The Houston City Council has approved a $16.7 billion Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Over the next five years, Houston will allocate nearly half of the CIP budget into water and wastewater infrastructure, totaling approximately $8.1 billion. Additional allocations in the budget include:
- $2.7 billion to the Houston Airport System.
- $2.6 billion to support Build Houston Forward.
- $2.4 billion for component units.
- $913 million for the Public Improvement Program.
The updated CIP includes a $2.2 billion increase when compared to the FY 2025-2029 iteration.
Investments in the water utility system account for $4.3 billion for the next five years. The city’s interest in improving and maintaining its water infrastructure centers around making critical improvements to existing facilities and building new structures to safeguard water resources. Some of the projects featured in the CIP include:
- Replacing two purification plants.
- Installing chloramination chemical systems at 30 groundwater pump stations.
- Rehabilitating wells, ground storage tanks and pump stations.
- Building surface water transmission lines.
- Replacing neighborhood water mains.
The city has allocated $3.8 billion to supplement wastewater facilities, ensuring Houston has the capacity and capability to adequately treat and process wastewater for approximately 3 million people. Highlighted wastewater projects include:
- Rehabilitating neighborhood sewers to improve performance, remove excessive filtration and prevent overflows and backups.
- Renewing and rehabilitating the city’s force main system and lift stations.
- Upgrading, rehabilitating or renewing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).
- Rehabilitating large diameter sewers.
- Consolidating lift stations and/or WWTPs.
Build Houston Forward – a program dedicated to enhancing and maintaining the city’s streets and drainage systems – will receive $2.6 billion for CIP projects. Traffic control measures center around injecting $750 million to rehabilitate street infrastructure to improve safety and mobility, with the remaining $738 million allocated will support improvements to thoroughfares and collectors, local streets and sidewalk safety. The city’s upcoming storm drainage infrastructure projects will divide its $1.1 billion share to prevent flooding and address capacity, deterioration and structural issues.
Houston will invest approximately $2.7 billion in the Houston Airport System, targeting capital improvement projects at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and Ellington Airport.
IAH will receive the largest portion of this funding to redevelop Terminal B, rehabilitate taxiways and airport infrastructure, improve the central utility plant, repair the skyway structure, install a storm water pollution control system, enhance the HVAC system’s efficiency and install a hydrogen fueling station.
HOU will spend the second largest amount to rehabilitate taxiways, build stormwater drainage and sanitary sewer system infrastructure, update restrooms and improve conveyances. Finally, Ellington Airport will build and rehabilitate taxiways, replace perimeter security fences and update its drainage master plan.
The city’s public improvement sector will receive $913 million for various improvements, including spending $246 million over the next five years to update city vehicles. Additional funding will be dedicated toward repairing municipal courts, replacing fire stations, building a police station and renovating various other public service facilities.
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