Editor’s note: The original story misstated the source of funding and management for Harris County’s subdivision drainage projects. The story has been updated to reflect a 2021 decision by Commissioners Court to move responsibility for those projects to the county engineer’s office.
Harris County Commissioners Court has ordered an analysis of all subdivision drainage improvement projects after the county engineer said this year’s funding for those originally promised through the 2018 flood bond would fall short by $130 million.
Court members last Thursday admonished County Engineer Milton Rahman over the shortfall and ordered him to return to court later with a recommendation for “using any and all county resources” to close the funding gap. The analysis is to be conducted by the engineer, budget and county administration offices, as well as the Harris County Flood Control District.
Voters in 2018 approved a $2.5 billion bond measure to help finance flood control projects across Harris County’s 23 watersheds. To date, 42 of 181 bond-funded projects have been completed, according to the flood control district, including new stormwater detention basins and channel improvements.
The subdivision drainage program initially was a part of the bond program, but Commissioners Court removed it and placed its funding and management under the county engineer’s office in April 2021.
The drainage improvements are meant to improve infrastructure — such as underground storm sewer systems and roadside ditches — that direct stormwater from neighborhoods to the bayous and drainage channels maintained by the Flood Control District.
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Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Thursday said most of the subdivision drainage projects identified as short of funding were in his precinct. He asked Rahman if his office had followed the framework adopted by the court in 2019 — and revamped in 2022 — to ensure that a variety of socioeconomic factors, including poverty and education level, are taken into account when deciding the priority of projects, instead of relying solely on a neighborhood’s flooding history.
“When I look at the list, there were projects that were done … that ranked lower than projects you did,” Ellis said. “You said you didn’t have enough money, but you didn’t follow the prioritization framework that was put in place.”
Rahman disagreed with Ellis “a little bit,” saying each project has a different timeline when it comes to design, bidding and permitting and that some will move faster than others.
“If we had to wait for the highest ranked project and that project takes four or five years to get the permits ready, then all of the other projects would be sitting there,” Rahman said.
Ellis said that he would be hesitant to ever support a flood bond again, a sentiment he previously has voiced.
“It would be very challenging to go to voters in Precinct 1 and ask them to trust the county again,” Ellis said. “Even to trust me. This is an abomination.”
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The subdivision drainage projects have been plagued with financial difficulties since the bond first was passed.
Initially, the county engineer’s office identified 91 drainage-related projects and estimated a cost of $451 million.
After the department conducted more comprehensive studies in 2021, the expected cost rose to $590 million.
Rahman, who was appointed county engineer in January 2022, said COVID also had an impact as the construction industry saw costs rise by about a third due to pandemic-related inflation.
Updated rainfall estimates by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also led to increased costs because some projects had to be redesigned to adjust to the higher rainfall numbers, Rahman said.
The engineering department is now in the final designs of some of the projects, Rahman said.
“We realized as we started building more and more projects out that there is no way the funding available is enough,” he said.
Rahman said his department told Commissioners Court in February 2023 that rising costs meant only 57 of the 91 proposed subdivision drainage projects could move forward.
An additional 13 projects were put on hold because of “noncooperating partners,” he said, bringing the total down to 44.
County Administrator Diana Ramirez said she first was notified of the latest funding issue about a month ago. She said her office, along with county Budget Director Daniel Ramos, began having conversations with the county engineer’s office to “figure out how we can avoid this in the future.”
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, whose jurisdiction had the most projects canceled by flood control in 2023, called the latest shortfall a “major crisis.”
“I sense no urgency from the county engineer’s office and I don’t sense any urgency from the county administrator,” he said. “Everybody is trying to find an excuse for the problem and we need to fix the problem and fund the projects.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said she was “shocked” at the engineering department’s update and said the county needs to be held accountable.
“This is a substantial shortfall,” Briones said. “When we say something, we mean it. So, we need you to deliver. Otherwise, we need fundamental changes and we need the right people in the room to be able to deliver it.”
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