Several stormwater drainage improvements are coming to Harris County, with commissioners greenlighting $22 million in project bids.
The overview
The Harris County Commissioners Court approved bids for the expansion of the T.C. Jester and Lauder stormwater detention basins, as well as construction for a basin along South Mayde Creek near Grand Parkway during its Aug. 25 business court meeting.
The detention basins will increase the amount of stormwater held in the Cypress Creek, Greens Bayou and Addicks Reservoir watersheds, respectively. The basins are designed to capture water during heavy rainfall to mitigate flooding, according to the Harris County Flood Control District.
These projects are some of the latest efforts from the HCFCD to decrease flooding risk across the county.
Harris County Precinct 3 held its groundbreaking for the T.C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin on Aug. 19, as Community Impact previously reported. The basin is estimated to have 1,200 acre-feet of stormwater storage capacity upon completion. Compartments 1A and 2, which commissioners approved a bid for, will join Compartment 1B in construction.
The Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin will also continue development, moving into its final phase.
Phase 3A of the project is located on the west bank of Greens Bayou near the intersection of Aldine Bender Road and Miranda Street, according to the HCFCD website. The phase will remove overgrowth and unauthorized fill material from 68 acres of the basin, per the website.
The basin along South Mayde Creek will continue construction, adding two wet-bottom compartments to the site that will hold stormwater, according to HCFCD website.
The cost
Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery, a federal grant program, will fund the bids for the Lauder basin and the basin along South Mayde Creek.
Persons Services, an industrial contractor based in Humble, won the Lauder basin bid for about $5 million. Texas Dewatering, a groundwater and dewatering specialist based in northwest Houston, won the T.C. Jester and South Mayde Creek bids for about $9.5 million and $7.5 million, respectively.
Texas Dewatering will clear and excavate T.C. Jester’s Compartments 1A and 2, which span about 24 acres. The entire basin is estimated to provide about 210 acre-feet of detention storage, per agenda documents.
Compartments 1A and 2 are partially funded from a 2018 voter-approved bond, with the remainder from community-directed Federal Emergency Management Agency money, according to the HCFCD website. The bond provides money to county projects that mitigate flooding.
Phase 3A of the Lauder basin is estimated to cost $9.8 million, according to the HCFCD website. Money from the federal grant will cover the cost, per the website.
The South Mayde Creek basin will receive up to $6.8 million from the federal grant and about $4.8 million from the 2018 bond, according to the HCFCD website.
Construction of the basin is expected to wrap up between April and June 2027. The project is estimated to provide 161 acre-feet of stormwater storage, per the HCFCD website.
