Flickinger Provides Updates on Lake Houston Gates, Dredging District

6/18/25 – While speaking to the Kingwood Executive Group this morning, Houston District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger reassured members that the project to add more flood gates to the Lake Houston Dam was on track. He said that the engineering and environmental survey work should be completed by the end of this year as previously promised.

However, he also cautioned that a potential cost increase might skew the critical Benefit/Cost Ratio (BCR) used to evaluate grant applications.

In an update on a related drainage issue, Flickinger explained how important the passage of Rep. Charles Cunningham’s Lake Houston Dredging District bill was for the Lake Houston area. Specifically, he talked about how dredging done to date reduced predicted peaks in the May 2024 flood by more than 2 feet and kept water from entering homes throughout Kingwood and the Lake Houston Area.

Latest on Gates Project

After Hurricane Harvey, many people focused on the addition of more flood gates to the Lake Houston Dam could reduce lake levels and flooding by letting water out faster before and during major storms.

Lake Conroe’s dam can release water 15 times faster than the gates on Lake Houston’s dam.

The gates on Lake Houston’s dam release water so slowly that the City must begin releasing water days before a storm to create significant extra storage capacity in the lake.

With a lead time measured in days, forecasts can change before storms arrive. But with a higher release capacity, dam operators could wait until they were certain a storm would hit before opening the gates.

Flickinger stated that the engineering for the additional gates should be at least 90 percent complete by the end of 2025.

“At that point in time,” said Flickinger, “they’ll be able to get accurate BCRs. And they’re already working on the environmental study. Black & Veatch is handling that.”

Community meetings within the next 4 to 5 months will give the public a chance for input.

Construction Still Predicted to Start in 2028, Completion in 2029

“I think they’ll be able to start construction in 2028 and complete the project in 2029,” said Flickinger. “Nothing’s really changed with the dates in the last six months.”

Early indications are that the project could need another $35 million. Flickinger said, “That could delay the project a little bit if they don’t get the BCR they need. But we got it one time; I think we’ll get it a second.”

Flickinger was referring to when Dave Martin, his predecessor convinced FEMA to include social benefits in the calculation of the BCR. Typically, benefits must exceed costs before FEMA or any other group will award a grant.

Since Flickinger took office, the plan for the gates has significantly changed. The original plan was to construct crest gates on the concrete portion of the spillway. However, because of the risk involved, the City could not find a contractor willing to bid on that job.

The new plan is to add tainter gates to the earthen portion of the dam. The project basically turned into a “start over.”

Kudos to Crenshaw and Cunningham

In his talk today, Flickinger also addressed dredging – past, present and future.

He thanked US Rep. Dan Crenshaw and State Rep. Charles Cunningham. “We’re dredging out on the lake today,” said Flickinger. “That’s part of the money that Congressman Crenshaw got for us. We’re moving 800,000 cubic yards of sediment. And that makes a huge difference,” said Flickinger, before lauding HB1532, Rep. Charles Cunningham’s bill that will create a permanent dredging district on Lake Houston.

The Computer Model that Missed and the Legislation that Didn’t

To underscore the importance of dredging, Flickinger explained how computer models missed predictions for the timing and crest of the May 2024 floods in the Lake Houston Area … at a time when water was already lapping at the foundations of thousands of homes.

“The expectation was that the water would crest two feet higher than it did. But they missed it because their model did not include all the dredging that had been done over the last several years. They missed by about two feet and a day. The river was supposed to crest two feet higher and one day later,” said Flickinger.

“But all the dredging allowed the water to flow into the lake and over the dam faster than what they thought it would. So the dredging is a huge deal.”

HB1532, the bill to create a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District, finally passed in this year’s session of the state legislature – after three previous tries.

“Sediment comes into the river and the lake 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Flickinger. “And unless we do something about that, it’s going to be a huge problem.”

Even though Cunningham got the dredging district over the goal line this year, Flickinger was quick to acknowledge assists from Senators Paul Bettencourt, Brandon Creighton and Mayes Middleton who helped push it through the Senate.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/18/2025

2850 Days since Hurricane Harvey