Ask Sen. Creighton to Support Lake Houston Dredging District Bill
5/4/25 – A bill by State Rep. Charles Cunningham (HB 1532) that would create a Lake Houston Dredging District has passed overwhelmingly in the House and moved to the Senate. The bill received 114 Yeas and 19 Nays in the House, but has yet to pick up traction in the Senate.
Perhaps no other bill is as important to the future of NE Harris County as this one. Please contact Senator Brandon Creighton who represents the Lake Houston area and ask him to sponsor HB1532 in the Senate.
What HB1532 Would Do
Here is the engrossed version of HB1532. Engrossed means that it incorporates amendments added to the bill in the House before passage. So, it is the latest version as of this writing.
Lake Houston supplies water for more than 2 million people in the Houston region. But sediment buildups from sand mines and new development upstream continue to plague it. And that, in turn has contributed to widespread flooding.
Such sediment buildups have reduced the capacity of Lake Houston by almost 10% as the region’s population has grown by more than 500%.
Texas Water Development Board and US Census Bureau
While dredging since Hurricane Harvey has helped remove some of the sediment in the headwaters of the lake, we need a long-term, ongoing maintenance program to address new sediment that continues to come downstream with ever major rain.
The Committee Substitute of HB 1532 seeks to address this issue by creating the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District. It will provide dredging and maintenance operations in the area that improve water flow and reduce sediment buildup.
A five-person board would govern the district:
- One director appointed by the Houston City Council
- Two appointed by Houston Public Works
- One appointed by the Mayor
- One appointed Harris County Commissioners Court
Dredging could take place only in Harris County; Montgomery County is not affected. The Lake itself; East and West Forks of the San Jacinto; Luce Bayou; and Caney Creek are all in bounds.
The District could also sign inter-local agreements with cities such as Humble, to address sediment in its channels that lead to the lake. However, the District could not charge other entities for the dredging it does under such inter-local agreements.
Provisions in the bill prohibit the District from degrading water quality in the Lake. And the District would have to obtain permission from Houston Public Works before doing any dredging.
Financing
The District could NOT levy taxes or charge a fee. But it could issue bonds secured by district revenue.
The bill authorizes the legislature to fund the district’s activities but caps appropriations at $25 million per fiscal year until September 1, 2027.
The bill requires the District to study methods of financing and to make the study’s results available to the public. Early talk around financing focused on beneficial uses of sediment removed from the lake and its tributaries.
For instance, the District could sell the spoils to developers who need to raise slabs or build up areas. Spoils could also be used in projects such as the Ike Dike or road improvements.
Please Help
HB 1532 does not:
- Raise taxes
- Levy fees
- Affect people outside of Harris County
HB 1532 would:
- Make the people and businesses of the Lake Houston area safer
- Help restore the capacity of Lake Houston and its tributaries
- Enhance the water security of the region
- Reduce flooding
- Fuel economic development
- Help avoid economic disruptions, such as we experienced after Harvey.
As long as surrounding counties keep sending sediment downstream, the least they can do is support HB 1532.
Please email Senator Brandon Creighton or call his office at (512) 463-0104. Please ask him to sponsor HB 1532 in the Senate. It will only take a minute!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/4/25
2805 Days since Hurricane Harvey
