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Our Organization
Organization of the Harris County Flood Control District
The first chart below shows the reporting structure of the Harris County Flood Control District under Commissioners Court. The District is a "special purpose" district that is overseen by the Harris County Commissioners Court, the "board of directors," if you will.
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Harris County Public Infrastructure Dept.
Organizational Chart
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The Harris County Flood Control District is organized into four primary divisions to carry out our mission: Communications, Administrative Services, Operations and Infrastructure. Click on the appropriate link to learn about each of our divisions and the departments within each division.
Harris County Flood Control District
Organizational Chart
> Click to view
DIRECTOR
The Director oversees and manages the all of the District's business, with respect to overall management and guidance regarding policies. The Director routinely reports matters of business to the Executive Director and represents the interests of the District as it relates to other public works and infrastructure entities.
LEGAL
Legal review of District business is performed by the County Attorney's Office. Typical business items requiring legal review include: Inter-governmental agreements, professional and personal services agreements, property lease and maintenance agreements and agreements with not-for-profit entities.
COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
The Communications Division provides information about the District and on-going work sponsored by the District to the general public, organized citizen groups, employees of public and private entities, non-profit organizations, the news media and the offices of appointed and elected officials at all levels of government.
The Communications staff is responsible for developing and implementing the District's Public Awareness Program, including the development of the District's website and other project level websites. Other responsibilities include production of District-sponsored publications, presentations and public meetings, video production and multi-media educational content tailored for a variety of audiences.
Project Coordination
Project Coordination within the Communications Division consist of four Project Coordinators, one for each Harris County Precinct, that are responsible for providing a communication link between the District and each precinct office on District sponsored work and citizen inquiries. The District's Director of Communications serves as liaison to the County Judge's office to provide a similar link between the District and the Judge's office for communication on countywide activities and citizen inquiries. Project Coordinators are involved with project level presentations and public meetings as well as meetings and activities sponsored by each of the respective precinct offices.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIVISION
Administrative Services is comprised of four departments. These departments are financial, personnel, office and information services. This division provides major support functions for all District services.
Financial Services
The Financial Services Department is responsible for monitoring and controlling funds to implement District programs. Records of all general and capital project fund revenues and expenditures are maintained, which includes our Operations and Infrastructure Divisions, along with privatized programs such as surveying, maintenance support projects and engineering services contracts. The Financial Services Department processes requests for budgeted items through purchase orders and requests for payments. Budget requests are compiled and evaluated for department managers. An inventory system monitors and tracks items such as equipment and vehicles. The department also is responsible for receiving and processing invoices submitted by vendors.
Information Services
The Information Services Department is responsible for the design, implementation, management and support of all internal computer-related functions. This includes acquisition or internal development of custom applications and databases, and hardware (including user workstations, network equipment, cabling, and servers). Support staff are available to assist District staff with existing equipment, application use, database support, and design of any new databases or applications.
Geographic Information Systems
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Section develops and maintains geographic and spatial data to simplify and streamline District functions and to provide new analytical tools to aid in accomplishing District goals. GIS is heavily utilized to deliver information to the public-at-large, and GIS plays a pivotal role in development of all District programs and projects. Virtually all data of interest by the District can be or is associated with a specific location on the ground, making GIS a strong tool for the District.
Office Services
The Office Services Department is responsible for the operation of normal office business functions at the Flood Control District headquarters and two satellite locations. Office Services is also responsible for greeting visitors at District headquarters and directing them to the appropriate department. Each day, mail and packages are received and scanned for processing and distributing throughout the District. Office equipment, furniture, supplies, cellular telephones and EZ tags are managed and purchased as needed. Vehicles in the motor pool are maintained and daily vehicle information is maintained. Commissioners Court letters and agendas are reviewed, prepared and distributed to District management. Office Services is also responsible for maintaining records for storage and retrieval and operation of all office telephone systems.
Personnel Services
The Personnel Services Department is responsible for recruiting, screening and evaluating qualified applicants. Statistical information and records pertaining to new hires, promotions, terminations and other personnel actions are maintained and management reports are generated. The salary budget request is also prepared on an annual basis. Payrolls are produced on a biweekly schedule and various expenditure and cost accounting reports are prepared. The Safety Section of Personnel Services develops and conducts training programs to promote safety awareness and reduce workplace accidents, both office- or field-related. Job duties are analyzed and personal protective equipment is made available. The Employee Benefits Program is also administered by Personnel Services. Information regarding insurance for medical, vision, dental, long-term disability and life is provided by Personnel Services. In addition, the Employee Assistance Program, deferred compensation and retirement plans are administered by Personnel Services.
OPERATIONS DIVISION
The Operations Division directly sustains the District's mission of providing flood damage reduction projects that work, with appropriate regard for community and natural values. The Operations Division accomplishes this by providing the functions and departmental structure to devise and implement the stormwater management plans. The Director of Operations reports to the District's Director on activities taking place in the offices of the Chief Engineer, the Engineering & Construction Manager, the Environmental Services Manager, the Planning Manager, the Watershed Coordination Manager, and the Home Buyout Manager.
Office of the Chief Engineer
The Chief Engineer provides institutional knowledge and is a technical resource in accomplishing the District's mission as it relates to technical criteria, devising stormwater management plans and implementing those plans. The Chief Engineer serves as the District's representative to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Chief Engineer chairs the Engineer's Review Board, which provides guidance and oversight for implementation of District projects. The Chief Engineer also serves as the manager of the District's Flood Watch and Information Program, which monitors, evaluates and reports on actual flood events in coordination with Harris County's Office of Emergency Management.
Planning
The Planning Department identifies flood damage reduction needs and produces planning studies to satisfy the District's mission as it relates to devising flood damage reduction plans. Devising plans involves identifying countywide needs for flood damage reduction by gathering historical flooding data and working with hydrologic and hydraulic models to define areas that are at risk of flooding. Once problem areas are identified, the Planning Department produces project-specific and/or watershed-based studies that recommend flood damage reduction strategies for the streams and bayous in the County. The Planning Department looks for opportunities for funding partners at the Local, State and Federal levels. The Planning Department also provides technical support to the District and meets the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) requirements for District projects.
Environmental Services
The Environmental Services Department executes that part of the mission relating to community and natural values. This department develops environmental policy recommendations for consideration by District management and implements environmental measures consistent with adopted policy and in compliance with federal and state regulations. Environmental Services seeks to assimilate best management practices into the design, construction and maintenance of projects so that each has minimal environmental impact and maximum public acceptance.
Programming & Scheduling
The Engineering & Construction Department consists of the Project Management, Construction Management, and Graphics Sections. The Engineering & Construction Department provides for continuity and coordination among these departments. Project management consists of preparation of project design and construction documents, bidding projects for construction and providing technical support during the construction phase of each project. Construction management consists of construction administration and inspection services on federal and local capital projects, as well as maintenance engineering projects. Engineering & Construction also provides administrative and office management functions to support the activities of each department as well as computer automated drafting, Geographic Information System (GIS) applications and other general graphics support.
Admin. Information & Capital Projects
The Admin. Information and Capital Projects sections provide public engagement, scheduling, budgeting, reporting and cash flow functions in support of the District's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and serve as a central point of contact for both internal and external information related to the CIP. General functions include managing the District's public engagement program in support of plan formulation and execution process, responding to public inquires concerning capital projects, establishing and maintaining the necessary funding to keep projects moving, monitoring projects and associated expenditures, and reporting on the progress of projects.
Watershed Coordination
The Watershed Coordination Department strives to bring the "big picture" together for each watershed. This includes working with other governmental agencies on their capital improvement projects and reviewing private sector development plans for compliance with the District's adopted design criteria, regional programs and rights-of-way needs. The Watershed Coordination Department works closely with the Harris County Engineering Department, specifically the Development Planning Section, Development Projects Section and the Permit Division, to become more efficient at reviewing and processing construction plans, plats and other technical submittals.
INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION
The Infrastructure Division provides the functions and departmental structure to achieve one of the three objectives stated in the District's mission. This objective is maintaining the infrastructure. The Infrastructure Division is comprised of four departments and associated support services. The departments are Maintenance Engineering, Property Management, Facilities Maintenance and Fleet Management.
Office Management
Office Management provides clerical assistance for the Infrastructure Division by processing invoices and pay estimates, as well as preparing Service Contracts, various agreements, correspondence and purchase requisitions.
Property Management
The Property Management Department is responsible for the management of all District real property and associated buildings, otherwise known as "property." The Department has four sections that manage the District's property, the majority of which is channel right-of-way.
Facility Management
The Facility Management Section evaluates and establishes plans for over 30,000 acres of land throughout the County. Evaluations are based on information collected by regular field inspections by Property Managers and Outfield Data Collectors and from service requests generated by contacting the Citizen Service Center. The evaluations are used to determine short and long term plans for the property. These plans are forwarded to the Facilities Maintenance Department, the Maintenance Engineering Department, or another appropriate department for execution. To report an area of concern, contact the Citizen Service Center. Before contacting, see the Maintenance & Service Requests FAQs.
Community Services
The Community Services Section focuses on the management and promotion of property agreements and leases (from trails to adopt-a-lots to commercial leases) and by managing the District's buyout lots within neighborhoods. This section markets District property to entities that might sponsor multiple uses that can improve quality of life. The Community Services Section also interacts directly with the public by coordinating volunteer wildflower and tree planting efforts and by producing Division publications such as quarterly newsletters.
Property Rights
The Property Rights Section tracks the various property interests affecting the District by mapping and maintaining a database of those interests. The Property Rights Section also coordinates rights-of-way acquisitions with other District departments and other entities, including the State, Harris County, various cities, utility districts, and developers.
Development Coordination/Inspection
The Development Coordination and Inspection Section tracks, monitors, inspects, and documents construction activity in District rights-of-way. This section also identifies potential threats to the property by development and ensures that new property accepted into the District inventory meets guidelines relating to its management and maintenance. This section also provides review of developer and public agency projects that are proposed in District right-of-way. This section ultimately accepts new facilities into the system.
Facilities Maintenance
The Facilities Maintenance Department manages cyclic maintenance activities on over 17,000 acres of District right-of-way. In order to accomplish the many maintenance tasks throughout the county, the Facilities Maintenance Department utilizes the services of both in-house and contract labor crews. By coordinating these services, the department is able to reduce costs, increase productivity, and ensure responsiveness to citizen concerns and emergency situations. In-house crews operate out of two service center locations, and have specially trained crews capable of completing tasks contractors have in the past been unable or unwilling to perform. The contract forces are procured through the public bidding process and are managed using department contract inspectors. Contractors are required to follow strict specifications set-out in the written contract.
Vegetation Management
Vegetation management is a cost effective means of maintaining storm water conveyance, stream bank integrity, and, when possible, can help to preserve and enhance the environment which all serves to benefit the community. Vegetation management includes establishing, promoting, cutting, selectively clearing, and prudently applying herbicides in an integrated effort. The goal of the vegetation management program is to reduce the need for frequent, labor-intensive maintenance activities, thus reducing the maintenance burden on the District and the public.
Maintenance Engineering
The Maintenance Engineering Department is responsible for maintenance repairs of the District's vast open channel and detention facility infrastructure. The scope of the repair projects range from small storm sewer outfall repairs to major channel rehabilitations which include major Federal channel systems modified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Other responsibilities include maintenance of mechanical and electrical facilities owned by the District, which involve cathodic protection systems, stormwater flap gates and pumps.
Once a site is identified for repairs by our Property Management Department, the Department utilizes either its in-house staff of professional engineers or outside engineering consultants to devise repair solutions. This phase involves collection and interpretation of geotechnical and topographic survey data, hydraulic and structural design, environmental permitting and construction plan preparation and bidding to implement the project construction.
The number of sites identified to receive repairs is dependent on the funding available for the given fiscal year.
Maintenance Construction
The Maintenance Construction Group was created as the District's in-house construction force to handle small projects and emergency repairs. This group gives the District rapid response capabilities to perform small work requests.
The Maintenance Construction Group also acts as the District's water crew, offering expertise in clearing and removing log jams and debris from the County's larger natural channels.
Fleet Management
Fleet Management performs all activities that will effectively and economically meet the transportation requirements of the District. The goal of the Fleet Management program is to effectively manage equipment acquisitions and dispositions and to manage a comprehensive preventive maintenance program to extend life cycles and efficiency of all the District's equipment.
Distribution Center
The Distribution Center is the central facility for accepting and dispensing supplies, mechanical parts and other consumable items used by the District. A monthly reconciliation of transfers to other service centers is performed as a tool to track frequency of uses and balance inventories. Inventory levels are closely monitored to accommodate the seasonal nature of the District's field maintenance operation, its largest consumer. Periodic adjustments of minimum and maximum re-order quantities are made to reflect additions and deletions of particular fleet equipment. The focus of this department is to maintain a delicate balance between physical cycle counts and automated inventory ordering.
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Management Team
Mike Talbott
Director
Steve Fitzgerald
Chief Engineer
Joe Myers
Infrastructure Division Manager
Fred Garcia
Director of Communications
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