Almost from the day voters passed the historic $2.5 billion Harris County 2018 Flood Bond Referendum, people started arguing over whose projects should be developed first.
This led to a debate about equity and passage of an equity prioritization framework that favors low-to-moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods.
Activist groups in watersheds that have received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding now claim they have received none and blame it on racism and white supremacy. One group has even demanded the cancellation of projects in affluent watersheds so that even more money can be diverted to theirs in the name of “equity.”
Raw Data
Links below and to the right lead to articles about funding.
The information below was provided by Harris County in response to a Freedom of Information Act Request.
This spreadsheet contains spending data on capital improvement projects (not normal maintenance) by watershed as of the end of the first quarter of 2021. It is broken down as follows:
- Since 2000
- Since Harvey
- 1/1/2000 to 12/31/2009
- 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2019
It also includes breakdowns for items such as design, right-of-way acquisition, buyouts, and construction.
Finally, I also requested additional data about each watershed to help put the spending in perspective. For instance:
- Square Mileage
- Population
- Percentage of population with Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI)
- Number of Damaged Structures in Major Storms (Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey)
With this information, I compiled a master spreadsheet that showed spending, spending per square mile, spending per capita, damage by storm, total damage, and rank orders for each watershed during various periods.
Harris County Flood Control Capital Improvement Spending By Watershed since 2000.
I have also flown over the more “controversial” watersheds and photographed flood mitigation projects that “don’t exist” according to some activists and politicians arguing for an even greater share of the pie.
Analysis/Findings
With all this information, I have compiled a series of articles related to funding for those who wish to make informed decisions.
For more information and analysis of the data, see the links below and to the right.
- Flood Mitigation Funding: Halls, Greens Get $422 Million
- Funding Comparison of Low- and High-income Quartiles
- Funding Comparison of Watersheds Above and Below 50% LMI
- Funding per Square Mile
- Why Racial Rhetoric Distracts from Finding Flood Solutions
- Funding vs. Voter Turnout for Flood Bond: Implications for Future Bonds
- Responsibilities for Street Flooding vs. River Flooding
- Highest correlation between funding and damage
- Baseless claims of racism in allocation of flood funds
- Socially vulnerable zip codes receive 80% of Buyouts
Also, here are several articles with aerial photos that show what the money bought.
San Jacinto Watershed Still Virtually Ignored
Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) spending data on right-of-way acquisition and construction for the first half of 2022 shows that, once again, the San Jacinto watershed has been ignored. Thus, the largest watershed in the county received virtually no help in terms of flood-mitigation funding. Brays, where Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis lives, received […]
The High Price of Admission for Political Theater
Those who watched Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, 8/2/22, soon realized they were in for some gripping political theater. The meeting started with a parade of 60 people making public comments. They took up more than three hours. It felt like the vast majority spoke in favor of Adrian Garcia’s proposed new $1.2 billion […]
Halls Bayou Has Come a Long Way, But Still Has Long Way to Go
A popular misperception says Halls Bayou has received no flood-mitigation funding. Yet it has received $175 million since 2000. $65 million of that happened since Harvey. Channel widening, stormwater-detention basins and neighborhood drainage improvements have reduced flood risk somewhat, but several factors – including the need for more funding – make mitigation difficult. HCFCD has […]
Hunting Flood-Mitigation Project Nearing Completion
When Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and the Army Corps began Project Hunting (the Hunting Bayou Federal Flood Risk Management Project) in 2014, they estimated it would cost $100 million and take until late this year. A flyover of the construction along Hunting Bayou looks like it is nearing completion…right on schedule. It will […]
Inherent Bias and Limitations of Flood-Mitigation Benefit Index
In the last few weeks, Michael Bloom, a fellow member of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, and I have debated the inherent bias and limitations of a Flood-Mitigation Benefit Index (FMBI) proposed by a majority of the Task Force to Harris County Commissioners Court. According to Mr. Bloom, the index will: Reveal […]