New "worst-first" criteria approved by Harris County commissioners Aug. 27 will determine when several flooding and drainage infrastructure projects in Buffalo and White Oak Watersheds will get started. Commissioners approved a new set of guidelines for prioritizing the final 80 projects waiting to get underway out of the 239 originally authorized in the county's $2.5 billion flood bond passed by voters in 2018. In the new project rating system created by the Harris County Flood Control District, 25% of a project’s score comes from flood risk reduction. Another 20% comes from the project's social vulnerability index, which is a metric devised by U.S. Centers for Disease Control that takes into account the ability of certain communities to recover from disasters. Factors include percentage of elderly residents, prevalence of limited English proficiency and number of households without a vehicle. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the guidelines are also meant to reduce the influence of cost-benefit ratios when dedicating local flood bond money, a metric often required for projects to receive federal funding and one critics said can keep lower-income communities from getting needed improvements. “We really need to make sure that from today on …, the decisions we make in Harris County, as it pertains to flooding, are based on being smart—they are based on putting people first,” Hidalgo said. District G City Council Member Greg Travis, whose district includes parts of West Houston, Uptown and River Oaks, spoke during the public comment portion of the Aug. 27 Commissioners Court meeting and questioned the consequences of using the social vulnerability index. He said it may not accurately identify areas in need and prioritizes the eastern half of Harris County, despite projects in west Harris County having downstream benefits. “This is a very subjective standard ... When you look at all these weights that are being done, it looks like somebody decided, 'These are the projects we want. How can we put them at the top of the list and how can we put others at the bottom?’” Travis said at the meeting. The projects are ranked and split into quartiles to determine when work will begin, but commissioners could set deadlines to speed up completion of some projects at their next meeting Sept. 10. Here’s a list of projects in the Buffalo and White Oak Bayou Watersheds and where they rank out of the total 80 remaining projects.

Quartile 1: Work begins September 2019 – April 2020

White Oak Bayou
  • Construction of Arbor Oaks Stormwater Detention Basin. Rank: 5.

Quartile 2: Work begins April 2020-November 2020

White Oak Bayou
  • Right-of-Way Acquisition, Design and Construction of the North Canal. Rank: 20.

Quartile 3: Work begins November 2020-July 2021

White Oak Bayou
  • Partnership Project with Jersey Village on Right-of-Way Acquisition, Design, and Construction of General Drainage Improvements Along White Oak Bayou Tributary 19.05. Rank: 43.
  • Investigation of Additional Stormwater Detention Basins in the White Oak Bayou Watershed. Rank: 44.
  • Right-of-Way Acquisition, Design and Construction of General Drainage Improvements along Turkey Gully. Rank: 46.
Buffalo Bayou
  • Partnership Project with Fort Bend County on Right-of-Way Acquisition, Design, and Construction of General Drainage Improvements Along Clodine Ditch. Rank: 58.

Quartile 4: Work begins July 2021-March 2022

Buffalo Bayou
  • Investigation of Effectiveness of Micro-Detention in the Buffalo Bayou Watershed. Rank: 72.
  • Planning, Right-Of-Way Acquisition, Design and Construction Along Soldiers Creek. Rank: 74.
  • Planning, Right-Of-Way Acquisition, Design and Construction Along Turkey Creek. Rank: 75.
  • Design & Construction of Replacement Bridges Along Buffalo Bayou. Rank: 78.
  • Rehabilitation of Spring Branch Creek to Restore Channel Conveyance Capacity. Rank: 79.