HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The Harris County Flood Control District announced Tuesday the start of its multi-million dollar repair program to fix damage along the area's 22 watersheds caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Here are things to know about the upcoming projects:
How much damage is there?
The HCFCD identified more than 1,200 damage sites were identified along the county's 22 watersheds. This included sinkholes, bank erosion, failed concrete, collapsed outfall pipes and other damage.
File: Hurricane Harvey repair map
"The first couple of months were focused on debris removal and making sure we cleared out all the blockages. Now we're turning our efforts on those immediate repairs that we can do to better improve our bayous," said HCFCD spokesman Rob Lazaro.
What steps are underway now?
In March, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved a total of $12.5 million in initial contracts with 15 engineering firms that will design those repairs. That design process kicked off this month with topographic surveys and geotechnical field work at hundreds of damage sites around the county. Local dollars will be leveraged to secure federal grant funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to design and construct the repairs.
How much does will it cost?
The Flood Control District has requested more than $84 million in construction funding from the NRCS and FEMA for making these repairs. While the focus is on areas that qualify for federal disaster funding, other areas requiring maintenance repairs have been added to the projects in some cases, and will be constructed using available local funding alone.
When will construction begin and end?
Construction is expected to begin on some project sites later this year, and to be completed in 2019.