A $4 million drainage project aimed at helping to reduce flooding in portions of Tomball, is nearing completion, the Harris County Flood Control District announced last week.

What was initially a narrow drainage ditch just south of Barbara Street in Tomball has since been significantly widened and deepened in order to convey more storm water, Flood Control District Spokesperson Heather Saucier explained.

Pictured, a drainage ditch south of Barbara Street in Tomball was widened and deepened as part of a $4 million flood control project that is nearing completion.

Previously, water that drained along the ditch flowed south to SH 249, where it emptied into a roadside ditch and eventually into Willow Creek. During heavy rains, Saucier said, that area along SH 249 and other portions in southwest Tomball would experience flooding.

For its part of the expansion, the Texas Department of Transportation installed two large concrete box culverts beneath SH 249, which leads to a new drainage channel excavated specifically for this project.

That channel, Saucier said, will empty into a new detention basin just west of SH 249 that will have the capacity to hold 90 million gallons of storm water that will eventually drain into Willow Creek.

“The water is stored there (in the detention basin) until water levels in Willow Creek can take on the water,” she said. “The new channel has a lot more capacity to carry storm water out of Tomball and into Willow Creek.”

Approximately 383,000 cubic yards of soil have been excavated for the project. The new drainage channel is nearing completion and Saucier said crews are putting the finishing touches on the project, such as planting grass and landscaping maintenance.

The project started last summer and is expected to be completed by June.

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