La Porte’s Brookglen community marked an important milestone this week as Phase 2 of the Brookglen Stormwater Detention Basin project officially broke ground. The Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Precinct 2, the Texas General Land Office, local community leaders, and the Brookglen Homeowners Association came together to celebrate progress on a project designed to help reduce flood risk for the surrounding area. The project reflects the power of partnership in moving flood mitigation work forward.

This project is part of a larger group of 11 Flood Control District efforts funded through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds that are moving into construction across Harris County. CDBG-DR funding comes from a federal grant program administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Texas General Land Office. The program helps communities recover from major disasters by funding long term flood mitigation projects in areas impacted by past storms.

The Flood Control District is leading the Brookglen Stormwater Detention Basin project which will include two dry bottom stormwater detention compartments. Once complete, the basin will provide approximately 50 acre-feet of stormwater storage capacity. That is enough water to cover 50 football field sized areas in 1 foot of water.

The project also builds on previous flood risk reduction work in the Brookglen community. Through the Flood Control District’s Voluntary Home Buyout Program, 60 homes in the area were previously purchased and removed from the floodplain, helping remove those families from future flood risk in those homes.

As Dr. Tina Petersen said during the celebration, this project shows what can happen when leaders and partners work together “to deliver something impactful and meaningful for our communities.”

That message was reinforced by Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who said the detention basin will help further protect residents in the community, with the hope of preventing the need for future buyouts.

Speakers also emphasized the human impact of this work. Stephanie Davidson with the Texas General Land Office said the work is “not just infrastructure. It is protection, recovery and hope.”

To learn more about Flood Control District projects and flood warning tools, visit hcfcd.org.