SUBJECT: Ordinance approving and authorizing an Interlocal Agreement between the Harris County Flood Control District, the City of Houston and the Port of Houston Authority.
RECOMMENDATION: Adopt an Ordinance approving and authorizing the Interlocal Agreement between the Harris County Flood Control District, the City of Houston and the Port of Houston Authority.
SPECIFIC EXPLANATION: The Houston Ship Channel is operated and maintained by the Port of Houston Authority (POHA). Since its opening in 1914, the channel has been maintained through extensive dredging and deepening operations which ensure appropriate depths for navigation. However, due to the large amounts of sediment carried downstream by rivers, channels, and bayous, maintenance activities have become burdensome and costly. Accumulation of sediment in the channel has decreased its storage and conveyance capacity, resulting in overflow of its banks and exacerbated flooding in adjacent commercial, industrial, and residential properties.
Hurricane Harvey deposited large amounts of silt and sediment in the channel. POHA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have indicated the need to continue dredging operations as maintenance activities to mitigate flooding and minimize deposits of silt in the channel and turning basin. However, it is essential to find alternative and more resilient solutions that not only address the issue at the point of sediment deposition but mitigate the problem by tracking upstream sources.
It is a public benefit that the District, City and Port Authority work together to pool resources, eliminate duplication of effort, and coordinate their work on projects of mutual benefit. This can include studies and projects that investigate, identify and manage discharges from Harris County’s watersheds into the Houston Ship Channel and remove the associated sediment.
SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT: To facilitate more efficient government services, this agreement will establish a Sediment Control Working Group to develop cooperative projects and policies to address siltation in the Houston Ship Channel. Once identified and agreed upon, specific projects will be brought forward for approval by the respective partners. No funding is required at this time.
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Carol Ellinger Haddock, P.E.
Director
Houston Public Works