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What a great day

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to witness
and be a part of this historic event.

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I moved to the Aldine area in 1979

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when I built my house,
never expecting to flood

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since the south side of Castlewood

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was in the 500-year floodplain.

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But unfortunately,

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I, along with my entire subdivision,
some of whom are present here,

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flooded in 2001 with Tropical Storm
Allison,

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then again with Harvey in 2017,

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followed by Imelda two years later.

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We are certainly excited
with the completion of this phase

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two stormwater detention basin

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that will further
reduce the risk of flooding.

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This project is

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an enormous benefit for this community
and also for our region.

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Every project that we are able to build

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with the help of our partners,
like the Texas Water Development Board,

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means that our community sees
a reduced risk of flooding,

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and that leads
to an improved quality of life.

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This area that we are standing on
used to be homes.

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These homes were bought out
because they were deep in the floodplain,

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and we were able to move those individuals
to a safer place.

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And we can also use this property

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to then mitigate the risk of flooding
for generations to come.

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So the scale of this project is enormous.

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We have three different phases.

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Phase one was started in 2020,
and it took two years to complete.

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This project started in 2022,

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and we completed it
just this year in 2025.

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Combined,
those two projects provide more than 390

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million gallons of stormwater storage.

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We have a phase three coming,
which will provide even more benefits

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and even more opportunities to reduce
the risk of flooding and protect people.

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One of the great things, too,
is that we are able to partner

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with our precinct, and they have been able
to put trails along the first phase,

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and they are in the process
of planning trails for this next phase.

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And so,
not only will it provide flood mitigation,

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but it's going to provide an amenity
for this community.

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This project is an example
of the power of partnership.

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This project was funded through

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multiple different partners.

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The Texas Water Development Board
was really key in helping this project

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move forward.

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We also had funding from
the Natural Resource Conservation Service,

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and the Texas General Land Office
is also a partner in this overall project.

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And at the end of the day, all of us
working together with the precinct,

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with our community and with the engineers
who are helping us construct

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and then the construction teams who are
helping us build this work, all of us

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together, is really what it takes
to deliver a project of this magnitude.

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The impacts and the benefits
that this project will provide

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are so significant,
and we're just thankful

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for the opportunity
to do this work with our partners.