Check flood control and drainage improvement projects in your area

Residents of flood prone areas are well advised to stay informed regarding current and planned flood control and drainage improvement projects.  These projects by design will result in significant reductions to flooding risk.  In some cases the flood hazard maps will be revised to reflect the reduced risk.  This could allow a decrease in flood insurance premiums for the home owner.

In my area I noted a project underway in Nassau Bay, a waterfront community in southern Harris County, Texas that has a history of repetitive flooding.  The project is being conducted by Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD).  It is located on a lot that I had noted previously as the site of a home buyout and demolition after Hurricane Ike, which caused heavy damage to many Nassau Bay homes in 2008.

HCFCD maintains an interactive map viewer on which the details of all Maintenance and Capital Improvement projects can be viewed at the link:


The Nassau Bay Maintenance project example is shown below.

For this particular project it is not apparent whether it will result in change to the flood plain maps.  The bulkhead replacement will control erosion along the banks of the nearby Cow Bayou floodway however it is not likely to impact Base Flood Elevation.

The Flood Control District also posts a summary report for the fiscal year 2018 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at the link:


The CIP projects include:
-channel modifications
-new channel construction
-excavation of storm water detention basins
-buyouts of repetitively flooded homes or homes that are located too deep in the regulatory floodplain

I did not find any additional projects for Nassau Bay listed in the fiscal year 2018 document.  A floodway acquisition project on Armand Bayou could have some indirect benefit in the general area.  The summary diagram below for the Armand Bayou project provides an example of the information available to interested parties.
Readers, have you experienced a significant change in the flooding risk for your property as the result of nearby capital or maintenance projects?  If so were you able to obtain relevant information?  

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