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.
New County Administrator Moves to Modify Formula for Allocating Flood–Bond Spending – Again
The new county administrator, David Berry, put an item on the Commissioners Court Agenda for next Tuesday that would modify the formula for allocating flood-bond spending among watersheds – again. Item #21-6881 (17th on the agenda) reads: “Request for discussion and possible action to modify the previously adopted “Prioritization Framework for the Implementation of the […]
HCFCD Accelerating Spending on Mitigation Projects
Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) is accelerating its spending on flood mitigation projects. I compiled the chart below with data from a FOIA Request. This request parallels an earlier request at the end of the first quarter and includes spending through the end of the third quarter. In the 3.5 years since the flood […]
Where Flood-Bond Spending Is Going, When New Flood Maps Will Be Released
On the Harris County Commissioner’s Court agenda for today are two Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) “transmittals.” One will update commissioners on flood-bond spending to date. The other will update commissioners on the progress of new flood maps (the MAAPnext program). They are items 269 and 270 on today’s agenda. Transmittals are reports by […]
Will Redistricting Affect Flood-Mitigation Priorities?
The recent redistricting of Harris County precincts could not have been more disruptive. More than half the county’s residents changed both precincts and commissioners. Can you say, “Tossed Salad”? It will take some time to work this out. In the meantime, “Many are asking how will new precinct boundaries affect flood-mitigation priorities?” We’ve already seen […]
Garcia’s Proposal to Divert $191 Million in Flood Funds from Cedar Bayou is Defeated
During a spirited, but cordial debate Thursday that lasted almost two hours, Harris County Commissioners Court decided NOT to divert $191 million designated for Cedar Bayou in the flood bond. The deciding factor: previous promises not to cancel projects made by Lina Hidalgo and, you guessed it, Adrian Garcia himself. Commissioners also recognized a need […]