The High Cost of Living Downstream from Sand Mines
2/24/25 – Yesterday, I posted pictures and video of a river of muck hundreds of feet wide that has poured out of Hallett Materials 170-acre settling pond into the San Jacinto West Fork…for a full year. Today, I’ll talk about the high cost of living downstream from that situation.
But Hallett has even more environmental issues. The West Fork now flows directly through one of the company’s other pits. It also flows through a third pit that Hallett sold to a residential developer just weeks before the dikes on the pit failed.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has not addressed any of those problems. It investigated one issue, ignored two others and issued no fines – despite a directive from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to “take action against sand mining operations violating regulations.”
Up the Down Escalator
It became clear after Harvey, that sand clogging the West Fork had contributed to epic flooding downstream from the sand mines. 16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses flooded in the Humble/Kingwood area.
The Army Corps said sediment had reduced the conveyance of the river up to 90% in places. But even after taxpayers bore almost $200 million of dredging costs, the river still has not returned to pre-Harvey conditions. More sand keeps coming.
Sand miners claim rivers naturally convey sediment. True. But that ignores the contribution of 20 square miles of exposed sediment in sand mines once protected by dense vegetation. Call the logic police.
Should we ignore industrial air pollution because bird poop falls naturally from the sky?
Meanwhile, downstream areas pay the price. Until we fix the problem of leaky sand mines, the river will continue to silt in as fast as we can dredge it.
See the photos below taken today at River Grove Park where the Kingwood Diversion Ditch outfalls to the San Jacinto West Fork.
Before the Army Corps completed dredging after Harvey, River Grove flooded five times in one six month period. The Corps liberated River Grove in December 2018.
KSA supplemented the Corps dredging and reopened its boat ramp in March 2020. Now, less than five years later, we need serious dredging again. See below.
Note: the water level is down slightly for a dam repair project downstream.
Dredging Estimated to Cost More than Half of KSA’s Cash Reserves
Last year, KSA obtained bids to dredge the outfall. However, the cost amounted to more than $800,000, more than half of KSA’s cash reserves at the time.
Since then, in my opinion, the sedimentation has worsened. So, dredging could cost even more now.
And this is just one ditch among many on the West Fork. All the more reason to reduce sediment coming from upstream sand mines.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/24/25
2736 Days since Hurricane Harvey
