(SUGAR LAND) - A Sugar Land neighborhood where nearly 600 homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey now has a massive new pump working to protect its residents and their homes, just in time for the start of the 2023 Hurricane season.
The pump moves 150,000 gallons of water per minute, protecting Sugar Land's Riverstone neighborhood. It works alongside a pre-existing pump that moves 80,000 gallons of water per minute.
Levee Improvement District (LID) 19 and LID 15 worked together on the $9.1 million project, their most significant major capital improvement for flood protection for Riverstone since Hurricane Harvey.
A ribbon cutting at the Steep Bank Creek Pump Station in Fort Bend County's Precinct 3 commemorated the project's completion on Friday.
"Safety and security are critical priorities for me and my team," said Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers. "Hurricane Harvey reinforced the importance of our levee systems and prompted these improvements, which were completed without raising taxes."
In 2017, the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey resulted from unprecedented rainfall and coincidental flood levels for the Brazos River. The Steep Bank Creek Pump Station had a total capacity to pump 80,000 gallons of water per minute. Today it can pump 230 gallons of water per minute, enough to have kept Riverstone from flooding during Harvey.
