The Harris County Flood Control District has announced a pause on 26 groups of flood mitigation projects after uncovering a significant funding shortfall related to the 2018 flood bond earmarked for post-Hurricane Harvey recovery.
The district is grappling with a $410 million shortfall across numerous projects initiated after Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the Texas coast in 2017.
Executive Director Tina Peterson informed county commissioners that approximately 15 line items identified as ‘bond IDs’ from the original bond package were found to be unfeasible following detailed engineering analyses.
During a recent presentation to county officials, updated findings indicated that the funding gap for these projects was initially estimated to exceed $1 billion, a figure that has since been revised down to the current shortfall of $410 million.
In response to these challenges, Harris County has established a structured financing framework organized into quartiles, prioritizing flood mitigation work in critical areas.
Following the approval of flood mitigation bonds after Hurricane Harvey, voters backed critical repairs to drainage infrastructure, channel modifications to enhance stormwater flow, voluntary buyouts of properties in flood-prone areas, and improvements to the county’s flood warning systems.
However, the bond package, which allocated $2.5 billion, has been further complicated by an 8% inflationary increase in costs, leading to obstacles for engineers and flood control personnel who aimed to address a crucial funding gap.
The amount sanctioned by voters was only designated to cover 50% of the estimated $5 billion required for comprehensive flood mitigation initiatives in the post-Harvey landscape.
In total, the county has successfully procured about $2.7 billion in financial partnerships from various local, state, and federal sources.
Despite these efforts, a substantial disparity in funding persists, prompting commissioners to consider the possibility of returning to voters in the future to secure additional resources necessary to complete outstanding projects.
To date, 109 projects have been completed, with an additional 75 groups of projects anticipated to reach completion within the next three to five years.
The discontinued 15 line items lacked a clearly defined scope and included initiatives where the county faced challenges in securing necessary right-of-ways or those that diverged significantly from original designs.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo noted that, given the current statutory framework, it wouldn’t be feasible to pursue another bond election until the pending projects are brought to fruition.
“The direction from the commissioners court was to fulfill all quartile 1 projects in the bond, which will serve the communities and the projects with the highest need,” Hidalgo stated.
She emphasized the importance of prioritizing projects based on their impact, specifically the number of individuals and structures benefitted, as well as existing flood conditions.
Since the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, around 3,100 families living in flood-prone areas have opted for voluntary buyouts.
Moreover, the county has implemented over 46,000 linear feet of stormwater conveyance improvements and successfully removed 183,000 structures from the floodplain.
Commissioner Tom Ramsey from Precinct 3 highlighted that the county completed $1.5 billion worth of flood bond projects thus far.
Conversely, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis raised concerns about the potential challenges of garnering voter support for further funding due to lower turnout in previous elections.
Ellis remarked, “In no ways should you think we could pass another one with such a small percentage of the people voting.
The outcome will likely hinge on when the ballot is presented, especially if it aligns with the election cycles of some current officials.
It is crucial to ensure that residents have clear expectations about the implications of their vote.”
In a letter sent to staff and endorsed by members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, there are calls for enhanced community involvement in prioritizing flood bond projects.
The task force, established in 2020 to guide the county in equitable flood planning, has also raised alarms over a recent legislative proposal by Republican State Senator Paul Bettencourt, which seeks to transfer control of the flood control district back to the state.
The Harris County Flood Control District, which was formed by the Texas Legislature in 1937 in response to a series of devastating floods, has not responded to requests for comments regarding the current developments.
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