Engineering on Lake Houston Gates Project Now 90 Percent Complete

7/22/26 – Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger reported this morning that engineering for the Lake Houston Gates Project is now 90% complete.

Speaking before the Kingwood Executive Group at the Kingwood Country Club today, he added that we now know the true cost of a workable plan and it’s higher than before. Thus, the next phase of the project will be the hunt for yet more funding.

Scope Change Increases Cost by $100 Million

Flickinger explained. “They now have everything nailed down on the cost. We’re looking at $283 million. Unfortunately, the elevated cost means that we’re not going to qualify for the FEMA money. The benefit/cost analysis doesn’t meet the threshold.” Previous cost estimates put the total around $180 million, according to former Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin.

That means construction will cost $100 million dollars more than previous commitments. “So, we’re going to have to go back to the State and the Feds for some more money to try and get that built,” said Flickinger. “Essentially the scope has changed. When they originally estimated it, they were going to use the concrete portion of the structure. But no construction companies would touch it because of the risk.”

“They were afraid of a catastrophic loss. So the engineers went back and said, ‘Okay, we’ll put the gates in the earthen portion.’ But they were trying to do it without building a coffer dam. Then they came back again and said, ‘No, that’s not going to work. You’re going to have to build a coffer dam.’ So, the increase in the cost has been driven by the general scope change.”

Flickinger described a scenario where well meaning people were trying to control costs to fit the budget. But ultimately, that didn’t work for safety reasons. And when you’re dealing with the water supply for approximately 2.4 million people, safety is paramount.

Flickinger added, “Now they’ve gone pretty much full blown. The cofferdam that they’re talking about building is going to be very substantial. In fact, you will even be able to drive vehicles on it.”

Where Will the Money Come From?

“We’re not going to get the extra funding as a flood-mitigation project,” said Flickinger, “because the math doesn’t work.” Then he shifted gears and talked about the water supply problems in Texas. “Texas has a huge problem right now with water. The state has appropriated…several billion towards water.”

State Representative Charles Cunningham, who also attended the meeting clarified, “Somewhere over $5 billion.”

Flickinger has already reached out to a number of elected officials and candidates on the ballot this fall. They include State Senator Brett Ligon, Cunningham, Alex Mealer, and Steve Toth. “

“I think we’re going to have a lot of help, both in Washington and in Austin, to get this money,” said Flickinger.

Martin, under whom the project started years ago, joked, “That’s DAM good news.”

Flickinger now hopes to start building the Lake Houston gates by late 2027 or early 2028. But engineers have not yet offered a completion date.

How Benefit/Cost Ratio Will Affect Previous FEMA Commitment

FEMA initially committed $50 million to the gates project. Flickinger says that despite the change in the benefit/cost ratio (BCR), clawbacks are not an issue on the money already spent on engineering. However, the BCR will “absolutely affect” unspent funds.

Complexity of Reducing Flooding

Before moving on to other subjects, Flickinger addressed the complexity of flooding. “Everyone looks at the dam as kind of a shiny object,” he said. “And the dam is hugely important, but there’s a ton of other stuff that goes into flooding and drainage. For instance, he referenced explosive upstream development in Montgomery County and the regulations intended to offset the growth of impervious cover, which were finally upgraded just last year.

He talked about the need to upgrade the Kingwood Diversion Ditch in order to take pressure off Bens Branch and Kingwood Town Center to handle all that upstream growth.

Flickinger also cited the importance of dredging to offset sedimentation and maintain capacity. Just recently, the City approved a Board of Directors for the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District established by Cunningham last year.

But that, too, will take money. The next legislative session will definitely be important for the Lake Houston Area.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/22/26

3249 Days since Hurricane Harvey