Money has arrived for Harris County flood maintenance, but now they need to find the workers

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Extra maintenance money has arrived at the Harris County Flood Control District, but finding workers to perform the projects has been a challenge.

The ground surrounding Halls Bayou in northeast Harris County looks a little bare. Near Wayside Drive, the slope along the bayou is filled with dirt and rocks.

The Harris County Flood Control District stated that it's intended to appear that way. The area underwent a maintenance project to improve the channel.

Officials say that compact rock and dirt helps with flooding. The agency said a type of improvement is heading to Ivy Yancy's east Harris County neighborhood soon.

"It's about time," Yancy explained. "It's about time because a lot of the time there's a proposal and there's no action. It's about time that we got action."

Yancy lives near Carpenters Bayou, which is a neighborhood about to get an improvement from the flood control district.

Soon, the agency said it'll start an erosion project along the bayou.

"It could be a little deeper," Yancy said. "Widen out some so the water would flow."

Last year, voters agreed to allocate $100 million to the district for maintenance expenses. The money has started to arrive, but it hasn't solved all of the problems. So far, more than half of the maintenance jobs haven't been filled.

Commissioners approved creating 54 new positions. So far, the agency said only 22 have been filed.

"We've had issues with workers taking other job offers before we could get the job offer to them," Harris County Flood Control District chief infrastructure & operations officer Jason Krahn explained.

Despite the open positions, the agency said it has been able to get started on maintenance projects.

This year, the report shows they've nearly doubled the number of repair projects going from 59 to 115. The amount of moved silt has increased by 117%, and a 43% increase in vegetation management.

The extra money also enables the agency to address more service requests when neighbors report issues.

Krahn said they've been able to tackle 1,700 of those calls. Right now, Krahn said it's about ramping up. That's why they need to find workers to handle the projects in the next couple of years.

"We're looking at reaching out to community partners and trying to establish more communication on those types of jobs we're looking for, as well as established pipelines," Krahn said.

Krahn said they plan to hold job fairs, and created a website where people can apply for positions.

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