Tonight, members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force will vote whether and/or how to recommend changes to the equity funding formula for the third time in three years. On the table for discussion: partnership dollars.
One of the proposals under consideration is NOT to consider potential partnership funding. Said another way, taxpayers would pay for projects out of pocket rather than wait for federal and state dollars to filter down to the county level.
The main argument FOR this? Low-to-moderate income neighborhoods would not have to wait for HUD or FEMA dollars to begin construction.
The main argument AGAINST? Partnership dollars have funded roughly one-third of all flood-mitigation projects in Harris County since 2000.
So saying that you’ll bypass partnership dollars could eliminate one third of all flood-mitigation funding unless you want to increase taxes.
A highly publicized setback in the Texas GLO competition for HUD funds last year delayed a recommended $750 million award to Harris County. The delay hurt, but there’s still hope. HUD did not reject the GLO application. They just said they needed additional documentation. The two agencies have met several times since. GLO has already started reformulating its proposal and expects a decision as early as next month.
Should We Turn Our Back on Hundreds of Millions?
So should the plan now be to turn our noses up at the $1.15 billion that the county has received in partnership dollars since 2000. Should we say, “Let’s go it alone!” from now on? Should we stand by while that money goes to other areas that need it less?
LMI Neighborhoods Would Be Hurt the Most
Another argument proposed for ignoring the partnership funding: it disadvantages LMI neighborhoods because affluent neighborhoods have higher home values and therefore get higher Benefit Cost Ratios.
$797.4 million out of $1.149 billion in total partnership funds went to LMI watersheds. Percentages just happen to equal those in graph above.
While the logic sounds plausible, the only problem is that the eight LMI watersheds in Harris County (those where a majority of residents make below the average income for the region) actually receive 69% of all grants. Since 2000, they have received $797 million out of $1,149 million. So one third of the watersheds received more than two-thirds of all partnership funding.
That closely reflects the percentage of all spending (local + partnership) since 2000. The eight LMI watersheds received $2.3 billion out of $3.7 billion – 62%. Harris County has 23 watersheds in total.
The data clearly does not support discrimination against LMI neighborhoods in either partnership or overall spending. Greens Bayou for instance has received more money overall ($436 million) than all but three other watersheds since 2000. It also ranks #3 in partnership funding with $200 million. Partner dollars paid for 46% of the projects there.
Placing a Third of All Projects in Jeopardy
Eliminating partnership funds and relying on local funds will disadvantage Harris County taxpayers everywhere or cause a third of projects to be eliminated.
Date of Damage Assessments, Mitigation Also Crucial
Partnership funds can make a huge difference in watersheds in terms of flood reduction. Sims Bayou was the only bayou in Harris County that didn’t flood during Harvey. Of the $201 million it received in partnership funds since 2000, $198 million came before Harvey.
Sims also illustrates the problem with another proposal on the table tonight – using flood data going back to 1977 to determine who deserves more money. That will artificially disadvantage outlying neighborhoods which didn’t even exist in 1977. And it will funnel money into a watershed that has already largely been remediated.
When people come at these decisions from an ideological perspective without looking at data, it hurts everyone…sometimes even themselves.
My personal opinion is that when people talk about partnership funding, the debate should be, “When do you go it alone?” not “Should we go it alone?”
Students represent our future. What we teach them and how well we teach them affects the quality of our communities for the next generation. I closed yesterday’s post with a note about a detention pond at the new Kingwood Middle School. Their simple little pond can provide so many opportunities for learning.
The same is true of New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School, now under construction on Sorters-McClellan Road south of Kingwood Drive. Perhaps this provides even more opportunities for learning because it’s so much closer to a major source of flooding.
Here are pictures taken last week that show the location and status of construction. I begin with an unusual choice: the campus detention pond. The reason why will become clear below.
Photos Taken 1/29/22
This giant detention pond was the first thing built on the site. Notice the 59 Bridge over the San Jacinto West Fork in the upper right. Also notice the expansion of Sorters-McClellan road to handle the expected traffic.A shot from slightly higher and a little down the road clearly shows wetlands, ponds, the West Fork and its confluence with Spring Creek.Looking S at the confluence of West Fork (bottom) and Spring Creek (right). That large island first appears in Google Earth Pro as a tiny sliver of sand at the end of 2018. It has grown to its present size since then.Looking north at entire 50-acre campus. The detention pond comprises about 10% of that. Athletic facilities at West Fork High School including field house. Note US59, Insperity and Kingwood HCA Medical Center in upper right.Looking NW toward Sorters-McClellan Road and several West Fork Sand mines in background. Kingwood Place Drive has been extended south to provide another way to get into and out of the campus.Looking SW.The campus is built around a large central courtyard that will become its signature feature. But I wonder how 17 inches of rain will get out of there in a 100-year storm.Main entrance on Sorters-McClellan Road.Looking SE.
Lessons to Be Learned
Students always have more interest in learning things that relate to their personal lives. They explore those things deeper, learn them faster and retain them longer. Flooding has impacted thousands of students in this area. If they weren’t directly flooded during Harvey, chances are they know someone who was.
Right outside the high school, teachers now have real-world classroom to teach students about flooding.
How do compaction and impervious cover affect the rate of rainfall infiltration?
How does that affect the time of concentration of runoff?
How does that affect flood height?
What’s the mathematical relationship between the size of the pond and the amount of impervious cover added to the campus?
How do detention ponds work and how does that affect the time of concentration?
How will the campus detention pond affect people downstream?
Why doesn’t every new development have detention ponds?
What State, County and Local regulations affect the development of detention ponds and their capacity?
What is meant by externalizing a business’ costs?
How would downstream taxpayers be affected if this detention pond were not built?
What would happen to their flood insurance costs?
What is flood insurance?
Who should get flood insurance and why?
Does the cost of flood insurance affect low-income families more than high-income families?
Is that fair?
Should we have a state law or regional flood-control district mandating detention pond capacity requirements?
How do we change laws?
What does caveat emptor mean?
This can not only be a math lesson, it can be a civics/government lesson, a geography lesson, a science lesson, an engineering lesson, an environmental lesson and more.
Why So Important?
Susanne Kite, a reader of yesterday’s post, commented, “Kids and young people should learn these things so they can make smart choices in life!! And so they won’t be surprised when they start growing web feet.” I would add, “So they won’t be surprised when they buy a home!”
After kids explore answers to all the questions above, they need to find answers to an even bigger question. “How can we all live together?”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/7/22
1623 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/20220129-DJI_0635.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-02-07 15:07:552022-02-07 16:50:31West Fork High School: Another Opportunity for Learning
Aerial photos taken last week show a beautiful new Kingwood Middle School with an open, airy design taking shape.
Pictures Taken on 1/29/22
Glass enclosed atrium will look out over athletic fields where existing school now is.Existing school, bottom left, will be torn down to make room for athletic fields.Overhangs (not yet with roofs) will help provide protection from direct sun.View of entire school from over Woodland Hills Drive, looking NE.Looking E from over Woodland Hills Drive.Looking W from over Cedar Knolls Drive reveals drop off/pickup driveway behind school.
A permanent detention pond near the semi-circular drive in front of old Kingwood Middle School will eventually replace the temporary pond in the lower left of the image above. It’s exciting to see the Humble ISD making flood reduction a part of its plans for the future. That sends an important message to students and provides an opportunity for learning.
Making Informed Flood-Mitigation Funding Decisions: Partnership Dollars
Tonight, members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force will vote whether and/or how to recommend changes to the equity funding formula for the third time in three years. On the table for discussion: partnership dollars.
One of the proposals under consideration is NOT to consider potential partnership funding. Said another way, taxpayers would pay for projects out of pocket rather than wait for federal and state dollars to filter down to the county level.
The main argument FOR this? Low-to-moderate income neighborhoods would not have to wait for HUD or FEMA dollars to begin construction.
So saying that you’ll bypass partnership dollars could eliminate one third of all flood-mitigation funding unless you want to increase taxes.
Definition of Leverage
Partnership funding is the definition of leverage. A good example: last year, the county obtained $250 million for sediment removal in eight watersheds while putting up only $6.25 million. In that case, FEMA paid for most of the construction and the State (Texas Division of Emergency Management) paid for most of the local match.
Latest on HUD Money
A highly publicized setback in the Texas GLO competition for HUD funds last year delayed a recommended $750 million award to Harris County. The delay hurt, but there’s still hope. HUD did not reject the GLO application. They just said they needed additional documentation. The two agencies have met several times since. GLO has already started reformulating its proposal and expects a decision as early as next month.
Should We Turn Our Back on Hundreds of Millions?
So should the plan now be to turn our noses up at the $1.15 billion that the county has received in partnership dollars since 2000. Should we say, “Let’s go it alone!” from now on? Should we stand by while that money goes to other areas that need it less?
LMI Neighborhoods Would Be Hurt the Most
Another argument proposed for ignoring the partnership funding: it disadvantages LMI neighborhoods because affluent neighborhoods have higher home values and therefore get higher Benefit Cost Ratios.
While the logic sounds plausible, the only problem is that the eight LMI watersheds in Harris County (those where a majority of residents make below the average income for the region) actually receive 69% of all grants. Since 2000, they have received $797 million out of $1,149 million. So one third of the watersheds received more than two-thirds of all partnership funding.
That closely reflects the percentage of all spending (local + partnership) since 2000. The eight LMI watersheds received $2.3 billion out of $3.7 billion – 62%. Harris County has 23 watersheds in total.
The data clearly does not support discrimination against LMI neighborhoods in either partnership or overall spending. Greens Bayou for instance has received more money overall ($436 million) than all but three other watersheds since 2000. It also ranks #3 in partnership funding with $200 million. Partner dollars paid for 46% of the projects there.
Placing a Third of All Projects in Jeopardy
Eliminating partnership funds and relying on local funds will disadvantage Harris County taxpayers everywhere or cause a third of projects to be eliminated.
Date of Damage Assessments, Mitigation Also Crucial
Partnership funds can make a huge difference in watersheds in terms of flood reduction. Sims Bayou was the only bayou in Harris County that didn’t flood during Harvey. Of the $201 million it received in partnership funds since 2000, $198 million came before Harvey.
Sims also illustrates the problem with another proposal on the table tonight – using flood data going back to 1977 to determine who deserves more money. That will artificially disadvantage outlying neighborhoods which didn’t even exist in 1977. And it will funnel money into a watershed that has already largely been remediated.
When people come at these decisions from an ideological perspective without looking at data, it hurts everyone…sometimes even themselves.
My personal opinion is that when people talk about partnership funding, the debate should be, “When do you go it alone?” not “Should we go it alone?”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/8/2022
1624 Days since Hurricane Harvey
West Fork High School: Another Opportunity for Learning
Students represent our future. What we teach them and how well we teach them affects the quality of our communities for the next generation. I closed yesterday’s post with a note about a detention pond at the new Kingwood Middle School. Their simple little pond can provide so many opportunities for learning.
The same is true of New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School, now under construction on Sorters-McClellan Road south of Kingwood Drive. Perhaps this provides even more opportunities for learning because it’s so much closer to a major source of flooding.
Here are pictures taken last week that show the location and status of construction. I begin with an unusual choice: the campus detention pond. The reason why will become clear below.
Photos Taken 1/29/22
Lessons to Be Learned
Students always have more interest in learning things that relate to their personal lives. They explore those things deeper, learn them faster and retain them longer. Flooding has impacted thousands of students in this area. If they weren’t directly flooded during Harvey, chances are they know someone who was.
Right outside the high school, teachers now have real-world classroom to teach students about flooding.
This can not only be a math lesson, it can be a civics/government lesson, a geography lesson, a science lesson, an engineering lesson, an environmental lesson and more.
Why So Important?
Susanne Kite, a reader of yesterday’s post, commented, “Kids and young people should learn these things so they can make smart choices in life!! And so they won’t be surprised when they start growing web feet.” I would add, “So they won’t be surprised when they buy a home!”
After kids explore answers to all the questions above, they need to find answers to an even bigger question. “How can we all live together?”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/7/22
1623 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Kingwood Middle School: February Update
Aerial photos taken last week show a beautiful new Kingwood Middle School with an open, airy design taking shape.
Pictures Taken on 1/29/22
Humble ISD still says the new Kingwood Middle School will open in 2022. This video on the ISD website explains more about the design and amenities of the new school…including the drop-off/pickup driveway shown above that should help reduce traffic congestion on neighboring streets. Classrooms in the new school will be about 200 square feet larger.
Sending an Important Message to Students
A permanent detention pond near the semi-circular drive in front of old Kingwood Middle School will eventually replace the temporary pond in the lower left of the image above. It’s exciting to see the Humble ISD making flood reduction a part of its plans for the future. That sends an important message to students and provides an opportunity for learning.
It was only a little more than a year ago that this site was nothing more than dirt and a dream.
To see the progress of construction, compare the pictures above to those in previous posts.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/6/22
1622 Days since Hurricane Harvey