Houston has made significant strides to improve its resilience as a coastal city over the past two decades. Federal, state and local leaders have prioritized efforts to strengthen flood mitigation, enhance power reliability and secure the region’s water supply. Each weather event has brought important lessons, prompting investments and solutions to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.
In the most recent legislative session, Texas lawmakers secured over $361 million for the Houston region to bolster water supply and advance ongoing flood mitigation projects.
Targeted Funding
The Legislature used nearly $1 billion in surplus dollars to secure dedicated funding for water projects around the state. The funding was included in the Supplemental Budget Bill (House Bill 500), making the dollars immediately available. The projects that receive that funding are highlighted in the General Appropriations Act and include significant funding for highlighted projects, including:
- $100 million for the Lynchburg Pump Station; the city had requested $177 million from the state
- $60 million for the Lake Livingston Dam Improvement
- $54 million for Cypress Ditch Regional Flood Mitigation Projects in Bellaire
Click here to download the one-pager highlighting all the Houston-area resilience projects funded by lawmakers this session.
Downstream Dollars
Another significant change made by lawmakers this session was to make flood prevention projects eligible to receive state dollars from the Texas Water Fund. When it was initially created in 2023, the Texas Water Fund was targeted at developing new supply and addressing infrastructure.
This session, under Senate Bill 7, the state will now be able to transfer available dollars from the Texas Water Fund to the Flood Infrastructure Fund for mitigation projects, like those highlighted above. This presents a significant opportunity to ensure the state maximizes its use of available funds to control how water is brought to Texans and how flooding is managed during major weather events.
Dig Deeper
- Learn more about local victories highlighted by the City of Houston
- Learn why infrastructure is everyone’s business when it comes to building a resilient Houston
- The Budget Explorer Tool is now updated with the final version of the two-year spending bill.
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