Since 1914, the Houston Ship Channel has been a partnership between the people of Texas and the Federal Government.

The Houston Plan was the first time in history that a federal project would have a local funding match. In 1909, Houston Mayor Horace Baldwin Rice led a delegation of influential Houstonians to Washington D.C. to persuade the U.S. Congress to deepen the ship channel to 25 feet for navigation. Mayor Baldwin and the people of Houston believed so strongly that deepening the ship channel was critical to the regional and national economy that they put forward a 50% match to get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to complete the project.

The Mayor’s advocacy campaign became the blueprint for how all major federal projects are financed today, with a local cost share. This is why Port Houston provided a local match to jumpstart the current expansion, known as Project 11.

After deepening the channel by 1914, more dredging maintenance was needed to continually maintain operational depth. The process, known today as operations and maintenance dredging, is governed by the Water Resources Development Act. This federal law requires the U.S. government to provide funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers budget each fiscal year to dredge the siltation out of the federal channels around the United States. However, there is rarely enough funding to go around. So, Congress and the USACE must prioritize what is most impactful for the nation. As such, the Port must advocate for between $50 million and $100 million of operations and maintenance funding for the Houston Ship Channel each year just to maintain the depth of 46 feet.

This is where our Congressional Delegation and local officials get involved. Through letters, phone calls, meetings, and Congressional hearings, our delegation unites to champion the region's need for this funding. Highlighting our economic importance to the nation is critical in this effort.

Our Congressmembers work tirelessly to ensure enough funds are appropriated in Congress to use in the ship channel and avoid draft restrictions in the channel. If they are unsuccessful, the channel ends up silting in too much in certain areas, causing what we call a draft restriction. This means that instead of having 46 feet of depth in that area, there could now only be 40 feet of depth, which means ships that have to load lighter to clear the bottom of the channel. The partnership is strong between the USACE and Port Houston, and we greatly appreciate the commitment of our Congressmembers and local officials to keep fighting each year for this critical funding.

The Houston Ship Channel Economic Impact:

• 3.37M jobs nationwide
• 1.54M jobs in Texas
• $906B in economic value across the U.S.
• $439B in statewide economic value

 

To learn more about the Houston Ship Channel Expansion – Project 11, click here