Flood waters had not even receded from this week’s torrential rainstorms when Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush gathered with local leaders to announce that the region would be receiving $29.4 million to fund badly needed flood control projects.
The funds will go towards flood mitigation projects to improve roads and drainage infrastructure in the cities of Jasper and Kirbyville, low lying cities that have faced repetitive storm damage in 2015, 2016 and in 2017 with Hurricane Harvey.
“Texas unfortunately leads the nation in disaster declarations, and is especially prone to flooding in many areas,” said Commissioner Bush. “Jasper County experiences frequent, repetitive flooding that puts lives, homes, and livelihoods at risk. The flooding that has occurred this week underscores the reality faced by many communities in the region — drainage and flood mitigation is a financial burden to communities without access to vital infrastructure funding. The historic funding we’re announcing today will go directly to projects that will fortify homes, businesses and critical infrastructure across Jasper County against future disasters for generations.”
“Communities in Jasper County and throughout the surrounding areas have had a long-standing need for improvements to prevent flooding from severe storms, but until now we have not had the resources we need,” said County Judge Mark Allen. “Just this week I signed a disaster declaration because severe rainfall flooded several businesses and homes. Learning that Jasper County would be receiving nearly $30 million for flood mitigation could not have come at a better time. I want to thank Commissioner George P. Bush and the GLO for recognizing the need for this funding in our communities and being our trusted partner in these efforts. This could not have been accomplished without Commissioner Bush’s compassion for Jasper County and Southeast Texas.”
Texas Sen. Robert Nichols offered his support from the Texas Capitol saying, “It’s impossible to overstate how important these flood mitigation funds are to East and Southeast Texas. Senate District 3 saw severe flooding during the 2015 floods, the 2016 floods, and again during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. These flooding events showed just how vulnerable this area of the state is and how necessary mitigation efforts are. Senate District 3 won over $105 million in the competitive flood mitigation fund award process because the projects in our region are vital to protecting Texans from future flood events. I appreciate the professionalism of the GLO throughout this process and our local officials who worked so hard to make these projects a reality.”
“The city of Jasper has recognized the need to improve drainage due to repetitive recovery efforts that follow flooding dues to hurricanes, tropical storms, and riverine flooding,” said Jasper Mayor Randy Sayers. “The projects moving forward thanks to this funding from GLO Commissioner George P. Bush will address flood mitigation, street hardening and drainage issues citywide, but especially in twenty-one of the most vulnerable areas where most of the residents are low-to moderate-income. These funds will go a long way to protecting residents and our economy from future storms.”
“The people of Kirbyville are no strangers to repetitive regional flooding,” said Kirbyville Mayor Frank George. “This flood mitigation project will be vital to protecting homes, businesses, and other at-risk structures. We want to thank Commissioner Bush and the GLO for funding these efforts, which will benefit our communities for years to come.”
The announcement comes as Harris County scrambles after learning they would receive none of the funding they asked for from the same traunch of money.
Houston and Harris County officials learned in a meeting Thursday that none of the more than $1.3 billion in
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it was “unconscionable” that federal funds Congress intended for Hurricane Harvey recovery would not flow to the Houston area, by far the most populous affected by the storm.
“Our community needs this federal funding and we have already begun the process of reaching out to the Biden Administration to identify alternatives — including a potential review of the process for this allocation and a direct carve-out going forward,” Hidalgo said.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s admistration said the city was preparing a letter Thursday evening in which it would ask the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to intervene. In a statement, the mayor called on the federal agency to “immediately halt the distribution” of the funds until it could review the situation.
But the Jasper area, which is expecting another round of storms Friday and possibly into Saturday has long gone without much of the federal funding they are now receiving.
Zach Despart, Jasper Scherer, Julian Gill and Mike Morris contributed reporting.
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