Cunningham, Flickinger Address Funding as Dredging District Board Gets Down to Business
9/21/2026 – The Lake Houston Dredging District Board, with the assistance of State Rep. Charles Cunningham and Houston District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger are getting down to business. One month after their first public organizing meeting, the Board has split up into committees, met with dozens of experts, outlined a business plan, explored funding, mapped out next steps and started to prioritize them.
Locking Down Decisions that Will Determine Funding Needs
However, no one is dredging yet. And everyone wishes that could happen sooner rather than later. But still, the Board is far ahead of where they were at this time last month. And within the next month or two, they should be able to start making decisions that will shape the future of district.
Until now, the Board has been gathering information it needs to make those decisions.
- Where are the sediment accumulations?
- How much needs to be removed?
- How will they separate sand from silt?
- How much will that cost?
- Where will the sediment be sold?
- How will it be sold?
- How much will it sell for?
- How much will it cost to transport?
- Should they outsource operations?
- Who will staff the organization?
- Who will keep the books and offer legal services?
- How much can sales offset operating costs?
- How much will they need in appropriations?
- Who will file for the federal tax ID required to open a bank account?
- Where will they bank?
- Should they adjust their fiscal year to coincide with the state’s appropriation cycle?
- Etc.
If you’ve never started a business before, it’s hard to appreciate the complexities. It feels as though everything needs to be done yesterday.
January Deadline Driving Funding Request
The meeting today lasted two hours. The discussion was lively.
Cunningham emphasized that he needed a cost estimate for any legislative funding request by January 14, 2027, at the latest. He also requested the numbers earlier if possible, so that “we can start working on the rider.”
It will likely take until September 2027 before any state appropriation becomes final. It would then take another month or two for money to work its way from the State Treasury to the Texas Water Development Board and back to the Dredging District.
Flickinger then offered to provide start-up seed money from his City Council District service funds. And Cunningham admonished, “We can’t let grass grow under our feet.”
The Big Question: What Percent of Costs Can Be Offset?
Long term, it would behoove everyone to get the Dredging District as close to break even as financially possible.
A web search for dredging case studies where the beneficial sale of spoils totally offset operational costs came up empty.
However, I did find several where sales offset a large percentage of the costs. So getting the right answers to the litany of questions above is vital. It will determine the long-term sustainability of dredging operations on Lake Houston. And that could reduce flood risk and save lives.
Next Meeting
The Dredging District meets every third Monday at 11 AM, at the offices of Partnership Lake Houston. So, mark October 19th on your calendar. The address is 110 W Main St, Humble, TX 77338.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/21/2026
3310 Days since Hurricane Harvey
