Caught on Camera: TXDoT Contractor Dumping Fill in Floodplain

2/5/26 – For months, Huffman residents have complained about TXDoT contractors dumping fill in the floodplain of Cedar Bayou. This morning, I caught the dumping on camera. The fill comes from two stormwater detention basin sites. One is almost complete. The other one is larger and still being excavated. Both sites are adjacent to the FM2100 reconstruction project.

Dumping Without Permit

Dumping fill in a 100-year floodplain violates county regulations.
Regulations Effective July 9, 2019

Dumping fill in unincorporated areas of Harris County, such as this one, also requires a permit, which the contractors do not have. Harris County Precinct 3 has tried to stop the illegal activity, according to Eric Mullen, Precinct 3’s head engineer.

Jason Haines, a project manager for Precinct 3, says this fill does not have a permit. He also has tried to stop the dumping. But the contractors have not complied. He says that compliance will require either: removal of the fill or removing an equivalent amount somewhere else in the floodplain.

The visual below shows where the fill is coming from and going to. In both cases, it’s coming from outside the floodplain and going into one.

*Luce Bayou cuts across left, Cedar Bayou cuts across lower right. Aqua area = 100 year floodplain.*

Reducing the volume of a floodplain forces stormwater to go elsewhere, i.e., into someone else’s home or business. That’s why the regulations exist.

This morning, I photographed a parade of dump trucks being filled up at the triangular site above and depositing their loads in the floodplain. The activity has been going on for months, according to local residents Max Kidd and his wife.

Below is a small sampling of hundreds of photos I took today and on two previous occasions. They have GPS coordinates embedded in them so you can verify their locations in software, such as PhotoGeoTag.

*Triangular site adjacent to FM2100, which TxDOT is excavating*. *Approximately 26 acres.*

*This dump truck with the blue cab was being filled up at the triangular site.*

I then followed that blue truck to the dump site, a farm just south of the Luce Inter-basin Transfer Canal.

*Same truck with blue cab pulls into position to dump its fill through a door opening beneath the trailer.*

*As it drops its load, a bulldozer immediately starts smoothing it out so the next truck can deposit its load.*

*I watched this for hours, shuttling from Point A to Point B and back again.*

*The elevation of the fill is quite high compared to the height of the bulldozer.*

*The presence of lights indicates the activity may continue after dark.*

*Load after load…all in the floodplain.*

And it’s not just this one mound.

*Additional fill deposited on another part of the same property but not yet spread. Luce Inter-basin Transfer Canal at top.*

*Residents say dirt from this detention basin was also deposited at the same site although I have no pictures of the actual dumping.*

It’s the Principle that Counts

*The dump site (l) is less than a mile from the Huffman High School and Middle School (r), making them more vulnerable to reduced floodplain capacity.*

Note: all floodplains above are based on 2007 pre-Harvey data. The floodplains should get even wider and deeper when FEMA releases the new flood maps.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/5/2026

3082 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.