Harris County Approves $2.5 Billion Flood Control Bond
On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on the Texas coast, voters in Harris County, Texas, approved a $2.5 billion bond proposition to fund flood-mitigation efforts. The bond includes 237 flood control projects and marks the county’s largest ever local investment in flood infrastructure. The proposition passed with an approval of 85.64% of voters out of approximately 94,940 votes.
In the flood infrastructure bond proposal, $1.2 billion is earmarked for channel improvements, $401 million for detention basins and $242 million for floodplain-land acquisition. Projects include channel modifications, storm water detention basins, drainage infrastructure, sediment removal, voluntary buyouts and wetland restoration, as reported by the Houston Business Journal.
While the bond results in a property tax increase of 2 to 3 cents per $100 of assessed value over the 10- to 15- year life of the bond, the bond faced a majority approval. This would mean approximately $5 per year in property taxes for each taxpayer, according to the Associated Press.
“Harris County residents have put their trust in the Flood Control District,” said District Executive Director Russ Poppe. “We plan to work extremely hard and efficiently to turn the financial resources made available as a result of this election into the reality of reduced flooding risks.”
Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall on the Texas coast Aug. 25, 2017, prompting calls for additional flood mitigation measures as many of the Houston area homes hit during the storm were not in designated flood plains.