HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Harris County began work on a $13.3 million project to lower the risk of future flooding in the neighborhoods around Addicks Reservoir in Northwest Harris County on Monday.
The plan, which Harris County Commissioners approved on January 30, calls for removing silt from the channels of Horsepen Creek, Bear Creek, Langham Creek and a Langham Creek tributary east of Bear Creek Village, which feed into the reservoir.
The money will also go toward repairing the channels to their original, pre-erosion conditions.
Rob Lazaro, Communications Officer for Harris County Flood Control District, says crews are starting work along Horsepen Creek because that project has cleared the planning stages and is shovel-ready, and with another hurricane season just weeks away, county officials don’t want to delay the work any longer than necessary.
“We’ve had this on the radar even before Harvey,” said Lazaro.
Lazaro said Harvey and the Tax Day floods dumped record levels of sediment into the channels leading into the federal reservoir. He says repair on the four watersheds was fast-tracked among the 22 total watersheds that HCFCD gets $60 million per year to maintain.
“We were able to prioritize this one because of all of the impacts of Harvey,” said Lazaro.
That sediment within the channels blocks the water’s flow into Addicks Reservoir and can back it up into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Freddie Lee, who has lived near Horsepen Creek for 31 years, had water nearly reach his front porch during Harvey.
“We were on an island for about a week,” said Lee, who rode out the storm with his wife inside of their home.
Like other residents in the area KHOU has spoken with, Lee says he wants to see repairs before the next heavy rain event threatens his home.
“If you’re gonna live in Houston, Texas, you should worry about things like that cause it’ll come back again,” said Lee.
Lazaro says it should take six to eight months to de-silt and repair Horsepen Creek. He says work on the other three channels is still in the planning phase.