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.
Board members (L to R) Sarah Berkey, Bill Simpson, Derek St. John, Kathleen Jordan, and Ken Kirchhofer.
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:
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.
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:
10/19/26 – Update includes several changes to text to clarify origin and status of $113 million. See GLO clarification at bottom of post.
10/16/26 – GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says she is moving $133 Million of Community Development Block Grant funds for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) designated for Harris County to another county. [GLO disputes this. See clarification below.]
Here’s how the story unfolded.
Garcia Pulls CDBG Update from Commissioners Court Agenda
Agenda Item 93 for the 10/15/26 Harris County Commissioners Court Meeting concerned an update on $322 million of HUD CDBG-DR funds that were at risk because of an imminent 2/28/27 deadline.
Two weeks ago, a one-year extension from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) gave Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) more breathing room. However, it was not clear whether HCFCD could expend all the money … even with the extension.
But yesterday, before Marcus Stuckett, the new executive director of HCFCD, could answer that question, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia pulled Item 93 from the agenda. It will now be considered on November 12 – AFTER the upcoming election. Hmmmm. That made me curious!
No one with Harris County or HCFCD could or would tell me why it was pulled from the agenda. And the County refused my Public Information Request for Stuckett’s presentation … within minutes. They said the presentation didn’t exist. Never a good sign! See below.
Record request denial. Red box added to redact my phone number and address.
So, I sent my request for information to the GLO. They immediately supplied two letters that explain what happened and what will happen.
Letter #1: Stuckett Request to GLO
On 10/2/26, Stuckett sent a letter to GLO Deputy Director Heather Lagrone. In it, he thanks the GLO for the one year extension, and says that it will give HCFCD time to finish the CDBG-DR projects.
But he also explains that $113 million of the $322 million – more than a third of the total – will not be expended before the extended deadline. The reason: Actual project bids compiled under his predecessor came in lower than initial estimates used for grant applications. Stuckett also references “scope changes” as a reason for the lower-than-expected billing.
The first paragraph says she is pleased that the extension will give HCFCD time to complete the CDBG-DR projects.
But Paragraph #2 says “Harris County” failed to provide information that it promised “months ago” about swapping projects from the MIT category to DR – a proposal initiated by Stuckett’s predecessor, Dr. Tina Petersen. Stuckett has been in his new job for only about three months.
In addition to the vague timing reference, the generic “Harris County” reference also stood out. Harris County Housing & Community Development and Harris County Engineering also manage CDBG grants. Buckingham did not specify whether HCFCD, one of the others, or all of the above failed to comply.
Paragraph #3 explains that Buckingham will reallocate the Harris County funds to another county because she fears Harris County will eventually fail to complete the projects. [GLO disputes this. See clarification below.]
Buckingham does not acknowledge that several of the projects that Stuckett proposed moving from MIT to DR were already completed.
One thing is clear, however. Harris County will lose $113 million of flood mitigation funds … at a time when Harris County just raised taxes by a record amount.
Image created by ChatGPT
How We Got Here
It’s important to remember that we would not even be in this position if it weren’t for Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. He pushed to remove exceptional HCFCD leaders who sold the 2018 Flood Bond and were delivering projects at a record pace through 2022. After pushing those leaders out, he replaced them with an inexperienced, unqualified leader he could control.
And boom. Here we are today. $113 million. Gone. Precinct 2 residents should remember that when early voting starts.
To read the full text of Stuckett’s letter to the GLO, click here.
And to read the full text of the GLO’s response to Stuckett, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/16/2026
3335 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.
GLO Clarification
We would like to clarify Commissioner Buckingham’s intent with regards to the $322 million in CDBG-DR funding currently being administered by HCFCD.
In your story you state, “GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says she is moving $113 Million of Community Development Block Grant funds for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) designated for Harris County to another county.” That is not accurate. Commissioner Buckingham has not identified any amount of funding to be removed from the $322 million in CDBG-DR (disaster recovery funding) that she secured for Harris County projects. All Commissioner Buckingham has said specifically relating to reducing the funding was in her 9/28/2026 letter to Judge Hidalgo in which she states, “But in this contract, failure to meet each benchmark will result in the unused balance being reclaimed and reallocated to other shovel-ready projects not managed by HCFCD.”
To be very clear, Commissioner Buckingham’s intention since taking office has been for this funding to benefit Harris County area residents. Who administers the funding and for what projects has rested with Harris County for more than 3.5 years. HCFCD has the contract, but the Harris County Commissioners Court has had authority over HCFCD the whole time.
The $113 million figure has only been mentioned by HCFCD Executive Director Marcus Stuckett. In his letter to the GLO, Mr. Stuckett stated that HCFCD “now anticipates approximately $113 million in CDBG-DR funds will remain unallocated.” HCFCD has not provided any data or documentation to support that figure or claim. The only basis for the $113 million amount is his mention of it. In fact, Mr. Stuckett’s team has failed to provide the specific documentation the GLO has requested to properly identify the current status of the budget or plans for how to spend the remaining allocations. In the past six months, HCFCD has only provided vague ideas and undefined concepts. That is not how the HUD funding process works. Subrecipients cannot piecemeal projects and Frankenstein together proposals. HUD demands specifics about complete projects that result in a defined benefit to a defined population by a defined deadline.
As we discussed, the GLO has an obligation to ensure the entirety of the $5.676 billion entrusted to the State of Texas specifically for Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery is expended in full compliance with federal regulations and within HUD’s mandatory deadlines for the full grant process. Who administers the funding and for what projects continues to be adjusted based on what can be accomplished within the deadline.
Since taking office in 2023, Commissioner Buckingham has taken every action within her authority to ensure funding is provided to benefit Harris County residents. Harris County promised “shovel ready” projects and the GLO has continued to provide technical support to facilitate federal compliance in effectively administering the funds.
Commissioner Buckingham’s intent continues to be for the full $322 million to be spent on projects to benefit the people who call Harris County home. However, if HCFCD cannot complete promised projects that can benefit residents within HUD’s mandatory process before the federal deadline, we may have to find alternative means to spend the money before time runs out. It won’t automatically go to projects outside of Harris County, but there are countless federally eligible projects in need of funding, and the clock is running out.
Emailed on October 18, 2026, by Brittany Eck, GLO Director of Communications for Disaster Recovery
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/113-Million-in-Flames.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2026-10-16 20:03:092026-10-19 16:41:26Harris County Could Lose $113 Million in CDBG Funds Despite 1-Year Extension
Today is a repeating digit day: 3333 Days since Hurricane Harvey. So, this seems like an opportunity to look back at what we have learned about flooding and flood mitigation in that time. Or at least should have learned.
I’ve published 3199 posts containing 2.2 million words since then – the equivalent of 27 novels … about flooding. One every four months.
Even the most dedicated readers find that daunting. So, I’m trying to organize what I have learned into a book. You can find the outline on my Lessons page. But even that is daunting. So, let me boil the lessons down even further – into five key takeaways.
In Southeast Texas, flooding can happen suddenly … anywhere. You need to be prepared. That includes carrying flood insurance. Don’t expect the government to make you whole after a flood. Aid is limited. Applications are laborious. Competition for limited funds is stiff.
And the documents you need to apply for government aid, i.e., real-estate titles, may have been destroyed in the flood. Digitize your important documents, encrypt them, and store them online so that they are always accessible, even if your safety deposit box floods.
And remember that while homeowner’s insurance may cover water damage, it almost never covers damage from rising floodwaters. Read your policies carefully.
Understand that Floodplains are a Shifting Target
Floodplains tend to expand for a variety of reasons having mostly to do with insufficiently mitigated upstream development and our inability to predict exactly how much rain might fall in an extreme event.
The safety of your family and home depends on your distance from and elevation above floodwaters. So when purchasing a home, select one far from flooding sources – farther than the flood surveys say you need. Give yourself a generous safety margin. And then double it.
Floodplain maps will change over time and you could find floodwaters lapping at your foundation before you pay off your mortgage. When I bought my house 30 years before Harvey, I was more than a mile from the nearest floodplain. Now the floodplain comes halfway up my property – to exactly where the water stopped during Harvey.
Not Everyone Shares Your Priorities
It’s far easier to prevent flooding than fix it after the need becomes apparent. Here we are 3333 days since Hurricane Harvey. And we’re still mired in engineering studies, grant applications, fund raising, political tug-of-wars over who should get help first, consensus building, and trying to align political jurisdictions with different interests.
Not everyone places a high priority on flood mitigation. In the controversy over Lake Conroe lowering and pre-release for instance, the Lake Conroe Association commissioned an engineering study that radically underestimated the extent of Lake Houston Area flooding to support the desired conclusion that lake lowering wouldn’t help.
Public safety may be your highest priority after getting flooded. But the owners of undeveloped property upstream may be lobbying in Austin for their right to develop their property as they see fit. And they sure don’t want downstream residents spoiling their fishing experience on Lake Conroe.
Flooding is like the death of a 1,000 cuts. In most cases, watersheds are far larger than the jurisdictions that control them. So, no one group is responsible for oversight of development, mining, floodplain preservation, road building, dredging, etc.
At the confluence of San Jacinto West Fork and Spring Creek, a developer is trying to build up to 7,000 homes in one of the most flood-prone areas in the Houston region. One of the area’s leading hydrologists has said that the development would be like aiming a fire hose at the Humble/Kingwood area.
But after a flood, it takes forever to line up all those dominoes. Witness the paucity of flood-mitigation progress made in the last 3333 days. And the difficulty State Rep. Dennis Paul has had passing legislation to create a river-basin-wide flood-control district.
Money Has a Short Memory
People and money have short memories and few flood victims understand flooding statistics.
Almost 10 years after a flood, people need to get on with their lives. Kitchen layouts may count for more in a home-buying decision than the depth of flooding experienced years ago in a record storm.
So they rationalize. “That was an extreme event,” they say. “What are the chances of it happening again?” Well, a 100-year flood has a 1% chance of happening EVERY year. And indeed, between 2015 and 2019, the Houston area experienced five 100-year-plus floods in five years. And three of the events were non-tropical in origin.
Leadership Matters
Elect leaders who will enforce fair and sensible regulation that protects property rights and flood victims alike. There’s not enough money or willpower in the world to fix all the flooding problems caused by bad decisions in the past.
Also see how many key department head positions they’ve filled with unqualified political supporters.
The mid-term election is just weeks away. Make sure the people we elect:
Have not forgotten
Share your priorities
Understand that floodplains are a shifting target
Will work to prepare your community for the next big flood.
It WILL come.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/14/26
3333 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Ryko-Floodplains-Streams.jpg?fit=1100%2C723&ssl=17231100adminadmin2026-10-14 19:30:132026-10-14 19:30:14What We Should Have Learned About Flooding in the Last 3333 Days
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:
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.”
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:
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:
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
Partnership Lake Houston
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
Harris County Could Lose $113 Million in CDBG Funds Despite 1-Year Extension
10/19/26 – Update includes several changes to text to clarify origin and status of $113 million. See GLO clarification at bottom of post.
10/16/26 – GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says she is moving $133 Million of Community Development Block Grant funds for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) designated for Harris County to another county. [GLO disputes this. See clarification below.]
Here’s how the story unfolded.
Garcia Pulls CDBG Update from Commissioners Court Agenda
Agenda Item 93 for the 10/15/26 Harris County Commissioners Court Meeting concerned an update on $322 million of HUD CDBG-DR funds that were at risk because of an imminent 2/28/27 deadline.
Two weeks ago, a one-year extension from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) gave Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) more breathing room. However, it was not clear whether HCFCD could expend all the money … even with the extension.
But yesterday, before Marcus Stuckett, the new executive director of HCFCD, could answer that question, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia pulled Item 93 from the agenda. It will now be considered on November 12 – AFTER the upcoming election. Hmmmm. That made me curious!
No one with Harris County or HCFCD could or would tell me why it was pulled from the agenda. And the County refused my Public Information Request for Stuckett’s presentation … within minutes. They said the presentation didn’t exist. Never a good sign! See below.
So, I sent my request for information to the GLO. They immediately supplied two letters that explain what happened and what will happen.
Letter #1: Stuckett Request to GLO
On 10/2/26, Stuckett sent a letter to GLO Deputy Director Heather Lagrone. In it, he thanks the GLO for the one year extension, and says that it will give HCFCD time to finish the CDBG-DR projects.
But he also explains that $113 million of the $322 million – more than a third of the total – will not be expended before the extended deadline. The reason: Actual project bids compiled under his predecessor came in lower than initial estimates used for grant applications. Stuckett also references “scope changes” as a reason for the lower-than-expected billing.
To make up the $113 million, Stuckett proposed shifting several Subdivision Drainage Projects and/or CDBG-Mitigation Projects to the CDBG-DR budget. Some were already completed.
Letter #2: GLO Reply to Stuckett
GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham replied to Stuckett in a terse, three-paragraph letter dated 10/14/26.
The first paragraph says she is pleased that the extension will give HCFCD time to complete the CDBG-DR projects.
But Paragraph #2 says “Harris County” failed to provide information that it promised “months ago” about swapping projects from the MIT category to DR – a proposal initiated by Stuckett’s predecessor, Dr. Tina Petersen. Stuckett has been in his new job for only about three months.
In addition to the vague timing reference, the generic “Harris County” reference also stood out. Harris County Housing & Community Development and Harris County Engineering also manage CDBG grants. Buckingham did not specify whether HCFCD, one of the others, or all of the above failed to comply.
Paragraph #3 explains that Buckingham will reallocate the Harris County funds to another county because she fears Harris County will eventually fail to complete the projects. [GLO disputes this. See clarification below.]
Buckingham does not acknowledge that several of the projects that Stuckett proposed moving from MIT to DR were already completed.
One thing is clear, however. Harris County will lose $113 million of flood mitigation funds … at a time when Harris County just raised taxes by a record amount.
How We Got Here
It’s important to remember that we would not even be in this position if it weren’t for Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. He pushed to remove exceptional HCFCD leaders who sold the 2018 Flood Bond and were delivering projects at a record pace through 2022. After pushing those leaders out, he replaced them with an inexperienced, unqualified leader he could control.
As her performance slipped, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey warned other commissioners and the county judge. But Garcia kept defending her poor performance.
And boom. Here we are today. $113 million. Gone. Precinct 2 residents should remember that when early voting starts.
To read the full text of Stuckett’s letter to the GLO, click here.
And to read the full text of the GLO’s response to Stuckett, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/16/2026
3335 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.
GLO Clarification
We would like to clarify Commissioner Buckingham’s intent with regards to the $322 million in CDBG-DR funding currently being administered by HCFCD.
In your story you state, “GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says she is moving $113 Million of Community Development Block Grant funds for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) designated for Harris County to another county.” That is not accurate. Commissioner Buckingham has not identified any amount of funding to be removed from the $322 million in CDBG-DR (disaster recovery funding) that she secured for Harris County projects. All Commissioner Buckingham has said specifically relating to reducing the funding was in her 9/28/2026 letter to Judge Hidalgo in which she states, “But in this contract, failure to meet each benchmark will result in the unused balance being reclaimed and reallocated to other shovel-ready projects not managed by HCFCD.”
To be very clear, Commissioner Buckingham’s intention since taking office has been for this funding to benefit Harris County area residents. Who administers the funding and for what projects has rested with Harris County for more than 3.5 years. HCFCD has the contract, but the Harris County Commissioners Court has had authority over HCFCD the whole time.
The $113 million figure has only been mentioned by HCFCD Executive Director Marcus Stuckett. In his letter to the GLO, Mr. Stuckett stated that HCFCD “now anticipates approximately $113 million in CDBG-DR funds will remain unallocated.” HCFCD has not provided any data or documentation to support that figure or claim. The only basis for the $113 million amount is his mention of it. In fact, Mr. Stuckett’s team has failed to provide the specific documentation the GLO has requested to properly identify the current status of the budget or plans for how to spend the remaining allocations. In the past six months, HCFCD has only provided vague ideas and undefined concepts. That is not how the HUD funding process works. Subrecipients cannot piecemeal projects and Frankenstein together proposals. HUD demands specifics about complete projects that result in a defined benefit to a defined population by a defined deadline.
As we discussed, the GLO has an obligation to ensure the entirety of the $5.676 billion entrusted to the State of Texas specifically for Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery is expended in full compliance with federal regulations and within HUD’s mandatory deadlines for the full grant process. Who administers the funding and for what projects continues to be adjusted based on what can be accomplished within the deadline.
Since taking office in 2023, Commissioner Buckingham has taken every action within her authority to ensure funding is provided to benefit Harris County residents. Harris County promised “shovel ready” projects and the GLO has continued to provide technical support to facilitate federal compliance in effectively administering the funds.
Commissioner Buckingham’s intent continues to be for the full $322 million to be spent on projects to benefit the people who call Harris County home. However, if HCFCD cannot complete promised projects that can benefit residents within HUD’s mandatory process before the federal deadline, we may have to find alternative means to spend the money before time runs out. It won’t automatically go to projects outside of Harris County, but there are countless federally eligible projects in need of funding, and the clock is running out.
Emailed on October 18, 2026, by Brittany Eck, GLO Director of Communications for Disaster Recovery
What We Should Have Learned About Flooding in the Last 3333 Days
Today is a repeating digit day: 3333 Days since Hurricane Harvey. So, this seems like an opportunity to look back at what we have learned about flooding and flood mitigation in that time. Or at least should have learned.
I’ve published 3199 posts containing 2.2 million words since then – the equivalent of 27 novels … about flooding. One every four months.
Even the most dedicated readers find that daunting. So, I’m trying to organize what I have learned into a book. You can find the outline on my Lessons page. But even that is daunting. So, let me boil the lessons down even further – into five key takeaways.
Carry Flood Insurance/Be Prepared
During Harvey, 64% of homes flooded in Harris County did not carry flood insurance.
In Southeast Texas, flooding can happen suddenly … anywhere. You need to be prepared. That includes carrying flood insurance. Don’t expect the government to make you whole after a flood. Aid is limited. Applications are laborious. Competition for limited funds is stiff.
And the documents you need to apply for government aid, i.e., real-estate titles, may have been destroyed in the flood. Digitize your important documents, encrypt them, and store them online so that they are always accessible, even if your safety deposit box floods.
And remember that while homeowner’s insurance may cover water damage, it almost never covers damage from rising floodwaters. Read your policies carefully.
Understand that Floodplains are a Shifting Target
Floodplains tend to expand for a variety of reasons having mostly to do with insufficiently mitigated upstream development and our inability to predict exactly how much rain might fall in an extreme event.
The safety of your family and home depends on your distance from and elevation above floodwaters. So when purchasing a home, select one far from flooding sources – farther than the flood surveys say you need. Give yourself a generous safety margin. And then double it.
Floodplain maps will change over time and you could find floodwaters lapping at your foundation before you pay off your mortgage. When I bought my house 30 years before Harvey, I was more than a mile from the nearest floodplain. Now the floodplain comes halfway up my property – to exactly where the water stopped during Harvey.
Not Everyone Shares Your Priorities
It’s far easier to prevent flooding than fix it after the need becomes apparent. Here we are 3333 days since Hurricane Harvey. And we’re still mired in engineering studies, grant applications, fund raising, political tug-of-wars over who should get help first, consensus building, and trying to align political jurisdictions with different interests.
Not everyone places a high priority on flood mitigation. In the controversy over Lake Conroe lowering and pre-release for instance, the Lake Conroe Association commissioned an engineering study that radically underestimated the extent of Lake Houston Area flooding to support the desired conclusion that lake lowering wouldn’t help.
Public safety may be your highest priority after getting flooded. But the owners of undeveloped property upstream may be lobbying in Austin for their right to develop their property as they see fit. And they sure don’t want downstream residents spoiling their fishing experience on Lake Conroe.
Flooding is like the death of a 1,000 cuts. In most cases, watersheds are far larger than the jurisdictions that control them. So, no one group is responsible for oversight of development, mining, floodplain preservation, road building, dredging, etc.
But after a flood, it takes forever to line up all those dominoes. Witness the paucity of flood-mitigation progress made in the last 3333 days. And the difficulty State Rep. Dennis Paul has had passing legislation to create a river-basin-wide flood-control district.
Money Has a Short Memory
People and money have short memories and few flood victims understand flooding statistics.
Almost 10 years after a flood, people need to get on with their lives. Kitchen layouts may count for more in a home-buying decision than the depth of flooding experienced years ago in a record storm.
So they rationalize. “That was an extreme event,” they say. “What are the chances of it happening again?” Well, a 100-year flood has a 1% chance of happening EVERY year. And indeed, between 2015 and 2019, the Houston area experienced five 100-year-plus floods in five years. And three of the events were non-tropical in origin.
Leadership Matters
Elect leaders who will enforce fair and sensible regulation that protects property rights and flood victims alike. There’s not enough money or willpower in the world to fix all the flooding problems caused by bad decisions in the past.
In that regard, before you cast your vote, see how many Freedom-of-Information Act Requests an incumbent’s office has denied. Public information belongs to you, not bureaucrats.
Also see how many key department head positions they’ve filled with unqualified political supporters.
The mid-term election is just weeks away. Make sure the people we elect:
It WILL come.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/14/26
3333 Days since Hurricane Harvey