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.