5/4/2026 – On May 1, 2026, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) finally submitted a detailed spreadsheet demanded by Harris County Commissioners. It shows key milestones in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects receiving $868 million in federal funding.
The data raises two red flags:
Only 11 of 28 projects will meet deadlines
Construction bids far below initial estimates could leave tens of millions of dollars on the table.
Here is the detailed spreadsheet. The data directly contradicts rosy, high-level claims made by Dr. Tina Petersen, HCFCD’s executive director, in Commissioners Court on January 8, 2026. At that time…
So, let’s look at the deadlines with the detailed information now in hand. This story has the sad feeling of a football game with the home team down 30 points and only three minutes left on the scoreboard clock.
Deadlines Looming
The 28 CDBG projects are split into two groups with different deadlines:
11 CDBG-Disaster Relief (DR) worth $322 million
17 CDBG-Mitigation (MIT) worth $546 million.
DR projects have, by far, the tightest deadline – February 28, 2027. MIT projects have longer; 50% of that money must be spent by March 31, 2028, with the remainder spent by 2032. So, let’s look at DR projects now and save the MIT discussion for another day.
New Doc Predicts Only Five DR Projects Will Beat 2/28/27 Deadline
Of the 11 DR projects, HCFCD now predicts that only five will beat their deadline. (Estimate “substantial completion” dates shown in parentheses below.)
Of these five projects, HCFCD is only actually moving dirt on two so far.
Arbor Oaks (30% complete with 51% of construction days elapsed)
Brookglen (8% complete with 9% of construction time elapsed).
Can they be completed in time? The Arbor Oaks job is a cautionary example. Contractors have completed only 30% of the job in half the allotted time.
Six DR Projects Now Predicted to Miss 2/28/27 Deadline
According to HCFCD’s latest spreadsheet, the six projects below will miss their deadlines. Construction bids on four of the six have not even been awarded yet (Genoa, Kluge, Isom, Dinner).
HCFCD is not moving dirt on ANY of the projects in this second group yet, though a construction trailer is on the East TC Jester Site and clearing reportedly started last week.
Less than 10 months remain on the game clock for the 11 DR projects.
How Reliable are Completion-Date Estimates?
But how much can we depend on HCFCD projections given delays and promises to date? We should remember that under Petersen, HCFCD attempted to build the Mercer SWDB on an expedited basis in ONE YEAR. It took FOUR!
Is There Flexibility in Deadline?
The Texas General Land Office (GLO), which administers US Department of Housing and Urban Development CDBG funds in Texas, has given itself a year after 2/28/27 to close out all DR jobs.
GLO might be able to give up a few months of that year – if projects are close to completion. For instance, several projects in the second group are currently projected to miss the deadline by less than three months.
However, GLO needs the rest of that year to do its work. Beyond that year, it would literally take an act of Congress to extend the deadline. Good luck with that, given the current political gridlock in Washington.
All Construction Bids Lower than Estimates So Far
Close examination of the HCFCD CDBG spreadsheet shows that ALL DR construction bids so far have come in lower than engineers’ estimates. This could create a budget surplus.
A GLO spokesperson says that in cases like that, the money could be shifted to other projects within the group that might have a deficit. Potentially, extra projects might also be possible.
However, at this stage of the game, finding a shovel-ready project that could be bundled into the DR group would be difficult. Any surplus would likely be grouped into a Disaster Recovery Reallocation Program (DRRP) at some future date.
We saw this recently when the GLO allocated unspent funds from disasters before Harvey to Harvey-related projects. That sweetened HCFCD’s DR pot by more than $100 million.
At this very moment, county and GLO officials are scrambling to identify eligible projects. However, construction experts I talked to doubt there’s time to do them before the deadline – even if one or more could be identified.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/4/2026
3170 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/2026/05/DR-and-MIT-Project-Locations.jpg?fit=1100%2C823&ssl=18231100adminadmin2026-05-04 21:20:512026-05-05 08:10:38HCFCD Document Shows It Misled Commissioners, Public on CDBG Funding Worth Hundreds of Millions
5/02/26 – There’s still time to sign the petition against Scarborough’s 5300+ acre floodplain development upstream from the Lake Houston Area between Spring Creek and the San Jacinto West Fork. One of the region’s leading hydrologists told me that if it gets developed, it would be like aiming a firehose at Humble and Kingwood.
Why This Land Should Not Be Developed
This is one of the most flood-prone areas in the entire Houston region. See this 30-second video of wetlands that lace the area.
Scarborough Area in center of FEMA’s Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Crosshatch = floodway, Aqua = 100-year floodplain, Brown = 500-year.
New flood maps show the situation is even worse than it appears above. The area is about half the size of Kingwood and exceedingly flat.
Looking NW at Scarborough property at confluence of Spring Creek (l) and San Jacinto West Fork (r).
Near the confluence, dry land would be under at least 25 feet of water in another flood like Harvey.
From FEMA Base Flood Elevation Viewer
Just this morning, at 8 AM after a mere 4 inches of rain, the Harris County Flood Warning System showed the river was in danger of overflowing near the bridge – the only such channel in the area.
This is just a dangerous place to build, at least in my opinion.
GLO Backing Developer
Yet strangely, the Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for $14 billion dollars of HUD flood-mitigation money in Texas, is a financial partner in the development. Even worse, the GLO refuses to explain why, what the terms of its investment are, and how much of your tax money it has invested. Print out the poster below, and share it with your friends and family.
For a high res PDF suitable for printing, click here.
Please Sign Petition NOW
But above all, if you haven’t yet signed the petition protesting this development, do it NOW!
A Friendswood executive once told me they looked at extending Kingwood Drive across this property but gave up on the idea because it would have cost too much to do it safely.
So, read the details of the petition at Change.org and please sign it. It will only take a minute and could save your home someday. Not to mention, a lot of your tax dollars now.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/2026
3168 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/2026/05/DJI_20260502092307_0995_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-05-02 19:45:202026-05-02 21:37:18Still Time to Sign Petition Against Upstream Floodplain Development
5/1/2026 – According to FEMA, its BRIC program has been infused with $1 billion to help mitigate the impact of future disasters. The agency also immediately provided previously cancelled funds to states.
BRIC stands for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities. The program aims to reduce the cost of future disasters by awarding grants that help prevent damage.
According to the American Flood Coalition (AFC), “The BRIC announcement came one day after former Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since assuming this role, Secretary Mullin has eliminated a DHS policy requiring secretarial approval for payments over $100,000.”
BRIC is BACK
After the year-long pause, FEMA has introduced several programmatic changes, including a heightened focus on infrastructure, construction-ready projects, the adoption of up-to-date building codes, and a new scoring rubric.
Key changes include:
Smaller awards. While total funding has increased by $250 million to $1 billion, individual projects are capped at $20 million, allowing funding to reach more communities. No single applicant (e.g., state) may receive more than 15% of total available funding.
Construction-ready infrastructure is the priority. This cycle favors projects ready to break ground, especially traditional infrastructure projects protecting transportation, utilities, water systems, communications, and public buildings, with clear design progress and risk reduction benefits. Phased projects are not permitted in this funding cycle.
Streamlined scoring rubric. Applications are scored across six criteria (100 points total), with construction readiness (30 points), building codes (20), and risk reduction (20) weighted most heavily. New applicants receive a 15-point bonus; small, impoverished communities receive 5 points.
Applications
The application period opened on March 25, 2026. The deadline to submit applications is July 23, 2026.
Eligible applicants include states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and federally recognized Tribal Nations. Eligible subapplicants include local governments, communities, special districts and Tribal Nations applying through a state or territory.
Reportedly, one of the key objectives is to move money faster. FEMA intends to do this by eliminating phased projects, simplifying the National Competition scoring system and removing sub-application scoring by the National Review Panel.
However, the government shutdown affected all but essential workers at FEMA for months. At this hour, it’s not clear how the shutdown will affect the applications and deadlines. Just yesterday, Congress passed a bill that would restore FEMA funding through September.
According to a spokesperson for Representative Dan Crenshaw, the BRIC deadline would likely be extended if necessary because of staffing issues during the shutdown.
HCFCD Document Shows It Misled Commissioners, Public on CDBG Funding Worth Hundreds of Millions
5/4/2026 – On May 1, 2026, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) finally submitted a detailed spreadsheet demanded by Harris County Commissioners. It shows key milestones in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects receiving $868 million in federal funding.
The data raises two red flags:
Here is the detailed spreadsheet. The data directly contradicts rosy, high-level claims made by Dr. Tina Petersen, HCFCD’s executive director, in Commissioners Court on January 8, 2026. At that time…
So, let’s look at the deadlines with the detailed information now in hand. This story has the sad feeling of a football game with the home team down 30 points and only three minutes left on the scoreboard clock.
Deadlines Looming
The 28 CDBG projects are split into two groups with different deadlines:
DR projects have, by far, the tightest deadline – February 28, 2027. MIT projects have longer; 50% of that money must be spent by March 31, 2028, with the remainder spent by 2032. So, let’s look at DR projects now and save the MIT discussion for another day.
New Doc Predicts Only Five DR Projects Will Beat 2/28/27 Deadline
Of the 11 DR projects, HCFCD now predicts that only five will beat their deadline. (Estimate “substantial completion” dates shown in parentheses below.)
Of these five projects, HCFCD is only actually moving dirt on two so far.
Can they be completed in time? The Arbor Oaks job is a cautionary example. Contractors have completed only 30% of the job in half the allotted time.
Six DR Projects Now Predicted to Miss 2/28/27 Deadline
According to HCFCD’s latest spreadsheet, the six projects below will miss their deadlines. Construction bids on four of the six have not even been awarded yet (Genoa, Kluge, Isom, Dinner).
HCFCD is not moving dirt on ANY of the projects in this second group yet, though a construction trailer is on the East TC Jester Site and clearing reportedly started last week.
Less than 10 months remain on the game clock for the 11 DR projects.
How Reliable are Completion-Date Estimates?
But how much can we depend on HCFCD projections given delays and promises to date? We should remember that under Petersen, HCFCD attempted to build the Mercer SWDB on an expedited basis in ONE YEAR. It took FOUR!
Is There Flexibility in Deadline?
The Texas General Land Office (GLO), which administers US Department of Housing and Urban Development CDBG funds in Texas, has given itself a year after 2/28/27 to close out all DR jobs.
GLO might be able to give up a few months of that year – if projects are close to completion. For instance, several projects in the second group are currently projected to miss the deadline by less than three months.
However, GLO needs the rest of that year to do its work. Beyond that year, it would literally take an act of Congress to extend the deadline. Good luck with that, given the current political gridlock in Washington.
All Construction Bids Lower than Estimates So Far
Close examination of the HCFCD CDBG spreadsheet shows that ALL DR construction bids so far have come in lower than engineers’ estimates. This could create a budget surplus.
A GLO spokesperson says that in cases like that, the money could be shifted to other projects within the group that might have a deficit. Potentially, extra projects might also be possible.
However, at this stage of the game, finding a shovel-ready project that could be bundled into the DR group would be difficult. Any surplus would likely be grouped into a Disaster Recovery Reallocation Program (DRRP) at some future date.
We saw this recently when the GLO allocated unspent funds from disasters before Harvey to Harvey-related projects. That sweetened HCFCD’s DR pot by more than $100 million.
At this very moment, county and GLO officials are scrambling to identify eligible projects. However, construction experts I talked to doubt there’s time to do them before the deadline – even if one or more could be identified.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/4/2026
3170 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.
Still Time to Sign Petition Against Upstream Floodplain Development
5/02/26 – There’s still time to sign the petition against Scarborough’s 5300+ acre floodplain development upstream from the Lake Houston Area between Spring Creek and the San Jacinto West Fork. One of the region’s leading hydrologists told me that if it gets developed, it would be like aiming a firehose at Humble and Kingwood.
Why This Land Should Not Be Developed
This is one of the most flood-prone areas in the entire Houston region. See this 30-second video of wetlands that lace the area.
Also see FEMA’s pre-Atlas-14 flood map below.
New flood maps show the situation is even worse than it appears above. The area is about half the size of Kingwood and exceedingly flat.
Near the confluence, dry land would be under at least 25 feet of water in another flood like Harvey.
Just this morning, at 8 AM after a mere 4 inches of rain, the Harris County Flood Warning System showed the river was in danger of overflowing near the bridge – the only such channel in the area.
This is just a dangerous place to build, at least in my opinion.
GLO Backing Developer
Yet strangely, the Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for $14 billion dollars of HUD flood-mitigation money in Texas, is a financial partner in the development. Even worse, the GLO refuses to explain why, what the terms of its investment are, and how much of your tax money it has invested. Print out the poster below, and share it with your friends and family.
Please Sign Petition NOW
But above all, if you haven’t yet signed the petition protesting this development, do it NOW!
A Friendswood executive once told me they looked at extending Kingwood Drive across this property but gave up on the idea because it would have cost too much to do it safely.
So, read the details of the petition at Change.org and please sign it. It will only take a minute and could save your home someday. Not to mention, a lot of your tax dollars now.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/2026
3168 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.
FEMA Restores BRIC Funding
5/1/2026 – According to FEMA, its BRIC program has been infused with $1 billion to help mitigate the impact of future disasters. The agency also immediately provided previously cancelled funds to states.
BRIC stands for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities. The program aims to reduce the cost of future disasters by awarding grants that help prevent damage.
FEMA studies show that every dollar spent on prevention avoids six dollars in future damage costs. However, FEMA had announced the termination of BRIC grants in 2025.
According to the American Flood Coalition (AFC), “The BRIC announcement came one day after former Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since assuming this role, Secretary Mullin has eliminated a DHS policy requiring secretarial approval for payments over $100,000.”
BRIC is BACK
After the year-long pause, FEMA has introduced several programmatic changes, including a heightened focus on infrastructure, construction-ready projects, the adoption of up-to-date building codes, and a new scoring rubric.
Key changes include:
Applications
The application period opened on March 25, 2026. The deadline to submit applications is July 23, 2026.
Eligible applicants include states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and federally recognized Tribal Nations. Eligible subapplicants include local governments, communities, special districts and Tribal Nations applying through a state or territory.
Interested applicants and sub-applicants may review the Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov. For more information on the BRIC program, applicants should contact their FEMA Regional Office or visit www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/learn/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities.
Moving Money Faster, But…
Reportedly, one of the key objectives is to move money faster. FEMA intends to do this by eliminating phased projects, simplifying the National Competition scoring system and removing sub-application scoring by the National Review Panel.
However, the government shutdown affected all but essential workers at FEMA for months. At this hour, it’s not clear how the shutdown will affect the applications and deadlines. Just yesterday, Congress passed a bill that would restore FEMA funding through September.
According to a spokesperson for Representative Dan Crenshaw, the BRIC deadline would likely be extended if necessary because of staffing issues during the shutdown.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/1/26
3167 Days since Hurricane Harvey