“If they don’t hustle up pretty soon, Uncle Bob, we could lose all that money. They dug us into a hole without digging many holes.”
“Yes, Izzy, it appears things have slowed way down. They’re just not building those stormwater-detention basins and channel-conveyance improvements as fast as they used to.”
“I gotta get me one of dem govmint jobs. The less you do, the more you make.”
“I don’t think that’s true, Izzy. I know a lot of hard-working public servants.”
“I sure could use the money, Uncle Bob. Anyway, qualifications is highly overrated. A job like that needs leadership ability.”
“I know you just got promoted to head bagger down at the Walmart, but…”
“Damn straight,” he exclaimed. “That’s because people like to work with me. My hands is always flyin’. I make everyone around me look good.”
“You are fast. I’ll give you that, Izzy.”
“And after work, I’m not afraid to tip back a few with the crew, too,” said Izzy, scratching his belly.
“I can see that.”
Lessons from Leadership School
“People gotta wanna work their hardest for ya, Uncle Bob. That’s what they done taught me in leadership school.”
“That’s very true, Izzy. But the people at Flood Control say they’re waiting on permits from other agencies like the Army Corps and EPA.”
“My point, presactly. See, I coulda introduced ’em to some dancers down at the Crystal Pistol. I woulda had those permits in a heartbeat, Uncle Bob.”
“I’m not sure that’s ethical, Izzy.”
“Why not? I’d be doing a public service for public servants. And probably savin’ taxpayers money in the long run.”
“Izzy!”
“What’s wrong, Uncle Bob?”
“It’s just not ethical.”
“You gotta understand how the game is played, Uncle Bob. I saw it all the time when I worked down at the lounge.”
Uncle Bob Sees Orange
“Enough, Izzy! It’s not legal either. You wouldn’t look good in orange.”
“OK, OK. But I’d find a way to get them permits … a legal way.”
“And what would that be?”
“Just like in school. Wait till the last minute and tell the teacher you need an extension.”
“They appear to be doing that now, Izzy. And they’ve already been told there won’t be any more extensions.”
“Welllllll then… just sayin’. Foxy Roxy flooded in Harvey, Uncle Bob. And she can be very discrete.”
“Does she have an engineering degree?”
________________
Satire by Bob Rehak on 10/8/25
2962 Days since 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/2025/10/Incremental-No-Callouts-2025-10-06-at-11.55.06-AM-e1759960584664.png?fit=1100%2C425&ssl=14251100adminadmin2025-10-08 16:49:442025-10-08 16:56:35Weird Nephew Izzy Has Fix for HCFCD Slowdown
10/7/2025 – Newly posted spending figures on the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) website for the third quarter of 2025 show a continuing slowdown in spending. Last quarter, HCFCD spending fell below where we started after the flood-bond election in 2018 … almost to a quarter of what it was at the peak under previous management.
Adjusted for 25% inflation during the period shown, the drop off is even more dramatic. Yet we have more than $3 billion waiting to be spent for flood-mitigation projects.
HCFCD explained the delays by saying it is troubleshooting and working through issues related to each of the projects on its plate. When asked for details, a HCFCD spokesperson cited environmental and Army Corps permitting as examples.
HCFCD on Track to Spend $80 Million Less This Year than Last
The first shows incremental spending since the start of the 2018 flood bond.Last period reflects nine months.The second shows that spending in 2024 totaled $246 million.And the third shows that in the first 9-months of 2025, HCFCD spent only about half ($125 million) of the 2024 total.
At the current rate, annualized 2025 would equal $167 million. That’s $80 million less than last year’s total – a third less.
Only $2.1 Billion Spent after 7 Years
This graph shows that flood-bond spending to date totals almost $2.1 billion out of the $5.2 that voters and partners have pledged.
Screen capture from Microsoft Power BI chart on HCFCD Activity page showing breakdown of spending to date.
Out of that, spending in 2025 Q3 totaled approximately $33 million
During the third quarter, HCFCD spent at a rate lower than before the bond, especially when discounting for inflation.
Importance of Speed: Inflation and Deadlines
The first graph above (spending by quarter since 2018) shows two distinct trends: one up and the other down. The difference largely coincides with a management change in 2021.
The decline in the rate of project spending continues to concern flood victims. Not only do delays expose residents to more flood risk, delays also take a toll in inflation. Partially as a result, County Commissioners have already adopted a plan that trims the flood-bond project list. In making cuts, they focused on three primary factors:
Expected benefits that didn’t materialize
Projects that failed to attract matching funds
Projects that had low equity scores.
But there’s another threat: looming deadlines from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In May 2021, GLO Commissioner George P. Bush announced that Harris County would receive $750 million.
However, the Disaster Relief grants come with a firm deadline of 2/28/27 – less than 15 months away. One former HCFCD employee told me that it typically takes 2 years to develop a detention-basin project. But another one told me HCFCD can put the pedal to the metal and do it in less time – if pushed.
The question at this point is, “Can HCFCD’s current management push hard and fast enough to get the jobs done before time runs out?” All of the HUD money is on a reimbursement basis. So, not finishing projects in time puts hundreds of millions at risk.
Of the Disaster Relief projects that have received authorization to use government funds so far, one is in construction – Arbor Oaks on White Oak Bayou.
In sharp contrast, according to the GLO, Phase II of the Brookglen Stormwater Detention Basin received authorization to use government funds in August 2024. And HCFCD anticipates advertising it for bids in November 2025.
Harris County’s purchasing database shows that, so far this year, HCFCD has only bid six capital improvement projects. Now it must bid and complete more than 30 projects in the next 2+ years to avoid losing close to a billion dollars.
Even my Weird Nephew Izzy understands that math. He called today and said, “We dug ourselves into a hole without digging many holes, Uncle Bob.” Longtime readers may remember that Nephew Izzy applied for the job of HCFCD executive director in 2021. Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t get the job. For Izzy’s take on all this, come back tomorrow.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/7/2025
2961 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Q3-25-Spending-e1759876554808.png?fit=1100%2C660&ssl=16601100adminadmin2025-10-07 17:58:192025-10-07 18:14:182025 Q3 HCFCD Spending Figures Show Continuing Decline
10/6/25 – Today, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved approximately $42 million to construct Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements and a Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin in Kingwood.
GLO also approved six other HCFCD projects today. See below.
HUD CDBG-MITProjects approved on 10/6/25
All seven projects are part of a larger group of 34 HCFCD projects in various stages of funding approval by the GLO for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The practical difference between the two categories primarily has to do with their deadlines. DR projects face February 28, 2027 deadlines. And MIT projects have a little longer – until March 31, 2028.
That’s even more good news for the people who live near Woodridge and Taylor Gully. Some doubt whether HCFCD can complete the DR projects before their deadlines.
Welcome News for Residents Near Taylor Gully
Today’s approval will come as welcome news for those who live in Kingwood’s Elm Grove, Mills Branch, Woodstream and Sherwood Trail Villages.
Due to clearcutting and grading of the Woodridge property starting in 2017, up to 600 homes flooded twice in 2019 downstream, mostly along Taylor Gully.
Subsequently, Perry Homes built several detention basins on the Woodridge property before selling it to HCFCD and the City of Houston. Perry’s basins met pre-Atlas 14 standards. The new basin will bring detention up to and possibly beyond Atlas-14 requirements. Atlas-14 is the new set of rainfall probability statistics adopted after Hurricane Harvey.
The Woodridge portion of the project includes 421.6 acre feet of additional stormwater detention capacity (Compartment 1 in diagram above).
Other planned improvements along Taylor Gully include:
13,118 feet of channel conveyance improvements
Placing a concrete channel along the base of it
Replacing the concrete culverts at Rustling Elms with an open span bridge
Current bridge over Rustling Elms would be replaced with a clear span bridge like the one downstream.Rustling Elms Bridge over Taylor Gully before peak of May 7, 2019 flood.
Together, the channel and stormwater-retention improvements should reduce the water-surface elevation in a 100-year flood by up to five feet.
In the future, HCFCD will still have enough land to build an additional detention basin (Compartment 2) should it become necessary.
As of today, HCFCD expects to bid the project sometime in the first quarter of 2026.
For more information about the other projects, see this PDF from the GLO. GLO has not yet updated this PDF with today’s approvals. However, it does contain specific information about the projects, their size, scope, cost and approval stages that some may find useful.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/6/2025
2960 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/2019/05/Taylor-Gully-at-Peak-e1728600738227.jpg?fit=1100%2C327&ssl=13271100adminadmin2025-10-06 19:33:272025-10-07 10:12:37GLO Approves $42 Million for Taylor Gully-Woodridge Project in Kingwood
Weird Nephew Izzy Has Fix for HCFCD Slowdown
More than four years after being awarded almost a billion dollars in HUD money for more than 30 flood mitigation and disaster recovery projects, Harris County Flood Control District has actually started building only one of the jobs. If it misses rapidly approaching deadlines, it could lose the money, a fact that has not escaped my Weird Nephew Izzy.
Izzy applied for the job of HCFCD executive director in 2021, but didn’t get it. When he stopped by yesterday, he was still a tad bitter.
Izzy Does Some Armchair Quarterbacking
“If they don’t hustle up pretty soon, Uncle Bob, we could lose all that money. They dug us into a hole without digging many holes.”
“Yes, Izzy, it appears things have slowed way down. They’re just not building those stormwater-detention basins and channel-conveyance improvements as fast as they used to.”
“I gotta get me one of dem govmint jobs. The less you do, the more you make.”
“I don’t think that’s true, Izzy. I know a lot of hard-working public servants.”
“Well, look at Flood Control, Uncle Bob.”
“What about it?”
“They’re doin’ less and less. But their executive director just got a $90,000 raise. They shoulda done hired ME for that job, Uncle Bob.”
“But Izzy, you weren’t qualified.”
“I sure could use the money, Uncle Bob. Anyway, qualifications is highly overrated. A job like that needs leadership ability.”
“I know you just got promoted to head bagger down at the Walmart, but…”
“Damn straight,” he exclaimed. “That’s because people like to work with me. My hands is always flyin’. I make everyone around me look good.”
“You are fast. I’ll give you that, Izzy.”
“And after work, I’m not afraid to tip back a few with the crew, too,” said Izzy, scratching his belly.
“I can see that.”
Lessons from Leadership School
“People gotta wanna work their hardest for ya, Uncle Bob. That’s what they done taught me in leadership school.”
“That’s very true, Izzy. But the people at Flood Control say they’re waiting on permits from other agencies like the Army Corps and EPA.”
“My point, presactly. See, I coulda introduced ’em to some dancers down at the Crystal Pistol. I woulda had those permits in a heartbeat, Uncle Bob.”
“I’m not sure that’s ethical, Izzy.”
“Why not? I’d be doing a public service for public servants. And probably savin’ taxpayers money in the long run.”
“Izzy!”
“What’s wrong, Uncle Bob?”
“It’s just not ethical.”
“You gotta understand how the game is played, Uncle Bob. I saw it all the time when I worked down at the lounge.”
Uncle Bob Sees Orange
“Enough, Izzy! It’s not legal either. You wouldn’t look good in orange.”
“OK, OK. But I’d find a way to get them permits … a legal way.”
“And what would that be?”
“Just like in school. Wait till the last minute and tell the teacher you need an extension.”
“They appear to be doing that now, Izzy. And they’ve already been told there won’t be any more extensions.”
“Welllllll then… just sayin’. Foxy Roxy flooded in Harvey, Uncle Bob. And she can be very discrete.”
“Does she have an engineering degree?”
________________
Satire by Bob Rehak on 10/8/25
2962 Days since 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.
2025 Q3 HCFCD Spending Figures Show Continuing Decline
10/7/2025 – Newly posted spending figures on the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) website for the third quarter of 2025 show a continuing slowdown in spending. Last quarter, HCFCD spending fell below where we started after the flood-bond election in 2018 … almost to a quarter of what it was at the peak under previous management.
Adjusted for 25% inflation during the period shown, the drop off is even more dramatic. Yet we have more than $3 billion waiting to be spent for flood-mitigation projects.
HCFCD explained the delays by saying it is troubleshooting and working through issues related to each of the projects on its plate. When asked for details, a HCFCD spokesperson cited environmental and Army Corps permitting as examples.
HCFCD on Track to Spend $80 Million Less This Year than Last
These three screen captures from the HCFCD Activity page show the slowdown.
At the current rate, annualized 2025 would equal $167 million. That’s $80 million less than last year’s total – a third less.
Only $2.1 Billion Spent after 7 Years
This graph shows that flood-bond spending to date totals almost $2.1 billion out of the $5.2 that voters and partners have pledged.
Out of that, spending in 2025 Q3 totaled approximately $33 million
Importance of Speed: Inflation and Deadlines
The first graph above (spending by quarter since 2018) shows two distinct trends: one up and the other down. The difference largely coincides with a management change in 2021.
But HCFCD has more than $3 billion at its disposal in flood-bond and partnership funds.
The decline in the rate of project spending continues to concern flood victims. Not only do delays expose residents to more flood risk, delays also take a toll in inflation. Partially as a result, County Commissioners have already adopted a plan that trims the flood-bond project list. In making cuts, they focused on three primary factors:
But there’s another threat: looming deadlines from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In May 2021, GLO Commissioner George P. Bush announced that Harris County would receive $750 million.
Since then, the total has risen. HUD awarded HCFCD $541 million in CDBG-Mitigation grants and $322 million in CDBG-Disaster Relief Grants for a total of $863 million.
However, the Disaster Relief grants come with a firm deadline of 2/28/27 – less than 15 months away. One former HCFCD employee told me that it typically takes 2 years to develop a detention-basin project. But another one told me HCFCD can put the pedal to the metal and do it in less time – if pushed.
The question at this point is, “Can HCFCD’s current management push hard and fast enough to get the jobs done before time runs out?” All of the HUD money is on a reimbursement basis. So, not finishing projects in time puts hundreds of millions at risk.
Of the Disaster Relief projects that have received authorization to use government funds so far, one is in construction – Arbor Oaks on White Oak Bayou.
In sharp contrast, according to the GLO, Phase II of the Brookglen Stormwater Detention Basin received authorization to use government funds in August 2024. And HCFCD anticipates advertising it for bids in November 2025.
Harris County’s purchasing database shows that, so far this year, HCFCD has only bid six capital improvement projects. Now it must bid and complete more than 30 projects in the next 2+ years to avoid losing close to a billion dollars.
Even my Weird Nephew Izzy understands that math. He called today and said, “We dug ourselves into a hole without digging many holes, Uncle Bob.” Longtime readers may remember that Nephew Izzy applied for the job of HCFCD executive director in 2021. Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn’t get the job. For Izzy’s take on all this, come back tomorrow.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/7/2025
2961 Days since Hurricane Harvey
GLO Approves $42 Million for Taylor Gully-Woodridge Project in Kingwood
10/6/25 – Today, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved approximately $42 million to construct Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements and a Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin in Kingwood.
Other Projects Approved on 10/6/25
GLO also approved six other HCFCD projects today. See below.
All seven projects are part of a larger group of 34 HCFCD projects in various stages of funding approval by the GLO for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The seven approved today were all Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) projects. Another category of HUD CDBG projects is Disaster Relief (abbreviated DR).
The practical difference between the two categories primarily has to do with their deadlines. DR projects face February 28, 2027 deadlines. And MIT projects have a little longer – until March 31, 2028.
That’s even more good news for the people who live near Woodridge and Taylor Gully. Some doubt whether HCFCD can complete the DR projects before their deadlines.
Welcome News for Residents Near Taylor Gully
Today’s approval will come as welcome news for those who live in Kingwood’s Elm Grove, Mills Branch, Woodstream and Sherwood Trail Villages.
Due to clearcutting and grading of the Woodridge property starting in 2017, up to 600 homes flooded twice in 2019 downstream, mostly along Taylor Gully.
Subsequently, Perry Homes built several detention basins on the Woodridge property before selling it to HCFCD and the City of Houston. Perry’s basins met pre-Atlas 14 standards. The new basin will bring detention up to and possibly beyond Atlas-14 requirements. Atlas-14 is the new set of rainfall probability statistics adopted after Hurricane Harvey.
The Woodridge portion of the project includes 421.6 acre feet of additional stormwater detention capacity (Compartment 1 in diagram above).
Other planned improvements along Taylor Gully include:
In the future, HCFCD will still have enough land to build an additional detention basin (Compartment 2) should it become necessary.
As of today, HCFCD expects to bid the project sometime in the first quarter of 2026.
For More Information
See this PowerPoint on the HCFCD website for more information about the Taylor Gully/Woodridge project.
For more information about the other projects, see this PDF from the GLO. GLO has not yet updated this PDF with today’s approvals. However, it does contain specific information about the projects, their size, scope, cost and approval stages that some may find useful.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/6/2025
2960 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.