The overview
The SJRA Board of Directors received updates from the Lake Conroe and Bear Branch Divisions regarding the prioritized projects for FY 2025. In total, the two divisions presented $5.8 million in projects for 2025 with $25.9 million in projects planned through 2035.
- Lake Conroe Division: $5,499,047
- Bear Branch Division: $350,000
Lake Conroe Division Manager Bret Raley said this year's focus would be on resurfacing and widening the main entry point to the SJRA facilities on Lake Conroe, as well as installing backup generators at the facility.
"It'll give us greater security and safety. We've had times, especially during big board meetings, where we back traffic up on Dam Site Road, and it's been problematic in more ways than one," Raley said. "The new facility will also be backed up by backup emergency power generator power, so we currently don't have that currently rely on solar power and batteries."
Raley also told board members the larger projects involving reconstruction and maintenance of spillways along the Lake Conroe Dam will be prioritized starting in 2029.
What else?
The Bear Branch Dam in The Woodlands is one of three "high-hazard" dams the SJRA operates according to SJRA Director of Operations Ed Shackelford, and that additional funding may be needed locally to address $5 million in emergency repair needs identified by engineers during an initial rehabilitation project.
"Depending on which way we calculate the numbers, we're still somewhere between $3.5 [million] and almost $5 million short on local funds. So that's why we need to have more conversations with the MUDs," Shackelford said. "But the main part of it is we've got the majority of the funding for phase one, and we need additional funding to take the project to completion."
Shackelford said a total of just over $7 million would be needed to fully complete the remaining repairs to Bear Branch Dam.
Next steps
Funding for the 10-year project plans will come mainly from the SJRA's repair and replacement fund with a number of grant funds and local matches from municipal utility districts, according to various SJRA officials. However, the majority of project funding for Bear Branch Dam repairs is still expected to come from the federal government at this time, Shackelford said.
