For years, flooding has plagued streets and neighborhoods across Fort Bend County — and for residents like William Carpenter, the problem is personal.
Carpenter has lived on Sycamore Road in Rosenberg for more than 50 years. To protect his home, he built a barrier around the property.
“I picked these up and down there you can barely see them, but I have those gates that I put in here to keep the water from here, from coming in,” Carpenter said.
The barrier has made a difference — but not everyone on his street has been so fortunate.
“But the neighbors, they had 3 feet of water in their houses, the ones that don’t have this barrier,” Carpenter said.
County commissioners approve flood funding
Fort Bend County commissioners on Thursday approved nearly $170,000 toward flood mitigation efforts. The funding will go toward flood studies, repairs to creeks — including Flatbank and Coon creeks — and hiring engineers to map a 28-acre piece of land near Highway 6.
For Missouri City resident Sharen Hadad, any investment in flood relief is welcome.
“It rained for several days, we got some really heavy downpours, and all of this goes under and it stays wet for a very long time, because of the trees and there’s just not the proper drainage there,” Hadad said.
Hadad said the county has a lot of ground to cover when it comes to managing its waterways.
“We’ve got a lot of areas, we’ve got creeks, and bayous, and flood plains that they are going to have to keep taking care of,” Hadad said.
Equipment, land also part of investment
Beyond flood studies and creek repairs, more than $1 million was allocated for equipment — including six new tractors and a trailer. The county also approved a purchase of approximately $320,000 for land along the Brazos River, which will help control erosion and reduce flooding.
