Official Taylor Gully-Woodridge Project Groundbreaking
7/20/2026 – Federal, State, County and City officials gathered today for the official groundbreaking of the Taylor Gully/Woodridge flood-mitigation project. The ceremony took place against the backdrop of an excavator and a parade of trucks already hard at work.
For added drama and to underscore the project’s urgency, the groundbreaking happened while the second tropical depression of the season brews in the Gulf…and just days after heavy non-tropical rainfall produced deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country.
The Value of Partnerships
The size of projects such as Woodridge/Taylor Gully usually means multiple entities are involved. Groundbreaking ceremonies such as this give all parties an opportunity to thank each other and explain the value of teamwork to the public.
Ramsey introduced each of the partners:
- Marcus Stuckett, the new executive director of Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD)
- Fred Flickinger, District E Houston City Council Member
- Cameron Chottiner, District Director for U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw
- Aaron Harris, representing the Texas General Land Office (GLO)
Scope and Details of Project
Stuckett explained how the Taylor Gully/Woodridge Project came out of HCFCD’s 2020 Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis. The study identified ways to reduce flood risk in the Kingwood area.
The Taylor Gully portion of the project includes channel conveyance improvements from the Harris County line to a location near Maple Bend Drive. The next portion of the project involves a stormwater detention basin containing approximately 400-acre-feet of volume on more than 195 acres in Montgomery County.
Stuckett said, “With both of these pieces in place, we expect in the long term to reduce water surface elevations as much as five feet during storm events…a major flood reduction for this community.” (See second poster below for exact numbers at different locations.)
Need for Project
Flickinger spoke next and reminded people how Elm Grove and Sherwood Trails had never flooded until a land developer altered the drainage. Then it flooded repeatedly. He also reminded people of all the additional development taking place upstream in Montgomery County.
“Although we’re thrilled with all the development and would like to see more of it, we’ve got to do it smart,” said Flickinger. “And hopefully this project will mitigate problems for a lot of people. We’re really looking forward to getting it done.”
At this point, weather permitting, “getting it done,” should take another 18 months.
Financing the Improvements
Ramsey then reminded everyone that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/GLO are bearing $41.9 million of the project’s cost.
Aaron Harris from the GLO spoke on behalf of Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. Harris has relatives and friends in Kingwood, so this was personal for him. He said that the GLO is administering $14 billion of HUD funds in Texas targeted at Harvey flood mitigation and disaster relief “to build safer, more resilient communities.”
Cameron Chottiner, standing in for Congressman Dan Crenshaw, reminded people how Crenshaw made disaster relief and flood mitigation one of his top priorities. Crenshaw helped secure more than $100 million in direct federal appropriations for 30 flood-mitigation projects, such as Kingwood Diversion Ditch improvements, Taylor Gully and Ford Road Expansion.
“While our region is far better prepared today thanks to additional detention capacity and ongoing drainage improvements,” said Chottiner, “we cannot lose sight of the fact that flood risks remain real.”
“Federal funding has played an important role,” he continued, “but none of these accomplishments would be made without the strong partnerships among Harris County, the Harris County Flood Control District, City of Houston, community leaders and engaged residents. So this has truly been a team effort.”
“Let’s Go Throw a Little Dirt”
Ramsey concluded the ceremony with a reminder that Harris County still has about $3 billion worth of flood mitigation projects to build that are currently on the books. “So, let’s go throw a little dirt,” he concluded.
And with that, they all picked up ceremonial shovels for the assembled members of the press corps.
Project Details
The first poster below shows the location of project elements.
The next poster shows the benefits. “Interim” refers to the work now in construction. “Ultimate” refers to the benefits if/when Compartment 2 (shown in the poster above) is funded and built.
In general, the addition of the second compartment reduces water surface elevations by another 1-2 foot . The percentages refer to floods with an X% annual chance of occurrence. For instance, a “10-year” flood, actually has a 10% chance of occurring every year. Likewise, a “100-year” flood has a 1% chance of occurring every year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/20/2026
3247 Days since Hurricane Harvey
