“Worst-First” Promised, But Far From Delivered

10/27/26 – The San Jacinto Watershed had the worst flooding in Harris County during Hurricane Harvey, yet has received only 14% of the $367.45 million in flood-mitigation assistance promised with the 2018 Flood Bond.

Harris County officials sold the $2.5 billion Flood Bond in 2018 on the basis of “worst first.” Said another way, areas with the worst flooding would receive flood-mitigation help first. However, eight years later, a different administration is fixing the worst flooding last. The graphs below tell the story.

Who Had Worst Flooding?

The first graph shows the number of “feet above flood stage” that floodwaters reached at representative gages across the county. I calculated the results from data readily available on the Harris County Flood Warning System. To cross-check, just subtract the “flooding likely” levels for each gage from the peaks recorded during Hurricane Harvey.

You can see the highest flooding in the county, aka “the worst,” happened at the US59 gage at the San Jacinto West Fork – more than 20 feet above flood stage. Spring Creek at I-45 came in a close second.

Who Received Most and Least Flood-Mitigation Support?

However, those two watersheds have received among the lowest percentages of promised flood-mitigation support.

Publicity surrounding the Flood Bond contained lists of recommended projects and their costs. The graph below shows what percentage of the estimated totals for each watershed has been spent to date. To calculate the percentages, I used spending data through third quarter 2026 available on the Harris County Flood Control District Activity Page.

Notice how the San Jacinto Watershed moved from worst flooded to virtually last in flood-mitigation support.

The San Jacinto Watershed has the largest disparity between mitigation promised and delivered.

Notice also where Spring Creek falls. It went from the second-worst flooding to the third-least support out of all the watersheds in Harris County.

The San Jacinto River Basin (Harris County’s largest) has received only 14% of the promised flood mitigation dollars to date.

Note in the table above that “countywide projects” is not the same thing as a “countywide average for all watersheds.” HCFCD has spent $2.33 billion so far out of a total of $5.3 billion. The $5.3 billion includes secured partnership dollars. So, the average of “percent spent” for all watersheds is 44%. The San Jacinto is less than one third of that.

But that average assumes no partnership dollars will go somewhere else. More than $250 million of Community Development Block Grant Funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are at risk unless HCFCD can speed up project execution.

Two Issues: Misleading Voters and Slow Delivery

The numbers above point to two issues:

• Voters were misled. After the Flood Bond passed in 2018, a Democratic majority in commissioners court redefined the language voters approved in the flood bond. Instead of the “equitable expenditure of funds” (see Paragraph 14-G) promised in the flood bond and prioritizing projects on the basis of “worst first,” projects have been prioritized by equity and social vulnerability. Flood risk no longer even factors into the formula for prioritizing projects.
• Project delivery rates fell off precipitously under HCFCD’s former executive director who was recommended by Commissioner Adrian Garcia. He defended her slow delivery long after problems under her leadership became clear. We’ve seen similar problems in other county departments. We must untangle them by hiring professionals not political loyalists.

Your Chance to Correct

Voters have a rare chance to correct these problems in the current election – before it’s too late.

Politicians have a long history of redefining words to suit their purposes. They also have a long history of replacing competent professionals with political loyalists.

If you’re concened about flooding, you have a rare chance to correct these problems at the ballot box. Orlando Sanchez has met with me for hours on several occasions discussing flood problems in the Lake Houston Area. His opponent has not contacted me at all.

That speaks volumes about their respective priorities.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/27/26

3346 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.