Stormwater detention basin will reduce flood risk for northeast Harris County area

Transcript

Connie Esparza - President, Castlewood Civic Club

What a great day to witness and be a part of this historic event. I moved to the Aldine area in 1979 when I built my house, never expecting to flood since the south side of Castlewood was in the 500-year floodplain. But unfortunately, I, along with my entire subdivision, some of whom are present here, flooded in 2001 with Tropical Storm Allison, then again with Harvey in 2017, followed by Imelda two years later. We are certainly excited with the completion of this phase two stormwater detention basin that will further reduce the risk of flooding.

Dr. Tina Petersen - Executive Director, Harris County Flood Control District

This project is an enormous benefit for this community and also for our region. Every project that we are able to build with the help of our partners, like the Texas Water Development Board, means that our community sees a reduced risk of flooding, and that leads to an improved quality of life. This area that we are standing on used to be homes. These homes were bought out because they were deep in the floodplain, and we were able to move those individuals to a safer place. And we can also use this property to then mitigate the risk of flooding for generations to come.

So the scale of this project is enormous. We have three different phases. Phase one was started in 2020, and it took two years to complete. This project started in 2022, and we completed it just this year in 2025. Combined, those two projects provide more than 390 million gallons of stormwater storage. We have a phase three coming, which will provide even more benefits and even more opportunities to reduce the risk of flooding and protect people. One of the great things, too, is that we are able to partner with our precinct, and they have been able to put trails along the first phase, and they are in the process of planning trails for this next phase. And so, not only will it provide flood mitigation, but it's going to provide an amenity for this community.

This project is an example of the power of partnership. This project was funded through multiple different partners. The Texas Water Development Board was really key in helping this project move forward. We also had funding from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Texas General Land Office is also a partner in this overall project. And at the end of the day, all of us working together with the precinct, with our community and with the engineers who are helping us construct and then the construction teams who are helping us build this work, all of us together, is really what it takes to deliver a project of this magnitude. The impacts and the benefits that this project will provide are so significant, and we're just thankful for the opportunity to do this work with our partners.