Harris County officials announce $25M Addicks Reservoir restoration for flood maintenance

“These channels play a critical role in carrying storm water to the reservoirs, and it strengthens this system and provides critical flood risk reduction for thousands of homes and businesses across northwest Harris County,” Petersen said during a Jan. 20 news conference.

HCFCD will spend approximately $5 million annually over the next five years, Petersen said. Funding for the channel restoration comes from a tax rate increase narrowly approved by voters in November 2024, Community Impact previously reported.

The project is separate from Harris County’s 2018 flood control bond program, which includes $2.5 billion in bond funds and $2.7 billion in partner funds for an assortment of flood mitigation initiatives. However, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said the Addicks project places a similar focus on flood maintenance.

Ramsey said the scope of work includes:

• 8 miles of channel repair
• 11,000 linear feet of storm pipe placement
• 50,000 cubic yards of sediment removal
• 115,000 tons of rock for slope stabilization

Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said Harris County residents carry a shared trauma following Hurricane Harvey’s destruction, and voter approval of the flood maintenance funding represents an investment in community safety.

“Know that we will be relentless in delivering the flood bond projects as well as using this investment that you have made in maintenance so that we can keep our families as safe as possible,” Briones said. “We know it’s not a matter of if, it’s just a matter of when.”

Before you go

The $25 million investment builds on two previous phases of work along the Addicks channels, according to the project’s website.

The first repair package included restoration along Langham Creek and Horsepen Creek, and the second repair package focused on Bear Creek and South Mayde Creek, according to the scope of work. Both packages, totaling about $30 million, were funded by the 2018 bond, according to HCFCD.

Find a more detailed map of the upcoming channel improvements on the flood control district’s website.