Lack of Support in Legislature Putting Lake Houston Gates Project in Danger

Lack of support by the Texas State legislature is putting the project to add more floodgates to the Lake Houston dam in danger. Right now, money is not in the appropriations bill for the next two years. And if we have to wait for another two years, the initial $50 million committed by FEMA to the project will expire.

Call to Action

Please CALL the following elected representatives to voice your support for including $150 million for Lake Houston Floodgates in next year’s state budget. Also, get everyone you know to call.

At a minimum, call:

Why We Need More Gates

After Hurricane Harvey, Lake Houston Area leaders identified adding more release capacity to the dam as one of the area’s top flood mitigation priorities. The inability to release water fast enough in advance of Harvey contributed to flooding 16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses.

If Lake Houston could release more water faster, authorities could wait until they were certain a storm would hit our area before releasing water. Releasing water would create more room for floodwater. But if the storm veers away and we release the water unnecessarily, it could cause a water shortage for 2 million people.

More gates would eliminate that risk/uncertainty.

Progress But Still No Permanent Solution

Rainfall this past week has demonstrated the problem once again. There was no tropical storm. No hurricane. No stalled front. Just widespread, sporadic downpours. Even with Lake Houston’s gates wide open and two feet of water cascading over the spillway, areas around the lake are still flooding.

It happens repeatedly.

And bigger storms can cause horrific damage.

Preliminary engineering studies showed that more gates could reduce flood levels significantly. FEMA appropriated $50 million to build them. But additional studies showed we need more gates that will quadruple the cost. We need $150 million more.

Support of Area Representatives and Organizations Not Enough

The state legislature is the only place to get that money before the FEMA grant expires. More than a dozen area organizations and elected representatives have already written letters to legislators in support of the project – to no avail.

Significantly, support comes from both upstream and downstream.

Montgomery County people want this project as much as Harris County people, because it would enable Lake Conroe to avoid seasonal lowering.

See letters from:

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, PE, to Governor Greg Abbott

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, PE, to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, PE, House Speaker Dade Phelan

North Houston Association to Governor Greg Abbott

North Houston Association to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

North Houston Association to House Speaker Dade Phelan

Partnership Lake Houston to Governor Greg Abbott

SJRA to State Senator Brandon Creighton

SJRA to Senator Joan Huffman

SJRA to Senator Charles Perry

Lake Conroe Association to Senator Brandon Creighton

Lake Conroe Association to Senator Robert Nichols

Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority to Governor Greg Abbott

City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin to Governor Greg Abbott

City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin to House Speaker Dade Phelan

Harris County Flood Control District to Governor Greg Abbott

Harris County Flood Control District to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Harris County Flood Control District to House Speaker Dade Phelan

City of Humble Mayor Norman Funderburk to Governor Greg Abbott

Kingwood Service Association to Governor Greg Abbott

Kingwood Service Association to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Kingwood Service Association to House Speaker Dade Phelan

Greater Houston Partnership to the entire Houston Delegation

Kingwood Area Superneighborhood Council to Governor Greg Abbott

Kingwood Area Superneighborhood Council to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Kingwood Area Superneighborhood Council to Houston Speaker Dade Phelan

Humble ISD to Governor Greg Abbott

Humble ISD to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Humble ISD to Dade Phelan

Montgomery County Judge to Governor Greg Abbott

Montgomery County Judge to House Speaker Dade Phelan

Montgomery County Judge to Senator Brandon Creighton

Montgomery County Judge to Senator Lois Kolkhorst

Montgomery County Judge to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Montgomery County Precinct 4 to Governor Greg Abbott

Montgomery County Precinct 4 to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Montgomery County Precinct 4 to House Speaker Dade Phelan

Greater East Montgomery County Chamber to Governor Greg Abbott

Greater East Montgomery County Chamber to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

Greater East Montgomery County Chamber to House Speaker Dade Phelan

Time for Residents to Add Their Voices

At this time, we need to start a telephone campaign by residents. NOW! This session ends in days.

Please voice your support for the project by calling the offices of Governor Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Patrick, Senator Creighton, and Rep. Greg Bonnen, chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Ask them to add $150 million for more Lake Houston floodgates in next year’s state budget.

You could make the difference.

Posted By Bob Rehak on 5/17/2023

2087 Days since Hurricane Harvey