COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONTINUES
In the months before the bond election, the Flood Control District hosted 23 Community Engagement Meetings for each of Harris County’s watersheds, to gather public input about potential projects. The meetings were attended by approximately 3,800 residents, as well as public officials and other interested parties, and resulted in 38 additions to the list of flood damage reduction projects – 237 projects in all – that could be funded with bond proceeds, as well as hundreds of other useful comments and requests for service.
Now that the bonds have passed, opportunities for further community engagement will be available for each project. As part of the preliminary engineering process conducted near the beginning of each project’s development stage, and prior to a formal Preliminary Engineering Report being presented to Commissioners Court for approval, the Flood Control District will conduct a public meeting in a primary project watershed to solicit public comments about the project.
A limited number of projects in the Bond Program had already progressed past the Preliminary Engineering stage prior to the Bond Election in August 2018. In order to avoid delays and accelerate flood risk reduction projects that are already in final design, we will continue to apprise the public about the progress of these projects via direct mail and website updates that provide information about the construction schedule and other important details.