4/15/25 – At a flood resilience workshop yesterday in Houston, the importance of a steady funding source for flood-mitigation projects became abundantly clear.
The Biannual Resiliency Workshop of the Society of American Military Engineers (S.A.M.E.) drew a star-studded lineup of speakers for the hundreds of engineers, lawyers and business people in attendance.
Alia Vinson, a partner at the law firm of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP, made steady funding for flood mitigation the focus of her entire talk. She even wore green to underscore her theme. (“The color of money,” she said.)
Alia Vinson, partner at Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP, speaking at S.A.M.E. workshop.
After Vinson, the keynote speaker, Congressman Wesley Hunt, talked about “unsustainable federal spending.” The Federal government provides most of the flood-mitigation financial assistance in the country through FEMA and HUD. But both agencies have come under fire by President Trump and Elon Musk lately. That creates uncertainty for Texas where more people live in floodplains than the entire populations of 30 other states.
Competition for Flood Mitigation Funding Getting Stronger
Vinson’s talk focused primarily on the vigorous competition for funds in this Texas Legislature and the previous session. She began with the creation of the Texas Water Fund (Proposition 6) in 2023, which triggered a $1 billion investment in new water infrastructure needed to support a growing population.
The Texas Water Development Board administers the Texas Water Fund. It has the authority to shift money as needed between at least eight different programs. They award loans and grants to political subdivisions for local water and wastewater infrastructure projects. They include:
New Water Supply Fund
SWIFT
State Revolving Funds
Rural Water Assistance Fund
DFund
State Participation Fund
Water Awareness Fund
Water Assistance Fund
At least 25% of the $1 billion must go to the New Water Supply Fund, which supports projects such as:
Desalination
Aquifer storage and retrieval
Use of produced water
Transport of water
The point:
None of these has to do with flooding or flood mitigation.
This year, “new water” again is high on the Legislature’s agenda. Although nothing is final yet, base budgets have set aside $2.5 billion for the Texas Water Fund.
Pending Legislation Could Help Address Mitigation Needs
The Senate has already approved SB7 and sent it to the House Natural Resources Committee. A key provision makes the Flood Infrastructure Fund eligible for money from the Texas Water Fund.
HB16 does the same thing, but hasn’t made it out of the Natural Resources Committee yet for a vote by the House.
Two other bills pending this year would create a dedicated revenue stream of $1 billion per year for the Texas Water Fund. They are SJR 66 and HJR 7. The big difference between them: the Senate Bill requires at least 80% to be used ONLY for New Water Supply. That would limit flood mitigation funding to only 20% of $1 billion.
Still No Dedicated Funding Stream
I took away two main things from Vinson’s speech:
Texas doesn’t yet have a dedicated funding source for water OR flood mitigation projects.
The money available for flood mitigation is being fragmented among competing needs.
That dedicated funding source could quickly become increasingly important. Uncertainty continues to swirl around financial support from the federal government, which has the deepest pockets when it comes to flood mitigation and disaster relief.
This morning, Politico ran a story with the headline, “FEMA denies Washington state disaster relief from bomb cyclone, governor says.” FEMA denied the State’s request for $34 million for disaster relief even though it reportedly met all the criteria for assistance. According to the State’s governor, FEMA provided no explanation for the denial, but said “assistance was not warranted.”
Federal Support Uncertain
Another speaker yesterday at the S.A.M.E. workshop, U.S. Congressman Wesley Hunt, said he had talked directly with President Trump and Elon Musk at length about the Federal budget.
Congressman Hunt addresses S.A.M.E. workshop about ballooning federal deficitand need to cut spending.
Hunt said the U.S. has a $2 trillion annual deficit and that we are $36 trillion in debt. He characterized both as “unsustainable.”
However, a group called “Truth in Accounting” that monitors government finances reported this morning that the situation is even more dire. The group applies generally accepted accounting principles from the private sector to government spending reports.
Truth in Accounting also says the government needs $158.6 trillion to pay its bills, not $36 trillion. And that each taxpayer’s share of the burden is $974,000.
The ominous warnings from Hunt and Truth in Accounting come as President Trump has questioned whether to disband FEMA entirely and give money directly to states to handle disasters. According to Politico, Trump has created “a council to study what to do with FEMA and whether to get rid of it.”
The uncertainty surrounding future availability of Federal aid makes it all the more important for Texas to provide a dedicated, steady funding stream for flood mitigation.
4-14-2025 – Two weeks ago, I posted about HB2068, State Rep. Dennis Paul’s bill. It has the potential to create more effective flood control for more people.
Flooded property in May 2024 near San Jacinto East Fork in Montgomery County just north of Harris County line.
The post prompted 192 readers from across the river basin to write the House Natural Resources committee in support of HB2068. But not all concerned citizens stopped with the committee. One, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent me the text of a poignant letter he wrote to Governor Abbott. It expressed sentiments I hear from many flood victims.
Letter to Governor about HB2068
Honorable Governor,
We desperately need your help in the Harris County, Kingwood, Conroe and Lake Houston Area.
As we all know, flooding rivers and streams do not respect jurisdictional boundaries. The water from several counties, cities and tributaries all end up in Lake Houston.
Eight (8) years ago I received 3 1/2 feet of water in my 1 1/2 year old single-story house. The financial, emotional and physical impacts of this event were devastating.
Red tape and politics aside, VERY LITTLE has been done during the past 8 years to mitigate future flooding. This is proven by several flood threats as a result of flooding from slightly greater than normal rainstorms.
The Harris County Judge and certain Commissioners have totally failed us. We supported a Flood Bond in 2018 to implement a number of much needed projects. But what did the County officials do? They changed the “rules of the project prioritization.” They said they would tackle the hardest-hit areas first. Instead they’re funneling the money almost exclusively to folks in low-to-moderate income areas.
The officials refer to it as “equity”; I refer to it as buying votes. Now, it is my understanding that all funds have been spent.
The City of Houston clearly knows additional gates need to be added to the Lake Houston Dam to handle the release of water from Lake Conroe. The City has been overseeing this project for over 6 years and not one thimble of dirt has been moved.
We are sick and tired of hearing excuse, after excuse, after excuse of why it is taking so long. It is my understanding that funding was approved. But I have to believe that inflation has seriously reduced the amount that will be available to spend.
Study, after expensive study, has been performed. BUT – no meaningful projects to curb flooding have been implemented.
I do not minimize the cost, time and complexity of these projects. BUT IT HAS BEEN 8 YEARS.
I’m convinced the current governing structure, as well as the officials involved, are incapable of planning and executing efforts to successfully mitigate future flooding.
THE TEXAS HOUSE IS CURRENTLY CONSIDERING A BILL THAT WILL CREATE A MULTI- JURISDICTIONAL BODY TO OVERSEE FLOOD CONTROL: HB2068.
ANY HELP YOU CAN PROVIDE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD WOULD BE DEEPLY APPRECIATED.
We have been very “lucky” to not have a repeat of Harvey since 2017. However, I fear everyday for my family that our luck is about to run out!
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20240501-DJI_20240501091139_0042_D-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-04-14 19:42:452025-04-14 19:42:46Poignant Letter to Governor Urges Him to Support HB2068
But sorry, Larry. This is no laughing matter. Let’s look at the two projects upstream from Lake Houston.
One of those holes in the ground will take twice as long to design and build as the Empire State Building. But that’s not all. Read on.
Mercer Basins near Hardy Tollroad and FM1960
Back in mid-2024, HCFCD told us that they hoped to complete the Mercer Stormwater Detention basin project by Fall of 2024. But when I checked in December, I found HCFCD was far from complete. And it’s still not done.
When you add up the times specified in the original contract plus change orders, HCFCD should have completed it weeks ago.
But as of today, it appeared as if contractors have made practically no progress in the last four months. They are still far from complete. Compare the pictures below with those I took in December.
Mercer Detention Basins/South Pond as of 4/13/25Mercer Detention Basin/North Pond as of 4/13/25Looking S from over Cypress Creek at both basins. Intersection of Hardy Toll Road and FM1960 at top right.There’s obviously a lot of dirt work to do before they start landscaping.
Mercer Basins Should Have Been Done Two Weeks Ago
Here’s the timeline on this project.
8/4/23 – Contract was advertised to potential bidders
10/10/23 – Contract was awarded and called for completion in 348 working days.
12/23 – HCFCD issued Notice To Proceed to contractor (I don’t have an exact day, but let’s assume 12/31/23 to be generous).
9/19/24 – Change order added 37 days and $108k
12/10/24 – Change #2 added another 63 days and $105k
1/21/25 – Change #3 added eight more days and $16k.
Thus, given a Notice to Proceed in December 2023, the contractor should have finished the job in 456 days (348 + 37 + 63 + 8).
But 456 days expired 13 days ago.
Today is 469 days since Notice to Proceed
Commissioner Rodney Ellis won’t like this. These basins are in his Precinct 1. Now let’s look five miles farther upstream.
TC Jester East Basin Got Final Funding in February, but Won’t Be Bid Till Fourth Quarter
And that’s despite the fact that Commissioners Court approved an agreement with an engineering company in 2021 to provide design/build/construction-phase services. Come on folks. This is a hole in the ground!
The TC Jester East Stormwater Detention Basin Complex will go in the big forested area in the center of the frame. Photo taken 4/13/25.
This project started five years ago! So why wait until to the fourth quarter to bid it? Why wasn’t it ready to bid the minute GLO gave final approval? Can it even be completed before the deadline in May 2026?
TC Jester Timeline
Here’s its timeline:
9/14/21 – Preliminary engineering review (PER) completed and accepted by the county.
11/30/21 – Approval of agreement with engineering company to provide design/bid/construction-phase services
6/14/22 – Approval to submit the FEMA grant application (for Rep. Crenshaw’s earmark)
1/10/23 – Approval to accept FEMA grant of $9.95 million through TDEM. This is the earmark that Congressman Crenshaw secured.
9/19/23 – Approval to submit application to TWDB to receive the $12 million that Rep. Sam Harless secured
2/27/24 – Harris County Commissioners Court approved an escrow agreement, a requirement to receive TWDB funds
4/23/24 – Authorization to negotiate for materials testing. However, the record doesn’t show that the agreement has come back to Court yet. (Perhaps because they aren’t ready to go to construction.)
6/4/24 – Commissioners Court accepted $12 million from TWDB (the Harless funds)
3/27/25 – Commissioners Court accepted the CDBG-DR grant from the GLO for the construction of the East Basin.
One would like to think that, if they’ve been working on this since 2021, the design would be ready to bid. HUD set a deadline of May, 2026, to complete this project.
That gives HCFCD only a little more than a year…unless HUD grants an extension…to dig a hole in the ground that HCFCD began planning five years ago.
By comparison, the Empire State Building was designed AND constructed in less than three years!
And if it takes six years to finish the TC Jester Basin, that will equal the amount of time it took to build the first transcontinental railroad. But, of course, the civil war slowed the railroad down a bit.
What’s wrong with this picture? I’m with you, Cable Guy. Git-r-done!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/13/25
2784 Days since Hurricane Harvey
I have offered to publish HCFCD‘s explanation as to why these projects are taking so long if it chooses to submit one.
“Git-R-Done” is a registered trademark of Git-R-Done Productions, Inc., the company of comedian Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney).
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250413-DJI_20250413100404_0200_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-04-13 18:27:332026-04-18 13:03:46Mercer and TC Jester Basins Far Behind Schedule
Why Flood Mitigation Needs Steady Funding Source
4/15/25 – At a flood resilience workshop yesterday in Houston, the importance of a steady funding source for flood-mitigation projects became abundantly clear.
The Biannual Resiliency Workshop of the Society of American Military Engineers (S.A.M.E.) drew a star-studded lineup of speakers for the hundreds of engineers, lawyers and business people in attendance.
Alia Vinson, a partner at the law firm of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP, made steady funding for flood mitigation the focus of her entire talk. She even wore green to underscore her theme. (“The color of money,” she said.)
After Vinson, the keynote speaker, Congressman Wesley Hunt, talked about “unsustainable federal spending.” The Federal government provides most of the flood-mitigation financial assistance in the country through FEMA and HUD. But both agencies have come under fire by President Trump and Elon Musk lately. That creates uncertainty for Texas where more people live in floodplains than the entire populations of 30 other states.
Competition for Flood Mitigation Funding Getting Stronger
Vinson’s talk focused primarily on the vigorous competition for funds in this Texas Legislature and the previous session. She began with the creation of the Texas Water Fund (Proposition 6) in 2023, which triggered a $1 billion investment in new water infrastructure needed to support a growing population.
The Texas Water Development Board administers the Texas Water Fund. It has the authority to shift money as needed between at least eight different programs. They award loans and grants to political subdivisions for local water and wastewater infrastructure projects. They include:
At least 25% of the $1 billion must go to the New Water Supply Fund, which supports projects such as:
The point:
This year, “new water” again is high on the Legislature’s agenda. Although nothing is final yet, base budgets have set aside $2.5 billion for the Texas Water Fund.
Pending Legislation Could Help Address Mitigation Needs
Vinson then shifted focus to this year’s SB7 by Senator Charles Perry and HB16 by Rep. Cody Harris.
The Senate has already approved SB7 and sent it to the House Natural Resources Committee. A key provision makes the Flood Infrastructure Fund eligible for money from the Texas Water Fund.
HB16 does the same thing, but hasn’t made it out of the Natural Resources Committee yet for a vote by the House.
Two other bills pending this year would create a dedicated revenue stream of $1 billion per year for the Texas Water Fund. They are SJR 66 and HJR 7. The big difference between them: the Senate Bill requires at least 80% to be used ONLY for New Water Supply. That would limit flood mitigation funding to only 20% of $1 billion.
Still No Dedicated Funding Stream
I took away two main things from Vinson’s speech:
That dedicated funding source could quickly become increasingly important. Uncertainty continues to swirl around financial support from the federal government, which has the deepest pockets when it comes to flood mitigation and disaster relief.
This morning, Politico ran a story with the headline, “FEMA denies Washington state disaster relief from bomb cyclone, governor says.” FEMA denied the State’s request for $34 million for disaster relief even though it reportedly met all the criteria for assistance. According to the State’s governor, FEMA provided no explanation for the denial, but said “assistance was not warranted.”
Federal Support Uncertain
Another speaker yesterday at the S.A.M.E. workshop, U.S. Congressman Wesley Hunt, said he had talked directly with President Trump and Elon Musk at length about the Federal budget.
Hunt said the U.S. has a $2 trillion annual deficit and that we are $36 trillion in debt. He characterized both as “unsustainable.”
However, a group called “Truth in Accounting” that monitors government finances reported this morning that the situation is even more dire. The group applies generally accepted accounting principles from the private sector to government spending reports.
According to Truth in Accounting, the government’s financial position worsened by $4.7 trillion last year, not $2 trillion.
Truth in Accounting also says the government needs $158.6 trillion to pay its bills, not $36 trillion. And that each taxpayer’s share of the burden is $974,000.
The ominous warnings from Hunt and Truth in Accounting come as President Trump has questioned whether to disband FEMA entirely and give money directly to states to handle disasters. According to Politico, Trump has created “a council to study what to do with FEMA and whether to get rid of it.”
The uncertainty surrounding future availability of Federal aid makes it all the more important for Texas to provide a dedicated, steady funding stream for flood mitigation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/15/2025
2786 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Poignant Letter to Governor Urges Him to Support HB2068
4-14-2025 – Two weeks ago, I posted about HB2068, State Rep. Dennis Paul’s bill. It has the potential to create more effective flood control for more people.
The post prompted 192 readers from across the river basin to write the House Natural Resources committee in support of HB2068. But not all concerned citizens stopped with the committee. One, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent me the text of a poignant letter he wrote to Governor Abbott. It expressed sentiments I hear from many flood victims.
Letter to Governor about HB2068
Honorable Governor,
We desperately need your help in the Harris County, Kingwood, Conroe and Lake Houston Area.
As we all know, flooding rivers and streams do not respect jurisdictional boundaries. The water from several counties, cities and tributaries all end up in Lake Houston.
Eight (8) years ago I received 3 1/2 feet of water in my 1 1/2 year old single-story house. The financial, emotional and physical impacts of this event were devastating.
Red tape and politics aside, VERY LITTLE has been done during the past 8 years to mitigate future flooding. This is proven by several flood threats as a result of flooding from slightly greater than normal rainstorms.
The Harris County Judge and certain Commissioners have totally failed us. We supported a Flood Bond in 2018 to implement a number of much needed projects. But what did the County officials do? They changed the “rules of the project prioritization.” They said they would tackle the hardest-hit areas first. Instead they’re funneling the money almost exclusively to folks in low-to-moderate income areas.
The officials refer to it as “equity”; I refer to it as buying votes. Now, it is my understanding that all funds have been spent.
The City of Houston clearly knows additional gates need to be added to the Lake Houston Dam to handle the release of water from Lake Conroe. The City has been overseeing this project for over 6 years and not one thimble of dirt has been moved.
We are sick and tired of hearing excuse, after excuse, after excuse of why it is taking so long. It is my understanding that funding was approved. But I have to believe that inflation has seriously reduced the amount that will be available to spend.
Study, after expensive study, has been performed. BUT – no meaningful projects to curb flooding have been implemented.
I do not minimize the cost, time and complexity of these projects. BUT IT HAS BEEN 8 YEARS.
I’m convinced the current governing structure, as well as the officials involved, are incapable of planning and executing efforts to successfully mitigate future flooding.
THE TEXAS HOUSE IS CURRENTLY CONSIDERING A BILL THAT WILL CREATE A MULTI- JURISDICTIONAL BODY TO OVERSEE FLOOD CONTROL: HB2068.
ANY HELP YOU CAN PROVIDE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD WOULD BE DEEPLY APPRECIATED.
We have been very “lucky” to not have a repeat of Harvey since 2017. However, I fear everyday for my family that our luck is about to run out!
Sincerely,
(Name withheld at reader’s request)
Don’t Stop Now
Sound familiar? Please support HB2068. Write the governor and your other elected representatives.
But don’t wait too long. The vast majority of bills die in committees and never even see a vote on the House or Senate floors.
HB2068 received some good news today. State Rep. Charles Cunningham signed on as a co-author. But the bill is still pending in committee.
For More Information
For more information about HB2068, see these posts:
25/04/09 Natural Resources Committee Hears Testimony on HB2068
25/04/08 Action Needed: Support HB2068 NOW!
Full Text of Bill as Filed
Follow progress of the bill on Texas Legislature Online website.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/14/2025
2785 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Mercer and TC Jester Basins Far Behind Schedule
4/13/25 – A quick check of the Mercer and TC Jester stormwater detention basin projects on Cypress Creek showed that, under current management:
They reminded me of Larry the Cable Guy. He’s the stand-up comic, whose famous hook line is “Git-R-Done©.”
But sorry, Larry. This is no laughing matter. Let’s look at the two projects upstream from Lake Houston.
One of those holes in the ground will take twice as long to design and build as the Empire State Building. But that’s not all. Read on.
Mercer Basins near Hardy Tollroad and FM1960
Back in mid-2024, HCFCD told us that they hoped to complete the Mercer Stormwater Detention basin project by Fall of 2024. But when I checked in December, I found HCFCD was far from complete. And it’s still not done.
When you add up the times specified in the original contract plus change orders, HCFCD should have completed it weeks ago.
But as of today, it appeared as if contractors have made practically no progress in the last four months. They are still far from complete. Compare the pictures below with those I took in December.
Mercer Basins Should Have Been Done Two Weeks Ago
Here’s the timeline on this project.
Thus, given a Notice to Proceed in December 2023, the contractor should have finished the job in 456 days (348 + 37 + 63 + 8).
Commissioner Rodney Ellis won’t like this. These basins are in his Precinct 1. Now let’s look five miles farther upstream.
TC Jester East Basin Got Final Funding in February, but Won’t Be Bid Till Fourth Quarter
In September, 2023, HCFCD held a press conference celebrating the funding of the TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basins.
Later, the County decided to seek more money from the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which administers HUD funding in Texas.
And that’s despite the fact that Commissioners Court approved an agreement with an engineering company in 2021 to provide design/build/construction-phase services. Come on folks. This is a hole in the ground!
This project started five years ago! So why wait until to the fourth quarter to bid it? Why wasn’t it ready to bid the minute GLO gave final approval? Can it even be completed before the deadline in May 2026?
TC Jester Timeline
Here’s its timeline:
One would like to think that, if they’ve been working on this since 2021, the design would be ready to bid. HUD set a deadline of May, 2026, to complete this project.
That gives HCFCD only a little more than a year…unless HUD grants an extension…to dig a hole in the ground that HCFCD began planning five years ago.
By comparison, the Empire State Building was designed AND constructed in less than three years!
And if it takes six years to finish the TC Jester Basin, that will equal the amount of time it took to build the first transcontinental railroad. But, of course, the civil war slowed the railroad down a bit.
What’s wrong with this picture? I’m with you, Cable Guy. Git-r-done!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/13/25
2784 Days since Hurricane Harvey
I have offered to publish HCFCD‘s explanation as to why these projects are taking so long if it chooses to submit one.
“Git-R-Done” is a registered trademark of Git-R-Done Productions, Inc., the company of comedian Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney).