Studied to Death

3/20/26 – This week, we had more two more examples of flood-mitigation projects that are being studied to death.

• Spring Creek Watershed Flood Control Dams on Birch and Walnut Creeks
• Kingwood Diversion Ditch

They might not be buried yet, but they might as well be.

Let’s look at each and the implications for flood control.

Birch and Walnut Creeks

The two flood-control projects in the Spring Creek watershed were first studied in 1976 (see page 24) when the land was predominantly forested and could have been purchased for a tiny fraction of what it costs today. No one took action then. The benefit/cost ratio came in close to zero; project costs far outweighed benefits by more than 10:1.

This week, 50 years later, SJRA published another study, suggested by a previous 2020 study. And the new study suggested yet another study. But the study just published took so long – 5 years – that land for the projects sold to developers before SJRA completed the study. Whew! Follow all that?

So, the current study’s authors actually suggested yet another study to see if an unidentified sponsor could buy the property (which isn’t for sale) – while engineers design the dams, which probably won’t qualify for funding.

Why? The current study took so long that the federal government excluded social benefits from Benefit/Cost Ratios (BCRs). But the reported BCRs included social benefits…because the study’s authors hoped the Federal Government might include them again at some point in the future. So much for making studies actionable!

It may be time to put this one out of its misery. SJRA can’t even seem to interest Waller County in helping, even though its own residents would benefit the most.

Kingwood Diversion Ditch

One third of all the people who died in Harris County during Harvey died along Bens Branch when the Kingwood Diversion Ditch couldn’t divert enough stormwater.

Ben’s Branch and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch operate as one system to drain the western half of Kingwood. Friendswood conceived the Diversion Ditch as a way to take pressure off Ben’s Branch. But over time, upstream development has overwhelmed both.

Back in 2020, HCFCD’s Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis named the Diversion Ditch the most important project in the area. Congressman Dan Crenshaw requested a $1.6 million grant for Diversion Ditch design in 2021 and obtained it.

Then a preliminary engineering review took three years longer than planned and was widely criticized for missing opportunities.

Next, HCFCD took two years to negotiate the price of the design phase which should have finished by now. But it hasn’t even started yet. So yesterday, HCFCD requested a 2-year extension on the grant.

If lucky, we may see the design by 2028 – 11 years after Harvey. Then come the long and arduous tasks of obtaining funding and completing construction. By then, new upstream development will likely have changed design assumptions. And another study may be necessary.

To widen a straight-line ditch, we’ve already spent twice as much time as it took the U.S. to win World War II.

Political Fragmentation Favors Delay, Not Decisiveness

In my opinion, both of these flood-mitigation projects have stalled because the people in charge of them have lost all sense of urgency or can’t see a clear path to completion.

Action is difficult in the highly fragmented world of flood control because it requires coordination among multiple government agencies on the local, county, state and federal levels. It’s much easier to create the appearance of action – with studies.

But the studies by themselves do nothing to reduce flood risk. For those with long memories or PTSD, they at least hold out hope that someday, somehow, something may happen.

In reality, though, these projects have almost a zero chance of getting built.

The study findings are already obsolete – because of inflation, new development, policy changes, and new political leaders with different priorities. So, we just keep studying things to death.

Meanwhile, indecision is a decision with consequences measured downstream. I have four suggestions:

• The state should set up river-basin wide flood control districts. We’re all in this together.
• Collectively, we need to redesign flood mitigation business practices around prevention, not correction. It’s much easier and exponentially cheaper.
• Hold managers to deadlines. Hire people with entrepreneurial experience and a sense of urgency.
• Quit studying things to death. If a project won’t happen, admit it and focus on projects with a fighting chance.

I can already hear the critics now. “Let’s study those suggestions!”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/20/2026

3125 Days since Hurricane Harvey