What's happening?
The long-awaited Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project has been in the works since 2017 when Hurricane Harvey highlighted the shortcomings of the 71-year-old structure.
Seven years and several rounds of design changes and funding infusions later, the project is now entering Phase 2, which includes the project's final engineering design and construction, according to an Oct. 10 newsletter from District E council member Fred Flickinger, who represents Kingwood on Houston City Council.
About the project
Under its current configuration—which was built in 1953—the dam consists of a spillway structure with four small gates that are made to release water at a rate of 10,000 cubic feet per second, or cfs, as previously reported by Community Impact.
According to the newsletter, the improvement project will include the construction of 11 gates being built into the existing embankment on the east side of the Lake Houston Dam Spillway.
Flickinger noted each gate will measure 20 feet by 20 feet and release approximately 7,100 cfs when fully open for a combined total water release of approximately 79,000 cfs.
"Building the new gate structure in the east embankment removes the high-construction risk of modifying the existing gate structure. It also allows continued use of the existing gate structure during construction," Flickinger wrote in the newsletter.
Funding the project
During a Sept. 19 District E town hall held in Kingwood, former state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston—who was appointed at an Aug. 21 Houston City Council meeting to fill a vacant seat on the Coastal Water Authority board—provided an update on the project, noting approximately $155.1 million had been secured thus far.
By comparison, a cost-benefit analysis completed in 2023 estimated the total project cost would be $127.3 million.
"This is the best solution based upon the economics that we have; this is not the final solution," Huberty said during the town hall. "Remember, I said these gates are [71] years old. We have instances across the state of Texas [and] across this country where dams have failed. We are getting ahead of that."
The timeline
In his newsletter, Flickinger outlined the following timeline for Phase 2 of the project:
- December 2025: Final design and construction plans are completed.
- 2026: The contract for construction is bid and awarded.
- Fourth quarter of 2026 or first quarter of 2027: Construction begins.
"We are going to be focused, paying attention, driving this project and getting this project done," he said. "It's not in the time frame that we wanted, but it's not anybody's fault other than just process that we had to go through to be able to get to where we're at today."
Stay tuned
During the town hall, Huberty said the Coastal Water Authority had already authorized their selected engineer to begin work. Flickinger added the District E office will continue to sit on biweekly coordination meetings for the project.
"The city of Houston, the state of Texas and the communities are relying on this project getting done on time, on budget so that we can continue to make sure that we're protecting lives as we go forward," Huberty said.
