$480 Million Project Brays Complete After 40 Years

May 26, 2022, marked the official completion of a 40-year, $480-million flood-mitigation project in the Brays Bayou Watershed. Project Brays was the largest project in Harris County Flood Control District’s history. It included:

21 miles of channel modifications
Construction of four stormwater detention basins that cover more than 800 acres
Reconstruction of 32 bridges
Miles of hike and bike trails

Benefits of Project Brays

The Texas Medical Center, one of the major economic engines of the City lies within the Brays watershed. No one at the ceremony promised Brays would never flood again. But they did emphasize how Project Brays reduced flood risk. They also emphasized how that could benefit entire communities, not just individual structures.

The detention basins alone will hold more than 3.5 billion gallons of stormwater. That’s a foot of rain falling across 17 square miles!

According to County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the combination of improvements will reduce flood depth by an average of 2 feet.

The project reduced flood risk for more than 15,000 structures in the Brays Bayou Watershed where 775,000 people live. According to HCFCD statistics, 58% of those residents have low-to-moderate incomes (less than half the average for the region).

*Ribbon cutting on Project Brays near Hermann Park*

Rare Moment of Bipartisan Appreciation

The theme for the ribbon-cutting ceremony was “partnership” between Federal, State, County and City authorities. More than half a dozen different speakers spread the kudos around. The project could not have happened without the cooperation of all of them and their predecessors.

New Flood Control District Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen introduced the partners present.

Colonel Timothy Vail of the U.S. Army Corps called the partnerships in this project the “most sophisticated” he has ever seen during a career that has taken him around the world.

Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle emphasized how funding brought to the table by various sources enabled the acceleration of projects.

Houston City Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz said, “We need to stop being divisive and start being decisive.”

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher described how the area’s congressional delegation was able to bring money to the area through the Water Resources Development Act.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner discussed how projects like this can only happen if multiple partners cooperate.

Past Contributors Acknowledged

And Judge Lina Hidalgo gave a nod to the past as well as the present. She thanked past Flood Control District executives, such as Russ Poppe, Matt Zeve and Mike Talbott. They helped start this project and advance it for decades. She also thanked Poppe and Zeve for architecting the flood bond, which reversed “decades of investment that simply was not aggressive enough.”

Hidalgo also stated that regulations were not aggressive enough before the flood bond. For instance, she cited buyouts that took place as part of Project Brays and said that those homes would never have been safe no matter what the partners did to mitigate flooding.

Project Milestones

It’s interesting to see “what happened when” on this project, recognizing that the pace depended on funding – or lack thereof – as Hidalgo acknowledged.

Early 1980s

U.S,. Army Corps of Engineers began the study of Brays Bayou.

1991

Design and engineering began on the Brays Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project.

1993

Construction of the first stormwater detention basin at Arthur Story Park began.

2004

Excavation of Brays Bayou main channel began.

2005

Freshwater Marsh at Mason Park was completed.

2008

Arthur Storey Park and Old Westheimer Stormwater Detention Basin completed.

2015

Eldridge Stormwater Detention Basin completed.

2017

Control Structures at Eldridge, Old Westheimer, and Arthur Storey completed.

2018

Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin completed.

2021

Channel modifications from Houston Ship Channel to Fondren Road completed.

2022

Final bridge construction projects and overall Project Brays completed.

(Note: since originally posting this story, I learned that minor work remains on three bridges even though the bridges are open to traffic. HCFCD decided to hold the ceremony when it did to avoid hurricane season and because of the impending transfer of Colonel Vail who played a key role in this project.)

A Helicopter Flight Up Brays Bayou Before Completion of Construction

In June of 2021, I flew a helicopter from one end of Brays Bayou to the other, when many of the improvements were still under construction. See the photos below.

Brays Bayou Bridge — *Railroad bridge being upgraded* *near Tipps Street.*

*New Bridge over Brays at South 75th. Widening of a channel may require a new bridge OR the widening of supports under the bridge.*

288 and Brays. Bridge construction on Almeda. — *288 and Brays*. *Bridge construction on Almeda.*

*Looking NE toward Med Center and downtown in background across another new bridge over Brays. Note the electrical infrastructure next to the bayou.*

*Looking NE toward downtown where Fannin St. crosses Brays at UT Health Science Center.*

*Looking NE toward downtown in background along Main Street. Medical Center is in middle of frame.*

*Looking north across new bridge over Brays along Buffalo Speedway toward Greenway Plaza in background.*

*Looking east toward downtown along Brays just inside of Loop 610 at detention pond. Note sewage treatment plant across bayou.*

*SW Corner of Loop 610 looking toward downtown in upper right.*

*Same intersection south of Galleria area. Note complexity where seven streams of traffic intersect.*

*Looking north at new bridge over Brays at Chimney Rock*

*Looking WSW across same new bridge at Hillcroft. Note wide spans and wings designed to prevent erosion.*

*Looking NNE at Hilcroft and North Braeswood Blvd.*

Stormwater Detention Basins

*Arthur Storey Park at Beltway 8 West and Bellaire Blvd. Looking N toward Westchase District.*

*Southern part of same park. Looking NE across BW8 West.*

*One of the five compartments in the Willow Water Hole Stormwater Detention Basin near S. Post Oak and US 90.*

*Two northeastern compartments within Willow Water Hole complex* *on either side of South Post Oak Road.*

*From page 57 of HCFCD 2019 Federal Briefing*. *Note all of the projects recently funded, completed or under construction.*

Projects like Brays don’t happen spontaneously. This took decades of planning and collaboration. So, we should all remember that progress in flood mitigation can sometimes take decades. And that public safety requires reaching across party lines and generations.

For more information, visit www.projectbrays.org.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/26/22

1731 Days since Hurricane Harvey