New Braunfels, TX Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- City Code ch. 143, Municipal Drainage Utility Systems
- Funding mechanism
- Mandatory drainage utility fee
- Design standard
- Drainage and Erosion Control Design Manual
- First-offense fine range
- $100-$2,000
- Repeat-offense fine range
- $500-$2,000
Summary
New Braunfels runs a city drainage utility funded by a mandatory fee on every benefited property, under design standards set by the city engineer.
The city hereby declares all city owned or controlled existing and future drainage facilities to be a public utility and the utility is to be known as the city drainage utility. The service area for the city drainage utility shall be the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 143 declares all city-controlled drainage facilities a public utility and imposes a drainage utility fee on every benefited property in the city. Anyone developing or improving land, including individual lots, must follow the city's Drainage and Erosion Control Design Manual, which the code adopts as the official stormwater management plan. Developers must provide on-site or off-site drainage improvements (or pay a one-time stormwater connection fee in lieu), and building permit applications must include grading and drainage plans reviewed by the city engineer. Property owners bear responsibility for storm drainage and sediment caused by their own development.
Violations & Fines
Failure to maintain private drainage improvements draws a written city engineer notice with up to 15 days to comply; noncompliance allows the city to do the work and lien the property. Fines run $100-$2,000 for a first offense, $200-$2,000 for a second, and $500-$2,000 for third and later offenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every New Braunfels property pay the drainage fee?
Who enforces private drainage maintenance failures?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Braunfels
Texas rules heatmap·Compare New Braunfels to another location·View the Texas environmental rules overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.