Harvey’s anniversary

Despite a questionable date, the county’s proposed flood bond deserves support.

Five bucks a year. That’s roughly how much the average single-family homeowner would be expected to pay in the first year for Harris County’s bond issue in response to Hurricane Harvey. Over the following 15 years, the price tag would rise to a little less than five bucks a month.

Harris County Commissioners Court wants to hold a special election asking voters to approve borrowing up to $2.5 billion to underwrite projects designed to fortify the county against future flooding. The bond issue would help pay for hundreds of projects, many of which have been on the drawing boards long before last year’s disaster. Assuming Gov. Greg Abbott authorizes the election date, the referendum will be held on Aug. 25, the first anniversary of the day Hurricane Harvey made landfall.

If there’s any doubt, the governor should certainly give his approval for Harris County voters to decide this matter. And as it stands now, the commissioners are making a compelling case for voters to cast their ballots in favor of this bond issue.

The details are still to come. A list of the projects underwritten with this bond money will be finalized after a series of public meetings that commissioners promise to hold in every watershed. Far too much of the county’s business is conducted behind closed doors, but Emmett says this series of meetings will give everyone a voice in deciding which flood mitigation projects will receive funding.

A large portion of the money — perhaps as much as $900 million — will serve as a pool of matching funds for federal dollars, Emmett said during a meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board. A match might be used to complete widening and straightening projects underway along Clear Creek, Hunting, White Oak and Brays bayous. Engineering projects on Halls and Greens bayous probably would also be funded, because they’re some of the areas in the county that are most vulnerable to flooding. Some of the money could also go toward developing a longdiscussed third reservoir to contain water from Cypress Creek. Wherever the bond money is spent, Emmett says that all of the county’s 22 watersheds would receive some investment.

The bond issue would also help rectify an infuriating injustice. When the federal government decides where to spend flood control money, it uses a cost-benefit ratio based on economics, not human impact. So a flood control project that protects one family living in a $1 million house gets priority over another project protecting nine families living in $100,000 homes. Emmett and commissioners find that galling, and have vowed to invest flood bond funds in a way that prioritizes people over property values.

The summertime election date provoked an understandable argument among commissioners, some of whom worried that a low voter turnout could kill the bond referendum. Emmett figures the Aug. 25 anniversary will draw enough attention to ensure victory. The election date may be questionable, but it’s set now, and all that matters is that voters make a special effort to go to polls.

Even if the bond issue passes, getting the bonds to market will take time. But our area needs to get flood control projects underway as quickly as possible. That leads to an intriguing idea. Assuming the bond issue passes, Emmett told the Chronicle’s editorial board he might ask for what amounts to a bridge loan from Austin. State officials could let Harris County basically borrow money from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, immediately making funds available to draw down matching federal dollars. Then the county could repay the state after the bond money comes through the pipeline.

Of course, none of this would be necessary if the state would quit hoarding the Rainy Day Fund — it is our tax money, after all — and invest some of it in flood control projects. Instead, Harris County taxpayers must decide whether to borrow billions of dollars before the next Hurricane Harvey.

Still, it’s only five bucks a year, scaling up to five bucks a month over the next 15 years. That’s a negligible price to pay for fortifying Harris County against future flooding. It’s also a crucial response to the greatest natural disaster in Houston’s history.