How do we manage a low-water crossing on our HOA roads?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 23, 2026

How an HOA board runs a low-water crossing on private roads: depth gauges and signs, a closure gate, who closes it, flood alerts, owner notices and liability.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

If your private road dips through a creek bed, the association owns a hazard that can kill someone in a single storm, and nobody from the county is coming to close it. Treat it as a standing job with a written plan. Put up a ROAD MAY FLOOD sign and a depth gauge at the deepest point. Install a gate or swing arm that a volunteer can close in under a minute. Name two or three people who close it, set the trigger in inches of water or in a stream gauge reading, and tell owners in advance how they will hear about a closure and which way to drive instead. Then talk to your insurer and your county about the long-term fix. Signs, gates and road closures are governed by federal guidance, state law, local codes and your governing documents, so check each one. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

Why a few inches matter

The National Weather Service puts it bluntly: 6 inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult, 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and 2 feet can carry away SUVs and trucks. The same page cites the CDC for the fact that over half of flood-related drownings happen when someone drives a vehicle into hazardous flood water. Texas has the worst of it. TxDOT says flash flooding is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the state, and a FEMA page on the Turn Around Don't Drown campaign quotes the Weather Service that 80 percent of flood deaths in South Texas happen when people drive through low-water crossings. Owners who have used the crossing for years are the ones most likely to try it, because they think they know how deep it is. They can't see whether the road under the water has washed out. Write the plan around that person, not around a stranger.

Signs and a depth gauge

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is the national standard for signs, and section 1B.01 of the 11th edition says it applies to any road open to public travel, whether public or privately owned. It does not apply to roads inside private gated properties where public access is restricted at all times. Even if your community is gated, use the manual's signs, because drivers already know them and your insurer will ask why you didn't. Section 2C.34 covers the ROAD MAY FLOOD sign, code W8-18. Where a road floods often, the manual allows a Depth Gauge sign, code W8-19, added to the W8-18 and mounted so it shows the depth at the deepest point of the roadway. Put the warning sign far enough ahead that a driver can stop and turn around on dry pavement, and make sure there is room to turn. The national manual has no Turn Around Don't Drown sign. That phrase is a public safety campaign the Weather Service started in 2003, and you can use it in owner notices and on an information sign at the entrance. Check signs after every flood. Water bends posts and buries gauges in mud.

The gate and who closes it

A sign warns. A gate stops. A swing arm or pipe gate on each side, painted and fitted with reflective tape, lets a volunteer close the crossing quickly, and a padlock keyed alike on both sides keeps it simple. Give a key to the fire department and to the closers. Write down the trigger: close when water reaches the road surface, or when a named stream gauge reaches a set height. If there is a USGS or Weather Service gauge upstream, the USGS National Water Dashboard shows real-time readings, the USGS WaterAlert service sends an email or phone alert when a gauge crosses a level you choose, and the Weather Service's National Water Prediction Service at water.noaa.gov posts gauge forecasts. Watch a few storms and note what the gauge read when water first crossed your road. Then know the limits of your authority. In Texas, Transportation Code section 472.022 makes driving around a barricade placed because water is over the road a Class B misdemeanor, but the statute defines barricades as devices placed by TxDOT, a political subdivision or their contractor. Colorado section 42-4-603 requires drivers to obey official traffic control devices, and section 42-1-102(64) defines those as devices placed by a public authority. A gate the association puts on its own road likely has no criminal penalty behind it. Your rules and your owners' good sense have to do the work, so put the closure rule in writing and adopt it.

Liability and insurance

Ask your agent two questions in writing: does the general liability policy cover a claim that the association failed to warn about or close a flooded crossing, and does the directors and officers policy cover the board for the same decision? Send the agent your written plan. In Texas, Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 84 can help. Section 84.003 includes certain homeowners associations in its definition of charitable organizations, section 84.004 gives volunteers, including directors, immunity for acts within their duties, and section 84.006 caps the organization's liability. Section 84.007(g) applies the cap only if the association carries at least the insurance the chapter requires, and section 84.007(a) excludes intentional, willfully negligent or reckless conduct. Whether your association qualifies is a question for your attorney. In every state, the best defense is a record showing the board knew about the hazard and acted: the signs, the gate, the closure log and the owner notices.

Alternate access and the long fix

Before the next storm, find out whether any home can only be reached across the crossing. If so, those owners need to know the plan, and so does the fire department. Ask whether an emergency access route exists over a neighbor's land or another road, and whether it needs an easement. For the long fix, a culvert crossing or a bridge, get an engineer's estimate and talk to the county. FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds state, local, tribal and territorial governments, and FEMA says homeowners and businesses can't apply directly but local communities may apply on their behalf. An association would work through its county or city, and whether a private road qualifies is a question for them. Vote on any new construction at an open meeting. Texas Property Code section 209.0051(h)(14) requires an open, noticed meeting for building capital improvements, other than repairing or replacing existing ones. Florida section 720.303(2) requires notice posted 48 hours ahead, and 14 days' notice when the board will consider a special assessment. Colorado section 38-33.3-308(2)(a) opens board meetings to members. Our guide on how to inspect and maintain a bridge on private HOA roads covers the engineering side once you build one.

A flood-day plan and wording to copy

Each spring, before storm season: inspect the signs, gauge and gates, test the locks, confirm the closers' phone numbers and send owners the plan. When the Weather Service issues a flood watch: the first closer checks the gauge and puts the gate key in the truck. When water reaches the trigger: close both gates, photograph them, log the time and send the alert. After the water drops: walk the crossing in daylight before reopening. Look for washed-out pavement edges, debris against the culvert or posts and mud over the road. Log the reopening. Here is an alert to copy: 'The [name] Road low-water crossing is CLOSED as of [time] because water is over the road. Do not drive around the gates. Use [alternate route]. We will send another message when it reopens after daylight inspection.' Our guide on how to set up an HOA emergency text and email alert list covers getting that message to every household in minutes. A motion for the plan: 'Move to adopt the attached low-water crossing closure procedure, appoint [names] as closers, and authorize up to $[amount] for signs, a depth gauge and two gates.'

Mistakes boards make

Leaving closure to whoever happens to drive by, so nobody does it. Setting the trigger by feel instead of by a marked depth. Putting the warning sign at the water's edge, where there is no room to turn around. Reopening at night, before anyone can see the road was undercut. Forgetting renters, who never got the owner notice, and delivery drivers following a map app. Losing the gate key, or handing out so many that a frustrated owner opens it. And assuming the county will close a private road. Unless a county crew has agreed in writing, it is the association's job.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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