Watershed Protection says Prop D (2018) bond mostly committed; acquisition and construction underway, small balance may carry into 2027

Janae Spence, assistant director for project design and delivery at the Watershed Protection Department, and Susan (capital program consultant) briefed the Bond Oversight Commission on the status of the 2018 Proposition D bond program.

Spence said Prop D authorized $184,000,000 in 2018, split roughly $112,000,000 for flood mitigation and drainage and $72,000,000 for open-space and water-quality protection. As of the briefing, staff reported funding was 95% committed and appropriated; most remaining balances are tied to projects in design or construction. "Our mission is to protect the lives, property, and environment of our community by reducing the impact of flooding, erosion, and water pollution," Spence said when introducing the program priorities.

Staff walked commissioners through the project portfolio and phases: 29 flood-mitigation and drainage projects are funded by the bond, 14 in design (roughly half early/mid and half late-stage design), seven in construction, three in bid/award and four completed or in post-construction. Watershed said it acquired nearly 6,800 acres of water-quality protection lands with the bond funding and that those acquisitions contribute to a contiguous protected area in the Barton Springs recharge zone. One highlighted purchase was a 202-acre conservation easement tied to the Shield Ranch and The Nature Conservancy.

Project examples given in the briefing included the Little Walnut (Mearns Meadow) creek flood-risk reduction project — described as a large box culvert and detention-pond connection intended to remove the threat of flooding to at least 60 of roughly 80 properties in the plan area — which carried approximately $19.5 million in bond appropriations with about $4.7 million currently obligated. The Roy G. Guerrero Park channel-stabilization project, Watershed's largest erosion project, carried about $10.7 million in bond funding and began construction in August 2022 with substantial completion expected within months.

A local-flood example presented was the January Dry (Walnut Creek) project, currently in construction and intended to reduce flooding for 13 buildings and one street by installing approximately 1,700 linear feet of pipe; Watershed reported about $3.3 million obligated for that work. Staff said many projects are east of MoPac where earlier development produced known drainage problems.

Commissioners pressed Watershed on the risk of designing projects before construction funding is secured. Spence and staff explained that departments attempt to make projects "shovel ready" for a future bond and that the city uses a combination of drainage-utility fees for smaller projects and future bonds for larger capital construction. On buyouts, staff said acquisitions or buyouts are typically considered during feasibility and the professional-engineering-report (PER) phase; if no practicable structural solution exists, a buyout may be the appropriate remedy and is pursued with sensitivity to community impacts.

Spence said the department is pushing to spend out the bond by the FY2026 target but acknowledged a remaining balance of around $7–8 million that staff expect to program into the five-year plan and aim to obligate by early 2027.

What happens next: Watershed will continue to advance late-stage designs into construction where possible, coordinate use of drainage-utility funding for smaller projects, and present updated spend plans to the commission as the city prepares for a potential 2026 bond election.