The Harris County Flood Control District is on track to finish a $4 million channel restoration project later this year along Berry Bayou, part of the Sims Bayou watershed in South Houston.
HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen said the channel was identified as needing repair in 2016, but the project was delayed for nearly a decade before the county secured enough funding through a voter-approved tax rate increase.
What’s new
Construction crews began the restoration in September and have completed roughly half of the work needed along the 1.25-mile stretch of channel, officials told Community Impact.
Petersen said the area had been experiencing slope failures, several types of erosion and sinkholes over deteriorating outfall pipes along the bayou. The damage caused portions of the land to collapse in the channel due to instability and disrupt the water flow, which she said increases the flood risk to neighboring homes during heavy rainfall events.
To restore the channel back to its original state, crews are stabilizing the slope with riprap, or large stones along the ground, to prevent future sliding. Additionally, the flood control district is replacing old pipes and removing debris that was dumped or naturally fell into the waterway, said Jason Krahn, HCFCD chief infrastructure and operations officer.
More details
Funding for the restoration comes from Proposition A, a 2024 tax rate increase for the flood control district’s deferred maintenance projects. Petersen said prior to the funding boost, HCFCD had only about $10 million-$15 million for major investments countywide, causing projects such as the Berry Bayou cleanup to be placed on hold.
Petersen said one of the more unique challenges in the area is the site’s proximity to homes, meaning the flood control district had to navigate encroachments on nearby properties to complete the work. Harris County Precinct 2 helped facilitate conversations with community members so HCFCD could access the land, she said.
“Community engagement is at the core of what we do, especially when it comes to projects that will impact neighborhood quality of life,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said May 6 in a statement to Community Impact. “That's why having Flood Control representatives attend community discussions, so residents can ask questions, hear directly from the experts and feel confident that their voices are being heard.”
Looking forward
HCFCD expects to complete the project in the third quarter of 2026. Petersen said the flood control district is also working to inspect and categorize channels countywide to allow for more proactive maintenance.
“The goal would be in the long term to be able to anticipate these are areas that are going to fail and fix them, rather than letting them get to failure,” she said.
