Community Project Requests
FY 2023 APPROPRIATIONS – COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING REQUESTS
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Project
Recipient: City of Houston
Address: 901 Bagby Street, Houston, TX 77002
Amount: $8 million
Purpose: The Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project will increase the outflow capacity of the Lake Houston Dam. The project is located on Lake Houston along the San Jacinto River in Harris County. The primary function of the lake is to serve as the main source of municipal drinking water for Houston, Baytown, Deer Park Harris, and Fort Bend Counties, with a secondary function as flood control. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district. The funding will be used for the building of a coffer dam to help accelerate water level reduction in anticipation of and during major rain events. The coffer dam will provide the ability to reduce upstream flooding and mitigate structural damage to the dam in the event of severe weather events. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because by preventing flooding, it will avoid the need for more costly recovery efforts after flooding events.
Link to Member Certification Form
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin Project
Recipient: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77092
Amount: $10 million
Purpose: The project involves acquiring 267 acres in Montgomery County near Kingwood Park High School and constructing a detention basin to alleviate flood risks in the Kingwood area. 260 structures will be removed from the inundation area, and there are other structures outside the channel floodplain that will also benefit from the local drainage improvements. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts the district. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because by preventing flooding, it will avoid the need for more costly recovery efforts after flooding events.
Link to Member Certification Form
Cedar Bayou Stormwater Detention Basin Project
Sponsor: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77092
Amount: $10 million
Purpose: The construction of the stormwater detention basin will provide immediate benefits by reducing the flooding inundation area and water surface elevations during high-intensity rain events. This project sets the foundation for subsequent phases to build out a regional detention basin and channel improvements with the goal of providing a system capacity for a 100-year rainfall event. The project will reduce the flooding elevation through the watershed, removing many structures from the inundation area, reduce flooded roadways and will benefit the community of Huffman, TX. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts the district. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because by preventing flooding, it will avoid the need for more costly recovery efforts after flooding events.
Link to Member Certification Form
Harris County Municipal Utility District (HCMUD) 468 Stormwater Detention Basin Project
Sponsor: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77092
Amount: $2 million
Purpose: This project is for the excavation of a stormwater detention basin located in the Cypress Creek watershed. The Cypress Creek watershed is highly developed and has a lack of regional stormwater detention basins for flood mitigation. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts the district. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because by preventing flooding, it will avoid the need for more costly recovery efforts after flooding events.
Link to Member Certification Form
Bear Branch Dam Modification Project
Recipient: San Jacinto River Authority and the Woodlands Water Agency
Address: 1577 Dam Site Road, Conroe, TX 77304
Amount: is $4.8 million
Purpose: The Bear Branch Dam and 60-acre reservoir and drainage system was constructed in the early 1980s and has experienced surface deterioration. The project will replace the soil cement armoring system with a reinforced concrete cap and reconstruct the service spillway that has experienced increasing surface deterioration and lacks effective joints. This project is important for detaining stormwater runoff in the district. The soil cement rehabilitation and spillway replacement will extend the service life of the Bear Branch Dam for another 40 plus years. Stormwater and runoff drains to the reservoir and approximately eight miles of conveyance channels known as Bear Branch, Alden Branch, and Upper Panther Branch. Additionally, improving the drainage in the Bear Branch Dam area and lessening the risk of flooding on Research Forest, a major artery through The Woodlands. This would allow police and fire could more readily respond as needed during major weather events without the delay of navigating around high water. Enhanced drainage from this project also will positively impact neighborhoods along the corridor whose mobility has been compromised in the past due to high water in neighborhood streets. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts the district. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because by preventing flooding, it will avoid the need for more costly recovery efforts after flooding events.
Link to Member Certification Form
Bentwood Drainage Channel Project
Recipient: Montgomery County Municipal Utility District Number 84
Address: 1300 Post Oak Blvd., Ste 1400, Houston, TX 77056
Amount: $3 million
Purpose: The Municipal Utility District (MUD) has suffered extreme flooding challenges due to Tropical Storm Imelda, Hurricane Harvey, and other severe rainfall events. As a response to these events, the MUD has worked together to prepare a comprehensive drainage master plan which identifies several projects to mitigate flooding both within and adjacent to the community. The project will improve, deepen, and widen an existing detention basin on New Caney Independent School District (ISD) property (since donated to the MUDs by the ISD). The project will also improve adjacent and connecting stormwater infrastructure to improve water retention and conveyance. The project will reduce community flooding and mitigate the impacts of severe rain events within the project area. It will also mitigate the potential for future flooding at White Oak Middle School and Bens Branch Elementary School. Previous rain events have trapped students within the facilities due to impassable roadways. Additionally, the project will allow future improvements to Bens Branch / the Bentwood Diversion Channel which will provide additional regional benefit to include that to low- and moderate-income areas, will reduce erosion and sedimentation of the San Jacinto River.
This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts the district. This project is a good use of taxpayer funds because by preventing flooding, it will avoid the need for more costly recovery efforts after flooding events.
Link to Member Certification Form
Community Project Funding Requests - Appropriations Committee
Huffman (Forest Manor) Drainage Improvement Project
Recipient: Harris County
Amount: $1.673 million
Purpose: The project is to improve drainage and infrastructure to reduce the risk of flooding in the Forest Manor community in Huffman, Texas. This community suffered from 98 flooded homes during Hurricane Harvey and 17 flooded homes during Tropical Storm Imelda. The project would help reduce flood risk for 98 homes. Forest Manor and Lake Houston Woodland Terrace Subdivisions are located in Huffman, Texas in Northeast Harris County, east of Lake Houston. Less than 15% of the homes in the subdivision are in the regulatory FEMA 100- year floodplain, yet more than 40% of the homes have reported flood claims in recent years (with 30% consisting of repetitive losses). This mitigation project is a good use of taxpayer because it will prevent future flooding and by dedicating resources to flood mitigation will help avoid spending on other more costly post-disaster recovery programs.
Link to Member Certification Form
Updated Member Certification Form
Kingwood Diversion Channel
Recipient: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77092
Amount: $1.6 million
Purpose: The Kingwood Diversion Channel improvements are proposed to divert stormwater runoff from the Bens Branch channel to lower the risk of structural flooding along the portion of Bens Branch within the Kingwood area. This project will also provide capacity to allow for future local City of Houston neighborhood drainage improvements to outfall into the Kingwood Diversion Channel h and Bens Branch. When the Kingwood Diversion Channel was originally constructed, additional right-of-way (ROW) was purchased to allow for future channel conveyance improvements to alleviate future anticipated runoff from areas expected to develop in the portion of the Bens Branch watershed in Montgomery County. The proposed improvements for the channel will fully utilize the existing available ROW with minimal additional ROW acquisition needed for a new outfall into the West Fork San Jacinto River. The proposed project includes channel conveyance improvements, a concrete diversion structure from the confluence at Bens Branch in Montgomery County, and a new proposed outfall into the West Fork San Jacinto River. This project proposes to remove the 100-year floodplain inundation area from 62 structures and provide capacity for future City of Houston local neighborhood drainage improvements which will benefit an additional estimated 586 structures (295 structures and 291 structures from Ben’s Branch Diversion and Ben’s Branch, respectively). The proposed improvements also provide increased flood protection for Kingwood High School and the Saint Martha Catholic School. This mitigation project is a good use of taxpayer because it will prevent future flooding and by dedicating resources to flood mitigation, we will avoid spending on other more costly post-disaster recovery programs.
Link to Member Certification Form
W140 Detention Basin Improvement Project
Recipient: Memorial City Redevelopment Authority
Address: P.O. Box 22167, Houston, Texas 77227
Amount: $3.394 million
Purpose: The request is for $3.394 million to improve and deepen an existing detention basin located in Memorial City and to extend stormwater improvements along adjacent roads (Windhover, Westview, Cedardale, and Demaret) to better connect area stormwater management infrastructure. The purpose of the project is to mitigate structural and roadway flooding and reduce floodwater related non-point source pollution. Preliminary engineering for the project is completed. The W140 Detention Basin Improvements Project will provide a level of protection against severe rain events for the community. This protection will be provided in the form of stormwater capture to prevent structural and roadway flooding and a reduction in non-point source pollutants from flood events. These non-point source pollutants result from structural and private property flooding and include pollutants such as oil, grease, debris, and other contaminants. If flooding is not mitigated and if there is no capture mechanism for these pollutants, these items end up in local watersheds and ultimately in Galveston Bay. This mitigation project is a good use of taxpayer because it will prevent future flooding and by dedicating resources to flood mitigation, we will avoid spending on other more costly post-disaster recovery programs.
Link to Member Certification Form
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements
Recipient: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77092
Amount: $1.6 million
Purpose: This project allows for engineering of storm water channel improvements in a gully in Kingwood. The upper portion of Taylor Gully was determined to be insufficient with a large number of structures subject to flooding upstream of Rustling Elms Drive. To provide a 100-year level of service for Taylor Gully, two miles of conveyance improvements are recommended from the upper limits of the channel to an existing channel drop structure located near Maple Bend Drive. Taylor Gully channel improvements include maintaining the existing top of banks, and constructing a concrete 20 foot by 6 foot (max) low flow channel section. The reduction in water surface elevations from the proposed improvements results in the removal of the 100-year floodplain inundation area from 387 structures and provides capacity for future City of Houston local neighborhood drainage improvements that could benefit an additional 62 structures. This mitigation project is a good use of taxpayer because it will prevent future flooding and by dedicating resources to flood mitigation, we will avoid spending on other more costly post-disaster recovery programs.
Link to Member Certification Form
TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin Project
Recipient: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77092
Amount: $15 million
Purpose: This request is for TC Jester Detention Basin, which is a stormwater detention mitigation project within the Cypress Creek Watershed that is intended to address current flood damage reduction needs within the Cypress Creek Watershed. The benefit of this project is to mitigate the risk of future riverine flooding in the project area by providing a storm water detention basin that will retain storm runoff and reduce the limits of the floodplain and lower the water level within the floodplain. There are approximately 2689 structures located in the 100-year existing floodplains that are at risk of experiencing inundation due to riverine flooding. This proposed project will utilize an existing Harris County detention pond with an additional 0.18 acres of wetlands to create a basin footprint of 25 acres. The proposed project will mitigate against the risk of flooding by creating a detention basin to capture the overbank volume in the project area. The proposed detention basin will achieve a maximum water surface elevation reduction of 0.49 feet for the 100-year storm event. This proposed project will remove 87 structures from the existing 100-year floodplain. When complete, the full detention basin will remove 271 structures from the existing floodplain. This mitigation project is a good use of taxpayer because it will prevent future flooding and by dedicating resources to flood mitigation, we will avoid spending on other more costly post-disaster recovery programs.
Link to Member Certification Form
Westador Stormwater Detention Basin Project
Recipient: Harris County Flood Control District
Address: 9900 Northwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77092
Amount: $8.25 million
Purpose: The Westador Basin is a stormwater detention mitigation project within the Cypress Creek Watershed that is intended to address current flood damage reduction needs within the Cypress Creek Watershed. The benefit of this project is to mitigate the risk of future riverine flooding in the project area by providing a storm water detention basin that will retain storm runoff and reduce the limits of the floodplain and lower the water level within the floodplain. The proposed project is a functionally independent Phase I of a multi-phase project to bring significant flood risk-reduction to this area. The proposed project will mitigate against the risk of flooding by creating a detention basin to capture the overbank volume in the area. This plan provides the opportunity to remove 128 structures from the existing 100-year floodplain. This mitigation project is a good use of taxpayer because it will prevent future flooding and by dedicating resources to flood mitigation, we will avoid spending on other more costly post-disaster recovery programs.
Link to Member Certification Form
Project Sponsor: City of Houston – Houston Public Works
Project Name: Clay Road Bridge Reconstruction Project
Project Location: Houston, TX
Requested Amount: $9,929,577