AUSTIN — Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved $322,714 in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery grants for the city of Manvel to make sewer and water improvements. 

"Hurricane Harvey devastated communities across the Texas Coast," said Commissioner Bush. "These recovery funds are critical to improving local infrastructure that will protect lives, homes and businesses from future storms. We continue to work with our partners in communities across the region to leverage these resources efficiently and effectively to benefit Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey." 

Hurricane Harvey overwhelmed the wastewater and water systems of the City of Manvel. Heavy rainfall caused flooding, resulting in the wastewater treatment plant receiving inflow water that carried sand and silt into the oxidation ditch. The water volume capacity of the main water treatment unit was lost due to a large amount of this sediment. This resulted in a threat to public health, safety, and welfare.

These funds will enable Manvel city leaders to conduct sewer and water Infrastructure improvements to facilitate the proper functioning of critical wastewater-system components to reduce the impact of sewage contamination and backflow and ensure that potable water is available to the community in emergency situations. With these funds, the city will install a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system at the city wastewater treatment plant on Corporate Drive, the water treatment plant on School Road, at as well as the Lakeland and Lewis Lane lift stations. Backup generators will also be installed at three of the locations.

Texas GLO Hurricane Harvey Recovery Funds:

Commissioner George P. Bush and the Texas General Land Office was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to lead the historic Hurricane Harvey housing recovery efforts funded by $5.676 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The GLO allocated $413 million of the allocation for infrastructure projects to protect communities affected by the storm. The GLO allocated the funds to regional Council of Governments' (COGs) based on a HUD approved needs assessment. The locally-led COGs then conducted methods of distribution (MODs) for determining infrastructure and buyout and acquisition amounts for cities and counties within each jurisdiction. COG boards are comprised of officials from the impacted communities elected in part to prioritize funds allocated for recovery programs. The MOD process requires public engagement and the GLO reviewed each MOD for compliance with federal rules and requirements before approving each plan.

To review the approved MODs, please visit https://recovery.texas.gov/action-plans/hurricane-harvey/index.html.