Smiley receives $1.475 million Mitigation Grant from GLO

The City of Smiley will receive more than $1.4 million in regional mitigation funds from the Texas General Land Office to improve the water treatment plant and some city streets, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham M.D. announced Thursday, Dec. 19.

A total of $17,920,246 in regional mitigation funds was distributed by the GLO throughout the Golden Crescent region with many projects being for roads, water detention, drainage or sewer systems.

"The Texas General Land Office remains steadfast in helping Texas communities build safer, more resilient infrastructure to withstand future disasters," said Commissioner Buckingham. "We understand these projects are more than just improvements — they are lifelines for families and businesses who depend on reliable roads and systems. By working closely with local leaders, the GLO ensures federal funds are put to work efficiently to protect Texans and support their quality of life."

The total amount Smiley will receive is $1,475,900, according to the GLO.

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) allocated $1,166,997,000 in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Regional Mitigation Program to reduce the risks and impacts of future natural disasters. Each Council of Government (COG) with HUD-designated eligible counties developed a method of distribution (MOD) for allocation of funds to units of local governments. Each COG developed their MOD through extensive public participation.

HUD defines mitigation as activities that increase resilience to disasters and reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of loss of life, injury, damage to and loss of property, and suffering and hardship, by lessening the impact of future disasters. HUD requires that at least 50 percent of total funds must be used for activities benefiting low-to moderate-income (LMI) persons.

Water system improvements are definitely welcome in Smiley after the city had to declare a state of disaster and public health emergency in September due to possible contamination of their public water supply, which created a lack of sufficient potable water to serve citizens.

The city was in the midst of repairing one well pump when the extra load placed on the system caused a second well to stop working. The failure of the water system caused a buildup of coliform bacteria in the water supply that can occur naturally through runoff into a well if the water cannot be treated properly.

Smiley remained under a boil water notice at that time for seven days until sufficient repairs restored the system to working order and the water was determined to be fit for human consumption.