Harris County Commissioners to Discuss Future of Flood Bond on Thursday

9/14/25 – On Thursday, 9/18/25, Harris County Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss the future of the 2018 Flood Bond. Again.

Item 117 on the agenda says, “Request for discussion and possible action regarding a report from the Flood Control District related to the 2018 Bond Program.” Unfortunately, no report is attached to the agenda. Reportedly, it is not yet ready.

What’s the Problem?

Rumors of potential shortfalls in bond funding started in 2021. Compound inflation since the start of the flood bond has reduced the purchasing power of flood-bond dollars approximately 25-30%.

That raises many questions: Do we have enough money to finish all the bond projects? If not, whose projects will be cut? What happens if you start construction, but don’t have money to finish it? Should we kill projects in some areas to construct projects in others?

No easy answers exist. Harris County Flood Control District, Engineering, the County Administrator and County Budget Director have tried all year to answer commissioners’ questions and have been meeting weekly for months to work out a plan that everyone can agree on.

Multiple Delays since February

On February 6, 2025, fireworks erupted in Commissioners Court over the inability to get data that could inform decisions about Subdivision-Drainage and Flood-Bond projects. Commissioners called it a “major crisis” and “an abysmal failure.”

They asked Dr. Tina Petersen, executive director of Harris County Flood Control, to come back in March with answers. But March turned into May, May into June, then July and August. And now, here we are in September.

What Commissioners Asked For

In February, Commissioners asked HCFCD to work with the County Engineer, Administrator and Budget Director to return to court on March 27 with “proposed options and recommendations using any and all county resources for closing the shortfall.” The analysis was to have included:

The entire program including all projects completed
Projects under construction with any potential changes in contract
Active projects awaiting funding
Remaining available funds for all projects now that the project budgets have been increased.

However, the departments could not produce the data by March 27. So, Commissioners gave them until May 8. This time, commissioners asked for:

Status of each project in the bond
Expected time to completion
How cost has changed over time
Whether there was a change in scope
Sources of funding

The May presentation slipped to June. Petersen still didn’t have a clear plan, but she hinted at a potential $1.3 billion shortfall. That’s a quarter of all funds raised to date – either through the bond or partner contributions.

No mention of shortfall in bond updates — *In June, Petersen alluded to $1.3 billion shortfall* *in testimony to Commissioners.*

Flood Control and the head engineers of each precinct have met weekly since then in an effort to identify a plan that everyone can agree to. The fact that the plan wasn’t attached to the agenda suggests they may not have agreed on it yet.

Uncertainty, Delays Could Jeopardize Additional Funding

Meanwhile, the uncertainty and delays could jeopardize even more funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) via the Texas General Land Office (GLO).

In 2021, GLO Commissioner George P. Bush announced a $1.1 billion allocation of HUD funds for flood mitigation and disaster relief in Harris County.

But that money is available on a reimbursement basis only…after the County completes approved projects.

Out of that that money, the deadline expires on $327 million in February 2027. That leaves little time to actually build the 11 associated disaster-relief projects before the deadline.

The Mercer Basin now under construction is similar to those. It was supposed to take a year to build on an expedited basis. We are now at two years and counting. Construction is far from complete.

And the last of the 11 projects isn’t even scheduled to go out for BID until the SECOND quarter of next year.