2 Years After Harvey, Houston Gets Grants For Flood Mitigation

HOUSTON, TX — Houston has been awarded the first set of federal grants for flood mitigation nearly two years after Hurricane Harvey devasted the city.

City officials announced news of the FEMA grants on Friday, which will be used to build large-scale flood mitigation projects in areas hit by the record-high rainfall during Harvey. Houston will get funding for the first phase of two projects — the $46.9 million Inwood Forest Stormwater Detention Basin and the $47.1 million Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project.

In a press release, city officials said they began filing paperwork for the grant program in the first half of 2018 after Congress appropriated disaster releif and recovery funds for the 2017 hurricanes.

"This is a breakthrough moment for the City and one we have been waiting for very patiently," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in the press release. "Houston has bounced back from Harvey, but we need the federal government as a full partner as we work to prevent flooding from the next storms that will surely come."

For the Inwood project, FEMA is providing 75 percent of the funds, the state will provide nearly 19 percent of the funding and the rest will be covered by local funds from the city and the Harris County flood control.

The Lone Star college system (Kingwood), the Clear Creek Independent school system and the Texas Department of Transportation are also received $11.5 million from FEMA for "emergency protective measures" in parts of the city that flooded during Harvey.

Below is more information on the two projects provided by the city:

Inwood Project

The Inwood project will protect over 4,400 structures in the White Oak Bayou and Vogel Creek watersheds. The City and county aim to build 12 floodwater detention basins to hold a total of about 1,200 acre-feet of water (roughly 592 Olympic swimming pools, or enough water to fill the Astrodome).The City and the flood control district acquired the former golf course in 2011 as a potential flood mitigation facility.The initial Inwood project grant is $2.8 million for design and opens the door for the city to later receive $44 million for construction, with a goal of completion by 2022. The project would take seven or eight years without federal funding.

Lake Houston Dam Project

The Lake Houston Dam project will add 10 gates to the dam to allow for larger controlled releases of water in advance of heavy rains, protecting about 35,000 residents and 5,000 structures. The FEMA grant provides $4.3 million for the initial phase and positions the city to receive $42.7 million for construction, with a goal of completion by 2022.