Primary Department: Flood Control District
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Dr. Tina Petersen, Executive Director
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Interlocal Agreement
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Cypress Forest Public Utility District
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Choose an item.
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Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the Flood Control District for approval of a Joint Participation Interlocal Agreement between the Harris County Flood Control District and the Cypress Forest Public Utility District for the exchange and development of land to construct stormwater detention basins along Cypress Creek.
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Background and Discussion:
The Harris County Flood Control District and the Cypress Forest Public District (PUD) are seeking to enter into a Joint Participation Agreement involving the exchange of land and construction of stormwater detention basins along Cypress Creek (K100-00-00) to improve drainage and reduce flood risk. Under the agreement, the PUD will convey 65.7 acres to the Flood Control District for stormwater detention while the Flood Control District will transfer 27.2 acres to the PUD.
Following voter approval of a $10 million bond referendum in May 2025, the Cypress Forest PUD will lead the design and construction of up to five detention basins providing approximately 300-acre feet of stormwater storage. Harris County Precinct 3 will oversee project development and ensuring timely coordination and implementation. Upon completion of construction by the PUD, the Flood Control District will assume maintenance of the basins.
Expected Impact:
The project will reduce flood risk for homes and infrastructure within the Cypress Creek are and surrounding communities by increasing stormwater detention capacity within Cypress Creek (K100-000-00). It enhances public safety and contributes to long term watershed resiliency. Residents will benefit from improved drainage, reduced flood exposure and partnership between local and county flood risk mitigation.
Alternative Options:
If this Joint Participation Agreement is not approved, the Harris County Flood Control District and Harris County Precinct 3 would need to identify alternative funding and property acquisition strategies to construct detention facilities along Cypress Creek. This could delay critical flood mitigation efforts and reduce the overall impact of drainage improvements for the Cypress Forest community and surrounding areas.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
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Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
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Address (if applicable): 9415 CYPRESSWOOD DR SPRING, 77379
Precinct(s): Precinct 3
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Anticipated Court Date: 6/26/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 7/10/2025
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Choose an item.
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jessica Lazo, Precinct 3 Coordinator, Harris County Flood Control, 346-286-4316
Attachments (if applicable): Agreement, Exhibit A, Exhibit B
Prepared by: (name, title, department, phone #) Jessica Lazo, Precinct 3 Coordinator, Harris County Flood Control, 346-286-4316
Briefing Information for Leadership
(For information requested below, feel free to use details from background and discussion section)
1. Project Scope (What is the scope of this Project ID? If relevant, use text from background and discussion section on previous pages to populate this response): Harris County Flood Control District and Cypress Forest Public District seek to enter into a Joint Participation Agreement involving the exchange of land and construction of detention facilities along Cypress Creek (K100-00-00) to improve drainage and reduce flood risk. Under the agreement, the PUD will convey 65.7 acres to Harris County Flood Control District for detention use while Harris County Flood Control District will transfer 27.2 acres to the PUD. Following the voter approval of $10 million bond referendum in May 2025, the PUD will lead the design and construction of up to five detention basins providing approximately 300-acre feet of stormwater storage. Precinct 3 will oversee project development and ensuring timely coordination and implementation. Upon completion, Harris County Flood Control District will assume maintenance of the basins.
2. Project Benefits (i.e., # of structures removed from floodplain, # of road miles with reduced flooding during flood events, acres of floodplain reduction, etc.): This project provides significant flood mitigation benefits by adding approximately 300 acre-feet of detention capacity to reduce flood risk within Cypress Forest PUD and along Cypress Creek. Through a strategic land exchange, both the County and PUD maximize the use of public land for critical drainage improvements. With $10 million in PUD bond funding approved in May 2025, the project minimizes County financial exposure while enabling timely delivery. Precinct 3 will oversee development to ensure efficient execution, and upon completion, HCFCD will assume long-term maintenance responsibilities. Overall, the project strengthens community resilience, enhances public safety, and supports long-term watershed management goals.
3. Bond ID and Bond Title (if applicable): N/A
4. Project Status (What efforts are underway and/or upcoming?) : The project is currently pending Commissioners Court approval for the proposed land exchanges between Harris County Flood Control District and Cypress Forest PUD. Concurrently, the PUD has initiated the design process for the detention facilities, in accordance with the terms of the approved May 2025 bond election and PCPM.
5. Time to complete construction (Anticipated date of when construction will be completed and/or # of days needed to complete construction or N/A.): Construction will begin following Commissioners Court approval and completion of the design phase. The project is anticipated to go out for bid in late Q3 or early Q4 2025, with construction expected to commence shortly thereafter. A more detailed timeline will be established once bidding is complete and a contractor is selected.
6. Precinct and stakeholder involvement (if applicable) (what efforts, if any, have the Precinct(s) and/or stakeholders undertaken regarding this project): Precinct 3 has played a key role in coordinating the development of this project, facilitating collaboration between Harris County Flood Control District and Cypress Forest PUD. Precinct staff have provided guidance throughout preliminary discussions and will continue to oversee project development to ensure timely execution and alignment with community needs. Cypress Forest PUD, as the local stakeholder and funding partner, has initiated the design phase and is actively engaged in the planning process to deliver meaningful flood risk reduction to its residents.
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8. Prioritization score and quartile (if available): N/A
9. Is this project funded by a federal/state/local partnership, if so please specify (i.e., FEMA, CDBG, EPA, TWDB, City of Houston, etc.): Local Partnership, the Cypress Forest Public Utility District.
10. Any general discussion or background that should be mentioned: This project directly supports the objectives outlined in the Cypress Creek Implementation Plan by increasing stormwater detention capacity within the watershed, reducing flood risks, and leveraging partnerships to deliver cost-effective flood mitigation. The land exchange and construction of new detention basins along Cypress Creek contribute to the long-term vision of managing regional flooding through strategic, locally supported improvements.