At the last meeting of Harris County Commissioners Court, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) released a flood-bond update that shows spending through the end of November 2021. It provides a quick and easy way to see what your money is being spent on and where it is going. This differs from data reported recently from my FOIA Request. That data goes back to 2000 and looks at data pre- and post-Harvey, not just the start of the flood bond.
November Highlights
Below, some of the highlights from the November spending update:
Professional services invoices paid to date total $296 million. In November, payments totaled $338 thousand. Three quarters of that amount went to minority- or women-owned businesses.
HCFCD has awarded $354 million in construction contracts. Five more were awarded last month totaling $335 thousand.
Total spending since the approval of the flood bond through the end of November totaled $885 million. Of that, $447 million came directly from bond funds. Another $321 million came from grants. Other local funds totaled $117 million.
Three years into a ten year bond program, we’ve expended 17.9% of the anticipated total.
Home buyouts continue to drag out. HCFCD has completed 676, but 613 remain in the pipeline.
Brays Bayou still leads the dollar derby by a factor of two compared to the next three contenders. Brays has received $162 million flood-bond dollars to date. Cypress Creek, Addicks, and Greens Bayou have each received approximately half that. Then there are all others.
Where your flood-bond dollars have gone through the end of Nov 21..
Dollars spent in each watershed through the end of November.
Dollars funded in each watershed through the end of November.
Active maintenance projects and their values in December.
Active capital projects and their values in December.
The visual nature of this report makes it easy to see where your money is going at a glance.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/20/2021
1574 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20211220-Funding-by-Watershed-through-Nov-21.jpg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=19161200adminadmin2021-12-20 21:23:122021-12-20 21:40:09Flood-Bond Update through End of November 2021
Widening of Hunting Bayou, one of the poorest and most flood-damaged watersheds in the county, is kicking into high gear.
Annual Rate of Spending Almost Quadruples since Harvey
According to data obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Harris County Flood Control District and its partners (mainly the Army Corps and City of Houston), spent $44 million on flood mitigation in the Hunting Bayou watershed between 1/1/2000 and Hurricane Harvey.
That averaged $2.4 million per year for those 18 years. However, in the 4 years since Harvey, HCFCD has spent $37 million – more than $9 million per year.
That rate of spending averages 3.75X higher after Harvey than before.
HCFCD Spending Data Obtained via FOIA Request
Here’s a breakdown.
From FOIA Request.Hunting Bayou flood-mitigation expenditures by time period and category since 1/1/2000 through end of third quarter 2021.
Focus of Current Construction Activities
The upstream portion of Hunting Bayou parallels the south side of Loop 610 for most of its length. Where North Loop 610 turns south, Hunting cuts under it between McCarty and Wallisville Roads. From there it continues east. It then turns southeast at San Pedro Street and eventually joins Buffalo Bayou and the Ship Channel.
Note width of floodplains in red box. HCFCD is now widening Hunting between the left and right boundaries of the box.From Harris County Flood Education Mapping Tool. Blue = 100-year. Green = 500-year floodplain.
The Hunting Bayou watershed has the second highest percentage of low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents in the county (69%) after Halls Bayou (71%) immediately to the north.
Hunting also is heavily industrialized with rail yards, tank farms, manufacturing, and shipping companies. The highest points of land are the railroad tracks. Within the red box above, you can see how they affect the flood plain.
After driving around the neighborhoods along Hunting Bayou for an entire day, it appears that the worst storm damage is in the red box above. Many homes are boarded up and abandoned in this area. Others have been elevated. Some have been renovated and are waiting for the next flood.
Current Construction Photos of Bayou Widening Efforts
HCFCD bayou-widening efforts focus on this area right now. They extend from US59 on the west to approximately Wayside Drive on the east. Bayou widening may be an understatement. HCFCD appears to be creating a long series of connected detention basins, some more than 450 feet wide and several city blocks long that narrow at bridges.
This should help drain water from nearby neighborhoods during heavy storms. See pictures below all taken on Sunday, 12/19/2021. They generally trend from west to east, starting at US59 and heading downstream.
Looking east at first of numerous ponds along channel of Hunting Bayou. Photographed from over US59. Loop 610 is in upper left.
Looking east over Hunting Street. Loop 610 on left.Note new hike and bike trails in this and other pictures below.
Looking east from Kashmere Street at a previously excavated area now covered with grass and newly excavated areas beyond it.
Looking east from over Wipprecht Street at work in progress.
Looking east toward Lockwood from Pickfair Streetand one of the constrictions mentioned above.
Closer shot of constriction at Lockwood.
Looking east from Hutcheson Park
Opposite angle. Looking west over expanse of Hutcheson Park. Loop 610 on right.
Looking NE from the eastern end of Hutcheson Park, where Hunting cuts under 610.
Looking NE from over Loop 610 toward Homestead Detention Pond in background.Kelly Street cuts left to right through top of frame.s
Looking east from over Homestead at limit of current downstream work.
Funding Flows to Damage
Altogether, the current excavation work stretches 3.33 miles.
In the last five major storms (Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey, Imelda), 15,763 structures have flooded along Hunting Bayou. That ranks 7th among all Harris County Watersheds. But one must remember, that Hunting, comprises only 31 square miles. That ranks it 19th in size out of 23 watersheds. The damage per square mile ranked #2 (508.5 structures).
Another reason spending has accelerated here is political policy – namely the Equity Prioritization Framework implemented a year after the flood bond passed.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20211219-DJI_0152.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2021-12-19 20:53:442021-12-19 23:31:42Widening of Hunting Bayou Kicks into High Gear
Since 2000, White Oak Bayou has received $386.8 million in Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD), federal, and local partner funding. That ranks it #2 in dollars received among all 23 Harris County Watersheds, second only to Brays Bayou at $544.5 million. Data received via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, showed that these two watersheds alone have received close to a billion dollars out of $3 billion spent between 1/1/2000 and the end of the third quarter this year. Said another way…
Two watersheds out of 23 received about a third of all HCFCD flood-mitigation spending in the last 22 years.
White Oak is difficult to photograph. As with Brays, homes and apartments back up to White Oak almost the entire way. They largely conceal most of it from public view except near bridges. Those homes and apartments also conceal the magnitude of construction from public view.
A Low-to-Moderate Income Watershed
Within the watershed, White Oak has slightly more low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents (51%) than those who earn above the average for the region. Other interesting stats:
It comprises 111.1 square miles. That ranks #6 among all watersheds.
White Oak has 468,214 people. That ranks #3 among all watersheds.
White Oak ranks #3 in total damage and #5 in damage per square mile.
Continuous Improvement for Decades
Money has poured into the White Oak watershed – as it has for Brays – because of the large number of flooded structures and associated damage. White Oak has had almost 26,000 structures flooded in the last five major storms – Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey and Imelda. That ranks it #3 in total damage among all 23 Harris County Watersheds.
The 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act helped fund the latest round of construction shown below on White Oak as well as Hunting and Brays Bayous. All three started more than 20 years ago and advance sporadically as more money becomes available.
Fighting Constrictions of Development to Make Room for More Floodwater
The photos below show HCFCD’s and the Army Corps’ commitment to completing a number of major projects along White Oak. Residential and commercial developments pressing against the bayou along its length make that difficult. They leave little room for widening to accommodate more floodwater. As a consequence, HCFCD is forced to buy out whole subdivisions to make room for detention basins.
Regardless, I photographed an impressive amount of construction along the length of White Oak between FM1960 and West Little York. Below are 10 out of more than 120 photographs. I took them all on 12/17/2021.
White Oak Bayou widening and deepening. Photographed from Kari Court.
Note how close houses are to the channel. Making more “room for the river,” as the Dutch say, would require buying out many of the homes you see below.
White Oak Bayou photographed from over Lewis Street.
Looking upstream at White Oak from Gessner
Looking downstream from Gessner. Another example of not leaving “room for the river.” t
Looking SW across large detention basin. White Oak cuts through top of frame from left to right. Fairbanks North Houston cuts through top of frame on right.
Looking NE from over Fairbanks North Houston. White Oak cuts through center of frame. Note Greenspoint on horizon, right of center.
White Oak near Antoine, looking S toward downtown and Galleria on horizon.
White Oak from Tall Pines Drive looking SE.
White Oak from Deep Forest Drive looking downstream.
HCFCD currently has $45 million in ACTIVE construction projects underway in White Oak Bayou. But many more construction projects along the bayou are still pending buyouts to make way for more detention basins.
Of the $386 million spent on White Oak in the last 23 years, $235 million has gone to buyouts and right-of-way acquisition compared to $90 million so far for construction. White Oak buyouts have cost 2.6X more than construction. Normally, buyout and construction costs differ by only a few percentage points.
That tells you how how many homes and businesses are overcrowding the flood plain!
And that brings to mind my grandmother’s favorite saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20211217-DJI_0098.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2021-12-17 20:42:492021-12-19 11:24:48White Oak Bayou Gets A Makeover…Again
Flood-Bond Update through End of November 2021
At the last meeting of Harris County Commissioners Court, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) released a flood-bond update that shows spending through the end of November 2021. It provides a quick and easy way to see what your money is being spent on and where it is going. This differs from data reported recently from my FOIA Request. That data goes back to 2000 and looks at data pre- and post-Harvey, not just the start of the flood bond.
November Highlights
Below, some of the highlights from the November spending update:
GANNT Charts Show Progress in All Watersheds
The San Jacinto River Basin has 10 active projects in various stages of development. Cypress Creek has 10. And Spring Creek has 4. To see what stage they are at, see the GANNT Charts on Pages 4 through 9.
Brays Leads Dollar Derby By Wide Margin
Brays Bayou still leads the dollar derby by a factor of two compared to the next three contenders. Brays has received $162 million flood-bond dollars to date. Cypress Creek, Addicks, and Greens Bayou have each received approximately half that. Then there are all others.
This report PDF also contains maps that show:
The visual nature of this report makes it easy to see where your money is going at a glance.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/20/2021
1574 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Widening of Hunting Bayou Kicks into High Gear
Widening of Hunting Bayou, one of the poorest and most flood-damaged watersheds in the county, is kicking into high gear.
Annual Rate of Spending Almost Quadruples since Harvey
According to data obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Harris County Flood Control District and its partners (mainly the Army Corps and City of Houston), spent $44 million on flood mitigation in the Hunting Bayou watershed between 1/1/2000 and Hurricane Harvey.
That averaged $2.4 million per year for those 18 years. However, in the 4 years since Harvey, HCFCD has spent $37 million – more than $9 million per year.
Here’s a breakdown.
Focus of Current Construction Activities
The upstream portion of Hunting Bayou parallels the south side of Loop 610 for most of its length. Where North Loop 610 turns south, Hunting cuts under it between McCarty and Wallisville Roads. From there it continues east. It then turns southeast at San Pedro Street and eventually joins Buffalo Bayou and the Ship Channel.
Poor, Industrial, Flat, Flood Prone
The Hunting Bayou watershed has the second highest percentage of low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents in the county (69%) after Halls Bayou (71%) immediately to the north.
Hunting also is heavily industrialized with rail yards, tank farms, manufacturing, and shipping companies. The highest points of land are the railroad tracks. Within the red box above, you can see how they affect the flood plain.
After driving around the neighborhoods along Hunting Bayou for an entire day, it appears that the worst storm damage is in the red box above. Many homes are boarded up and abandoned in this area. Others have been elevated. Some have been renovated and are waiting for the next flood.
Current Construction Photos of Bayou Widening Efforts
HCFCD bayou-widening efforts focus on this area right now. They extend from US59 on the west to approximately Wayside Drive on the east. Bayou widening may be an understatement. HCFCD appears to be creating a long series of connected detention basins, some more than 450 feet wide and several city blocks long that narrow at bridges.
This should help drain water from nearby neighborhoods during heavy storms. See pictures below all taken on Sunday, 12/19/2021. They generally trend from west to east, starting at US59 and heading downstream.
Funding Flows to Damage
Altogether, the current excavation work stretches 3.33 miles.
In the last five major storms (Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey, Imelda), 15,763 structures have flooded along Hunting Bayou. That ranks 7th among all Harris County Watersheds. But one must remember, that Hunting, comprises only 31 square miles. That ranks it 19th in size out of 23 watersheds. The damage per square mile ranked #2 (508.5 structures).
Another reason spending has accelerated here is political policy – namely the Equity Prioritization Framework implemented a year after the flood bond passed.
As with other watersheds, such as Halls, Greens, Brays and White Oak, it’s virtually impossible to grasp the scope of construction from the ground. That’s one reason why people in these watersheds complain they get no help from HCFCD when they are.
To learn more about this and other flood-mitigation projects in the Hunting Bayou watershed, visit this HCFCD page and click on the projects in the left hand column.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/19, 2021
1573 Days since Hurricane Harvey
White Oak Bayou Gets A Makeover…Again
Since 2000, White Oak Bayou has received $386.8 million in Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD), federal, and local partner funding. That ranks it #2 in dollars received among all 23 Harris County Watersheds, second only to Brays Bayou at $544.5 million. Data received via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, showed that these two watersheds alone have received close to a billion dollars out of $3 billion spent between 1/1/2000 and the end of the third quarter this year. Said another way…
I flew over Brays Bayou earlier this year and documented all the construction there. Friday, I droned White Oak Bayou from FM1960 to south of West Little York, a distance of more than 11 miles.
White Oak is difficult to photograph. As with Brays, homes and apartments back up to White Oak almost the entire way. They largely conceal most of it from public view except near bridges. Those homes and apartments also conceal the magnitude of construction from public view.
A Low-to-Moderate Income Watershed
Within the watershed, White Oak has slightly more low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents (51%) than those who earn above the average for the region. Other interesting stats:
Continuous Improvement for Decades
Money has poured into the White Oak watershed – as it has for Brays – because of the large number of flooded structures and associated damage. White Oak has had almost 26,000 structures flooded in the last five major storms – Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey and Imelda. That ranks it #3 in total damage among all 23 Harris County Watersheds.
And as we have seen repeatedly, funding flows to damage.
The 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act helped fund the latest round of construction shown below on White Oak as well as Hunting and Brays Bayous. All three started more than 20 years ago and advance sporadically as more money becomes available.
Fighting Constrictions of Development to Make Room for More Floodwater
The photos below show HCFCD’s and the Army Corps’ commitment to completing a number of major projects along White Oak. Residential and commercial developments pressing against the bayou along its length make that difficult. They leave little room for widening to accommodate more floodwater. As a consequence, HCFCD is forced to buy out whole subdivisions to make room for detention basins.
Regardless, I photographed an impressive amount of construction along the length of White Oak between FM1960 and West Little York. Below are 10 out of more than 120 photographs. I took them all on 12/17/2021.
Note how close houses are to the channel. Making more “room for the river,” as the Dutch say, would require buying out many of the homes you see below.
Many Project Along Bayou Still Pending Buyouts
HCFCD currently has $45 million in ACTIVE construction projects underway in White Oak Bayou. But many more construction projects along the bayou are still pending buyouts to make way for more detention basins.
Of the $386 million spent on White Oak in the last 23 years, $235 million has gone to buyouts and right-of-way acquisition compared to $90 million so far for construction. White Oak buyouts have cost 2.6X more than construction. Normally, buyout and construction costs differ by only a few percentage points.
That tells you how how many homes and businesses are overcrowding the flood plain!
And that brings to mind my grandmother’s favorite saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
The 2018 Flood Bond allocated more than $490 million for 16 projects in the White Oak Watershed. However, only $88 million has been spent since Harvey. So, White Oak will receive another $402 million before bond projects are completed. Eventually, White Oak conveyance improvements between 2000 and the end of the bond fund will total $788 million!
But at this point, we’re less than halfway there.
To learn more about HCFCD’s active projects in the White Oak Watershed, visit this page.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/18/2021
1672 Days since Hurricane Harvey