Preparing Our Region For Future Events

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Preparing Our Region for Future Events

What is the role of the Harris County Flood Control District following this storm event?

In the coming days, weeks, and months, the Flood Control District team of engineers, scientists, surveyors, maintenance and construction crews, and technical experts will be working to address immediately needed infrastructure repairs, maintenance activities, and debris removal as a result of Hurricane Harvey. We will also continue to accomplish our mission by devising and implementing flood damage reduction plans in anticipation of new information collected during Harvey to apply to future storm event predictions. These flood damage plans could include the implementation of channel modifications, detention basins, and potential nonstructural flood mitigation tools (home elevations, voluntary home buyouts, etc.) to improve our region’s resiliency.

Harris County Flood Control District serves as the county’s local sponsor and cost-share partner for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects planned and designed to manage the county’s flood risk. Examples of federally funded flood damage reduction projects include the Sims Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project, the Greens Bayou Federal Flood Risk Management Project, and the Brays Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project (Project Brays), among many others, with the overall objective to reduce the impacts flooding within the various, respective watersheds in our county.

How is the Harris County Flood Control District partnering with other agencies to respond to Hurricane Harvey to prepare our region for future events?

The Harris County Flood Control District is working closely with our federal and local partners to develop a strategy to improve the region’s resilience. This includes the identification of opportunities for individual assistance available through Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Flood Insurance Program.

The Flood Control District is currently gaging interest in potential home buyout options for Harris County residents. More information will be made available to the public as the Flood Control District learns more about available funding to support a potential home buyout program. For the most immediate assistance regarding the Flood Control District’s Home Buyout Program, please complete and submit a Notice of Voluntary Interest form, and you will receive a response from the Flood Control District as soon as possible.

Examples of successful project derived from the Flood Control voluntary home buyout program include Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin, the Hall Park Stormwater Detention Basin, and the South Belt Stormwater Detention Basin where multiple levels of benefits were achieved for the region. Benefits of home buyout programs include:

Relocation of families to higher ground out of harm’s way
Elimination of future flood damages and health and safety risks for owners and rescuers
Reduction of repetitive subsidized flood insurance payments and federal disaster assistance
Restoration of area floodplain to its natural and beneficial function for stormwater storage
Creation of open space with the potential for community amenities (i.e. parks, gardens, playing fields, etc.).

While the Harris County Flood Control District acknowledges the incredible magnitude of Hurricane Harvey’s rainfall has an extremely low probability of occurring in any given year (less than 0.01 percent chance of annual occurrence), we are working closely with our many partner agencies and area floodplain administrators to learn from the devastating flooding experienced by our county and provide a more resilient region for the many generations to come.