The deal’s not sealed, but more than $1.5 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the Lake Gladewater Dam.
Tied to Department of Homeland Security appropriations, the Community Project Funding for Gladewater’s aging spillway and earthen embankment will be a significant jump-start for long-term repairs.
The necessary bills have cleared the House of Representatives, but there’s a likely delay ahead. In particular, the shooting of civilian Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol Agents in Minneapolis Saturday, Jan. 24, is a new hurdle for federal funding negotiations in D.C.
That’s all going to play out in time. For now, officials here are celebrating a boon for Gladewater’s coffers courtesy of coordination with area political leaders.
According to District 1 Rep. Nathaniel Moran, “Congress holds the power of the purse, and this year, we used it the way the Constitution intended,” the congressman announced Jan. 22. “With final passage of all 12 FY26 appropriations bills, we secured $17M+ for TX-01 while avoiding the waste and lack of oversight that come with continuing resolutions.”
Within that sum is about $1.56 million for the dam.
“This is regular order. Real oversight. Real results for East Texas.”
The effort to secure the funding got rolling during the Texas Municipal League Conference in October 2024 when Gladewater officials connected with Steve Hofmann of Lone Star Consulting Group.
Council members ultimately passed on an initial agreement with the consultant, Mayor Brandy Flanagan recalled, but Hofmann opted to pursue community funds for Gladewater on his own time.
“He talked about doing it pro bono to prove he could get this funding for us,” Flanagan said. “That’s what he did.”
In an eleventh hour push for federal assistance through the DHS-FEMA Subcommittee, local officials solicited support to make a case “for the critical rehabilitation and widening of the Lake Gladewater Dam, classified as a High Hazard Potential structure by TCEQ.” Letters from Texas Senator Bryan Hughes and Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt joined one from Flanagan along with engineers’ reports on the state of the dam.
“We just got the word it was approved,” Flanagan confirmed Sunday. “We originally submitted for $2.8 million. We were granted $1.5, and we’re grateful for anything we get.
“We’ll identify what exactly we can use that funding towards. We’re hoping that will pay for the engineering plans.”
Moran laid eyes on the dam during a community tour with Gladewater Chamber of Commerce’s Lois Reed. The congressman has also familiarized himself with its particular flaws and needs – his office is keeping track of local coverage in the Gladewater Mirror.
“That thing’s 73 years-old. It was made to be a 50-year dam. Folks have been tracking the erosion for at least the last 15 years, and it needs some repair,” he said Monday. “It’s got some erosion, some cracks, some seepage.
Once the funds are finally approved and eventually disbursed, “We’ll be able to do some things that are needed to temporarily get that dam to a place where a more long-term solution can be determined.”
The new funding comes out of the portion of DHS appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The various bills need Senate approval and the president’s signature.
“The Minnesota shooting over the weekend is probably going to complicate and delay the passage of that DHS bill this week,” Moran acknowledged Jan. 26. That said, “I think ultimately it will get passed. It’s just a matter of probably a little bit of negotiation with some other things that are not going to be related to this.”
Once the funds are officially appropriated, it’ll still take some time to reach Gladewater’s endpoint.
“The great thing is, this is what Congress, particularly in the rural areas, needs to work hard at. It would be impossible for a rural area to just get this money through general appropriations.”
According to Gladewater City Manager Charlie Smith, local officials were set for a Wednesday morning meeting with financiers and engineers to get the planning phase underway.
“Hopefully, it’ll get us started,” he said. “Once we get the project and planning phase done, we’ll be shovel-ready for the next grant we might get for that, which will be awesome.”
It’s exciting, Flanagan said, not just for problem-solving but for drawing more national assistance to the local community.
“Number one, Gladewater is getting federal funding that’s not available to everyone,” she said. “This is a great example of ‘Team Gladewater.’ Everybody came together and worked for it.”
The work it funds is going to give the aging dam a lot more time and years, Moran added, a little breathing room for permanent solutions.
“It’s like seal-coating a road. That buys you several more years until you can totally reconstruct a road. That’s what this does,” he said. “We’re going to be able to shore up that dam to protect lives and property until the point we can find another 50-year or 75-year solution.”