The Harris County Flood Control District is pleased to announce a nearly $9.8 million award in federal funding from FEMA to restore capacity to channels that flow into Barker Reservoir, damaged as a direct result of Hurricane Harvey. The Hurricane deposited large quantities of sand and sediment along the banks and within the channels throughout Barker Reservoir Watershed Conveyance Channels.
The Flood Control District will oversee repairs to the drainage system to restore the infrastructure back to pre-disaster design, capacity, and function by removing more than 200,000 cubic yards of sand and sediment. That’s enough to fill roughly 20,000 dump trucks.
“The sediment removal in Barker Reservoir will have a significant positive impact and we are eager to get this project into design and construction,” said Matt Zeve, Flood Control District Deputy Executive Director. “The federal cost share for this project is 90 percent, which allows our local taxpayer dollars to go further,” he continued.
Due to legislation passed in 2019 which established the Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund – Hurricane Harvey Account, the State of Texas is also expected to reimburse 75 percent of the Flood Control District’s local match.
This notification for sediment removal in the Barker watershed is the first of several across the county. The Flood Control District has been coordinating with TDEM and FEMA. In total, nearly $250 million is anticipated across eight watersheds for removal of sediment as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
Work on this project is slated to begin as early as next year.