C-34 Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin

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Recent Actions

January 10, 2023 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized the Flood Control District to accept a $10,264,846 grant from the Texas Water Development Board and Natural Resource Conservation Service, with a required local match of $12,283,623.

September 13, 2022 – Harris County Commissioners Court approved an escrow agreement with a bank in connection with Texas Water Development Board grant funds for this project.

August 23, 2022 – Harris County Commissioners Court awarded a construction contract in the amount of $22,548,469 in support of Phase 2 construction activities in support of this project.

June 28, 2022 - Harris County Commissioners Court took notice that the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin Phase 2 Compartment 1 project has been scheduled to advertise for construction bidding.

March 8, 2022 - Harris County Commissioners Court acknowledged substantial completion of Phase I construction of this project.

March 8, 2022 - Harris County Commissioners Court approved submittal of an application to the Texas Water Development Board for $10,445,000 in grant funds with a required local match of $22,089,062 in support of this project.

February 22, 2022 – Harris County Commissioners Court approved a $163,970 agreement for materials engineering and testing services in support of this project.

February 8, 2022 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized a change in contract resulting in the addition of $33,866 to the contract amount for construction stage services in support of this project.

December 14, 2021 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized negotiations with an engineering firm to provide materials engineering and testing services.

November 30, 2021 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized a $186,196 utility adjustment agreement in support of this project.

October 26, 2021 - Harris County Commissioners Court authorized a grant application to the Texas Water Development Board in the amount of $1,297,422, with a required local match of $11,676,801, in support of this project.

April 27, 2021 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized an additional $150,000 for engineering services to support construction of this project.

March 9, 2021 – Harris County Commissioners Court accepted the Preliminary Engineering Report and authorized the design and construction of phase 2 of the stormwater detention basin.

May 19, 2020 – Harris County Commissioners Court approved updates to project details in the 2018 Bond Program List. Update changes funding to reflect amount secured through NRCS Pilot Program. Additionally, a $176,564 agreement was authorized for materials engineering and testing services in support of this project.

April 28, 2020 – Harris County Commissioners Court approved a $15,744,721 agreement with an engineering firm for construction in support of Phase 1 of this project.

April 7, 2020 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized negotiations with an engineering firm for materials engineering and testing services for Phase 1 of this project.

March 10, 2020 - Harris County Commissioners Court approved an agreement between Harris County Community Services and the Flood Control District authorizing the use of 2017 Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program funds in support of this project.

October 29, 2019 – Harris County Commissioners Court approved an agreement for an amount not to exceed $1,395,000 with an engineering firm for preliminary design and bidding phase engineering services for construction on Phase 2 of this project.

July 30, 2019 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized the acquisition of a tract of land in the Castlewood Subdivision in support of this project.

June 25, 2019 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized negotiations with an engineering firm for design, bidding and construction stage engineering services in connection with Phase 2 of this project.

May 14, 2019 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized the purchase of wetlands mitigation credits from the Greens Bayou Wetlands Mitigation Bank in support of Phase 1 of this project.

January 8, 2018 – Harris County Commissioners Court authorized an additional $130,000 in engineering services for hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and design, bidding and construction phase engineering services in support of this project.

Project Description

Bond Project C-34 will construct a two-phase stormwater detention basin to reduce the risk of flooding in the mid-reach stretch of Greens Bayou by taking in excess stormwater during heavy rain events and then releasing it slowly back to the channel when the threat of flooding has passed. Phase I, located on a 91-acre site, holds over 588 acre-feet, or almost 192 million gallons, of stormwater. Together, the two phases are anticipated to hold at least 1,200 acre-feet, or 391 million gallons, of excess stormwater that might otherwise flood homes and businesses.

Phase I is wet-bottom stormwater detention basin, with a permanent pool, island, and features designed to improve stormwater quality. The basin design preserves an approximately 200-foot-wide wooded area along Greens Bayou, as well as a tree buffer along the east side of the site. Phase II will be a dry bottom stormwater detention basin constructed in two compartments. A remnant channel, or “oxbow,” in Phase II will be recreated at the bottom of the basin. Additional trees will be planted post-construction. While the stormwater detention basin’s primary function is to reduce flooding risks, the site will be available for appropriate recreational development by other entities.

Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Program
This project is part of the Greens Mid-Reach Program. As originally envisioned, the Greens Mid-Reach Program is a several-hundred-million-dollar effort focused on the area from Veterans Memorial Drive downstream to JFK Boulevard. The Flood Control District began implementing this vision in the 2000s to bring much-needed flood risk reduction to residents along Greens Bayou.

In total, the original Greens Mid-Reach Program proposes 11 miles of channel conveyance improvements and 10,500 acre-feet of stormwater storage through five stormwater detention basins to mitigate the increased flow of water and prevent any regional impacts. As of July 2022, 8,200 acre-feet of the required stormwater detention has already been completed or is currently under construction, including Bond Project C-33, the Aldine Westfield Stormwater Detention Basin, and Bond Project C-34, the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin. The Glen Forest Stormwater Detention Basin and the Kuykendahl Stormwater Detention Basin are fully constructed and the and the fifth Hardy Stormwater Detention Basin is still in early feasibility.

The Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Program is a long-term commitment to improving flood resiliency for area residents, and the Flood Control District is dedicated to that vision. Work funded through the 2018 Bond Program will take a great leap forward in realizing this vision, and more work will continue to be phased in even after the projects included in the 2018 Bond Program are complete.

Location

The Phase I site is bordered by Greens Bayou on the north, Lauder Road on the south, the neighborhood property line west of Green Teal Lane on the east, and Tributary P138-01-00 on the west.

The Phase II site is located on the property of the former Castlewood Subdivision, Sections 1 and 2.

Stage

Phase I is COMPLETE.

Phase II is CONSTRUCTION and construction of compartment one is expected to begin in 2022 and construction of compartment two is expected to begin in 2024.

History

Sections of the Castlewood subdivision were built in the early 1960s in an area that is not only within the Greens Bayou floodplain, but also in a former floodway of Greens Bayou before the bayou was rerouted and straightened in the early 20th Century.

Development occurred many years before the advent of Harris County’s first floodplain maps and associated development regulations in the 1980s. Since the late 1970s, there have been more than a dozen recorded flood events in the area. The original Lauder basin site was purchased by the Flood Control District as undeveloped land in 2000.

Castlewood (Sections 1 & 2) Community - Property Acquisition

Plans for the Lauder basin originally included only the original 90-acre site on the east side. However, to address persistent flooding, the Flood Control District conducted several voluntary home buyouts in the Castlewood (Sections 1 & 2) subdivision to the west, and included this area in the basin expansion effort. Eventually, the Flood Control District proceeded with a mandatory property acquisition plan to purchase the remaining properties in Castlewood Sections 1 & 2, which is located north of Tributary P138-00-00.

Bond Project Listing

The Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin project is being funded both through the Flood Control District's Capital Improvements Program (for design) and through the 2018 Bond Program (for construction). Total allocation for all future stages and phases of Bond Project C-34 on the Bond Project List is currently $38 million, of which approximately $25 million would be partnership funding, if granted, and $13.6 million would be local costs.

The Flood Control District has received an $11.5 million grant from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and a $2.2 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board’s (TWDB) Flood Infrastructure Fund program.

Additionally, the Flood Control District has been aggressively pursuing multiple grant opportunities for all elements of the Greens Mid-Reach Program, including a grant application to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) for Community Development Block Grant for Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding in October 2020 in the amount of about $60 million. While that specific application was not awarded, as of December 2021, Harris County is continuing to work with the GLO on a potential $750 million commitment of CDBG-MIT funding, and the Greens Mid-Reach Program is currently well positioned to be a recipient of a portion of those funds, should they be approved by GLO and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Project Photos

**C-34:** Construction activity in Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin

Virtual Community Engagement Meeting

A virtual public meeting was held about this project.

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Community Engagement Meeting

A Community Engagement Meeting for this project was held at: BakerRipley East Aldine Campus, 3000 Aldine Mail Route Road, Suite A, Houston Texas 77039

Date: June 26, 2019