Flood Digest: Quick Updates on Six Flood-Mitigation Projects

8/30/24 – Another month has flown by. Below are quick updates on six flood-mitigation projects in the area.

HCFCD Beryl-related Ditch Maintenance

According to Jeremy Phillips, Director of Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Asset Management Division, “The quickest way to ensure we are including debris in our post-storm cleanup is to fill out a service request online. We send them to our maintenance staff. They, in turn, ensure our contractors pick up the reported debris.”

I reported four trees this afternoon in a ditch that runs through Kings Forest just north of Kingwood Drive.

The second is more serious: a cluster of three trees that have fallen across the ditch about 50 feet upstream.

Such blockages can catch other debris floating downstream during heavy rains and form dams that back water up into homes. HCFCD has 2500 miles of channels to patrol. Help them help you. Report any problems you see on the web page above.

Emily Woodell, a HCFCD spokesperson, said, “Through our Beryl debris removal efforts, we are currently at 10,966 tons of debris removed from 14 different watersheds. Based on our debris estimates, we are approximately 33% complete with our countywide debris removal operation.” Harris County maintains ditches, streams and bayous in 23 different watersheds.

Northpark Expansion

The expansion of Northpark Drive will create an all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood for almost 80,000 people when Hamblen and Kingwood Drive are cut off.

The project has been delayed by utility conflicts, but those now have reportedly been resolved. The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority posted a new 3-week lookahead schedule yesterday.

The big news: new concrete is not far off.

In the next three weeks, contractors will focus on completing dirt work, preparing the sub-grade, and setting up rebar.

All photos below were taken on 8/30/24.

Tree Lane/Bens Branch Bridge Repair

I last posted about the Tree Lane bridge repairs over Bens Branch on 8/11/24. In the last 19 days, Houston Public Works has poured a few more loads of concrete and partially installed some culvert for a storm-drain outfall. No one was at the job site today.

This is the third attempt at repairs since 2019. The most recent started in February 2024. The original completion date was Spring 2024. Now it’s Fall 2024. Technically, Fall lasts until December 22. But there’s always 2025 as a fallback.

SJRA Projects

After Harvey, the San Jacinto River Authority engaged in several flood-mitigation projects with partners throughout the river basin. Projects included the San Jacinto River Basin Master Drainage Study, a Sedimentation Study, a Sand-Trap Study and more. Unfortunately, none have been acted on yet.

The SJRA also worked with several other entities on the State’s first Flood Plan and developed a seasonal-lowering strategy for Lake Conroe to help protect downstream residents.

However, the seasonal strategy turned into an ad hoc Active Storm Management strategy under withering criticism and a lawsuit from the Lake Conroe Association. The new strategy contributed to the flooding of hundreds of homes in May. Thousands more nearly flooded. It was the second highest release in SJRA history, exceeded only by Harvey.

Today, SJRA published a newsletter supposedly informing readers about their flood mitigation progress. The first 279 words explained how they don’t have money to do anything. So, they’ve worked with partners and the partner’s money to produce studies…none of which have been acted on yet.

The last paragraph states, “The [Flood-Management] Division has received and utilized grant funding via the Flood Infrastructure Fund through the Texas Water Development Board for studies and projects which may lead to flood reduction benefits in the future.“

“The Division will continue to pursue flood mitigation opportunities and partnerships throughout the region, with the ultimate goal of serving and improving the lives of the public,” said the newsletter.

Editorial Comment: The SJRA needs to focus on actionability in its studies.

Dredging

The City of Houston announced the start of a new dredging project in Lake Houston back on April 1. After delays due to floods, flood damage and a potential change in scope, they now hope to start within 30 days. I last saw them assembling pipe at the Army Corps’ old site south of the West Fork and the Forest Cove Pool.

The original project was designed to remove accumulated sediment between Kings Point and the FM1960 bridge.

The potential change in scope is encouraging. Due to additional sediment coming down from upstream during several floods earlier this year, the City has applied to FEMA for more money to cover several additional projects around the lake.

One such project is cleaning out the mouth of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch at River Grove Park. It has become badly silted in.

A spokesperson for the City said they hope to hear from FEMA on this and other projects shortly.

The idea is to do as many projects as possible while the equipment is here. That reduces mobilization charges as a percentage of each job. And mobilization is a major component of most dredging jobs.

Flood Gates

Earlier this week, I learned that FEMA and TDEM approved a change to an interlocal agreement in April concerning 11 new tainter gates for the Lake Houston Dam. The Coastal Water Authority approved the change in July. And the Houston City Council will take it up in September.

Councilman Fred Flickinger is reportedly meeting with Public Works next week to see what can be done to serve residents better and faster.

That’s this month’s roundup of flood-mitigation projects affecting the Lake Houston Area and Harris County.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/30/24

2558 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 54 since Beryl