The Houston-Galveston Area Council has conditionally allocated Liberty County $21.3 million for flood mitigation. The funds were part of $488 million in Community Development Block Grant mitigation funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Twelve of the 13 counties that make up the Houston-Galveston Area Council will receive their piece of the pie with the exception of Harris County. The lion’s share of the funding – $60.375 million will go to Montgomery County, followed by $56.03 million to Fort Bend County and $43.326 million to Brazoria County. Liberty County ranked fourth in the distribution of funds.
Liberty County Judge Jay Knight says the funding is the first step in developing an overall flood mitigation plan for the county.
“The first step will be to order a drainage study and then a drainage plan,” he said. The study will cost around $3 million and the plan will be another $15 million. The beauty of it is that we can approve the drainage plan in commissioners court and then make developers adhere to it.”
By adhering to the drainage plan, developers should avoid creating new drainage woes in the communities where they are building and improve the already-existing drains in those areas.
“We will charge them an impact fee and force them to fix things the right way as they go,” Knight said.
While it might be argued that the money should be spent directly on cleaning existing ditches and digging drains in communities that are troubled by flooding, Knight said the plan has to come first so that drainage improvements and developments in one area does not cause problems in another area.
In January 2020, Liberty County and seven other Southeast Texas counties formed the Southeast Texas Flood Control District. Other participating entities are Chambers, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Tyler, Jasper and Hardin counties, Sabine River Authority, Lower Neches Valley Authority, and the Angelina and Neches River Authority.
The County also is part of the Cedar Bayou Flood Control District, which is being managed through the Harris County Flood Control District. The area west of Dayton, along the county line that borders Harris County, is included in this district.
While being included in the other drainage districts and studies should positively impact Liberty County, neither cover the entirety of Liberty County. The new flood mitigation/drainage plan funded by H-GAC will be for the entire county.
Knight expects the funds from H-GAC will be transferred to Liberty County within the next two months and work on the drainage plan can begin soon afterward.
“It will take six months for the study and another 2-3 years for us to get the plan,” Knight said.
So the first thing to do is have a drainage study…wow. So who will get their pockets full on that deal??? Hummmm
I bet you it will be LJA
lol 2 or 3 years to get the plan!! That’s how these things go, slow, slow, slow. Of course, the engineers and others involved will bill, bill, bill and do quite well putting together these “plans.”
INSTEAD OF FIXING WHERE YOU KNOW NEEDS FIXING NOW TO HELP OTHERS FROM SUFFERING FROM LOST OF HOMES,LIVESTOCK YOU GONNA HIRE ENGINEERS TOO FIGURE THIS ALL OUT WHAT ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL STRESS JUDGE KNIGHT YOU HAVE ALREADY CAUSE TO SO MANY WHAT THEY BEEN TROUGH IN THE FLOODS OF DAVESTATION !!!!!!
There were engineering studies done in Tarkington over 20 years ago.Nothing done
Still flooding everytime a heavy rain comes .Guess we will wait another 20 years for something to be done!!
Think what’s going to happen when the money hungry real estate companies sell small lots knowing they will flood. Septic tanks will flood and the sewer will go everywhere. They’re selling land here that floods.
It’s like the city of Houston doing a pot hole study. Somebodies friends made a lot of money, but in the end there wasn’t any money left to fix the pot hole. Common sense says send a couple employees with a truck full of asphalt,a couple of shovels, and fix the damn pot hole
Maybe some of us should get together and go to commissioners court to find out why everything else in the county takes priority over the issue of adequate drainage in our county . Say like raises????
You talk a lot about liberty county hell what about the people that live in Sam Houston lakes estate that the water company bring them water on trailer that sit at the front you figure how to haul the water to ur homes
Belinda I think that’s Lake Livingston Water Supply not the County. LLWS gets bad reviews from every person that uses them.
FEMA already did a “study”, they know everything. They’ve “studied and studied and studied” some more.
Buy their study? It’s for sale.
3 million for the study ?? 15 million for the plans ?? Well by golly folks that only leaves 3 million … to get it all built … LMAO … im waiting see this happen …
Friends & their friends became richer, nothing has changed in over a year.My road resembles & sounds like a flowing river! I’m not in a flood plain….go figure
Nothing in this county ever changes. The politicians just line their pockets while we pay taxes and suffer. Maybe its time to clean house. Elections this year make your vote count!