A new vision From the cover
The big picture
Updated ood mitigation projects
The approved ood mitigation projects build upon the completion of more than 100 projects Harris County sta have undertaken with HCFCD since the 2018 bond approval, including: 16,000+ acre feet of stormwater detention constructed in the county, such as Zube Park stormwater basins 46,000+ linear feet of channel conveyance improvements 3,100+ people relocated from home buyouts 5,800 acres of land acquired and preserved
At the Sept. 18 court meeting, HCFCD Executive Director Christina Petersen addressed commissioners regarding a restructuring of priority projects on the 2018 bond list after a $1 billion shortfall in funding for projects was identied. Under the restructure, the shortfall was reduced to $400 million, a number commissioners believe they will be able to acquire through local, state and federal partnerships and grants. “We’ve taken the 2018 bond program, which started out really with a lot of concepts, and with the work that we have done together, with [Commissioners Court] teams, with all of you, with the direction that we’ve received and we’ve been able to ground this work in reality,” Petersen said. Petersen also debuted a new ood bond dashboard displaying ood project schedules, funding sources, completion dates, prioritization scores, locations and lifecycles. The dashboard will be updated quarterly, according to Petersen. During a Sept. 22 meeting hosted by Houston Stronger, a nonprot that advocates for ood resiliency projects, Ramsey said over $1.78 billion in private, local, state and federal partnership funding has been committed to projects on the bond list. Ramsey also commended the work done already by the county and HCFCD to identify high-priority projects that would provide the most immediate ood relief. “We made a really good executive decision,” Ramsey said. “Let’s not budget now on something we know so little about. Let’s take that money, go spend it on something we do know [will provide ood mitigation/prevention].” The 2018 bond issue followed Hurricane Harvey, which caused $125 billion in damages to the Greater Houston region, according to the HCFCD.
Active projects
Paused projects
7
5
8
2
249
6
1
290
LITTLE CYPRESS CREEK
3
KATY HOCKLEY RD.
99 TOLL
CYPRESS CREEK
E S S
9
• Cost: $16.37 million • Estimated construction start: 2026 Paused projects 5 Schiel Stormwater Detention Basin Improvements • Project stage: Planning • Original bond allocation: $16 million • Remaining bond allocation: $6.1 million 6 Hegar Stormwater Detention Basin Improvements • Project stage: Planning • Original bond allocation: $11.8 million • Remaining bond allocation: $8.84 million 7 Mason Stormwater Detention Basin Improvements • Project stage: Engineering
Active projects
4
1 Little Cypress Creek Frontier Project • Project stage: Planning/property acquisition along entire creek • Cost: $53.12 million • Estimated construction start: N/A 2 Mueschke East Stormwater Detention Basin Improvements • Project stage: Planning • Cost: $15.9 million • Estimated construction start: 2033 3 Kluge Stormwater Detention Basin • Project stage: Engineering • Cost: $37.25 million • Estimated construction start: 2026 4 Kolbe Drive Drainage Improvements • Project stage: Engineering
N
S. KOLBE DR.
• Original bond allocation: $13 million • Remaining bond allocation: $10.28 million 8 Mueschke West Stormwater Detention Basin Improvements • Project stage: Planning • Original bond allocation: $10.6 million • Remaining bond allocation: $8.59 million 9 Telge Road Stormwater Detention Basin • Project stage: Planning • Original bond allocation: $1 million • Remaining bond allocation: $1 million
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT
How we got here
Harris County Flood Control District 2018 Bond August: Hurricane
March: COVID-19 pandemic puts pause on projects
February: 33 bond projects paused due to $277 million de cit
June: $1 billion funding shortfall
In 2018, Harris County voters approved $2.5 billion in bonds to nance ood damage reduction projects after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 left widespread ooding, property damage and displacement along the Texas coast. The bond was designed to complete ood control and mitigation projects over approximately 10 years, Petersen said, although the original timeline was shortened from 15 years.
Harvey strikes Houston region
remains projected due to rising cost of goods
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
August: Voters approve HCFCD's $2.5 billion ood control bond
March: $1.3 billion bond shortfall identi ed
October: Texas General Land Oce awards $863 million in grant funding for bond- related projects
September: 26 bond projects paused, shortfall lowered to $400 million
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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