4/22/26 – Today was the last straw. I have concluded that Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) is broken.
I’ve been writing for several days about Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) projects supposedly “under construction” that aren’t. Some people might call that:
Lying
The left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing
Poor word-smithing or
Fuzzy communication designed to create the illusion of progress.
But I suspect we all can agree that it’s certainly misleading and unpardonable from a public agency.
The TC Jester East Stormwater Detention Basin 1-B makes an excellent example.
TC Jester East Basin 1-B Still Not in Construction
The TC Jester East Basin received “authorization to use government funds” on 10/30/25 – six months ago.
The construction schedule they published on 12/5/26 originally said construction would start in Q2 2026 and finish in Q4 2028 – almost two years after the Texas General Land Office deadline of 2/28/2027.
After discussions with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE, HCFCD changed the finish date on the HCFCD website to Q2 2027.
But when Dr. Tina Petersen, HCFCD’s executive director, testified before Commissioners Court on 4/16/2026 to explain how she would beat the deadline, she said that TC Jester was “in construction.” So, I went to check on 4/19/26. It was not. I saw only a construction trailer onsite. No excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks, clearing or dirt moving. Just virgin forest.
The headline trumpeted: “Construction of Compartment 1B of the T.C. Jester East Stormwater Detention Basin is Underway!”
Copy said, “Construction crews are accessing the site at Cypresswood Drive and T.C. Jester Boulevard. Residents are urged to respect all warning signs.”
The image showed an excavator digging dirt with a construction worker in the pit.
Further, the email said that the site was receiving “funding up to $25.9 million through the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program (CDBG-DR).” However, HCFCD’s website says the amount is $20.8 million. And Petersen’s presentation to commissioners on 4/19/26 said $23.3+ million.
But it gets even better. Toward the bottom of the email, the copy says, “Anticipated Schedule: Construction Start Q1 2026.” In other words…
Excited, I drove to the job site again to photograph the traffic cones, flag men, construction equipment, and bustling bulldozers supposedly onsite. Was I surprised!
Visit to Job Site Shows Construction Still Not Started
A few pickup trucks were parked outside the construction trailer. That’s it.
TC Jester East Basin 1B will wrap around this pre-existing basin where a construction trailer and a few pickups were parked.
See photos from the rest of the visit below. I took all of these on 4/22/26.
Looking E across TC Jester in foreground at treed area where basin will go.Looking E along Cypresswood Drive. No construction equipment or other entrances in sight.Looking at intersection of Cypresswood (l) and TC Jester (r) where email warned of equipment accessing the site.Looking W along Cypress Creek back toward TC Jester. No clearing.No construction equipment.
If HCFCD hopes they can fool commissioners into believing that they are farther along on this project than they actually are, it’s backfiring. At this point, there probably isn’t enough time to build this project before its 2/28/27 deadline. Even HCFCD’s own construction completion date of Q2 2027 admits that.
Petersen must be banking on deadline extensions that may not come.
Smoke Screen Designed to Delay “Day of Reckoning”?
Commissioners have already approved several construction contracts associated with this funding. And HCFCD has issued multiple press releases saying those projects are in construction. But are they really?
Or, are the announcements a smokescreen for Petersen to buy more time and postpone her “Day of Reckoning,” as Rodney Ellis called it in the 4/16/26 Commissioners Court Meeting?
Such announcements mislead and could cost Harris County taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
If this were private-sector financial communication, investors would howl to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, FDIC, Federal Reserve and law enforcement.
Within the context of pressure to get these projects moving quickly or face the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, HCFCD put out false information that masks the potential risk. Intentionally or not.
So have I. It’s time for new leaders at HCFCD who can get the District moving again.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/22/26
3158 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DJI_20260422103703_0868_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-04-22 21:38:522026-04-23 11:25:20It’s Time to Admit HCFCD is Broken
4/21/26 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has taken more than 4 years to spend about 4% of the $322 million that HUD allocated to HCFCD for Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR). That figure is carved out of a larger total ($868 million) that also includes CDBG Mitigation funds.
Former Texas General Land Office (GLO) Commissioner George P. Bush announced his intention to allocate $750 million of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds to Harris County on 5/26/21. HUD approved that amount on 3/18/22. Subsequently, it increased when the GLO also re-allocated unused funds from storms before Harvey to Harris County.
Here’s a high-level breakdown as of today.
Source: Texas General Land Office. 4/21/26.
HCFCD has spent only 3.59% of the CDBG-DR project funds to date. That group has the tightest deadline, just 313 days away and involves roughly a third of a billion dollars.
Feasibility, preliminary-engineering, and final design studies
Cost estimates
Bids
Property acquisition (for some projects)
Obtaining GLO and HUD approval for all of the above.
But still…
Unnecessarily Burdensome Processes, Changing Horses in Midstream
Harris County made it more difficult than necessary with its own equity prioritization framework, which changed several times.
Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners Ellis and Garcia also forced out the management team that developed and sold the 2018 flood bond. Their replacement, Dr. Tina Petersen, had a long, steep learning curve and big shoes to fill. She also lost many key employees. That disrupted business continuity and cost institutional knowledge.
Since she took office, spending has gone down consistently as the pace of work slowed, partly as a consequence of a management style she calls “being more intentional.”
Self-Inflicted Wound
Having spent four years bickering about equity, the county now has just 10 months left to actually build all the jobs in order to beat a firm 2/28/27 deadline and avoid losing potentially ALL of the CDBG-DR funds.
According to a document submitted to commissioners court on 4/16/26 by Petersen and aerial photographs that I have taken, it appears that contractors are actually only turning dirt on one of 11 CDBG-DR projects.
Compare that with the TC Jester Basin project shown below. Both photos were taken on 4/19/2026.
TC Jester East Basin will go in the big treed area in the center. “Construction” was announced last December 5.
Past Experience a Logistical Red Flag
If history is any indication, the vast majority of the CDBG-DR projects will take longer than 10 months to build. Ten of the 11 are large detention basins that typically take one to two years to build. The Mercer Basin on Cypress Creek, finished just last week, took three years. And TC Jester, above, is 55% larger.
If Petersen can pull the projects off before the buzzer sounds, she deserves that $90,000 raise she got last year. If not, she won’t be the only one with egg on her face.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/21/26
3157 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DR-MIT-Totals-for-HCFCD-and-HCD-as-of-2026-04-21-1-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C491&ssl=14912560adminadmin2026-04-21 19:49:302026-04-21 22:11:14HCFCD Has Taken 4 Years to Spend 4% of HUD CDBG-DR Funds
4/20/2026 – On April 10, 2026, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) announced that it finally completed its Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin – two years after the originally scheduled completion date. The one-year construction project turned into three years before it was over.
Mercer’s delays underscore the risk associated with eleven similar projects with a firm completion deadline just 314 days away – 2/28/2027. They involve a third of a billion dollars in US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) administered by the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
Harris County Commissioners have tried to understand whether the projects could miss the deadline and jeopardize the funding. But HCFCD’s executive director, Dr. Tina Petersen, has not supplied them with sufficiently detailed information to assess the risk. Her high-level reports mask logistical red flags with vague generalities.
For example, she says:
The TC Jester East Basin project is “in construction.” But aerial photos show that no actual construction equipment is onsite, only a construction trailer. Clearing has not yet even begun.
She says the Isom Street Basin on Halls Bayou is “out for bids.” But she does not address how her department will meet the same deadline, ten months away when such projects usually require one to two years.
As a consequence, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says she has “lost confidence” in Petersen. And Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution demanding specifics about how HCFCD will complete all CDBG projects.
So, let’s look at some specifics.
Mercer Basin Had Multiple Delays
The Mercer Basin sits between Cypress Creek and FM1960 immediately east of the Hardy Tollroad. It features two dry-bottom compartments that provide an estimated 512 acre-feet of stormwater storage. It had multiple delays totaling two years, but is now finished. See the photos below taken April 19, 2026
Looking west along FM1969 (l) at southern compartment of Mercer Basin, with second basin in upper right.Looking NW at northern compartment and Cypress Creek. Hardy Tollroad cuts through upper part of frame.Spillway lets water overflowing from Cypress Creek into basin.A culvert connects the northern and southern basins so that floodwater from the creek can use both for storage.
HCFCD began the project in 2022. Construction was to have begun in Spring 2023 on an expedited basis and should have finished by April 2024. But it actually finished in April 2026. See the timetable below.
In July 2024, I went to photograph the completed basin and discovered contractors had not yet started digging. They were still clearing the land. So, I decided to return regularly.
On April 10, 2026, HCFCD called it “substantially” complete.
On April 19, 2026, I finally verified completion – two years late.
Playing Beat the Clock for Other Projects
That experience doesn’t bode well for 11 other CDBG-DR projects that HCFCD now has in development with a firm expiration date on funding – February 28, 2027 – just ten months away. To be more precise, there are only…
314 days left on the shot clock!
Now you know why Harris County Commissioners and the County Judge put a full court press on HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen in their 4/16/26 Commissioners Court meeting.
Petersen presented a vague, high-level status report. For instance, it said the TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin project was “in construction,” but not what percentage of construction was complete. When I photographed it on 4/19/26, I saw no construction equipment – only a construction trailer. Not one tree had been cleared yet. And that basin is much larger than the Mercer Basin which took three years to build. See below.
Looking E across TC Jester at large forested area where new basin will wrap around small existing basin (middle right)
HCFCD announced that the TC Jester project would start construction “soon” back on December 5, 2025 – four and a half months ago. Now the deadline is just 10 months away. And the time-critical basin is 55% larger than the two Mercer Basins combined that took 3 years to build.
The Isom Street Project also uses CDBG-DR funds. It involves clearing an area near Halls Bayou adjacent to two existing detention basins, creating a new detention basin, and then connecting all three.
Isom Street Project on Halls Bayou. Existing basins on the left and right will connect with new one in the treed area.
The Isom Project has the same 2/28/27 deadline, but it is even less far along than TC Jester. Petersen told Commissioners Court it was “in bidding.”
At this point, it’s not clear how HCFCD will meet the deadline. And county commissioners need that clarity.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/20/2026
3156 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DJI_20260419163132_0821_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-04-20 18:03:072026-04-21 19:39:07Mercer Basin Delays Illustrate Risk To Eleven Projects with HUD Funding
It’s Time to Admit HCFCD is Broken
4/22/26 – Today was the last straw. I have concluded that Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) is broken.
I’ve been writing for several days about Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) projects supposedly “under construction” that aren’t. Some people might call that:
But I suspect we all can agree that it’s certainly misleading and unpardonable from a public agency.
The TC Jester East Stormwater Detention Basin 1-B makes an excellent example.
TC Jester East Basin 1-B Still Not in Construction
The TC Jester East Basin received “authorization to use government funds” on 10/30/25 – six months ago.
The construction schedule they published on 12/5/26 originally said construction would start in Q2 2026 and finish in Q4 2028 – almost two years after the Texas General Land Office deadline of 2/28/2027.
After discussions with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE, HCFCD changed the finish date on the HCFCD website to Q2 2027.
But when Dr. Tina Petersen, HCFCD’s executive director, testified before Commissioners Court on 4/16/2026 to explain how she would beat the deadline, she said that TC Jester was “in construction.” So, I went to check on 4/19/26. It was not. I saw only a construction trailer onsite. No excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks, clearing or dirt moving. Just virgin forest.
So, I posted about the apparent contradiction on 4/20/26. The very next day, I received an email from HCFCD that seemed to contradict me.
But it gets even better. Toward the bottom of the email, the copy says, “Anticipated Schedule: Construction Start Q1 2026.” In other words…
Excited, I drove to the job site again to photograph the traffic cones, flag men, construction equipment, and bustling bulldozers supposedly onsite. Was I surprised!
Visit to Job Site Shows Construction Still Not Started
A few pickup trucks were parked outside the construction trailer. That’s it.
See photos from the rest of the visit below. I took all of these on 4/22/26.
If HCFCD hopes they can fool commissioners into believing that they are farther along on this project than they actually are, it’s backfiring. At this point, there probably isn’t enough time to build this project before its 2/28/27 deadline. Even HCFCD’s own construction completion date of Q2 2027 admits that.
Petersen must be banking on deadline extensions that may not come.
Smoke Screen Designed to Delay “Day of Reckoning”?
Commissioners have already approved several construction contracts associated with this funding. And HCFCD has issued multiple press releases saying those projects are in construction. But are they really?
Or, are the announcements a smokescreen for Petersen to buy more time and postpone her “Day of Reckoning,” as Rodney Ellis called it in the 4/16/26 Commissioners Court Meeting?
Such announcements mislead and could cost Harris County taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
If this were private-sector financial communication, investors would howl to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, FDIC, Federal Reserve and law enforcement.
Within the context of pressure to get these projects moving quickly or face the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, HCFCD put out false information that masks the potential risk. Intentionally or not.
On April 16, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said to Petersen, “I just lost my confidence in you.”
So have I. It’s time for new leaders at HCFCD who can get the District moving again.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/22/26
3158 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.
HCFCD Has Taken 4 Years to Spend 4% of HUD CDBG-DR Funds
4/21/26 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has taken more than 4 years to spend about 4% of the $322 million that HUD allocated to HCFCD for Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR). That figure is carved out of a larger total ($868 million) that also includes CDBG Mitigation funds.
Former Texas General Land Office (GLO) Commissioner George P. Bush announced his intention to allocate $750 million of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds to Harris County on 5/26/21. HUD approved that amount on 3/18/22. Subsequently, it increased when the GLO also re-allocated unused funds from storms before Harvey to Harris County.
Here’s a high-level breakdown as of today.
HCFCD has spent only 3.59% of the CDBG-DR project funds to date. That group has the tightest deadline, just 313 days away and involves roughly a third of a billion dollars.
Why Such a Low Percentage So Late In the Game?
To be fair, HCFCD had a lot of dominos to align:
But still…
Unnecessarily Burdensome Processes, Changing Horses in Midstream
Harris County made it more difficult than necessary with its own equity prioritization framework, which changed several times.
Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners Ellis and Garcia also forced out the management team that developed and sold the 2018 flood bond. Their replacement, Dr. Tina Petersen, had a long, steep learning curve and big shoes to fill. She also lost many key employees. That disrupted business continuity and cost institutional knowledge.
Since she took office, spending has gone down consistently as the pace of work slowed, partly as a consequence of a management style she calls “being more intentional.”
Self-Inflicted Wound
Having spent four years bickering about equity, the county now has just 10 months left to actually build all the jobs in order to beat a firm 2/28/27 deadline and avoid losing potentially ALL of the CDBG-DR funds.
According to a document submitted to commissioners court on 4/16/26 by Petersen and aerial photographs that I have taken, it appears that contractors are actually only turning dirt on one of 11 CDBG-DR projects.
Compare that with the TC Jester Basin project shown below. Both photos were taken on 4/19/2026.
Past Experience a Logistical Red Flag
If history is any indication, the vast majority of the CDBG-DR projects will take longer than 10 months to build. Ten of the 11 are large detention basins that typically take one to two years to build. The Mercer Basin on Cypress Creek, finished just last week, took three years. And TC Jester, above, is 55% larger.
If Petersen can pull the projects off before the buzzer sounds, she deserves that $90,000 raise she got last year. If not, she won’t be the only one with egg on her face.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/21/26
3157 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.
Mercer Basin Delays Illustrate Risk To Eleven Projects with HUD Funding
4/20/2026 – On April 10, 2026, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) announced that it finally completed its Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin – two years after the originally scheduled completion date. The one-year construction project turned into three years before it was over.
Mercer’s delays underscore the risk associated with eleven similar projects with a firm completion deadline just 314 days away – 2/28/2027. They involve a third of a billion dollars in US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) administered by the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
Harris County Commissioners have tried to understand whether the projects could miss the deadline and jeopardize the funding. But HCFCD’s executive director, Dr. Tina Petersen, has not supplied them with sufficiently detailed information to assess the risk. Her high-level reports mask logistical red flags with vague generalities.
For example, she says:
As a consequence, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says she has “lost confidence” in Petersen. And Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution demanding specifics about how HCFCD will complete all CDBG projects.
So, let’s look at some specifics.
Mercer Basin Had Multiple Delays
The Mercer Basin sits between Cypress Creek and FM1960 immediately east of the Hardy Tollroad. It features two dry-bottom compartments that provide an estimated 512 acre-feet of stormwater storage. It had multiple delays totaling two years, but is now finished. See the photos below taken April 19, 2026
HCFCD began the project in 2022. Construction was to have begun in Spring 2023 on an expedited basis and should have finished by April 2024. But it actually finished in April 2026. See the timetable below.
In July 2024, I went to photograph the completed basin and discovered contractors had not yet started digging. They were still clearing the land. So, I decided to return regularly.
Playing Beat the Clock for Other Projects
That experience doesn’t bode well for 11 other CDBG-DR projects that HCFCD now has in development with a firm expiration date on funding – February 28, 2027 – just ten months away. To be more precise, there are only…
Now you know why Harris County Commissioners and the County Judge put a full court press on HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen in their 4/16/26 Commissioners Court meeting.
Petersen presented a vague, high-level status report. For instance, it said the TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin project was “in construction,” but not what percentage of construction was complete. When I photographed it on 4/19/26, I saw no construction equipment – only a construction trailer. Not one tree had been cleared yet. And that basin is much larger than the Mercer Basin which took three years to build. See below.
HCFCD announced that the TC Jester project would start construction “soon” back on December 5, 2025 – four and a half months ago. Now the deadline is just 10 months away. And the time-critical basin is 55% larger than the two Mercer Basins combined that took 3 years to build.
The Isom Street Project also uses CDBG-DR funds. It involves clearing an area near Halls Bayou adjacent to two existing detention basins, creating a new detention basin, and then connecting all three.
The Isom Project has the same 2/28/27 deadline, but it is even less far along than TC Jester. Petersen told Commissioners Court it was “in bidding.”
At this point, it’s not clear how HCFCD will meet the deadline. And county commissioners need that clarity.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/20/2026
3156 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.