Floodwater Rising and More Rain On the Way

Surprisingly heavy rains in the last week of January 2023 have led to floodwater rising on area streams. As of 1:38 PM on Monday 1/30/23, the National Weather Service predicted minor flooding throughout much of the northern part of the Houston region, including:

East Fork San Jacinto near New Caney affecting Montgomery, Liberty and Harris Counties.
Peach Creek at Splendora affecting Montgomery and Harris Counties.
West Fork San Jacinto near Humble affecting Montgomery and Harris Counties.
Cypress Creek at Katy-Hockley Road affecting Waller and Harris Counties.
Menard Creek near Rye affecting Hardin, Polk and Liberty Counties.

One on Top of Another

Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist, said, “While response on area watersheds in the northern portions of Harris County may seem significant for the amount of rain Sunday, when you combine rainfall from Tuesday and Sunday, totals of 8-11 inches are found over this area. The rainfall combined with saturated soils explain the significant rises on area streams.”

*From Harris County Flood Warning System*

Photos of Flooding from 1/29 and 1/30

Here’s what all that rain looked like on the ground in the Humble/Kingwood Area last night and this morning.

*Parked in wrong place. West Hamblen Road near West Fork.*

*Townsen Landing development in Humble near Target in upper left.* *Saratoga Homes plans to build 357 singl- family homes here.*

*Single- and multi-family residential, some of which will be dedicated to seniors on Townsen Blvd. West in Humble.*

*US59 South at West Fork. Underpass closed due to high water.*

*Looking N toward Lakeside Court and Treasure Lane between West Fork (left) and 59 (right).*

*Confluence of Spring Creek and West Fork just west of US59. Note distinctly different color of water coming from the West Fork (right) where we have 20 square miles of sand mines between 59 and 45.*

*Forest Cove Drive just north of West Fork*

*Contractors are expanding the permanent detention basin at the new Kingwood Middle School.*

It looks like we’re beginning to see the outlines of a football field and running track at KMS. That’s the one bright spot in all of these bleak shots. And to think, a few months ago, we were worried about drought.

“Plays Well With Others”

Remember that box on kindergarten report cards – “Plays Well with Others”? These last few photos dramatize the need for developers and their contractors to play by the rules. Most do. But some don’t. These last few shots show how to make a bad situation worse.

New Royal Pines development draining into storm sewer. Note water pouring over storm fence and directly into drain without filtration. A big no no. Violates stormwater regulations and could plug up storm sewers eventually.

*NW corner of Royal Pines floods neighbor in upper right.* *They installed silt fence last week. But unchecked runoff pushed it over* the fence. *See photo below.*

Contractors sloped the land toward a neighbor’s property and have yet to build detention ponds. They have flooded the neighbor four times now in two months and have not done anything to correct the problem…at least nothing that has worked.

*Same area but about several hours earlier. Weight of water pushed over silt fence.*

*Eastern portion of Royal Pines doesn’t even have silt fence between it and White Oak Creek.*

*Another part of Royal Pines eastern perimeter. More erosion heading toward White Oak Creek and the East Fork.*

*Preserve at Woodridge Detention basin is supposed to be grass lined, but instead is pouring silt into a tributary of Bens Branch which HCFCD just cleaned out.*

Ain’t Over Yet

January, February and March are normally our three driest months. But not this year. It looks like we will get 2-3X the normal monthly total.

*National Weather Service Climate Data for Houston*

Ten to 11 inches in 7 days qualifies as a five-year rainfall by Atlas-14 standards.
NOAA Precipitation frequency estimates

And more rain is on the way. NWS predicts heavy rain arriving from the north on Wednesday. They also warn of flash flooding.

Share Your Flood Pics with the Community

If you have pictures of flooding that you would like to share, please use the Submissions Page of this website. Make sure to include the time, date, and location of the photo and how you would like the credit line to read.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/30/2023

1980 Days since Hurricane Harvey