, the survey crew is collecting data on the City’s sanitary sewer system in which an inflow and infiltration study is being done to help reduce the inflow and infiltration of storm water.

GIS

The Engineering Department is also in charge of maintaining and developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the City.  Mapping data for this system is numerous and can be extensive; however, it is our goal to provide accurate data to more efficiently address problems and help in decisions regarding the land-use, infrastructure, and natural resources of the City of Lufkin.  Examples of this type of data include:  water and sewer utilities, parcel data, location of sex offenders, 2’ contours, aerial photographs, and floodplain data.  You may view this and more data on the City’s GIS site from our online mapping page.

Water & Sewer Taps

Water and sewer tap fees are set by the Lufkin City Council and are based on your location in relation to the water or sewer line to be tapped.  For example, if your residence or business is on the opposite side of the street from the line, the cost associated will be higher due to the necessity to make a road bore.  The size of tap is also a factor in determining the cost associated with this process. 

Plat Review

The Engineering Department completes reviews for all plats required due to the subdivision of property in the City and its Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ).  Subdivision plats must meet the requirements established in the City’s Subdivision Ordinance No. 3693 which is available on the menu bar.  We currently provide access to copies of subdivision plats on our website.  Some of the files are large and may take a few minutes to download.  They can be downloaded to your hard drive or opened directly in the software on your computer that opens graphic files by selecting "open this file from its current location".