Why Flood Mitigation Needs Steady Funding Source

4/15/25 – At a flood resilience workshop yesterday in Houston, the importance of a steady funding source for flood-mitigation projects became abundantly clear. The Biannual Resiliency Workshop of the Society of American Military Engineers (S.A.M.E.) drew a star-studded lineup of speakers for the hundreds of engineers, lawyers and business people in attendance. Alia Vinson, a […]

FEMA Eliminating Important BRIC Grants

4/5/2025 – On 4/4/25, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the termination of BRIC grants. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program encouraged better building practices. The grants also funded mitigation projects that reduced future flood damage. Through its project scoring matrix, BRIC grants incentivized the adoption of building codes that strengthened […]

MoCo Receives Approval from GLO for 3 De-snagging Projects Totaling $60 Million

3/21/25 – Montgomery County has received approval from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) for three “de-snagging” projects totaling $60,374,999.66. The grant, first reported in 2022, stems from money allocated to Texas by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after Hurricane Harvey. I’ll discuss the complex, lengthy process involved in awarding these […]

Harris County Commissioners Demand Flood-Bond Project Update

3/1/25 – At the 2/27/25 Harris County Special Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners spent more than an hour discussing the need for a 2018 Flood-Bond update to help deal with a potential billion-dollar funding shortfall. Previous Flood Control District department heads published a flood-bond update monthly. But the frequency has fallen to annually under the current […]

We Won World War II in Half the Time That It’s Taking to Start Harvey Flood-Mitigation Projects

3/1/25 – More than 60 flood-mitigation and disaster-relief projects identified after Hurricane Harvey have yet to begin. We won World War II in half that time. Between Pearl Harbor and the surrender of Japan, 1349 days elapsed. But more than twice that number of days have elapsed since Hurricane Harvey in 2017. At 1349 Days […]