Harris County’s flood mitigation projects increase in the Houston metro – spectrumlocalnews.com

Harris County’s flood mitigation projects increase in the Houston metro  spectrumlocalnews.com

One of Harris County’s flood mitigation projects includes widening a 70-year-old channel in the Central Houston area. TEXAS — Flood control efforts are rising to a new level in South Texas. At least 20 major infrastructure projects have launched in Harris County alone, following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Harvey nine years ago, and this year, flood mitigation projects have gained momentum in the Houston metro, where officials recently broke ground on their latest projects. One of Harris County’s flood mitigation projects includes widening a 70-year-old channel in the Central Houston area called Poor Farm Ditch, so it can handle more rainfall. “This project will increase the size of the Poor Farm Ditch, which is a channel that conveys water from roughly Highway 59 South to Braes Bayou,” said Scott Elmer, chief partnerships and programs officer for the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD).

HCFCD broke ground on the $33 million project in July 2026, with local, state and federal dollars funding improvements to the aging channel. It was built in the 1950s to drain stormwater in the cities of West University and Southside Place, located inside Houston’s inner loop. “By increasing the capacity, we will be protecting a lot more of the residents of Harris County from storm events,” said Elmer. “My house flooded, and as a result, I