Government
BY HANNAH BROL
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project enters Phase 2
Funding the project
During a Sept. 19 town hall in Kingwood, Coastal Water Authority board member Dan Huberty said approximately $155.1 million had been secured for the project thus far. By comparison, a 2023 cost-bene t analysis estimated the total project cost would be $127.3 million. Huberty added the project may be able to secure additional funding through Senate Bill 7, which created the statewide Flood Infrastructure Fund and was passed into law in 2019.
structure with four small gates that are made to release water at a rate of 10,000 cubic feet per second, or cfs, as previously reported by Community Impact. According to the newsletter, the improvement project will include the construction of 11 gates being built into the existing embankment on the east side of the Lake Houston Dam Spillway. Flickinger noted each gate will measure 20 feet by 20 feet and release approximately 7,100 cfs when fully open for a combined total water release of approximately 79,000 cfs. “Building the new gate structure in the east embankment removes the high-construction risk of modifying the existing gate structure. It also allows continued use of the existing gate structure during construction,” Flickinger wrote in the newsletter.
Following the unanimous approval of an interlocal agreement between the city of Houston and the Coastal Water Authority during the Sept. 10 Houston City Council meeting, the Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project has entered Phase 2. The long-awaited dam project has been in the works since 2017, when Hurricane Harvey highlighted the shortcomings of the 71-year-old structure. Seven years and several rounds of design changes and funding infusions later, the project is now entering Phase 2, which includes nal engineering design and construction, according to an Oct. 10 newsletter from District E council member Fred Flickinger, who represents Kingwood on Houston City Council. Under its current con guration—which was built in 1953—the dam consists of a spillway
Funding breakdown
88th Texas Legislature: $50M 87th Texas Legislature: $30M Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Phase 2 : $23.4M
Total: $155.1M
City of Houston : $20M* Harris County: $20M*
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Phase 1: $11.7M
*INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT PENDING SOURCES: COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY, HOUSTON CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT E COMMUNITY IMPACT
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project
The timeline
Flickinger and Huberty outlined the following timeline for Phase 2 of the project: • December 2025: Final design and construction plans are completed. • 2026: The contract for construction is bid and awarded. • Fourth quarter of 2026 or irst quarter of 2027: Construction begins. • 2029: Construction is complete. “We are going to be focused, paying attention, driving this project and getting this project done,” Huberty said. “It’s not in the time frame that we wanted, but it’s not anybody’s fault other than just process that we had to go through to be able to get to where we’re at today.” During the town hall, Huberty said the Coastal Water Authority had already authorized their selected engineer to begin work. Flickinger added the District E o ce will continue to sit in on biweekly coordination meetings for the project.
11 new gates each able to release water at 7,100 cfs
Existing 4 gates each able to release water at 10,000 cfs
KELLY SCHAFLER COMMUNITY IMPACT
HISTORIC SAN JACINTO RIVER CHANNEL
LAKE HOUSTON
N
“The city of Houston, the state of Texas and the communities are relying on this project getting done on time, on budget so that we can continue to make sure that we’re protecting lives as we go forward.” DAN HUBERTY, COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY BOARD MEMBER
W. LAKE HOUSTON PKWY.
LAKE HOUSTON
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SOURCES: COASTAL WATER AUTHORITY, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS COMMUNITY IMPACT
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LAKE HOUSTON HUMBLE KINGWOOD EDITION
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