Lake Houston Dredging District Update
10/19/26 – The Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District held a board meeting this morning at the offices of Partnership Lake Houston in Humble.
The members discussed a number of items including:
- Establishing a banking relationship
- Organizing tasks
- Budgeting
- Planning
- Dredging operations
- Contractors
- Funding
- Partnerships
- Developing a business plan.
If the meeting had a theme, it was “Preparation.” The District is still months away from dredging. Board members described dozens of meetings they held with various entities to prepare for dredging. It was a fascinating look at what it will take to make the District a viable, long-term entity. At the moment, it’s little more than a start-up staffed by volunteers and powered by a dream to make their community safer. Today, they covered a wide range of topics.
Establishing a Banking Relationship
In the only official vote of the day, the group decided to establish a banking relationship with Third Coast Bank. This will be necessary to pay vendors such as a lawyer, a bookkeeper, etc.
Budgeting
The group reviewed two budgets that they characterized as “constrained” and “unconstrained.”
- Constrained is what they could do based on limited, available funding.
- Unconstrained is what they could do if they had all the money they needed to spin up operations as quickly as possible.
Working only with pledges from Council Members Fred Flickinger and Twila Carter so far, it will take longer for the board to spin up operations.
However, the constrained budget will help them achieve critical mass needed to apply for grants and justify funding requests from the next legislature and the Texas Water Development Board.
Among the immediate tasks they outlined:
- Hiring an attorney, auditor, bookkeeper, engineer and dredger.
- Performing:
- A dredging survey to identify the areas with the greatest need
- Coring survey to determine the depth of sand
- A planning study to determine dredging frequency, locations, equipment, etc.
Legal
The Board has published a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a lawyer who specializes in supporting districts such as theirs. They have posted the job on the City of Houston Beacon website. They have also researched and reached out to several candidates on the basis of online research. Responses are due by 10/21/26.
Their goal: recommend/approve the most qualified candidate at the November board meeting.
Dredging Operations
The Board’s Dredging Operations Committee has been busy with due diligence. They have reviewed multiple studies and/or met with:
- Coastal Water Authority re: the Joint Reservoir Operations Study, flood mitigation and water quality concerns
- Gulf Coast Protection District re: material specifications for construction of the Ike Dike, and where they might come from, i.e., the areas south of the FM1960 Bridge, or from certain depths in the lake.
- SJRA re: its drainage master plan, sand trap study, sedimentation study and more.
- Texas Water Development Board to piggyback on their surveys of Lake’s Houston’s reservoir capacity.
They also will meet with Harris County Flood Control District re: dredging contracts later this week.
Funding
The District’s Funding Plan Committee has begun working on a series of marketing materials that it could use when approaching potential partners or applying for grants. The materials would describe the District’s mission, operations, goals, etc.
Stakeholders
The Board also has a Stakeholder Committee, which is organizing a series of Lake Houston tours by boat.
Next Steps
Once the Board nails down all these issues, it should be able to start developing a business plan and looking at dredging contractors. They hope to be working on their “unconstrained budget” by then.
Mark your calendar. The Board set its next meeting for:
November 16, 2026
110 West Main Street
Humble, TX 77338
Meetings are open to the public. Please attend. The Board will not meet in December due to holiday conflicts and travel schedules.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/19/2026
3338 Days since Hurricane Harvey
