According to a local tv report, Harris County is now looking into 100-foot underground tunnels to help with flood relief.
"And just to let you know, we are pretty much the last of the major metropolitan areas in Texas without storm water tunnels" said Scott Elmer, the Harris County Flood Control District Chief Partnerships and Programs Officer.
They are currently building these tunnels, and they already have them in Austin and San Antonio. But here in Harris County, cost is a major concern, due to monetary mismanagement, and now massive budget deficit.
"Are tunnels expensive? Yes, are they significantly more expensive than our traditional means of doing business? No, they're very comparable in cost" Elmer told KTRH, "You're looking at around $30 billion dollars."
The good news is, some of that $30 billion could end up being covered by the federal government.
"Appropriations by the federal government could be made to assist in the construction" noted Elmer, "That would come at a 65% federal, 35% local cost share." The plan is to submit the local study of the tunnels in 2027, and then hopefully land some of the federal funding in 2028.
Over the last six years, the Flood Control District has spent $4.5 million on studying the tunnels, according to the report.
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