The Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management recommended the county pursue local, state and federal grants to fund potential projects for infrastructure and drainage improvements to mitigate flooding during a workshop on Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts Tuesday.

Other recommendations include implementing a more efficient mass notification system in case of emergencies; continuing repair work to infrastructure; partnering with American Red Cross to increase shelter capacity in the region; continuing levee inspections, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve the Barker Reservoir; reviewing enforcement of the county’s floodplain regulations; and conducting a county-wide watershed study.

Harvey brought 20-36 inches of rainfall to the region, Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Braun said. During the storm, the county also experienced five tornados and ordered evacuations for over 200,000 people. An estimated 6,824 homes were destroyed or damaged—many of which were located in Canyon Gate subdivision in Cinco Ranch.

“They’re the oldest development in there, so some of their homes were at the lowest elevation,” Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert said. “All of them are above the 100-year flood elevation, but they have the lower of the elevations because of the terrain through there.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided approximately $93.7 million in assistance to affected individuals and households, Braun said. County recovery efforts included collecting over 480,000 cubic yards of storm debris, temporarily waiving fees for public transportation and permitting for a short period, and authorizing reappraisals of properties that sustained damage to provide some relief for residents.

County departments also collaborated with nonprofit United Way as part of Fort Bend Recovers, a collaborative network of community groups that specializes in recovery needs, Braun said. Fort Bend Recovers provides assistance through work groups focused on case management, mental and spiritual health, donations management, and home repair and rebuild efforts.

Workers have completed 138 homebuilding and repair cases with over 60 more pending, Braun said.

These services are provided to families at 200 percent or below the poverty level, said Anna Gonzales, director of Fort Bend County Social Services.

Braun presented a list of potential flood reduction projects to consider, including desilting the Willow Fork tributary running into Buffalo Bayou. Other areas to consider for drainage, channel and bank improvements include the Barker Reservoir, Oyster Creek, Brazos River, Mustang Bayou and several other creeks.

The county should also devote resources to improve various roads and bridges in the county to ensure routes remain operational during future flooding events, Braun said.

“A couple of those are our roads, and we can look at funding maybe through mitigation grants,” Braun said. “Several of those are actually state projects, and we’re going to have to talk to the state about the necessity for those projects to improve the ability to ingress and egress out of the county during a Harvey-like disaster.”

Hebert said he has already reached out to officials from the Texas Department of Transportation regarding certain improvements for evacuation purposes.

“They have advised me that they will work closely with our county engineer on elevating FM 723,” Hebert said.

Hebert said he has also spoken with elected officials, discussing financial assistance from the federal level.

The county is prioritizing projects to submit an application for Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant funding from FEMA, Braun said. The application is due at the end of June.

“We do need some very expensive infrastructure improvements on what are basically state property if we’re to continue to mitigate the chances of a future flooding to this level in events like Harvey,” Hebert said.

Based on the region’s pattern of flooding events over the last three years, another flood is likely to occur this year, Hebert said.

“I think there is a degree of urgency there that says we need to make things happen,” Hebert said.