9/14/25 – On Thursday, 9/18/25, Harris County Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss the future of the 2018 Flood Bond. Again.
Item 117 on the agenda says, “Request for discussion and possible action regarding a report from the Flood Control District related to the 2018 Bond Program.” Unfortunately, no report is attached to the agenda. Reportedly, it is not yet ready.
That raises many questions: Do we have enough money to finish all the bond projects? If not, whose projects will be cut? What happens if you start construction, but don’t have money to finish it? Should we kill projects in some areas to construct projects in others?
No easy answers exist. Harris County Flood Control District, Engineering, the County Administrator and County Budget Director have tried all year to answer commissioners’ questions and have been meeting weekly for months to work out a plan that everyone can agree on.
Multiple Delays since February
On February 6, 2025, fireworks erupted in Commissioners Court over the inability to get data that could inform decisions about Subdivision-Drainage and Flood-Bond projects. Commissioners called it a “major crisis” and “an abysmal failure.”
They asked Dr. Tina Petersen, executive director of Harris County Flood Control, to come back in March with answers. But March turned into May, May into June, then July and August. And now, here we are in September.
What Commissioners Asked For
In February, Commissioners asked HCFCD to work with the County Engineer, Administrator and Budget Director to return to court on March 27 with “proposed options and recommendations using any and all county resources for closing the shortfall.” The analysis was to have included:
The entire program including all projects completed
Projects under construction with any potential changes in contract
Active projects awaiting funding
Remaining available funds for all projects now that the project budgets have been increased.
The May presentation slipped to June. Petersen still didn’t have a clear plan, but she hinted at a potential $1.3 billion shortfall. That’s a quarter of all funds raised to date – either through the bond or partner contributions.
In June, Petersen alluded to $1.3 billion shortfallin testimony to Commissioners.
Flood Control and the head engineers of each precinct have met weekly since then in an effort to identify a plan that everyone can agree to. The fact that the plan wasn’t attached to the agenda suggests they may not have agreed on it yet.
Uncertainty, Delays Could Jeopardize Additional Funding
Meanwhile, the uncertainty and delays could jeopardize even more funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) via the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
In 2021, GLO Commissioner George P. Bush announced a $1.1 billion allocation of HUD funds for flood mitigation and disaster relief in Harris County.
But that money is available on a reimbursement basis only…after the County completes approved projects.
The Mercer Basin now under construction is similar to those. It was supposed to take a year to build on an expedited basis. We are now at two years and counting. Construction is far from complete.
And the last of the 11 projects isn’t even scheduled to go out for BID until the SECOND quarter of next year.
I expect a lot of wailing and wringing of hands on Thursday. Unless they postpone the discussion again.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/14/25
2938 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Tina-Petersen.jpg?fit=1100%2C608&ssl=16081100adminadmin2025-09-14 20:42:392025-09-15 18:50:50Harris County Commissioners to Discuss Future of Flood Bond on Thursday
The 3/9/2021 meeting of Harris County Commissioners Court started with a presentation by the Harris County Budget Management Director David Berry on the County’s Capital Improvement Plan. Mr. Berry asserted early in the meeting that the County had a shortfall of approximately $900 million to $1.35 billion needed to complete projects in the Flood Bond passed by voters in 2018. Is there really a shortfall? It depends on the exact way you phrase any number of possible questions.
Confusing, Unexplained Map Triggers Almost 2 Hours of Discussion
Near the start of the meeting, Mr. Berry put up a very confusing map (below) that frequently heated the next 100 minutes of discussion to the boiling point. The discussion made every front page in town and many of the TV news shows.
The map showed the projected funding shortfalls by watershed as a percentage of the total funding allocated to each in the 2018 flood bond.
The stories featured sensational quotes by Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis (We will have blood on our hands if this stands.) and Precinct 2 Commissioner Garcia (I feel like someone hit me across the back with a baseball bat.)
The map implied that construction had started on projects that the County did not have enough money to finish, especially the ones in yellow and red below.
Map from Page 16 of Harris County CIP Budget for Fiscal Year 2021/2022.
Was Flood Control Not Following Equity Guidelines?
To add more context to this discussion, understand that Halls and Greens Bayous rank among the poorest in the county. That they seemed so far behind more affluent watersheds in funding rankled Ellis and Garcia. The two had argued to prioritize flood bond spending by a “social equity” formula that addressed the poorest neighborhoods first. To say that the map above was like waving a red flag in front of two bulls would understate its effect.
So What’s Really Going on Here?
Did prices of flood-bond projects suddenly escalate, causing the shortfall? No.
Did Flood Control underestimate costs? No.
The reason has to do with the delayed arrival of long-awaited federal matching funds.
But Berry did not make that apparent in his setup. Commissioners Garcia and Ellis then peppered Russ Poppe, head of the Flood Control District, with angry, accusatory questions for more than 40 minutes. At one point, they asked 11 questions in a row before they gave Poppe a chance to answer one.
Poppe then explained that Flood Control relies on matching funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for low-income areas. Why? Unlike FEMA which requires a positive benefit/cost ratio, HUD does not. Flood Control is currently waiting for answers on HUD grant applications totaling almost half a billion dollars for mitigation work in the Halls and Greens Bayou watersheds.
Commissioners Court then spent another 40 minutes trying to understand the chances of getting those grants. They also crafted a motion directing the Flood Control District to develop a backup plan in case grant money didn’t arrive by June 30.
Text Of Motion
The motion reads as follows: “To direct the Flood Control District to work with Budget Management in developing a plan by June 30, 2021 to address the funding gap in flood mitigation projects under the 2018 bond while maintaining an equitable approach to the expenditure of funds, including plans to lobby federal, state, and local partners for funding, identification of alternative funding options, a description of projects that are currently stalled due to incomplete funding and how that affects timing of project completion, and a potential timeline for a future potential bond election regarding the funding of current and future flood control projects. If the County is unable to secure funding to complete all proposed projects, the plan should address how the County should prioritize the investment of existing resources to ensure equitable flood protection and comply with the prioritization framework adopted by Harris County.”
The motion eventually passed unanimously at 1 hour and 32 minutes into the meeting.
Answers to Questions About “Underfunding”
Is construction money in Halls or Greens Bayous invested so far at risk?
No. Money spent so far, according to Poppe, has only been for land acquisition and preliminary engineering studies. The County will need both regardless of how it pays for construction. So the County didn’t waste a penny of flood-bond money invested to date. Construction can start later when a path to funding becomes clear.
Did Flood Control try to hide a shortfall?
No. The partial reliance on partner funding now characterized as a “shortfall” was shown in the Bond Program from Day One. The projected shortfall was never greater than on the day voters approved the flood bond. At that point we had secured no partnership funding for those watersheds or any others. We still haven’t for Halls and Greens.
Have we found partnership funding faster in other watersheds?
Yes. Especially in watersheds where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plays a leadership role in construction or where partners could demonstrate a positive benefit/cost ratio for FEMA. In 2018, Poppe estimated Harris County Flood Control could find $2.3 to $2.4 billion in matching funds based on $872 million allocated for seed money in the Flood Bond. But Berry estimates the budget shortfall at $900 million to $1.35 billion. Subtracting one estimate from the other indicates Flood Control has already found a billion dollars or more in matching funds for other watersheds. That’s great work. And that accounts for the differences in colors on the map.
Can Harris County count on the HUD money?
No. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is still reviewing Flood Control’s grant applications to HUD. We could get some, all, or none of the requested grants.
When will we know how much HUD money, if any, we get?
Initial indications were that we would get answers by late April or early May. Today, I learned from an independent source who requested anonymity that the answer may not come until October.
If the money doesn’t come from HUD, where will it come from?
It depends. Commissioners floated several ideas in the meeting. They included self-funding with another Flood Bond and shifting money from existing sources within Harris County, such as the Toll Road Authority. They could have mentioned Texas Senate Bill 7 (from 2019), but didn’t. Among other things, SB7 provided partial reimbursement for local matching funds for federal grants. The motion approved by Commissioners Court today requires Flood Control and the Budget office to explore all the possibilities and lay out options for consideration.
Another flood bond? Seriously?
Yes and no. According to former Judge Ed Emmett, the $2.5 billion approved by voters in 2018 was always pitched as a “down payment.” Even with partnership funding potentially doubling the size of that, it still would not be likely to solve all of Harris County’s flood woes. So what’s the real total? During the meeting, the Judge and Commissioners tossed out figures ranging from $10-$40 billion. But no one believes another bond is politically feasible. Especially at this time. First, COVID has siphoned off valuable funds. And some of the commissioners have seen fit to redefine equity in the bond language in a way that benefits their constituents at the expense of all others. Now, they may not be able to deliver for their constituents. And they’ve managed to honk off everyone else. Everyone believes the likelihood of passing another bond is zero at this point.
Why is HUD taking so long?
It depends (on whom you talk to). Reportedly, the GLO and HUD have had concerns about the City of Houston and Harris County administering flood-disaster-relief funds to homeowners (separate from mitigation money for flood control projects). Even though Harris County Flood Control wasn’t involved in that program, HUD decided to have the Texas General Land Office (GLO) administer/oversee a giant pot of mitigation money for the entire state instead of sending a portion of it directly to Harris County. That created an extra step. And Harris County must compete with the rest of the state, a process that has inevitably delayed announcements.
Is it worth waiting for a half billion dollars?
Again, it depends. On whom you ask. If your home is flooding and you can get someone else to foot the bill, hell no. If your home is not flooding and there’s still a chance that HUD could come through, why hurry?
Partnership funding maximizes the amount of projects Flood Control can develop, but it can also delay some projects. This is a glass-half-full debate.
Shouldn’t we be captains of our own fate?
It depends on when you ask. When the flood bond passed in 2018, Flood Control was applauded for aggressively chasing all of the Federal funding it could. Yet during Tuesday’s Court meeting, some commissioners criticized Flood Control for going after any partner funds – a complete 180 from just two and a half years ago.
Will funding shortfalls discussed above affect additional gates for the Lake Houston Dam?
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Page-16-Budget-Shortfall.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=19011200adminadmin2021-03-10 20:20:512021-03-12 13:19:17Is There a Shortfall in Harris County Flood Bond Money? Yes. No. Maybe. It Depends.
