Harris County commissioners are discussing a litany of challenges surrounding the 2018 flood bond program, a $2.5 billion initiative voters approved that tasked the Harris County Flood Control District to complete mitigation projects over 10 years.
Commissioners spoke with HCFCD Executive Director Christina Petersen at the June 26 court meeting and reviewed concerns including a $1 billion shortfall amid rising project costs.
“We are not going to be able to do all the projects that people were promised and that failure was built into the bond, and that’s disappointing,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
As a result, Harris County commissioners approved several motions for HCFCD tasked with alleviating issues which include prioritizing funding for a list of high-need projects, referred to as Quartile 1 projects, which are high-need projects scored based on criteria such as existing drainage levels and social vulnerability indexes, according to HCFCD documents.
The motions passed by a 4-1 vote, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey dissenting in the first motion. Ramsey voted in favor of other motions that included the creation of a public dashboard that residents can view online to see various project status updates every six months or as soon as available.
“One of our challenges, commissioners, is the amount of work we need to do is so great,” Petersen said. “This current bond program, as we all know, isn’t enough. We have so much work we have to do in so many places.”
The impact
Resident Doris Brown told commissioners she believes the system wasn’t working to ensure historically neglected communities of color have the same protections as more affluent ones. Brown is a member of community organization, Northeast Action Collective, which advocates for improved living conditions for northeast Houston neighborhoods.
“We’re tired of flooding,” Brown said. “The bond we voted for in 2018 requires equity. When this court discussed the bond, you promised the prioritization system would be followed to help flood-prone communities. This was your commitment.”
Going forward
A project schedule detailing all future projects will return to Commissioners Court on Sept. 18.
“Between now and Sept. 18, our focus will be on developing a list of projects in collaboration with the precincts, along with associated schedules and a dashboard to display progress. [Commissioners] Court requested meetings to discuss each bond ID to confirm scope and a path forward for each effort,” said Emily Woodell, HCFCD chief external affairs officer.
How we got here
In 2018, Harris County voters approved $2.5 billion in bonds to finance flood damage reduction projects after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 that left widespread flooding, property damage and displacement along the Texas coast. The bond was designed to complete flood control and mitigation projects over approximately 10 years, Petersen said, although the original timeline was shortened from 15 to 10 years.
Vulnerable populations fared worse when it came to recovering from Harvey, according to a report by the University of Houston that published on the hurricane’s fifth anniversary in 2022.
By the numbers
According to Petersen, the allocation of the 2018 funds and their percentages by precincts were as follows:
- Precinct 1: $526.8 million, 21%
- Precinct 2: $481.3 million, 19%
- Precinct 3: $634.2 million, 25%
- Precinct 4: $425.4 million, 17%
- Countywide projects: $432 million, 17%
