San Jacinto Watershed Received Only 2% of Mitigation Dollars since Passage of Flood Bond

10/27/2025 – The San Jacinto watershed has received only about 2% of the county’s flood-mitigation dollars since voters approved the 2018 Flood Bond.

And yet, the San Jacinto watershed:

Is the largest watershed in the county.
Drains an area bigger than Harris County itself.
Experienced flooding 27 feet above the normal river level and more than 20 feet above flood stage during Harvey
Had the highest death toll in the county (almost half of all deaths during Harvey)
Had more structures damaged in Harvey than 16 other watersheds.
Reported the highest voter turnout for the flood bond (five of the top eight precincts in Harris County).

Yet whether you look at total dollars spent or construction dollars, the 2% figure remains.

San Jacinto Watershed Receives Less than $5 Million Per Year in 5 of 8 Years

According to the most recent figures available from Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), the county has spent $2,071.59 million ($2+ billion) in total since passage of the flood bond in 2018. Yet the San Jacinto watershed has received only $43.65 million of that – 2.11%.

And of the $948.38 million spent on construction since Bond passage, the San Jacinto watershed has received only $19.65 million – 2.07%. See the breakdown by years below:

*Data for both graphs sourced from HCFCD Activity Page. *Includes 1 Quarter. **Includes 3 Quarters.*

So, whether you look at total or construction spending, the San Jacinto watershed has received less than $5 million per year in five of the last eight years.

So Much for Worst First!

To put those numbers in perspective, compare the size of the watershed to the size of the spending.

*The portion of the San Jacinto watershed inside Harris County ranks it as the largest watershed in the county. But that is the smallest portion of the watershed.*

The County sold the flood bond to voters by saying it would fix the worst areas first. However, that has not been the case.

Shortly after voters approved flood bond language that guaranteed an “equitable distribution of funds,” the County adopted an “Equity Prioritization Framework” that eliminated flood damage and flood risk in the allocation of dollars. Linguists and historians may be interested in reviewing accepted definitions of equity and equitable in Websters Third International and Oxford English Dictionaries. The words sound alike, but are not the same.

Some Other Watersheds Have Received Even Less

But as bad as this is for the San Jacinto watershed, consider other watersheds that have gotten even less.

*Screen capture from https://www.hcfcd.org/Activity*

In my opinion, the issue with flood-control spending to date is not just slowness, it’s also fairness.

We’ll have a chance to fix that next year. Primary elections for county commissioners and county judge begin in March 2026. And the general election is in November 2026.

We have another hurricane season to get through before then. Don’t count on another as mild as this one.

Posted by Bob Rehak on October 27, 2025

2981 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.