2018 Bond Program

Progress on the 2018 Bond Program Continues…

On August 25, 2018, Harris County voters approved $2.5 billion in bonds to finance flood damage reduction projects.

Using an objective process for prioritizing the bond projects, the Harris County Flood Control District has been working steadily to plan, design, and build these projects using bond funds while providing transparent project tracking of progress along the way

With many of the projects now underway, the 2018 Bond Program includes funding for more than $1.2 billion in channel conveyance improvements, $400 million for building stormwater detention basins, $242 million for floodplain land acquisition, $12.5 million for new floodplain mapping, and $1.25 million for improving our flood warning system.

When possible, Harris County Flood Control District will leverage the bond funding to participate in partnership programs that could bring in billions in additional partnership funding. The total estimated value of all projects included in the Bond Program is more than $4.8 billion.

In May 2020, Harris County Commissioners Court approved modifications to projects and details in the 2018 Bond Program List to include adding enhanced project benefit details, changes to funding amounts and sources, consolidating related project efforts, and adding four new bond projects. None of the Bond Projects that were approved by voters were removed from the list.

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.