Community Services Program

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Community services program

Community and Natural Values

The mission of the Harris County Flood Control District is to provide flood damage reduction projects that work, with appropriate regard for community and natural values. Through its Open Space Program, the Flood Control District is able to further its commitment to the Harris County community by partnering with residents to beautify our neighborhoods and public areas.

Opportunities In Your Neighborhood With The Open Space Program

Open Space is a valued commodity in our busy, thriving communities, and finding it has become more difficult as once rural parts of Harris County become urbanized. Parks and recreation amenities are in demand in neighborhoods throughout the county, and the Harris County Flood Control District offers a unique opportunity to meet this need through its Open Space Program. Open spaces are often created from the Flood Control District’s Voluntary Home Buyout Program in which homes located in a floodplain that repeatedly flood are voluntarily purchased and demolished to ensure they will never flood again. The lots, which are owned and maintained by the Flood Control District, remain as open space and are mowed eight times a year during the growing season.

Typically located in residential neighborhoods, these lots have the potential to benefit area residents by serving as individual vegetable or flower gardens and sites for recreation. Individuals or groups can enter in agreements with the Flood Control District to landscape and/or maintain these open spaces or to develop park-like areas.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering provides individuals and groups the satisfaction of giving back to their communities. The Flood Control District’s volunteer programs positively impact neighborhoods, the environment and many areas along Harris County’s extensive bayou and stormwater detention basin systems. The Flood Control District offers various volunteer opportunities that are coordinated through the Community Services Section in the Infrastructure Division's Property Management Department.