The Harris County Flood Control District’s summer barnstorming tour of county watersheds to seek public input on its $2.5 billion flood bond proposal is getting officials exactly what they want: an earful.

Flood-weary residents throughout the county have mostly packed auditoriums and community centers to offer their thoughts, desires and frustrations to flood control engineers and county officials. They also have brought ideas.

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To date, the flood control district has added 16 projects to its list of repairs, remediation and prevention strategies to be covered by the proposed bond that goes before voters on Aug. 25. Each of those 16 projects came out of the meetings with residents, district officials said.

Along the way, the county has gotten something else: an audience receptive to its pitch to undertake what would be the largest local investment in flood infrastructure after Hurricane Harvey swamped the region 11 months ago.

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Of the more than 25 residents who spoke with the Chronicle at four meetings, few said they oppose the bond. Most said they understand Harris County badly needs to invest in better flood protection, even if that means an increase in property taxes.

“I think I’m going to vote for it,” said Pam Haynes at the Addicks watershed meeting June 21. “It sounds like they’re definitely open to suggestions on projects.”

More Information Upcoming watershed meetings (each is 6-8 p.m.) Luce Bayou: July 23 at the May Community Center, 2100 Wolf Road, Huffman San Jacinto/Galveston Bay: July 24 at the Sylvan Beach Pavilion, 1 Sylvan Beach Drive, La Porte Vince Bayou: July 25 at the Pasadena Convention Center, 7902 Fairmont, Pasadena Buffalo Bayou: July 30 at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, 12955 Memorial Little Cypress Creek: July 31 at the Richard & Meg Weekley Community Center, 8440 Greenhouse, Cypress Barker Reservoir: Aug. 1 at Memorial Parkway Junior High, 21203 Highland Knolls, Katy

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The flood control district has built a multilayer, interactive watershed map on its website. It regularly updates its list of projects that would be funded by the bond. To ensure county residents understand what is at stake — Judge Ed Emmett calls it the most important local vote of his lifetime — county leaders decided to take the show on the road.

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To date, the flood control district has held 15 public meetings, with nine more scheduled through Aug. 1, one for each of the county’s 24 watersheds. The number of attendees has ranged from several dozen to more than 700. Instead of a lecture format, the flood control district opted to take an open house approach: Engineers manned charts and tables spread across the space, and residents also could examine projects on a bank of computers.

The setup allows attendees to speak one-on-one with flood experts. It also helps the flood control district avoid the spectacle of angry residents, who believe the county has paid too little attention to flood mitigation in the past, shouting at officials in front of a crowd.

Many residents said they were surprised to see officials give a mere introduction and then encourage attendees to tour the stations set up around the room. Some said they enjoyed the more intimate format, while others described it as chaotic.

“I like it better than just having somebody stand up and speak,” said Tammy Hollekamp at the Kingwood meeting on July 10. “This way, you can walk around, you can talk to different people.”

Russ Poppe, the flood control district’s executive director, said the meetings so far have gone smoothly.

“There’s been some passionate and angry people, and rightly so, because of all they have gone through,” Poppe said. “It has been helpful to take questions and feedback.”

‘You can only prepare’

Interest in the bond proposal extends beyond Harris County, as engineers and policymakers from around the region attended meetings in search of ideas to address flooding in their own watersheds. Many Galveston and Brazoria county residents attended the crowded Clear Creek meeting at the El Franco Lee Community Center on Tuesday. Clear Creek forms much of Harris County’s southern border, but as floodwaters show no respect for political boundaries, residents who live on the south side of the waterway find themselves unable to vote for a bond issue they stand to benefit from.

Brazoria County resident Jean Pappe returned to her house in May after Hurricane Harvey flooded it for the first time in her 53 years there. Standing beside her, Joyce Lord said she still is unable to go back after her home was swamped in the storm. Both women urged Harris County residents to support projects that would prevent Clear Creek from backing up into neighborhoods.

“We want to make sure whatever it is, it is positive for us,” Lord said of the bond.

Across the room, Benjamin Waxman, who lives in the Harris County part of Friendswood, said he is leaning toward supporting the bond. Since flooding here is inevitable, he reasoned, communities should do their best to manage it.

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“You can’t stop water, just like you can’t stop lightning and you can’t stop an earthquake,” said Waxman, whose home took on 18 inches of water during Harvey. “You can only prepare.”

At the San Jacinto River watershed meeting in Kingwood, flood control district Operations Director Matt Zeve spoke to 20 residents huddled around a placard, explaining how runoff from other counties contributes to the San Jacinto River’s flooding problems. Residents listened intently, scribbled into notebooks and took pictures of the charts behind Zeve.

Zeve said the bond will help the county weather stronger, more frequent storms, though he hopes to never see another Harvey in his lifetime.

“That’s what they said about Allison, too,” a man in the crowd murmured.

Others brought hand-drawn proposals for flood projects in their neighborhoods. Michael Dach buttonholed Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle at the Addicks watershed meeting to pitch an idea for Turkey Creek. The commissioner listened patiently and encouraged Dach to submit his plan for consideration.

“If you’ve got some study or input, I would really like … it to be analyzed by our engineers,” Cagle said.

The flood control district is asking residents like Dach for feedback, which Zeve said already has resulted in 16 projects being added to the flood bond plan. Those include another detention basin on Halls Bayou, replacing bridges along Buffalo Bayou and additional repairs to Clear Creek. Around $430 million of the $2.5 billion total has yet to be allocated to specific projects, according to the most recent projects list.

Early voting begins Aug. 8

By the time early voting begins on Aug. 8, the flood control district has pledged to publish a complete list of projects that would be funded. The election will take place Aug. 25, the one-year anniversary of Harvey.

Commissioners Court members said they have yet to see organized campaigns against the bond, though the plan is not without its critics. Houston group Residents Against Flooding has been among the more vocal ones, arguing in online posts that the flood control district lacks a big-picture strategy and has chosen a poor format for the public meetings. RAF board member Cynthia Neely said the group reluctantly supports the bond because it believes the flood control district is not providing enough information about projects.

“What kind of guarantees do we have once we get this money?” Neely said. “We have very little faith in our city and county government to do the right thing, as opposed to what is good for developers and builders.”

Though flooding is among the issues southeast Texans care most about, the bond referendum has not become a partisan issue heading into this fall’s elections. When Republican Rep. John Culberson endorsed the proposal, his opponent in the Seventh Congressional District, Democrat Lizzie Fletcher, said she did too. Republican Dan Crenshaw and Democrat Todd Litton, opponents in the Second Congressional District, likewise support the proposal.

zach.despart@chron.com

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