According to Fourth Quarter 2022 data obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), the San Jacinto Watershed has fallen further behind other watersheds in flood-mitigation funding on a number of measures.
Since 2000, HCFCD has spent $3.437 billion. The San Jacinto Watershed is the county’s largest and had the deepest flooding during Harvey as measured by feet above flood stage.
Chart showing feet above flood stage of 33 gages of misc. bayous in Harris County during Harvey.
The Minnow’s Share of Funding
Yet it has received only $65.5 million in flood mitigation funding since 2000, ranking it 14th among the county’s 23 watersheds. The 215-square mile San Jacinto Watershed received only $1.5 million out of $54.6 million spent by HFCD in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, all of the following watersheds are surging ahead in the funding sweepstakes:
Addicks Reservoir received $1.9 million
Brays Bayou – $3.6 million
Buffalo Bayou – $4 million
Cypress Creek – $6.3 million
Greens Bayou – $5.3 million
Halls Bayou – $6.3 million
Hunting Bayou – $2.3 million
Little Cypress Creek – $3 million
Luce Bayou – $2.5 million
Sims Bayou – $4.6 million
White Oak Bayou – $2.1 million.
Most of these watersheds have received extensive funding in the past. For instance, Brays Bayou has received more than half a billion dollars since 2000 and $175 million since Harvey.
Low-to-Moderate Income Watersheds Leave the Pack Behind
And since 2000, four low-to-moderate income (LMI) watersheds have received virtually half of all funding. Brays, Greens, White Oak and Sims received half of $2.4 billion – as much as all 19 other watersheds combined.
Brays, Greens White Oak and Sims have consumed half of all flood-mitigation funding since 2000.
If you compare ALL watersheds with a majority LMI population, 8 LMI watersheds received 60% compared to 40% for 15 others.
This next table shows watersheds ranked by LMI percentage and the amount spent on each. Halls is one fifth the size of the San Jacinto and has about half the population. But it has almost double the LMI population and received almost twice as much money.
Omits $1 Billion in countywide spending to compare watershedsbetter.
The Slippery Slope
The chart below shows the rank order of all watersheds based on total funding – both before and after Harvey.
Since Harvey, the San Jacinto has fallen below both the average and median spending per watershed.
An almost 90X disparity exists between the high and low since Harvey. The difference between Brays and San Jacinto is almost 5X.
Here’s the breakdown in a table format of who got how much.
Flood mitigation funding totals by watershed from 1/1/2000 to 12/31/2022.
Percent of Planned Spending
Another way to look at spending is by comparing the percentages of planned to actual for each watershed.
The San Jacinto has received approximately $30 million from the flood bond as of Flood Control’s last update. That’s out of $360 million on the project list – only one twelfth of the planned total for the San Jacinto.
Compare that with $185 million in flood-mitigation funding so far from the flood bond for Brays Bayou. That’s out of a planned total of $286 million. Brays has already received two thirds of its flood-bond total. That’s the power of equity.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/7/2023
1988 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/image-1.png?fit=936%2C614&ssl=1614936adminadmin2023-02-07 21:14:172023-02-13 08:33:33Flood-Mitigation Funding: San Jacinto Falls Further Behind
In the 1/31/2023 Harris County Commissioners Court Meeting, Commissioners voted to use another $64.8 million from the Harris County Flood Resilience Trust to keep 11 projects moving. All but one are in watersheds with a majority of low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents.
Projects Approved for Funding
Halls Bayou received:
$600,000 for construction of a stormwater detention basin
$1 million for channel conveyance improvements
$11.45 million for another channel conveyance improvement project.
Halls Bayou’s population is 72.5% LMI, the highest in the county.
Sims Bayou received:
$3 million for a stormwater detention basin and channel conveyance improvements
$4.4 million for another stormwater detention basin project.
Sims Bayou’s population is 60.8% LMI.
Greens Bayou received:
$2.3 million for mid-reach channel conveyance improvements
$4.5 million for the Smith Road channel diversion project
$1.8 for improvements to the Cutten Road Stormwater Detention Basin (Precinct 3)
$11.3 for the next phase of the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin
Greens Bayou’s population is 59.8% LMI.
White Oak Bayou received:
$18 million for construction of the Inwood Forest Stormwater Detention Basin.
White Oak Bayou’s population is 51.9% LMI.
Armand Bayou received:
$6.5 million for convenance improvements along a tributary, Horsepen Bayou.
Armand Bayou’s population is 28.4% LMI.
All but one of the projects are in Commissioner Rodney Ellis’ Precinct 1 and Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s Precinct 2.
The lone project in Precinct 3 (Commissioner Tom Ramsey) will benefit Precincts 1 and 2 because Greens Bayou drains through those precincts.
About the Flood Resilience Trust
The Flood Resilience Trust uses Harris County Tollroad Authority money to backstop 2018 Flood Bond Projects that have come up short to date on Partnership Funding.
After these expenditures, $31.7 million will remain in the Flood Resilience Trust.
Of the $64.8 million approved for expenditure, $24.5 million will help make up for partnership funding shortages. The remainder will help make up for cost escalation.
For a full discussion of the expenditures and the Trust, see the table on the last page of this summary provided to Commissioners by the Flood Control District.
None of these Trust withdrawals benefit Spring Creek, Cypress Creek, San Jacinto, or Luce watersheds.
Harris County Watershed Map
$750 Million In HUD Funds Not Discussed
Commissioners did not discuss the status of the long-awaited Method of Distribution (MOD) for the $750 million grant allocated to Harris County by the the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The MOD details the county’s plan to spend the money. Pre-approval is necessary to ensure the plan complies with HUD requirements. The County has known it would get the money for one year and nine months. H-GAC, which learned of a similar $488 million grant on the same day in 2021, got its MOD approved early last year.
Curiously, Harris County Community Services Department (CSD) learned it received conditional approval of a DRAFT MOD on January 25th, almost a full week before the January 31 Commissioner’s Court Meeting. Yet the approval was not on the agenda for discussion.
How Will Flood Bond Be Completed?
During the meeting, however, commissioners talked at length about a shortfall in partner funding and how to fill the gap.
Garcia fears there won’t be enough funding to do all the projects in the flood bond. But with the $750 million in HUD funds and money in the Flood Resilience Trust, the County could complete every project in the Flood Bond. That makes the County’s recommendation to shift money away from flood mitigation all the more puzzling. Flood Control would get only $325 million in CSD’s MOD. That wouldn’t even complete all the planned projects in the Halls Bayou Watershed.
Meanwhile, the San Jacinto had $223 million in planned flood bond projects. Of that amount, we have received only 13% so far while Brays Bayou has received 79% of its planned budget.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/6/2023 based on information provided by the Harris County Flood Control District
1987 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Garcia.jpg?fit=764%2C586&ssl=1586764adminadmin2023-02-06 16:24:292023-02-09 21:19:15Harris County Taps Flood Resilience Trust For Another $64.8 Million
After Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Engineering examined regulations throughout the region and recommended minimum drainage standards to reduce future flooding in the region’s cities and counties. Harris County even offered to pay the cost of inventorying existing standards and having an engineering firm draft recommended revisions. But almost 2000 days after Harvey, only half of the area’s cities and counties have taken action. Among those not acting: Montgomery and Liberty Counties. Here’s a breakdown of who has done what as of January 18, 2023, according to Harris County.
Already Upgraded
Twenty took Harris County up on its offer. They have already successfully updated their drainage regulations. They include:
Cities of
Baytown
Bellaire
Bunker Hill Village
Deer Park
El Lago
Friendswood
Galena Park
Hilshire Village
Houston
Humble
Jersey Village
Katy
La Porte
Pasadena
Piney Point Village
Seabrook
Southside Place
Taylor Lake Village
Tomball
Waller County
Considered Updates But Haven’t Acted
Twelve had requested and received an analysis, but had not yet implemented recommendations. They include:
Cities of:
Hedwig Village
Jacinto City
League City
Missouri City
Nassau Bay
Pearland
Shoreacres
South Houston
Spring Valley
Webster
West University
Fort Bend County
Not Acting
Eight have not updated ordinances and regulations. These include communities that did not respond to and those that refused Harris County’s offer. They include:
Cities:
Hunter’s Creek Village
Morgan’s Point
Stafford
Waller
Counties:
Brazoria
Galveston
Liberty
Montgomery
In fairness, Montgomery County did hire a firm in August 2022 to update/revise its drainage criteria manual and subdivision rules. The scope of work included examining some of the recommendations below made by Harris County. But work was expected to take at least a year.
Recommendations for Minimum Drainage Standards
The minimum drainage standards recommended by Harris County included:
Use Atlas 14 rainfall rates for sizing storm water conveyance and detention systems.
Require a minimum detention rate of 0.55 acre feet per acre for any new development on tracts one acre or larger. However, single-family residential structures and accessory buildings on existing lots would be exempt.
Prohibit the use of hydrographic timing as a substitute for detention on any project, unless it directly outfalls into Galveston Bay.
Require “no net fill” in the current mapped 500-year flood plain, except in areas identified as coastal zones only.
Require minimum Finished Floor Elevation (FFE) of new habitable structures be established at or waterproofed to the 500-year flood elevation as shown on the effective Flood Insurance Study.
I would add one more to the list:
No clearing or grading before environmental and drainage studies are completed, and during grading, measures are taken to protect neighbors from runoff.
This seems to be particularly troublesome issue for those surrounding new developments.
Self Interest
Harris County Engineering originally positioned adoption of the minimum drainage standards as a condition for receiving partnership money from the 2018 flood bond.
Clearly, not everyone sees that has a powerful incentive. Those outside Harris County likely see little benefit, especially since the Equity Prioritization Framework has delayed funding in those areas.
Perhaps Harris County should have emphasized how adoption of the minimum standards could help reduce flooding for ALL people in the region – including those within Montgomery and Liberty Counties.
During heavy rains in late January, I received dozens of reports of flooding in Montgomery and Liberty Counties. As growth in surrounding areas explodes, lax regulations are starting to inflict suffering on those area’s own citizens.
They should adopt higher standards for their own benefit, not just Harris County’s.
Photo taken January 30, 2023 along Harris/MoCo border near San Jacinto West Fork after 1.32 inches of rain.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/5/23
1986 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/2023/02/20230130-DJI_0926.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2023-02-05 12:25:022023-02-05 12:32:31Montgomery, Liberty Counties Still Have Not Adopted Minimum Drainage Recommendations
Flood-Mitigation Funding: San Jacinto Falls Further Behind
According to Fourth Quarter 2022 data obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), the San Jacinto Watershed has fallen further behind other watersheds in flood-mitigation funding on a number of measures.
Since 2000, HCFCD has spent $3.437 billion. The San Jacinto Watershed is the county’s largest and had the deepest flooding during Harvey as measured by feet above flood stage.
The Minnow’s Share of Funding
Yet it has received only $65.5 million in flood mitigation funding since 2000, ranking it 14th among the county’s 23 watersheds. The 215-square mile San Jacinto Watershed received only $1.5 million out of $54.6 million spent by HFCD in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, all of the following watersheds are surging ahead in the funding sweepstakes:
Most of these watersheds have received extensive funding in the past. For instance, Brays Bayou has received more than half a billion dollars since 2000 and $175 million since Harvey.
Low-to-Moderate Income Watersheds Leave the Pack Behind
And since 2000, four low-to-moderate income (LMI) watersheds have received virtually half of all funding. Brays, Greens, White Oak and Sims received half of $2.4 billion – as much as all 19 other watersheds combined.
If you compare ALL watersheds with a majority LMI population, 8 LMI watersheds received 60% compared to 40% for 15 others.
This next table shows watersheds ranked by LMI percentage and the amount spent on each. Halls is one fifth the size of the San Jacinto and has about half the population. But it has almost double the LMI population and received almost twice as much money.
The Slippery Slope
The chart below shows the rank order of all watersheds based on total funding – both before and after Harvey.
Since Harvey, the San Jacinto has fallen below both the average and median spending per watershed.
Here’s the breakdown in a table format of who got how much.
Percent of Planned Spending
Another way to look at spending is by comparing the percentages of planned to actual for each watershed.
The San Jacinto has received approximately $30 million from the flood bond as of Flood Control’s last update. That’s out of $360 million on the project list – only one twelfth of the planned total for the San Jacinto.
Compare that with $185 million in flood-mitigation funding so far from the flood bond for Brays Bayou. That’s out of a planned total of $286 million. Brays has already received two thirds of its flood-bond total. That’s the power of equity.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/7/2023
1988 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Harris County Taps Flood Resilience Trust For Another $64.8 Million
In the 1/31/2023 Harris County Commissioners Court Meeting, Commissioners voted to use another $64.8 million from the Harris County Flood Resilience Trust to keep 11 projects moving. All but one are in watersheds with a majority of low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents.
Projects Approved for Funding
Halls Bayou received:
Halls Bayou’s population is 72.5% LMI, the highest in the county.
Sims Bayou received:
Sims Bayou’s population is 60.8% LMI.
Greens Bayou received:
Greens Bayou’s population is 59.8% LMI.
White Oak Bayou received:
White Oak Bayou’s population is 51.9% LMI.
Armand Bayou received:
Armand Bayou’s population is 28.4% LMI.
The lone project in Precinct 3 (Commissioner Tom Ramsey) will benefit Precincts 1 and 2 because Greens Bayou drains through those precincts.
About the Flood Resilience Trust
The Flood Resilience Trust uses Harris County Tollroad Authority money to backstop 2018 Flood Bond Projects that have come up short to date on Partnership Funding.
After these expenditures, $31.7 million will remain in the Flood Resilience Trust.
Of the $64.8 million approved for expenditure, $24.5 million will help make up for partnership funding shortages. The remainder will help make up for cost escalation.
For a full discussion of the expenditures and the Trust, see the table on the last page of this summary provided to Commissioners by the Flood Control District.
None of these Trust withdrawals benefit Spring Creek, Cypress Creek, San Jacinto, or Luce watersheds.
$750 Million In HUD Funds Not Discussed
Commissioners did not discuss the status of the long-awaited Method of Distribution (MOD) for the $750 million grant allocated to Harris County by the the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The MOD details the county’s plan to spend the money. Pre-approval is necessary to ensure the plan complies with HUD requirements. The County has known it would get the money for one year and nine months. H-GAC, which learned of a similar $488 million grant on the same day in 2021, got its MOD approved early last year.
Curiously, Harris County Community Services Department (CSD) learned it received conditional approval of a DRAFT MOD on January 25th, almost a full week before the January 31 Commissioner’s Court Meeting. Yet the approval was not on the agenda for discussion.
How Will Flood Bond Be Completed?
During the meeting, however, commissioners talked at length about a shortfall in partner funding and how to fill the gap.
Garcia fears there won’t be enough funding to do all the projects in the flood bond. But with the $750 million in HUD funds and money in the Flood Resilience Trust, the County could complete every project in the Flood Bond. That makes the County’s recommendation to shift money away from flood mitigation all the more puzzling. Flood Control would get only $325 million in CSD’s MOD. That wouldn’t even complete all the planned projects in the Halls Bayou Watershed.
Meanwhile, the San Jacinto had $223 million in planned flood bond projects. Of that amount, we have received only 13% so far while Brays Bayou has received 79% of its planned budget.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/6/2023 based on information provided by the Harris County Flood Control District
1987 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Montgomery, Liberty Counties Still Have Not Adopted Minimum Drainage Recommendations
After Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Engineering examined regulations throughout the region and recommended minimum drainage standards to reduce future flooding in the region’s cities and counties. Harris County even offered to pay the cost of inventorying existing standards and having an engineering firm draft recommended revisions. But almost 2000 days after Harvey, only half of the area’s cities and counties have taken action. Among those not acting: Montgomery and Liberty Counties. Here’s a breakdown of who has done what as of January 18, 2023, according to Harris County.
Already Upgraded
Twenty took Harris County up on its offer. They have already successfully updated their drainage regulations. They include:
Considered Updates But Haven’t Acted
Twelve had requested and received an analysis, but had not yet implemented recommendations. They include:
Not Acting
Eight have not updated ordinances and regulations. These include communities that did not respond to and those that refused Harris County’s offer. They include:
In fairness, Montgomery County did hire a firm in August 2022 to update/revise its drainage criteria manual and subdivision rules. The scope of work included examining some of the recommendations below made by Harris County. But work was expected to take at least a year.
Recommendations for Minimum Drainage Standards
The minimum drainage standards recommended by Harris County included:
I would add one more to the list:
This seems to be particularly troublesome issue for those surrounding new developments.
Self Interest
Harris County Engineering originally positioned adoption of the minimum drainage standards as a condition for receiving partnership money from the 2018 flood bond.
Clearly, not everyone sees that has a powerful incentive. Those outside Harris County likely see little benefit, especially since the Equity Prioritization Framework has delayed funding in those areas.
Perhaps Harris County should have emphasized how adoption of the minimum standards could help reduce flooding for ALL people in the region – including those within Montgomery and Liberty Counties.
During heavy rains in late January, I received dozens of reports of flooding in Montgomery and Liberty Counties. As growth in surrounding areas explodes, lax regulations are starting to inflict suffering on those area’s own citizens.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/5/23
1986 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.