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.
Brays Bayou Received Approximately Half Billion in Flood Mitigation Funding In Last 23 Years
Since 1998, the Brays Bayou watershed has received approximately a half billion dollars in flood-mitigation funding. To compile that estimate, I consulted Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) 2019 Federal Briefing (see page 45) and HCFCD’s “active construction projects” page for May 2021. Map of Improvements Nature of Improvements The 2019 Federal Briefing (page 56) […]
Halls Bayou Illustrates Cost, Difficulty of Flood Mitigation in Overdeveloped Areas
Flooding within the Halls Bayou watershed illustrates what happens when development, density, lack of detention and insufficient distance from streams put people and their property in harm’s way. Instead of protecting a strip of green space near the bayou years ago, developers built right up to the edge. As density increased and developers built further […]
Harris County Commissioners Supplement Flood-Bond Funds with Highway Money to Accelerate Mitigation
Tuesday, Harris County Commissioners Court voted 5-0 to transfer $315 million of toll road revenue, unallocated County road bonds and other county funds to accelerate the construction of certain flood-bond mitigation projects. They will allocate the funds to mitigation projects using the 2018 Flood Bond Prioritization Criteria. The transfer will provide backstop funding for 100% […]
Four Halls Bayou Detention Ponds Recently Completed; Four More Virtually Done
If you saw the recent front page article in the Houston Chronicle about Halls Bayou, you would think that Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) relegated residents in the watershed to “the back of the bus.” Even before the bond, Halls received four floodwater retention projects, three of which are major. HCFCD is trying to […]
HCFCD Issues Flood Bond Update as of March 30, 2021
In the March 30, 2021 Harris County Commissioner’s Court Meeting, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) gave a Flood Bond update. Here’s where projects in the 2018 Flood Bond program stand. Overview In the 30 months since the bond was approved by Harris County voters, the Harris County Flood Control District has used bond funds […]