We Must Make Addressing “Worst Flooding First” a Campaign Issue

1/7/26 – The final Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) spending numbers are in for 2025. And they show a disturbing story of deception that calls for political change. The latest numbers show that HCFCD is fixing the worst flooding last, not first, as promised. See the two graphs below.

Compare Spending to Flood Height

The first shows flood height. The San Jacinto watershed had the worst flooding in Harris County.

Yet when you look at where the money goes, the San Jacinto ranks nearly last.

The San Jacinto Watershed has only received 13% of the money allocated to it in the flood bond. Yet almost half of the flood-related deaths in Harris County during Harvey occurred in the San Jacinto Watershed – 15 out of 36. Most of those were elderly.

Why the huge disparity between these two graphs? Unfortunately and unbelievably…

The Democratic majority on commissioners court removed flood-risk reduction as a factor in prioritizing mitigation projects in 2022.

To Change Priorities, Change Leaders

But you can change that at the ballot box this year.

In that regard, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting one of the front runners for county judge this year, Marty Lancton. As a leader of first responders, he has experienced the terrible human toll of flooding as few others have. And he has made flood mitigation one of his top priorities. Most importantly…

Lancton believes in restoring flood-risk reduction as a factor in prioritizing projects.

It’s time we put the worst flooding first, not last. We must improve fairness to restore faith in government.

The Raw Data

Live in another watershed and wonder whether you got shortchanged, too? Here’s where HCFCD spent your money to date.

Eight watersheds exceed the average percent spent, while fifteen fall below it. This isn’t accidental. It’s deliberate. And this is the year to fix that.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/7/26

3053 Days since Hurricane Harvey