Project Description
The Carpenters Bayou Watershed Planning Project, which was completed in 2021, investigated flooding problems and evaluated and recommended potential projects to reduce the risk of flooding in the watershed. The planning study was funded by the 2018 Bond Program, Bond ID F-124. The resulting Carpenters Bayou Watershed Plan made recommendations for major stormwater infrastructure improvements in the watershed.
In 2021, the Flood Control District was awarded $9.4 million in grant funding for construction of a flood risk reduction project in the Cloverleaf area of the watershed, as recommended in the Carpenters Bayou Watershed Plan. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation program (CDBG-MIT) through the Texas General Land Office and Harris County Community Services Department.
The grant will fund a portion of the Cloverleaf Area Drainage Improvements Project (N100-00-00-E001) identified as Part 1, which will improve the internal drainage systems and related infrastructure that convey stormwater from the Cloverleaf subdivision to Carpenters Bayou. Part 1 of the project includes construction of a storm sewer box along Nancy Rose Street between Hillsboro Street and Alderson Street and construction of a storm sewer box along Hillsboro Street between Nancy Rose Street and the Sam Houston Tollway. Part 1 also includes desilting, regrading and/or resizing roadside drainage ditches on Alderson, Force, Gainesville, and Longview streets between Hollywood Street to the west and Sam Houston Tollway to the east to increase stormwater carrying capacity and reduce street flooding in the area.
As of summer 2023, the project team has completed the Preliminary Engineering stage and the Design stage for Part 1 of the project area. Construction of Part 1 is expected to begin in fall 2023 and last approximately 12 months. The Design stage for Part 2 of the project is expected to begin in early 2024.
About Drainage Jurisdiction
The Flood Control District works with other agencies and shares jurisdiction over flooding issues in Harris County. Inside neighborhoods, internal drainage systems include underground storm sewer systems and roadside ditches, and are typically the responsibility of the underlying municipality, utility district and/or Harris County in unincorporated areas of the county.
The larger bayous and channels that take the collected stormwater and move it through the drainage system to Galveston Bay are the responsibility of the Flood Control District, and sometimes these drainage systems are constructed by the Flood Control District. In some instances, like this project, the Flood Control District leads the effort on drainage system improvements.