Editorial: Getting HCFCD Back on Track

7/6/2026 – Last month, Dr. Tina Petersen, former head of Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), resigned under pressure. For this post, I’d like to focus on what HCFCD needs to do to get back on track. Toward that end, I interviewed more than a dozen people knowledgeable about HCFCD and its operations. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Petersen controversy had to do with the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding because of project delays.

HCFCD now has a new head: Marcus Stuckett, formerly Director of Engineering at HCFCD. Stuckett worked his way up through the organization, then left for several years while Petersen headed the department and is now returning. Here is what many would advise.

Refocus on Core Mission

One said, “Tina Pearson was running public relations campaigns and trying to play politics. The Flood Control District is a planning, engineering and construction organization. And that’s it. Period. We need to refocus on execution and delivering results.”

Other sources echoed this sentiment but phrased it as “Getting back to basics.”

For example, one source mentioned Taylor Gully in Kingwood. Five years and two months ago, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved $10.1 million to widen and deepen Taylor Gully.

But according to Amy Crouser, an HCFCD spokesperson, the District is still waiting for “TWDB to approve the channel work.” Then she added, “City of Houston is working on getting this approval.”

Fill Gaps in the Org Chart

One source told me that there are still many highly qualified and motivated people at HCFCD. However, others bemoaned the brain drain that has reportedly created gaps in org charts. The gaps disrupt or delay decision making. They also cost institutional knowledge and project continuity.

For instance, one group head has been scheduled to retire for a long time. But reportedly, Petersen did not seek a replacement. A lack of overlap will make it harder for a new hire to get up to speed.

Sense of Urgency and Ownership

Virtually everyone I talked to mentioned the need to re-instill a sense of urgency and project ownership. Delays under the previous director cost some projects years. For instance, the Preliminary Engineering Report for the Kingwood Diversion Ditch project was scheduled to take 300 days, but took more than 1,400.

Design work for the project will finally go on the Commissioner’s Court agenda for August this year, exactly nine years after 13 people died along Bens Branch. (The Diversion Ditch takes water out of Bens Branch, hence its name.)

Empower Employees to Make Decisions

“Empower folks to make decisions,” said one source. “Project managers and the people doing the day to day are trying very, very hard to push projects forward. The biggest issue sometimes is HCFCD’s own processes where, “Okay, we finished this stage. Now it has to go up to leadership for review and approval.”

But getting to the next stage was often problematic. Many cited Petersen’s penchant for perfectionism, consensus-style management, risk avoidance, and indecisiveness. That combination delayed projects, sometimes for years. Said another way, the organization had a bad case of paralysis through analysis.

Such managers can prefer “delays over decisions.” Stuckett must ask, “How can we make this work?” Not, “Why might this be a problem?”

Address Delays Caused by Other County Departments

Numerous sources cited delays caused by other county departments, namely Purchasing and the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity.

Commissioner Ramsey admitted that DEEO had issues. He mentioned that that department head was also replaced.

“If Purchasing or DEEO are impacting our ability to get something done, we need to know about it. Then, we can work together to eliminate delays,” said Ramsey.

Return to a Metrics-Driven Approach

After Petersen took office in 2022, Bond Updates became less frequent as project progress slowed. The lack of reliable metrics made it more difficult for Commissioners, funding partners and the public to gauge progress.

When Commissioner Ramsey and the GLO finally demanded metrics that showed project progress, the depth of HCFCD’s problems finally became apparent.

“Work the Details”

Commissioner Ramsey, a veteran engineer, said, “There’s no magic formula. We have to work the details – daily – on where each project is. Some are far along. And some are just about to get started. Are we working the schedule? Is there anything we can do to mitigate problems associated with it?”

Focus on CDBG

With $322 million of US Department of Housing and Urban Development CDBG Grants (Community Development Block Grants) facing a deadline of 2/28/27 – less than eight months away – obviously the immediate focus needs to be on those.

Ramsey advised, “Federal paperwork is necessary and complicated. So, be sure that you’re working the paperwork. All of these issues are manageable. We just have to get organized.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/6/2026

3233 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.