The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has formally completed the South Belt Stormwater Detention Basin, a 59-acre flood storage project in the Clear Creek watershed capable of holding 505 million gallons of stormwater.

The district announced the completion on Aug. 27. The basin sits near the intersection of Beamer Road and South Fork Boulevard in Harris County Precinct 2, on a channel known as Mud Gully or Beamer Ditch. It reduces flood risk for more than 100 homes in the surrounding area, according to the district. Downstream communities in the Clear Creek watershed, including Friendswood, Webster and Seabrook, stand to benefit from the added storage capacity.

The timing matters. The announcement came days before Tropical Storm Edouard made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border on Tuesday, Sept. 1, bringing a flood watch to Harris and Galveston counties. The National Hurricane Center forecast 3 to 6 inches of rain along the Texas coast, with some areas potentially seeing up to 9 inches. Gov. Greg Abbott said Harris County could see totals as high as 10 to 15 inches, Insurance Journal reported.

The basin's 1,550 acre-feet of storage capacity captures excess stormwater during heavy rain and releases it slowly after flood threats pass. The district said the project also offsets expected increases in stormwater flows from channel improvements to Mud Gully, Turkey Creek and other nearby waterways.

Construction on the basin's final phase, Phase 3, began in spring 2020 and was substantially complete by fall 2022. Sprint Sand & Clay LLC handled construction under a contract of approximately $15.6 million, funded through the district's 2018 bond program. Earlier phases were completed in partnership with Galveston County in 2018 and 2019. The formal completion notice came in August 2026.

The basin works alongside the $10.5 million Mud Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements Project, which the district and Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia celebrated at a ribbon-cutting in December 2024. At that event, Garcia called the paired investments a sign of progress for downstream communities.

"For far too long, communities downstream, like those in our Bay Area, have been especially vulnerable to flooding," Garcia said at the December 2024 ceremony, according to the district's press release. "By rolling up our sleeves and improving drainage, we're ensuring that the neighborhoods hardest hit by floods are better prepared for the major storms we know are on the way."

HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen said the Mud Gully improvements "work in tandem with the South Belt Stormwater Detention Basin." The district describes the basin as separate from, but complementary to, the larger Clear Creek Federal Flood Risk Management Project.

That federal effort hit a milestone in June 2026 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved a revised plan. The district expects to issue a request for qualifications for final design services in the third quarter of 2026. Construction contracts for new detention basins under the federal project are anticipated in 2030, with completion expected in 2031 or 2032.

Closer to home, the Friendswood Regional Stormwater Detention Basin is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2027. That project carries a combined budget of up to $32.5 million, split between the 2018 bond program and a partnership among the City of Friendswood, Galveston County and the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District.