Fort Bend County has secured nearly 26 million for its Brazos River erosion project, according to Fort Bend County Pct. 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers.
The Texas General Land Office granted the county approximately $25.8 million in funds to pay for two projects at the Simonton pinch point where the Brazos River’s erosion is happening.
Several homes could be impacted by the erosion project outside of the Simonton area, creating a regional issue, according to commissioners.
Meyers says experts fear the two portions of the river could erode to the point of joining together, which will create potential catastrophic erosion problems both upstream and downstream as the velocity of the river increases.
“Brazos River erosion protection is an issue that’s one of my priorities,” Meyers said. “I initiated efforts to fund solutions for the Simonton Pinch Point of the Brazos River when I chaired the Water Resources Committee at the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). So, I sincerely appreciate Commissioner Buckingham securing millions of dollars of additional funding for Brazos River erosion protection.”
The grant comes from a $72.5 million Texas General Land Office grant shared by several other Texas cities and one other county. The mitigation funds will be distributed to improve streets, drainage and sewer systems in the cities of Bedias, Bremond, Galveston, Liberty, Midway and San Augustine, as well as Hardin County and a partial award of a larger project to be administered by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) in Fort Bend County.
There isn’t a timeline for the project.
By the numbers, here’s how the money will be distributed:
Homeowners like Claudia Hernandez can’t wait for the project to get underway.
“I’m ready,” Hernandez said. “We don’t want to move from here. This is our home. It’s pretty peaceful. The neighborhood is awesome. The neighbors are awesome. They have great schools, and the children don’t want to move from here.”
Hernandez and her family moved into Simonton five years ago and since she estimated they’ve lost up to 10 feet of their yard.
“[The yard] was covered with trees and they all fell in the river. It’s pretty sad and scary,” said Hernandez.
The county took possession of a home that had parts of it go into the Brazos.
“You’re trying to stop mother nature- from doing her thing and boy that gets really, really expensive,” Commissioner Meyers said. “This is a critical project and I’m glad we finally have the funding for it.”