4/21/26 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has taken more than 4 years to spend about 4% of the $322 million that HUD allocated to HCFCD for Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR). That figure is carved out of a larger total ($868 million) that also includes CDBG Mitigation funds.
Former Texas General Land Office (GLO) Commissioner George P. Bush announced his intention to allocate $750 million of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds to Harris County on 5/26/21. HUD approved that amount on 3/18/22. Subsequently, it increased when the GLO also re-allocated unused funds from storms before Harvey to Harris County.
Here’s a high-level breakdown as of today.
Source: Texas General Land Office. 4/21/26.
HCFCD has spent only 3.59% of the CDBG-DR project funds to date. That group has the tightest deadline, just 313 days away and involves roughly a third of a billion dollars.
Feasibility, preliminary-engineering, and final design studies
Cost estimates
Bids
Property acquisition (for some projects)
Obtaining GLO and HUD approval for all of the above.
But still…
Unnecessarily Burdensome Processes, Changing Horses in Midstream
Harris County made it more difficult than necessary with its own equity prioritization framework, which changed several times.
Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners Ellis and Garcia also forced out the management team that developed and sold the 2018 flood bond. Their replacement, Dr. Tina Petersen, had a long, steep learning curve and big shoes to fill. She also lost many key employees. That disrupted business continuity and cost institutional knowledge.
Since she took office, spending has gone down consistently as the pace of work slowed, partly as a consequence of a management style she calls “being more intentional.”
Self-Inflicted Wound
Having spent four years bickering about equity, the county now has just 10 months left to actually build all the jobs in order to beat a firm 2/28/27 deadline and avoid losing potentially ALL of the CDBG-DR funds.
According to a document submitted to commissioners court on 4/16/26 by Petersen and aerial photographs that I have taken, it appears that contractors are actually only turning dirt on one of 11 CDBG-DR projects.
Compare that with the TC Jester Basin project shown below. Both photos were taken on 4/19/2026.
TC Jester East Basin will go in the big treed area in the center. “Construction” was announced last December 5.
Past Experience a Logistical Red Flag
If history is any indication, the vast majority of the CDBG-DR projects will take longer than 10 months to build. Ten of the 11 are large detention basins that typically take one to two years to build. The Mercer Basin on Cypress Creek, finished just last week, took three years. And TC Jester, above, is 55% larger.
If Petersen can pull the projects off before the buzzer sounds, she deserves that $90,000 raise she got last year. If not, she won’t be the only one with egg on her face.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/21/26
3157 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/2026/04/DR-MIT-Totals-for-HCFCD-and-HCD-as-of-2026-04-21-1-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C491&ssl=14912560adminadmin2026-04-21 19:49:302026-04-21 22:11:14HCFCD Has Taken 4 Years to Spend 4% of HUD CDBG-DR Funds
4/20/2026 – On April 10, 2026, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) announced that it finally completed its Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin – two years after the originally scheduled completion date. The one-year construction project turned into three years before it was over.
Mercer’s delays underscore the risk associated with eleven similar projects with a firm completion deadline just 314 days away – 2/28/2027. They involve a third of a billion dollars in US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) administered by the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
Harris County Commissioners have tried to understand whether the projects could miss the deadline and jeopardize the funding. But HCFCD’s executive director, Dr. Tina Petersen, has not supplied them with sufficiently detailed information to assess the risk. Her high-level reports mask logistical red flags with vague generalities.
For example, she says:
The TC Jester East Basin project is “in construction.” But aerial photos show that no actual construction equipment is onsite, only a construction trailer. Clearing has not yet even begun.
She says the Isom Street Basin on Halls Bayou is “out for bids.” But she does not address how her department will meet the same deadline, ten months away when such projects usually require one to two years.
As a consequence, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says she has “lost confidence” in Petersen. And Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution demanding specifics about how HCFCD will complete all CDBG projects.
So, let’s look at some specifics.
Mercer Basin Had Multiple Delays
The Mercer Basin sits between Cypress Creek and FM1960 immediately east of the Hardy Tollroad. It features two dry-bottom compartments that provide an estimated 512 acre-feet of stormwater storage. It had multiple delays totaling two years, but is now finished. See the photos below taken April 19, 2026
Looking west along FM1969 (l) at southern compartment of Mercer Basin, with second basin in upper right.Looking NW at northern compartment and Cypress Creek. Hardy Tollroad cuts through upper part of frame.Spillway lets water overflowing from Cypress Creek into basin.A culvert connects the northern and southern basins so that floodwater from the creek can use both for storage.
HCFCD began the project in 2022. Construction was to have begun in Spring 2023 on an expedited basis and should have finished by April 2024. But it actually finished in April 2026. See the timetable below.
In July 2024, I went to photograph the completed basin and discovered contractors had not yet started digging. They were still clearing the land. So, I decided to return regularly.
On April 10, 2026, HCFCD called it “substantially” complete.
On April 19, 2026, I finally verified completion – two years late.
Playing Beat the Clock for Other Projects
That experience doesn’t bode well for 11 other CDBG-DR projects that HCFCD now has in development with a firm expiration date on funding – February 28, 2027 – just ten months away. To be more precise, there are only…
314 days left on the shot clock!
Now you know why Harris County Commissioners and the County Judge put a full court press on HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen in their 4/16/26 Commissioners Court meeting.
Petersen presented a vague, high-level status report. For instance, it said the TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin project was “in construction,” but not what percentage of construction was complete. When I photographed it on 4/19/26, I saw no construction equipment – only a construction trailer. Not one tree had been cleared yet. And that basin is much larger than the Mercer Basin which took three years to build. See below.
Looking E across TC Jester at large forested area where new basin will wrap around small existing basin (middle right)
HCFCD announced that the TC Jester project would start construction “soon” back on December 5, 2025 – four and a half months ago. Now the deadline is just 10 months away. And the time-critical basin is 55% larger than the two Mercer Basins combined that took 3 years to build.
The Isom Street Project also uses CDBG-DR funds. It involves clearing an area near Halls Bayou adjacent to two existing detention basins, creating a new detention basin, and then connecting all three.
Isom Street Project on Halls Bayou. Existing basins on the left and right will connect with new one in the treed area.
The Isom Project has the same 2/28/27 deadline, but it is even less far along than TC Jester. Petersen told Commissioners Court it was “in bidding.”
At this point, it’s not clear how HCFCD will meet the deadline. And county commissioners need that clarity.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/20/2026
3156 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/2026/04/DJI_20260419163132_0821_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-04-20 18:03:072026-04-21 19:39:07Mercer Basin Delays Illustrate Risk To Eleven Projects with HUD Funding
4/18/2026 – I have written thousands of articles about drainage, flooding, governance, and infrastructure projects since Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Reporting on these topics triggered a flood of emotions: anxiety, frustration, exasperation, enlightenment, disappointment, empathy, sadness and hope. After writing yesterday’s post about the most recent Harris County commissioners court meeting, I added “anger” to that list.
Potential Loss of Funding Due to Needless Delays
As discussed in yesterday’s post and a Houston Chronicle article, Harris County is poised to lose hundreds of millions of dollars intended for flood-prevention projects all across the county because of looming deadlines that Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) likely won’t be able to meet. Missing those deadlines could mean an unprecedented failure for HCFCD, the County Judge, Commissioners, and Harris County residents.
HCFCD Exec, Director, Dr. Tina Petersen fielded angry questions from Commissioners and the County Judge on 4/16/2026.
Why am I angry? During numerous conversations with knowledgeable sources on Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) and Flood Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding, I learned of project delays. Those delays jeopardize deadlines that were identified with these projects more than TWO YEARS AGO.
Another example: HUD originally set a deadline of May, 2026 (next month), to complete the TC Jester East Detention Basin, which hasn’t even started construction yet. Most large detention basins take at least a year to complete or – more likely – two years.
HCFCD began planning the TC Jester project in 2021, announced funding availability in 2023, and now plans to START construction in the second quarter of 2026. The District hopes to complete it sometime in Q2 2027. The already extended deadline is February 28, 2027. The delays put $12 million CDBG-DR dollars at risk.
Vague Responses to Specific Questions
But instead of reporting the projected completion date to Commissioners Court yesterday, Dr. Tina Petersen, head of HCFCD, transmitted a vague schedule indicating the current project phase was “construction” and that it would cost $23.5+ million dollars – nine million dollars more than the District’s own press release said it would cost on 12/5/2025.
Over and over again during Commissioners Court meetings, Court members have asked Dr. Petersen if there were any problems … if they could help in any way … if the projects were on track. Each time, Dr. Petersen would give vague, squishy, feel-good answers, such as “we are doing everything we can” and “all projects will be out to bid soon.”
Masking Red Flags with Hopeful Generalizations
The 4/16/26 Commissioners Court meeting was the same. Petersen masked logistical red flags with vague generalizations. Most likely, none of the CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT projects – totaling $850 million – will meet the deadlines associated with their respective grants. Eleven DR projects all face a completion deadline of February 28, 2027 – less than ten months from now. MIT projects have slightly more time.
The truth is that the Flood Control District is relying on and hoping for schedule extensions that may not come.
Most good leaders know that hope is not a strategy.
HCFCD’s own data highlights Petersen’s lack of performance.
The Flood Control District has more resources available than most public agencies. Last year, she hired consultants to augment HCFCD staff in executing these projects. What excuse do they have for not delivering these projects and protecting us from the next flood???
Confidence Lost
I am in agreement with Judge Hidalgo. I have little confidence in HCFCD’s leader at this point.
Their experiment has failed in my opinion and will likely cost all of us dearly. Ironically, most flood-control dollars were already going to low-income watersheds.
In 2021, a year before the county’s first equity prioritization framework, I obtained surprising data via a Freedom of Information Act Request. It showed that four Harris County watersheds – those with the highest low-to-moderate income (LMI) populations – already received more flood-mitigation spending than all other 19 watersheds combined in the previous 20 years.
During our next flood, when people are putting their drywall and furniture on the curb and wondering why this happened, I hope that Commissioner Garcia can own up to his mistake in recommending Dr. Petersen to lead HCFCD. But I don’t have much confidence that will happen.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/18/2026
3154 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Tina-Petersen-in-Hot-Seat.jpg?fit=1100%2C581&ssl=15811100adminadmin2026-04-18 16:02:322026-04-19 10:59:34Editorial: A Flood of Emotions About Flood Control, Including Anger
HCFCD Has Taken 4 Years to Spend 4% of HUD CDBG-DR Funds
4/21/26 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has taken more than 4 years to spend about 4% of the $322 million that HUD allocated to HCFCD for Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR). That figure is carved out of a larger total ($868 million) that also includes CDBG Mitigation funds.
Former Texas General Land Office (GLO) Commissioner George P. Bush announced his intention to allocate $750 million of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds to Harris County on 5/26/21. HUD approved that amount on 3/18/22. Subsequently, it increased when the GLO also re-allocated unused funds from storms before Harvey to Harris County.
Here’s a high-level breakdown as of today.
HCFCD has spent only 3.59% of the CDBG-DR project funds to date. That group has the tightest deadline, just 313 days away and involves roughly a third of a billion dollars.
Why Such a Low Percentage So Late In the Game?
To be fair, HCFCD had a lot of dominos to align:
But still…
Unnecessarily Burdensome Processes, Changing Horses in Midstream
Harris County made it more difficult than necessary with its own equity prioritization framework, which changed several times.
Judge Hidalgo and Commissioners Ellis and Garcia also forced out the management team that developed and sold the 2018 flood bond. Their replacement, Dr. Tina Petersen, had a long, steep learning curve and big shoes to fill. She also lost many key employees. That disrupted business continuity and cost institutional knowledge.
Since she took office, spending has gone down consistently as the pace of work slowed, partly as a consequence of a management style she calls “being more intentional.”
Self-Inflicted Wound
Having spent four years bickering about equity, the county now has just 10 months left to actually build all the jobs in order to beat a firm 2/28/27 deadline and avoid losing potentially ALL of the CDBG-DR funds.
According to a document submitted to commissioners court on 4/16/26 by Petersen and aerial photographs that I have taken, it appears that contractors are actually only turning dirt on one of 11 CDBG-DR projects.
Compare that with the TC Jester Basin project shown below. Both photos were taken on 4/19/2026.
Past Experience a Logistical Red Flag
If history is any indication, the vast majority of the CDBG-DR projects will take longer than 10 months to build. Ten of the 11 are large detention basins that typically take one to two years to build. The Mercer Basin on Cypress Creek, finished just last week, took three years. And TC Jester, above, is 55% larger.
If Petersen can pull the projects off before the buzzer sounds, she deserves that $90,000 raise she got last year. If not, she won’t be the only one with egg on her face.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/21/26
3157 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.
Mercer Basin Delays Illustrate Risk To Eleven Projects with HUD Funding
4/20/2026 – On April 10, 2026, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) announced that it finally completed its Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin – two years after the originally scheduled completion date. The one-year construction project turned into three years before it was over.
Mercer’s delays underscore the risk associated with eleven similar projects with a firm completion deadline just 314 days away – 2/28/2027. They involve a third of a billion dollars in US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) administered by the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
Harris County Commissioners have tried to understand whether the projects could miss the deadline and jeopardize the funding. But HCFCD’s executive director, Dr. Tina Petersen, has not supplied them with sufficiently detailed information to assess the risk. Her high-level reports mask logistical red flags with vague generalities.
For example, she says:
As a consequence, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says she has “lost confidence” in Petersen. And Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution demanding specifics about how HCFCD will complete all CDBG projects.
So, let’s look at some specifics.
Mercer Basin Had Multiple Delays
The Mercer Basin sits between Cypress Creek and FM1960 immediately east of the Hardy Tollroad. It features two dry-bottom compartments that provide an estimated 512 acre-feet of stormwater storage. It had multiple delays totaling two years, but is now finished. See the photos below taken April 19, 2026
HCFCD began the project in 2022. Construction was to have begun in Spring 2023 on an expedited basis and should have finished by April 2024. But it actually finished in April 2026. See the timetable below.
In July 2024, I went to photograph the completed basin and discovered contractors had not yet started digging. They were still clearing the land. So, I decided to return regularly.
Playing Beat the Clock for Other Projects
That experience doesn’t bode well for 11 other CDBG-DR projects that HCFCD now has in development with a firm expiration date on funding – February 28, 2027 – just ten months away. To be more precise, there are only…
Now you know why Harris County Commissioners and the County Judge put a full court press on HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen in their 4/16/26 Commissioners Court meeting.
Petersen presented a vague, high-level status report. For instance, it said the TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin project was “in construction,” but not what percentage of construction was complete. When I photographed it on 4/19/26, I saw no construction equipment – only a construction trailer. Not one tree had been cleared yet. And that basin is much larger than the Mercer Basin which took three years to build. See below.
HCFCD announced that the TC Jester project would start construction “soon” back on December 5, 2025 – four and a half months ago. Now the deadline is just 10 months away. And the time-critical basin is 55% larger than the two Mercer Basins combined that took 3 years to build.
The Isom Street Project also uses CDBG-DR funds. It involves clearing an area near Halls Bayou adjacent to two existing detention basins, creating a new detention basin, and then connecting all three.
The Isom Project has the same 2/28/27 deadline, but it is even less far along than TC Jester. Petersen told Commissioners Court it was “in bidding.”
At this point, it’s not clear how HCFCD will meet the deadline. And county commissioners need that clarity.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/20/2026
3156 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.
Editorial: A Flood of Emotions About Flood Control, Including Anger
4/18/2026 – I have written thousands of articles about drainage, flooding, governance, and infrastructure projects since Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Reporting on these topics triggered a flood of emotions: anxiety, frustration, exasperation, enlightenment, disappointment, empathy, sadness and hope. After writing yesterday’s post about the most recent Harris County commissioners court meeting, I added “anger” to that list.
Potential Loss of Funding Due to Needless Delays
As discussed in yesterday’s post and a Houston Chronicle article, Harris County is poised to lose hundreds of millions of dollars intended for flood-prevention projects all across the county because of looming deadlines that Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) likely won’t be able to meet. Missing those deadlines could mean an unprecedented failure for HCFCD, the County Judge, Commissioners, and Harris County residents.
Why am I angry? During numerous conversations with knowledgeable sources on Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) and Flood Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding, I learned of project delays. Those delays jeopardize deadlines that were identified with these projects more than TWO YEARS AGO.
For example, it took HCFCD four years just to complete a list of DR projects … which HUD approved in four months.
TC Jester East Basin
Another example: HUD originally set a deadline of May, 2026 (next month), to complete the TC Jester East Detention Basin, which hasn’t even started construction yet. Most large detention basins take at least a year to complete or – more likely – two years.
HCFCD began planning the TC Jester project in 2021, announced funding availability in 2023, and now plans to START construction in the second quarter of 2026. The District hopes to complete it sometime in Q2 2027. The already extended deadline is February 28, 2027. The delays put $12 million CDBG-DR dollars at risk.
Vague Responses to Specific Questions
But instead of reporting the projected completion date to Commissioners Court yesterday, Dr. Tina Petersen, head of HCFCD, transmitted a vague schedule indicating the current project phase was “construction” and that it would cost $23.5+ million dollars – nine million dollars more than the District’s own press release said it would cost on 12/5/2025.
Over and over again during Commissioners Court meetings, Court members have asked Dr. Petersen if there were any problems … if they could help in any way … if the projects were on track. Each time, Dr. Petersen would give vague, squishy, feel-good answers, such as “we are doing everything we can” and “all projects will be out to bid soon.”
Masking Red Flags with Hopeful Generalizations
The 4/16/26 Commissioners Court meeting was the same. Petersen masked logistical red flags with vague generalizations. Most likely, none of the CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT projects – totaling $850 million – will meet the deadlines associated with their respective grants. Eleven DR projects all face a completion deadline of February 28, 2027 – less than ten months from now. MIT projects have slightly more time.
The truth is that the Flood Control District is relying on and hoping for schedule extensions that may not come.
HCFCD’s own data highlights Petersen’s lack of performance.
The Flood Control District has more resources available than most public agencies. Last year, she hired consultants to augment HCFCD staff in executing these projects. What excuse do they have for not delivering these projects and protecting us from the next flood???
Confidence Lost
I am in agreement with Judge Hidalgo. I have little confidence in HCFCD’s leader at this point.
But there’s plenty of blame to go around. Remember that Court members removed the former leadership of HCFCD four years ago for political reasons. That triggered a brain drain. They also imposed an “equity prioritization framework” on HCFCD spending and built new layers of bureaucracy, staffed by political hires as opposed to professional hires.
Their experiment has failed in my opinion and will likely cost all of us dearly. Ironically, most flood-control dollars were already going to low-income watersheds.
In 2021, a year before the county’s first equity prioritization framework, I obtained surprising data via a Freedom of Information Act Request. It showed that four Harris County watersheds – those with the highest low-to-moderate income (LMI) populations – already received more flood-mitigation spending than all other 19 watersheds combined in the previous 20 years.
During our next flood, when people are putting their drywall and furniture on the curb and wondering why this happened, I hope that Commissioner Garcia can own up to his mistake in recommending Dr. Petersen to lead HCFCD. But I don’t have much confidence that will happen.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/18/2026
3154 Days since Hurricane Harvey