Harris County names Marcus Stuckett to lead Flood Control District

Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously chose Marcus Stuckett on June 25 to lead the Flood Control District, putting a former engineering director back at the center of an agency under pressure to move stalled flood work before the next major storm cycle. The appointment came two weeks after Dr. Tina Petersen resigned as executive director.

Stuckett had previously served as the district’s director of engineering and had been working for Pape-Dawson, a Houston-based engineering firm, before commissioners turned to him for the top job. The move gives the county a leader who already knows the district’s project pipeline, a practical advantage as officials try to keep federally funded flood mitigation work on schedule.

The timing matters because the Flood Control District is carrying more than routine maintenance. Created by the Texas Legislature in 1937 and governed by Commissioners Court, the agency says it was built to serve as the local partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and now manages capital and major maintenance projects across Harris County with federal, state, local and private money. Harris County voters approved a $2.5 billion flood bond on August 25, 2018, and the district says a major flood occurs somewhere in the county about every two years.

Petersen’s resignation on June 11 followed concerns about delays and communication problems tied to federally funded flood mitigation projects with strict spending deadlines. Those deadlines have become a political fault line inside county government. Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has said the county may have no chance of meeting the deadlines and blamed county procedures and disputes with Flood Control District leadership for the setbacks.

Stuckett’s appointment also carries symbolic weight. Local coverage identified him as the first African American to lead the Flood Control District, a milestone at an agency that shapes how Harris County spends billions on drainage, detention and buyouts after repeated flooding. But the bigger test is operational: whether the new director can deliver a clear first 100 days plan that shows which projects will move, which deadlines can still be met and how the county will explain delays before the next heavy rain.

The pressure is growing as residents face additional flood-related costs. A Houston Chronicle analysis in February 2026 found that new FEMA flood maps could require flood insurance for roughly 170,000 more Harris County homes, a reminder that the county’s flood-control choices now reach far beyond courtrooms and engineering offices.