Dredging Progress on Lake Houston and In Austin!

4/12/25 – Dredging is making progress on Lake Houston and in Austin.

The City of Houston’s most recent West Fork dredging program started last December near the channel south of Royal Shores. The channel connects the San Jacinto East and West Forks. Callan Marine is pumping the spoils through the channel, across the East Fork, up Luce Bayou to a placement area adjacent to the Luce Inter-Basin Transfer Canal.

I did a brief update about the expansion of the placement area in January. At the time, the dredge was still operation between the channel and the northern extremity of Atascocita Point. And Callan was doubling the size of the placement area.

Since then, the dredge moved about a half mile downstream toward FM1960. And Callan has filled the expanded placement area approximately one-third of the way up. Callan estimated the program would take a year. And that was about a third of a year ago.

In a separate but related effort, State Representative Charles Cunningham’s bill to create a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District picked up some additional support and was considered by the House Natural Resources Committee on April 9. The Committee “reported it favorably”

Photos Taken Today Show Dredging Progress

My estimate on one-third complete is purely a guess based on the original timetable and a visual assessment of the placement area. See the photos below, all taken today.

*Looking south toward FM1960 Bridge.* *Dredge is in upper center.*

*Closer shot reveals dredge bit was submerged and the dredge was pumping.*

*Dredge was at left end of red line this morning and pumping to placement area in red box in upper right.*

This program uses money left over from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Emergency West Fork Dredging Program. Therefore, dredging is restricted to the West Fork.

*Map of current dredge plan. Today, the dredge was operating slightly NW of the #4 position.*

The dredge you saw above is pumping spoils approximately four miles to the northeast. Dredging “spoils” are the materials, including sand, silt, clay, and other organic matter, removed from the bottom of the Lake.

Below is a photo of the placement area for the spoils.

*Looking E toward Dayton and Liberty. Luce Bayou Inter-Basin Transfer Canal (left) and placement area (right).*

Spoils enter at lower left via a pipeline. Water carrying the sediment then works its way through the maze of compartments in the pond and circles back to where it entered. The closer shot below shows the dirt spreading out. Eventually it will be hard enough to build homes on.

*The maze slows down the speed of the water and allows dirt to drop out of suspension.*

*Higher shot shows a “delta” forming within the pond.* *Before this operation is complete, bulldozers will spread the dirt around evenly.*

*Spoils enter the pond through the pipe on the right. De-silted water exits the pond just a few feet away. It returns to Lake Houston through the canal in the upper right.*

Progress on Cunningham Bill to Create Lake Houston Dredging/Maintenance District

The immensity of this task dramatizes the need for State Rep. Charles Cunningham’s bill (HB1532) to create a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District. The project above covers only a tiny portion of the lake, which is losing capacity due to sedimentation.

Cunningham’s bill would create a permanent dredging district for Lake Houston.

In March, the bill picked up three additional sponsors: Armando Walle (District 140), Harold Dutton, Jr. (District 142) and Valorie Swanson (District 150).

On 3/19/25, the House Natural Resources Committee heard testimony on the bill. See video starting at approximately 1:23 here.

On 4/9/2025, the House Natural Resources Committee reported it favorably as substituted and recommended it be put on the Local & Consent Calendar.

That’s good news. You can follow the bill’s progress here.

We still have a long way to go. But so far, so good.