Final Kingwood Diversion Ditch Study Up for Approval Thursday

9/15/25 – Harris County Commissioners Court is being asked to approve a contract for final engineering of new Kingwood Diversion Ditch conveyance improvements this Thursday, 2/18/25. See Item 272 on the Agenda.

The Kingwood Area Drainage analysis ranked Diversion Ditch improvements as the most important project in Kingwood. That’s in large part because improving flow through the Diversion Ditch will take floodwater out of Bens Branch which runs through Kingwood Town Center. So, it’s like a Texas twofer.

County Purchasing Dept. Recommending Halff

The Harris County Purchasing Department recommends Halff Associates, Inc. based on “highest overall evaluation” for their proposal. The County reserves the right to negotiate with the next highest ranking proposal if it can’t reach a suitable agreement with Halff.

Halff did the engineering work for Taylor Gully and Woodridge Village. The company also recently updated Montgomery County’s Drainage Criteria Manual and Subdivision Rules and Regulations. So, it is familiar with drainage issues in the area.

Another company, Neel-Schaffer developed the preliminary Kingwood Diversion Ditch report. However, it took almost five times longer than expected and overlooked some obvious opportunities.

Since Neel-Schaffer released its preliminary report, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority announced plans to build 100 acre-feet of detention in the area where the Diversion Ditch splits off from Bens Branch just north of Northpark. That’s a quarter of the needed 405 acre-feet of detention right there.

Included in the Project

This is a request to authorize negotiation for an agreement that will provide final design, bidding and construction phase services for Kingwood Diversion Ditch channel conveyance improvements.

The project begins upstream of the confluence of Bens Branch and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and ends downstream at the West Fork San Jacinto River. The total project length is approximately 4.2 miles along the Kingwood Diversion Ditch. 

Conveyance improvements will include:

• Construction of a diversion structure to divert flow off Bens Branch into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch
• Erosion protection against a naturally steep portion of the existing channel near Walnut Lane
• A new outfall at Woodland Hills into the West Fork San Jacinto River
• 405 acre-feet of stormwater detention to mitigate for impacts from the channel improvements
• Improvements to five existing bridges.

The project area along Kingwood Diversion Ditch consists of approximately 3.86 miles inside Harris County limits and an additional 0.32 miles extends into Montgomery County.  The project falls into the second quartile of the County’s Equity Prioritization Framework.

Earlier this year, Commissioners voted to redeploy all remaining funding in Quartiles 2, 3, and 4 to complete projects in Quartile 1. However, they later reconsidered that motion. The fact that the Diversion Ditch already has federal partnership funds allocated to it thanks to the work of Congressman Dan Crenshaw, whose earmark for the Walnut Lane Bridge saved it from the chopping block.

Separately, the County expects to hear a new proposal from HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen this Thursday. Petersen reportedly hopes to explain less Draconian ways to address a shortfall in bond funding that could affect the fate of a large number of other projects.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/15/25

2938 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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