An effort to bolster flood control in northeast Houston through improvements to the Lake Houston dam have been scaled back due to financial constraints on the project. Houston officials say that the length of proposed floodgates will need to be reduced by half to meet the project’s budget.
The $48 million project is being funded by a hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the city was awarded in 2019. According to the city, the project will help protect about 35,000 residents and 5,000 structures from flooding events.