The Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition Frequently Asked Questions (General):

What is the Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition (CCFCC)?
It is a coalition of municipal utility districts, homeowner/civic associations, residents, and individual business firms united under the umbrella of a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. The coalition is managed by an elected nine-member board of directors, all residents of the Cypress Creek Watershed.

What is the CCFCC’s mission?

In collaboration with government and the private sector, its mission is to pursue unified, proactive resolutions to flooding within the Cypress Creek Watershed consistent with the following objectives:

1. Flooding: Improve flood prevention measures implemented in advance of urban development on a cost-effective basis.
2. Preservation: Promote park, recreational, and wildlife habitant development consistent with preservation of the watershed’s natural environment.
3. Education: Improve communication links between the government and private sectors on matters concerning the coalition’s watershed mission and objectives.

What causative factors within the Cypress Creek Watershed resulted in the formation of the CCFCC?
Three decades of repeated stormwater invasion into neighborhood homes from Cypress Creek and its tributaries was a primary cause. In addition, watershed land was sinking (see subsidence) as neighborhood MUDs pumped out groundwater at rates exceeding the capacity of aquifers to recharge. And forests were disappearing due to rapid urban development. In tandem, these factors seemed to be outstripping the government’s capability of managing them. The original coalition of twenty-three community organizations recognized that the solutions they sought from Harris County officials might only be achieved through a partnership between government and the private sector, as other local watershed stakeholder groups had shown (i.e., the successes achieved by Buffalo Bayou, Brays Bayou, Clear Creek, Armand Bayou and Sims Bayou). Planning studies by these groups have instigated on-going multi-million dollar flood infrastructure construction projects; environmental actions encompassing preservation of forested areas; and the construction of hike-and-bike trails in protected wildlife habitant areas.

What are the advantages of forming a coalition?
Individual homeowners, MUDs, and HOAs seldom accomplish what an effective watershed-wide coalition can achieve.  Harris County’s more urbanized watersheds have shown that positive results by a dedicated stakeholder group can be accomplished through proactive cooperation with government agencies, local MUDs and private sector organizations.

Why does CCFCC’s charter specify that regional solutions…flood/subsidence mitigation, conversion to a surface water supply, and upgrading the development of greenway recreation…be integrated “into a viable overall watershed plan?”
Subsidence contributes to stormwater flooding and recognizes no political boundaries (i.e., precincts, MUDs, or county lines). And because certain Waller County headwaters of the Cypress Creek Watershed drain into Harris County, it is necessary that Harris County’s flood mitigation infrastructure be sufficient to accommodate this out-of-county drainage (a solution complicated by the fact that HCFCD’s jurisdiction is confined to Harris County).