The North Canal project will reduce the risk of flooding downtown and reduce flood damage to upstream areas along White Oak and Buffalo Bayous. The project consists of three components: a high-flow diversion channel, an overflow channel, and channel improvements. The North Canal is at the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous, with the South overflow channel downstream. The channel improvements provide increased conveyance capacity and flood damage reduction to areas along White Oak Bayou.
The North Canal Public Meeting & Open House will be hosted by Houston Public Works on Tuesday, August 06, 2024 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Houston City Hall Legacy Room 901 Bagby Street.
General Project Information
- How is this project funded? This project is part of the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) is the recipient of HMGP funding, and the City is the sub-recipient. The funding for project costs is based on a 35.15% federal and 64.85% local cost share. The City is partnering with the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and Memorial Heights Redevelopment Authority on the behalf of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Number 5 (TIRZ No. 5) to implement the Project.
- Current project status. The City of Houston kicked off its design consultant (HDR Engineering, Inc.) and began the City of Houston (COH) Final Design phase on July 7, 2023. COH Phase 2 Final Design is anticipated to require approximately two (2) years to complete. It builds off of the efforts from Preliminary Design with a continual refinement of the design at 60%, 90%, and 100% milestone design submittals. Design refinement is achieved through additional site-specific investigations, including topographic survey, utility, bathymetric, geotechnical, Environmental Site Assessment Phase 2, cultural resource, and archeological. Refinement of the design and completion-related studies will produce a final construction plan set and bidding package. Additionally, in November 2023, the City anticipates awarding a contract to a firm to support Real Estate acquisition. The project has benefited from support from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Targeted Brownfields Assessment program, which has completed field sampling at all project areas and issued draft Environmental Site Assessment Phase II reports; finalizing those reports is anticipated by the first quarter of calendar year 2024. Design is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2025, then Construction in the summer of 2026 through the end of 2029.
Visit the project page for more details by clicking here. Email engage@houstontx.gov for questions or more information.
