Dec 6th 2019 | Posted in Trends by Texas Government Insider

Humble ISD (HISD) is moving forward on plans to build a $28 million flood gate system to protect Kingwood High School after receiving a $25 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Photo illustration of flood gates

Kingwood High School suffered $63 million in damages from Hurricane Harvey. During the restoration, students and staff shared a campus with another high school in the district for most of the 2017-2018 school year.

District leaders have been working with FEMA to develop a flood protection plan for the campus. Architects presented a concept to HISD school board members last month that features installing flood gates, which float up without electricity, at school entrances, waterproofing exterior walls, and adding new backflow preventers.

HISD plans to select a general contractor and engineer for the project in the spring semester to refine the mitigation plan over six to eight months. Construction is scheduled to begin in winter 2020 with completion targeted for 2022.