8/7/25 – Lina Hidalgo threw another temper tantrum in Commissioners Court today, left and never returned. She also received a censure from her colleagues, the commissioners.
Worse, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) seems adrift. Current HCFCD leadership seems to have no sense of urgency. Eight years after Harvey, less than a quarter of flood-bond IDs have been completed. And once again, despite tight deadlines that could mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, HCFCD brought no construction or capital improvement contracts to Court today for approval or even bidding.
Flood Control Slowdown
Eight years ago this month, Hurricane Harvey struck Harris County. It caused an estimated $125 billion dollars of damage. It dramatized our vulnerability and the need for improvements in flood control.
To address those needs, voters approved a $2.5 billion bond. Partners pledged another $2.7 billion.
Out of that money, HCFCD still has $3 billion waiting to build scores of projects. Yet…
Not one construction bid was brought to Commissioners Court for approval today.
Ability to Deliver Projects At Critical Time In Doubt
In the seven years since passage of the flood bond in 2018, HCFCD has completed only 43 of 181 Bond IDs. And yet, see what HCFCD asked for in Commissioner’s Court today. It’s typical of recent meetings.
Today’s agenda provides a glimpse of HCFCD’s ability to deliver projects and its priorities. Forty-two Flood-Control-related items were listed.
I summarized today’s flood-related agenda items below under their agenda category headings.
#13 – Approval of a methodology for charging indirect costs
#17 – Budget transfers
County Engineer
#24 – A 2-acre easement
#25 – A 15-acre easement
#53 – An agreement with a MUD to build a pedestrian bridge across a channel
#155 – Correction to a deed
#156 – Correction to another deed
Flood Control District
#157 – Mowing agreement with a MUD
#158 – Trail maintenance agreement with a MUD
#159 – Mowing reimbursement for a MUD
#160 – Landscaping maintenance agreement for one residential lot
#161 – Abandon an easement
#162 – Abandon another easement
#163 – Engineering agreement to re-certify a levee
#164 – Change order adding 120 days to a maintenance agreement
Economic Equity and Opportunity
#172 – Letter of non-objection for a foreign trade zone
Auditor
#270 – Approval of payroll
Purchasing
#289 – Bid approval for erosion and slope repair
#300 – Vision insurance for next calendar year
#301 – Dental insurance for next calendar year
#305 – Life insurance for next calendar year
#306 – Disability insurance for next calendar year
#314 – Pest management services
#315 – Tree removal services
#319 – Group medical insurance for next year
#339 – Change in contract amount for channel repair job
#356 – Inventory adjustment
Precinct 1
#366 – Maintenance agreement with City of Houston for detention basin
Transmittals
#451 – Transmittal of tax rate
#452 – Advertisement of channel-repair project
#456 – Tree-trimming and tree-removal contract
#460 – Mowing contract
Executive Session
#476 – Flood Control’s nominee for Appraisal District
Emergency/Supplemental Items
#490 – Contract with corrugated metal pipe provider
#491 – Repair contract for South Harris County
#492 – Channel rehab
#502 – Contract to supply modular buildings
#510 – Vehicle leases
#520 – Flood-bond update discussion (requested by Ramsey)
#521 – Flood-control maintenance discussion (also requested by Ramsey)
A Crisis of Leadership
Harris County government under the current administration has slowed to a crawl. Taxes go up. Yet delivery of service is down. Instead of doing more with less, Lina Hidalgo is doing less with more.
We have a crisis of leadership that started with a brain drain when political appointees under Lina Hidalgo replaced experienced, professional department heads.
Then despite performance issues, many of those new heads were given massive pay increases. For instance, HCFCD’s new department head received a raise of almost $90,000 per year despite declining performance.
So, who is pushing projects ahead? It’s certainly not the county judge. She blew another gasket today. It was an embarrassing meltdown of epic proportions…shocking even by Harris-County standards.
At approximately 6:45 PM, Precinct 3 Commissioner Ramsey initiated a discussion of Rules of Conduct at Decorum during Commissioners Court Meetings.
Immediately after the members present adopted the rules, Ramsey made a second motion to censure Lina Hidalgo for her tantrum today and a previous use of profanity when children were present. That motion also passed. In legislative terms, a censure is a formal reprimand or strong rebuke of a member’s conduct or character.
Ramsey Addresses HCFCD Issues
Just before executive session Ramsey also addressed issues at HCFCD and the progress of projects. He specifically mentioned that no construction or capital improvement projects were on the agenda today, and requested an update from HCFCD on when projects were going out for bid.
Ramsey also reminded people that HCFCD promised to come back to court in September with details about what could and couldn’t be done within the available time and budget, and what would have to be phased.
Ramsey concluded with an admonishment. “We have some real severe deadlines that we’ve got to meet,” he said.
The sad thing is that by the time the next election rolls around, hundreds of millions of dollars in HUD funding could be off the table. It’s not gone yet. But the County needs to solve its leadership crisis if it ever hopes to reduce flood risk with that money.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/7/2025
2900 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/2025/08/20250807-Hidalgo-Unhinged.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-08-07 19:22:162025-08-07 23:04:02Leadership Crisis in Harris County Government
8/6/25 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has initiated a large-scale study called SAFER that will involve 11 of the county’s 23 watersheds and benefit two others – Addicks and Barker.
SAFER stands for “Solutions for Advancing Floodplain Evaluation and Resilience.” The map below shows the study area. The study does not include the northern and eastern portions of the county.
This six-minute video explains the scope, goals and timetable of the study. (And it prominently mentions flood tunnels.) However, it also mentions integrating those with other flood-mitigation solutions.
Target: Federal Funding
A study of this scope is much broader than normal. One of the major goals is to achieve federal funding. Toward that end, the study is targeting Congresses annual Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) in 2028 as the deadline.
HCFCD is following a rigorous process outlined in Section 203 of WRDA that allows local agencies to follow Army Corps procedures and qualify for federal funding at the end of the road, as if the Corps had developed the study.
The goal: to make the county more resilient to future flood events.
Disciplined Process
The process will help ensure the U.S. Congress approves the SAFER Study recommendations, which will require large-scale federal funding to implement.
The study will evaluate established flood risk reduction measures, such as increasing channel capacity and constructing stormwater detention basins, as well as large-scale stormwater tunnels.
While the SAFER Study is a new feasibility study, it builds on current Flood Control District initiatives and data-driven projects already completed. This includes current and past capital projects, MAAPnext (ongoing) and completed investigations of stormwater conveyance tunnels.
The SAFER study will result in a Draft Feasibility Report that evaluates the costs, benefits, and viability of proposed flood-risk management solutions. The accompanying Environmental Impact Statement, led by USACE, will assess any potential environmental impacts of the proposed solutions.
Estimated Timeline
Key milestones include:
Public scoping meetings in summer 2025
Development and evaluation of alternatives through 2026
The release of a Draft Feasibility Report and Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2026–2027
HCFCD hopes to submit the Final Report to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in 2027 and secure Congressional funding the following year.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
HCFCD will hold community engagement meetings in each phase. Two upcoming virtual meetings will give you a chance to comment:
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250624-SAFER-Study-Area.jpg?fit=1100%2C705&ssl=17051100adminadmin2025-08-06 14:31:082025-08-06 14:37:37HCFCD SAFER Study will Cover Half of Harris County
8/5/25 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has released a high-level white paper on a flood-tunnel pilot program that could cost several billion dollars.
The 15-page white paper lays out a starting point for implementation of the 1,860-page Phase II engineering study released by Black & Veatch in March 2022.
The pilot project would do several things:
Give HCFCD experience with tunnels before full-scale implementation
Create institutional knowledge throughout several Harris County departments (flood control, purchasing, engineering, etc.)
Start reducing flood risk right away
Document proof of concept to help obtain state and federal funding for additional tunnels
Conceptual Overview
Tunnels are a proven concept to help reduce flooding. They have helped other cities, such as San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC and more.
In Houston, 10-40-foot tunnels placed 50-100 feet underground could reduce the load on creeks and bayous without the need to purchase large amounts of real-estate. Nor would tunnels displace families or businesses.
They might not provide enough capacity to handle a large river, such as the San Jacinto, but they could reportedly make a dent in flooding along smaller creeks and bayous, especially those with dense populations.
Some rights-of-way would require acquisition for intakes, shafts and outfalls, plus subterranean easements.
Total cost of each tunnel would depend on diameter and length.
Primary Recommendations
According to the white paper, Harris County Commissioners Court expressed interest in pursuing two pilot projects:
One would cross Greens, Halls and Hunting watersheds.
The second would run along Buffalo Bayou and help drain Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.
Each would outfall in the Ship Channel near the turning basin and exceed 18 miles in length.
And each could also someday form the “trunk” of a tunnel network that branches out into surrounding areas. So, they could provide both immediate and future benefits.
Other Conceptual Alternatives
The white paper also outlines four other shorter/narrower tunnels that could help reduce flooding. They are primarily in areas that already have stormwater detention basins but inadequate channel conveyance between them. These alternatives include:
Brickhouse Gully from Bingle to TC Jester Park
Halls Bayou from Keith Weiss Park to the Hall Park detention basin east of 59 near the Fiesta.
Hunting Bayou from Lockwood to Buffalo Bayou
Little Cypress Creek for three miles from Cypress Rose Hill Road to the Gulf Club at Longwood
Each of these alternatives is conceptual and would require further study. Initial cost estimates range from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Timing
Pre-construction planning (including preliminary engineering, final design, environmental permitting, right-of-way acquisition, and bidding) could easily take 4-6 years. Construction could take another 2-4 years. So think of tunnels as roughly a decade-long endeavor.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/20250805-Buffalo-Tunnel.jpg?fit=1100%2C846&ssl=18461100adminadmin2025-08-05 18:01:092025-08-05 18:01:26HCFCD Releases White Paper on Flood-Tunnel Pilot Program
Leadership Crisis in Harris County Government
8/7/25 – Lina Hidalgo threw another temper tantrum in Commissioners Court today, left and never returned. She also received a censure from her colleagues, the commissioners.
Worse, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) seems adrift. Current HCFCD leadership seems to have no sense of urgency. Eight years after Harvey, less than a quarter of flood-bond IDs have been completed. And once again, despite tight deadlines that could mean the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, HCFCD brought no construction or capital improvement contracts to Court today for approval or even bidding.
Flood Control Slowdown
Eight years ago this month, Hurricane Harvey struck Harris County. It caused an estimated $125 billion dollars of damage. It dramatized our vulnerability and the need for improvements in flood control.
To address those needs, voters approved a $2.5 billion bond. Partners pledged another $2.7 billion.
Out of that money, HCFCD still has $3 billion waiting to build scores of projects. Yet…
Ability to Deliver Projects At Critical Time In Doubt
In the seven years since passage of the flood bond in 2018, HCFCD has completed only 43 of 181 Bond IDs. And yet, see what HCFCD asked for in Commissioner’s Court today. It’s typical of recent meetings.
Today’s agenda provides a glimpse of HCFCD’s ability to deliver projects and its priorities. Forty-two Flood-Control-related items were listed.
I summarized today’s flood-related agenda items below under their agenda category headings.
As you read through the items, notice how not one has to do with construction or a capital improvement project. Even as fixed deadlines for hundreds of millions of dollars in HUD grants are fast approaching.
Flood-Related Items on Agenda
Flood-Control-related items DID include:
Management and Budget
#8 – Debt service payments on September bonds
#9 – Debt service payments on October bonds
#13 – Approval of a methodology for charging indirect costs
#17 – Budget transfers
County Engineer
#24 – A 2-acre easement
#25 – A 15-acre easement
#53 – An agreement with a MUD to build a pedestrian bridge across a channel
#155 – Correction to a deed
#156 – Correction to another deed
Flood Control District
#157 – Mowing agreement with a MUD
#158 – Trail maintenance agreement with a MUD
#159 – Mowing reimbursement for a MUD
#160 – Landscaping maintenance agreement for one residential lot
#161 – Abandon an easement
#162 – Abandon another easement
#163 – Engineering agreement to re-certify a levee
#164 – Change order adding 120 days to a maintenance agreement
Economic Equity and Opportunity
#172 – Letter of non-objection for a foreign trade zone
Auditor
#270 – Approval of payroll
Purchasing
#289 – Bid approval for erosion and slope repair
#300 – Vision insurance for next calendar year
#301 – Dental insurance for next calendar year
#305 – Life insurance for next calendar year
#306 – Disability insurance for next calendar year
#314 – Pest management services
#315 – Tree removal services
#319 – Group medical insurance for next year
#339 – Change in contract amount for channel repair job
#356 – Inventory adjustment
Precinct 1
#366 – Maintenance agreement with City of Houston for detention basin
Transmittals
#451 – Transmittal of tax rate
#452 – Advertisement of channel-repair project
#456 – Tree-trimming and tree-removal contract
#460 – Mowing contract
Executive Session
#476 – Flood Control’s nominee for Appraisal District
Emergency/Supplemental Items
#490 – Contract with corrugated metal pipe provider
#491 – Repair contract for South Harris County
#492 – Channel rehab
#502 – Contract to supply modular buildings
#510 – Vehicle leases
#520 – Flood-bond update discussion (requested by Ramsey)
#521 – Flood-control maintenance discussion (also requested by Ramsey)
A Crisis of Leadership
Harris County government under the current administration has slowed to a crawl. Taxes go up. Yet delivery of service is down. Instead of doing more with less, Lina Hidalgo is doing less with more.
We have a crisis of leadership that started with a brain drain when political appointees under Lina Hidalgo replaced experienced, professional department heads.
Then despite performance issues, many of those new heads were given massive pay increases. For instance, HCFCD’s new department head received a raise of almost $90,000 per year despite declining performance.
Judge Meltdown Leads to Censure
So, who is pushing projects ahead? It’s certainly not the county judge. She blew another gasket today. It was an embarrassing meltdown of epic proportions…shocking even by Harris-County standards.
At approximately 6:45 PM, Precinct 3 Commissioner Ramsey initiated a discussion of Rules of Conduct at Decorum during Commissioners Court Meetings.
Immediately after the members present adopted the rules, Ramsey made a second motion to censure Lina Hidalgo for her tantrum today and a previous use of profanity when children were present. That motion also passed. In legislative terms, a censure is a formal reprimand or strong rebuke of a member’s conduct or character.
Ramsey Addresses HCFCD Issues
Just before executive session Ramsey also addressed issues at HCFCD and the progress of projects. He specifically mentioned that no construction or capital improvement projects were on the agenda today, and requested an update from HCFCD on when projects were going out for bid.
Ramsey also reminded people that HCFCD promised to come back to court in September with details about what could and couldn’t be done within the available time and budget, and what would have to be phased.
Ramsey concluded with an admonishment. “We have some real severe deadlines that we’ve got to meet,” he said.
The sad thing is that by the time the next election rolls around, hundreds of millions of dollars in HUD funding could be off the table. It’s not gone yet. But the County needs to solve its leadership crisis if it ever hopes to reduce flood risk with that money.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/7/2025
2900 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.
HCFCD SAFER Study will Cover Half of Harris County
8/6/25 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has initiated a large-scale study called SAFER that will involve 11 of the county’s 23 watersheds and benefit two others – Addicks and Barker.
SAFER stands for “Solutions for Advancing Floodplain Evaluation and Resilience.” The map below shows the study area. The study does not include the northern and eastern portions of the county.
Link to Flood Tunnels
The highlighted area comprises many of the watersheds previously discussed as candidates for flood tunnels.
This six-minute video explains the scope, goals and timetable of the study. (And it prominently mentions flood tunnels.) However, it also mentions integrating those with other flood-mitigation solutions.
Target: Federal Funding
A study of this scope is much broader than normal. One of the major goals is to achieve federal funding. Toward that end, the study is targeting Congresses annual Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) in 2028 as the deadline.
HCFCD is following a rigorous process outlined in Section 203 of WRDA that allows local agencies to follow Army Corps procedures and qualify for federal funding at the end of the road, as if the Corps had developed the study.
The goal: to make the county more resilient to future flood events.
Disciplined Process
The process will help ensure the U.S. Congress approves the SAFER Study recommendations, which will require large-scale federal funding to implement.
The study will evaluate established flood risk reduction measures, such as increasing channel capacity and constructing stormwater detention basins, as well as large-scale stormwater tunnels.
While the SAFER Study is a new feasibility study, it builds on current Flood Control District initiatives and data-driven projects already completed. This includes current and past capital projects, MAAPnext (ongoing) and completed investigations of stormwater conveyance tunnels.
The SAFER study will result in a Draft Feasibility Report that evaluates the costs, benefits, and viability of proposed flood-risk management solutions. The accompanying Environmental Impact Statement, led by USACE, will assess any potential environmental impacts of the proposed solutions.
Estimated Timeline
Key milestones include:
HCFCD hopes to submit the Final Report to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in 2027 and secure Congressional funding the following year.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
HCFCD will hold community engagement meetings in each phase. Two upcoming virtual meetings will give you a chance to comment:
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
from 6 – 7 p.m.
Zoom Meeting Registration
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
from 12 – 1 p.m.
Zoom Meeting Registration
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/6/2025
2899 Days since Hurricane Harvey
HCFCD Releases White Paper on Flood-Tunnel Pilot Program
8/5/25 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has released a high-level white paper on a flood-tunnel pilot program that could cost several billion dollars.
The 15-page white paper lays out a starting point for implementation of the 1,860-page Phase II engineering study released by Black & Veatch in March 2022.
The pilot project would do several things:
Conceptual Overview
Tunnels are a proven concept to help reduce flooding. They have helped other cities, such as San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC and more.
In Houston, 10-40-foot tunnels placed 50-100 feet underground could reduce the load on creeks and bayous without the need to purchase large amounts of real-estate. Nor would tunnels displace families or businesses.
They might not provide enough capacity to handle a large river, such as the San Jacinto, but they could reportedly make a dent in flooding along smaller creeks and bayous, especially those with dense populations.
Some rights-of-way would require acquisition for intakes, shafts and outfalls, plus subterranean easements.
Total cost of each tunnel would depend on diameter and length.
Primary Recommendations
According to the white paper, Harris County Commissioners Court expressed interest in pursuing two pilot projects:
Each would outfall in the Ship Channel near the turning basin and exceed 18 miles in length.
And each could also someday form the “trunk” of a tunnel network that branches out into surrounding areas. So, they could provide both immediate and future benefits.
Other Conceptual Alternatives
The white paper also outlines four other shorter/narrower tunnels that could help reduce flooding. They are primarily in areas that already have stormwater detention basins but inadequate channel conveyance between them. These alternatives include:
Each of these alternatives is conceptual and would require further study. Initial cost estimates range from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Timing
Pre-construction planning (including preliminary engineering, final design, environmental permitting, right-of-way acquisition, and bidding) could easily take 4-6 years. Construction could take another 2-4 years. So think of tunnels as roughly a decade-long endeavor.
For More Information
See the:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/5/25
2898 Days since Hurricane Harvey