What is the status 1 year after Harris County voters approved flood maintenance program?

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- It's been almost exactly one year since Harris County voters narrowly approved a tax increase to pay for flood maintenance.

Last year, commissioners estimated it would cost the average homeowner about $60 every year, depending on home values.

Belia Fredenberg has lived next to Little Cypress Creek for 29 years.

"I've seen it where it overflows from the back to the front because there's no more space out here," she said.

Maintenance crews are now working to shore up the creek by connecting it to a ditch.

"If it was left unchecked and kept moving upstream, it would erode out and start eroding into some of these homes, backyards, and infrastructure," Jason Krahn, the Harris County Flood District's chief infrastructure and operations officer, said.

The maintenance program is just one part of a bigger effort to keep our area above water.

In 2018, voters approved a $2.5 billion bond to build new infrastructure to prevent flooding.

Meanwhile, the maintenance program continues, with 50 major maintenance projects and 124 infrastructure repair projects scheduled for next year, including at Addicks and Barker reservoirs.

"Things can happen in a flash right here on the Gulf Coast," Krahn said. "Something might seem innocent at first, but next thing you know, 'Bam, we're hit with a heavy event.'"

In September, ABC13 reported county commissioners had approved creating 54 new positions for the maintenance program.

At the time, only 22 had been filled. Flood district officials couldn't give ABC13 the exact numbers, but say some of those positions are still unfilled, even after multiple job fairs.

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