City's New Dredging Program Launched

12/20/2024 – Just in time for the holidays, the City’s new dredging program on Lake Houston finally launched this week, but with some changes.

The placement area for the spoils will now be near Luce Bayou, not Spanish Cove as previously reported.
This phase of dredging will be restricted to 181 acres on the West Fork. In a previous Town Hall meeting, presenters hinted it might also include East Fork sediment.

According to Dustin Hodges, Chief of Staff for District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger, delays earlier this year in the long-awaited dredging program had to do with the search for an optimal placement area.

DRC, the City’s contractor, and its sister company, Callan Marine, will dredge 876,672 cubic yards of West Fork sediment and pump it four miles to property they bought near Luce. Their objective: to restore the river to its pre-Harvey profile, thereby reducing the potential for flooding.

Depth of the dredged area will vary. But today, the contractor was working at an average depth of 7-8 feet when I visited the operation.

Funding Success Tied to Location

Funding for the program comes from FEMA via U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw. The City will use money left over from the West Fork Mouth Bar dredging. As a consequence, this phase of dredging will be limited to the West Fork to meet FEMA requirements.

*Callan will dredge green areas. For a high-resolution printable PDF, click here.*

However, an agreement to use property near Luce Bayou for placement of the spoils may be fortuitous for future East Fork dredging programs. The proximity of the disposal site to the East Fork could lower pumping costs and make dredging there more affordable.

*Callan’s General Pershing Dredge working today on West Fork.*

*Sediment will be pumped from the drill bit through this 18″ pipeline up Luce Bayou on the far side of the East Fork.*

Mayor John Whitmire and City Council Members Fred Flickinger and Twila Carter have pushed this program since taking office.

*Partially submerged drill bit at work.*

When Whitmire was elected, he said he wouldn’t forget Kingwood. And he hasn’t.

Key to Reducing Flood Potential

The City’s new dredging program should reduce the potential for future flooding by increasing the conveyance of the river through this critical area.

It is here that water slows down as it meets the standing water in Lake Houston. That causes suspended sediment to drop out of suspension. When enough piles up as it did with the mouth bar, it can back water up into homes and businesses.

Mouth bar — *The West Fork Mouth Bar as it existed after Harvey. It has since been removed. The current dredging program will focus on areas beyond the mouth bar*.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/20/24

2670 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Funding Success Tied to Location

Key to Reducing Flood Potential

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