GLO Provides Update on HCFCD Grant Applications Totaling $850 Million
6/7/2025 – The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has provided an update on the status of more than $850 million in Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) grant applications related to Hurricane Harvey – including two that affect the Humble/Kingwood/Lake Houston Area.
GLO manages grants for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Texas. The grants in question are HUD Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief and Flood Mitigation – CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT.
The dollars allocated to various projects have shifted slightly since the May update as HCFCD received firmer bids/estimates and revised applications slightly.
The first category (disaster relief) totals $323.2 million. The second (flood mitigation) totals $529.5 million. Together, they total $852.7 million.
Approval Status
GLO has approved all but one of the Disaster Relief grants and is in the process of finalizing the Flood Mitigation applications with HCFCD.
Brittany Eck, a GLO spokesperson, said “There is a tremendous amount of work in progress, reviewing applications and request-for-information (RFI) responses to ensure all HUD eligibility requirements are met.”
In addition, 10 of the CDBG DR projects are in various stages of design. Two have already attained authority to use grant funds and will soon be going to bid. Arbor Oaks has already been bid and soon will be awarded, according to Eck. Bids closed on June 2.
There are 15 CDBG MIT project applications under various levels of review and two still in development.
This is no small task. Applications average around a hundred pages of technical data and there are 28 applications altogether. In addition to developing all that information, proving up the beneficiaries and LMI requirements is an even bigger part of the process, according to the GLO.
Projects Affecting Lake Houston Area
Two projects on the list greatly affect residents and businesses in the Humble/Kingwood/Lake Houston Area.
TC Jester Basin
The first is the East TC Jester Basin/Compartment 1B. It is located on the east side of TC Jester Boulevard in the Cypress Creek Watershed.
A regional drainage study for the watershed found that flooding along tributaries of Cypress Creek is predominately due to stormwater from Cypress Creek backing up into tributaries, rather than a lack of sufficient stormwater conveyance capacity on the tributaries themselves.
Therefore, stormwater detention basins were recommended to help to reduce the risk of flooding.
In September 2023, several parties held a press conference to announce funding for this project at the job site. This should be the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place.
The entire project (west and east basins) reportedly comprises 171 acres. The photo below shows the area where the first of the East Basins will go.
While benefits will accrue primarily to those who live nearby, Cypress Creek is a major tributary to Lake Houston. And all stormwater held back upstream helps people downstream, too.
GLO has already approved $24.6 million for this project.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements/Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin
These two projects have been combined to speed up their approval. Together they should cost approximately $42 million and benefit residents in northeastern Kingwood.
Woodridge Village is the former Perry Homes development along the headwaters of Taylor Gully. After the developer cleared the property, hundreds of homes flooded multiple times.
Before Perry sold the property to HCFCD and the City of Houston, it excavated several small detention basins. But they fell about 40% short of Atlas 14 standards.
HCFCD then entered into an excavation and removal contract with Sprint Sand and Clay to increase stormwater detention capacity. The contractor eventually excavated almost enough to meet Atlas 14 standards. However, HCFCD was forced to terminate the contract when it applied for the HUD grant.
Here’s how the site looked last week.
This also will be a cooperative venture between local, state and federal authorities, including:
- U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02)
- State Representative Charles Cunningham (TX HD-127)
- Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, P.E. (Precinct 3)
- Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger (District E)
- Dr. Tina Petersen, P.E., Executive Director, Harris County Flood Control District
At a press conference on September 17, 2024, they discussed funding.
- U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw secured federal funding for Taylor Gully improvements in March 2022.
- Rep. Cunningham said that the Texas Water Development Board approved state funding.
- Dr. Petersen reviewed GLO/HUD CDBG-MIT applications.
What Woodridge/Taylor Gully Project Includes
- Expand a portion of Taylor Gully and line it with concrete.
- Build another stormwater detention basin on Woodridge Village holding 412 acre-feet.
- Replace the culverts at Rustling Elms with a clear-span bridge.
HCFCD is working closely with GLO to move the application along as quickly as possible. That’s also true for the other CDBG-MIT projects. The CDBG-DR projects have tighter deadlines, which is why HCFCD/GLO focused on those first.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/7/2025
2839 Days since Hurricane Harvey
