RESILIENCY - Hazards & Risk Assessment
Community resiliency in Lexington refers to the ability of the community to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant adverse events, particularly natural hazards. This concept encompasses not only the physical and infrastructural aspects but also the social and economic systems that support the community's ability to bounce back and even thrive after disruptive incidents. 

The Resilient Communities Program aims to integrate hazard mitigation plans into the comprehensive plan of a community, thereby enhancing its resilience to various hazards. The primary objective of the RCP is to develop a comprehensive approach
to hazard mitigation by incorporating mitigation strategies into the community's long-term planning framework. emphasizing the collective effort of local authorities, stakeholders, and the public in fostering a safer, more resilient Lexington.

Enhance community resilience to drought and land subsidence by implementing drought monitoring, recommending soil compaction practices, strengthening water conservation ordinances, and launching a public awareness campaign on water conservation. 

Enhance flood resilience and safety within the community through targeted infrastructure improvements, regulatory enhancements, and public awareness initiatives. 

Enhance community resilience and safety against windstorms, including severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, through improved infrastructure, early warning systems, education, and robust emergency response plans. 

Strengthen community resilience to severe weather by creating a de-icing plan, improving emergency communication, achieving Storm Ready designation, and increasing public awareness. 

Increase community resilience to wildfires through strategic planning, public awareness, and targeted mitigation efforts. 

Determining Risk in Community Planning 
The FEMA National Risk Index defines risk as the potential for adverse impacts from natural hazards, quantifying it through three main components:   Expected Annual Loss (EAL), Social Vulnerability, and Community Resilience.  

Population projections are crucial to city planning as they provide a forecast to help the city plan future land use, infrastructure, and public services. Accurate projections allow cities to anticipate future demands for housing, transportation, school, and utilities. For small towns, population projections are particularly valuable for maintaining a balance between growth and preserving the community’s unique character and quality of life.

Focus on affordability, renovations, and new construction to sustain Lexington’s housing market and to meet demands for future growth.

The wastewater study inventories major components of the local wastewater system and identifies areas of operation requiring improvement to ensure safe, efficient, and economical collections and treatment. The study concludes by providing a prioritized summary of needed improvements and estimated costs. 

This plan includes recommended projects to replace aging, deteriorating, and/or undersized lines. Aging and deteriorated lines can contribute to system inefficiencies like water losses, as well as potential health risks, and undersized lines can limit both volume and pressure within the distribution system. All proposed line replacements are sized to ensure adequate flow and pressure for firefighting. Proposed projects also include fire hydrants at the appropriate locations as needed. 

Lexington manages stormwater drainage primarily through an open ditch network, with some underground stormwater pipes supplementing higher density areas. Flooding risks are present in portions of the city. 

The City of Lexington's electrical distribution and transmission system was installed in 1938. Lexington Municipal Utilities is a municipally owned electric utility (MOU) that owns, operates, and maintains the transmission lines within the system. The City purchases power from a single substation owned by LCRA. City staff have indicated that no major electrical upgrades are required at this time; however, minor improvements, such as replacing poles and trimming trees, will be necessary in the coming years. 

In terms of road classification, Lexington's roads range from two-lane city streets and county roads one lane residential roads. The state and U.S. highways serve as the primary regional connectors.