City Approves Board Members for Lake Houston Dredging District

6/10/2026 – The City of Houston this morning approved the final board members for the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District created by State Rep. Charles Cunningham’s HB1532 during the 2025 legislature.

The appointment of the five board members is a significant step. Three of the five are engineers/construction experts. The other two represent the Lake Houston Area Community.

L to R: Sarah Berkey, Kathleen Jordan, *City Council Member Fred Flickinger*, *Derek St. John, and William Simpson*, Board Chair. Not present: Ken Kirchhofer.

Why Have a Dredging District?

After Hurricane Harvey, the Army Corps found that the West Fork was 90% blocked with sediment in places. However, it was unclear how much of the sand was deposited by Harvey and how much had built up over time through lack of maintenance.

As a consequence the City and Harris County argued with FEMA for two years about how much of the dredging FEMA would fund. (Think in terms of someone who makes an insurance claim on a house that was already partially damaged.)

To eliminate such squabbles in the future and to protect the area from flooding, the Army Corps recommended that local authorities set up a permanent dredging district for maintenance purposes.

*West Fork south of the Kingwood Country Club’s Island Course after Harvey. Blockage contributed to catastrophic flooding in Humble and western half of Kingwood.*

west fork mouth bar before dredging — *West Fork mouth bar after Harvey and before dredging.*

East Fork Mouth Bar cost $18 million to dredge. — *East Fork Mouth Bar before dredging*

Local streams and drainage ditches were also blocked.

Rogers Gully Before Dredging — *Rogers Gully mouth bar in Atascocita* *before dredging*

River Grove Sand Bar — *This sand bar in the West Fork completely blocked the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and backed water up into thousands of homes during Harvey.*

And it wasn’t just sand. Thousands of trees also blocked the river and damaged the US59, UPRR, and West Lake Houston Parkway Bridges.

*UnionPacific Railroad Bridge after Harvey. Log dam raised water destroying railroad.*

When Did the Effort to Start the District Begin

Dan Huberty, the Lake Houston Area’s state rep at the time tried to get a dredging district started in the 2021 and 2023 legislatures. However, his bills encountered pushback over raising taxes or imposing fees to support operations.

Cunningham’s bill in 2025 focused on selling the spoils for beneficial uses such as raising foundations and roads, and building the Ike Dike. It passed and the governor signed it into law.

Who Are the Board Members?

William Simpson, Board Chair, worked around the world as a Project Manager on billion dollars projects for 38 years at Chevron Corporation . Then he became a professor in the construction department at Lone Star College. He now serves as the District Governor for Lion’s Clubs International.

Derek St. John PE, CFM is a professional engineer and certified floodplain manager, and one of the two founding members of Gauge Engineering, now a part of HR Green, Inc. He specializes in water resources and stormwater issues.

Sarah M. Berkey, PE, has worked with Carollo Engineers since 2014. She currently serves as Project Advisor/Technical Consultant on the Northeast Water Purification Plant Expansion Project.

Kathleen Todd Jordan is a 47 year resident of Kingwood and a community activist. She is a leader in the Kingwood Area Republican Women’s Club and served as a Republican precinct chair. She also worked for Insperity and as an early childhood educator.

Ken Kirchhofer is a member the Humble ISD School Board where he serves as chair of the Audit Committee. He also serves on the Building and Planning Committee and the Superintendent Evaluation Committee. Ken is a PGA Member, credited with reviving the Atascocita Golf Club. Humble ISD lost multiple facilities to flooding during Harvey.

What Comes Next?

City Council Member Fred Flickinger focused on some of the practical issues facing the board.

This will be like starting up a new business. What will be the financial model? Will dredging be outsourced or handled within Houston Public Works? What will the budget be? How will it be funded? Where will the spoils be dried? Can selling them generate enough income to support operations? How long before dredging starts? Who will staff the operation? Etc.

Flickinger said, “The sooner we can get the dredging done, the better.” With that in mind, Flickinger leans toward outsourcing rather than developing in-house solutions. “But it’s going to be a while before we come up with the best plan that works for everyone,” he added. “Today’s announcement isn’t the end of the journey, but it’s another step forward.”

State Rep. Charles Cunningham said this about today’s development. “Today, the members of the Lake Houston Dredging District were installed by the City of Houston. After years of work by others and myself, I am pleased to welcome these community members to the effort in seeking flooding remediation for the Lake Houston area.”

“I am confident,” he continued, “that they will be diligent in working toward solutions for all residents. The dredging district is one piece of a larger initiative to design sustainable and practical responses to our challenges. They will soon begin meeting and working on the issues. I thank them for stepping up to serve.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/10/2026

3207 Days since Hurricane Harvey