“No floodplain development permit shall be issued for a development to be located in any floodway…”
“The development will not impede the flow of floodwaters.”
“The development will not result in an adverse effect on the conveyance capacity during the occurrence of the base flood.”
And yet this morning, within the space of a half hour, I observed six giant dump trucks bringing fill to a construction site at Sorters-McClellan and Savell Roads near the US59 bridge over the San Jacinto West Fork. The entire site sits in a floodway or floodplain.
The six trucks I witnessed today were reportedly part of a parade of dump trucks during the last few weeks. Photos taken this morning and on Sunday, December 7, 2025 show large volumes of fill in both the floodway and floodplain.
Rationale for Regulations
Regulations prohibit bringing fill into floodways and floodplains because it raises floodwater for someone else, creates dangerous conditions, and jeopardizes public safety.
The irregularly shaped area is approximately 20 acres near the confluence of Spring Creek and the San Jacinto West Fork.
Approximate location of new project is in yellow outline. The area is approximately 20 acres.
It’s not clear what the owner plans to build there. No permits were visible from the road.
Floodway = crosshatched. 100-year floodplain = aqua. 500-year = brown. Note date on map: 2014: is pre-Harvey.
Expect Worse Picture When Maps Updated
When new flood maps are finally released based on Atlas-14 data compiled after Harvey, those floodplain and floodway areas will reportedly expand 50-100%. As a rule of thumb, Harris County Flood Control District urges developers to plan on the floodway expanding to the far edge of the 100-year floodplain and the 100-year floodplain expanding to the far edge of the 500-year floodplain.
Pictures of Site Showing Fill
Below are a dozen pictures that show the extent and height of fill brought into the construction site, and how flood prone the area is.
Note hight of fill next to channel in center. Also note piles of fill left of center and bottom right of center. San Jacinto West Fork is at top of frame and runs under the US59 bridge, top left.Fill extends all the way to the confluence of Spring Creek and West Fork (top right).Where the development reaches the West Fork (lower left). Note height of fill at river’s edge.Higher on the property, near where the floodway and floodplain meet, a parade of massive dump trucks was bringing in fill today.As one truck was pulling in, two more dumped their loads.Note height of fill relative to trees on left.A bulldozer could not keep up with the trucks depositing their dirt.Note previous loads in foreground still waiting to be spread.Photo taken on Sunday 12/7/25 shows height of fill relative to surrounding area. Erosion shows fill in this area has been there for some time.Site entrance at Sorters McClellan and Savell Roads.Homes damaged in same area during previous floods. See next photo.Same area as above. Photo taken on 1/30/23 before peak of minor flood. Note site entrance in upper right.Same area on 1/25/24. Water came up even higher on this day.Three months later on May 3, 2024, floodwater reached higherstill.
Entire Area Inundated During Harvey
Google Earth images show that Harvey inundated the ENTIRE area far BEYOND the site entrance.
I’d hate to be the engineers that approved this project. What were they thinking? Will people never learn?
Plopping thousands of cubic yards of fill dirt here will just make floodwater higher somewhere else. Like Deerbook Mall. The new West Fork High School. Lone Star College. Kingwood Hospital. Benders Landing. Or the 59 Bridge. Remember what finding alternatives to the 59 Bridge was like after Harvey?
TxDoT rebuilt I-69 southbound lanes for almost a year while residents endured massive traffic jams.
This may be the last place in Houston that you want to raise floodwaters.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/9/2025
3024 Days since 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.
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Between 1:00 and 3:00 PM on 1/24/23, approximately 3.6 inches of rain fell over Royal Pines in southeast Montgomery County. According to Atlas-14 rainfall tables, that qualifies as a 5-year rainfall event. But floodwaters from White Oak creek approached the edge of the 100-year floodplain. And missing silt fences let sediment escape into the wetlands that border the property.
5-Year Rain
A friend who lives a mile from Royal Pines recorded about 4″ on his rain gage for the full day. A check of nearby rain gages on the Harris County Flood Warning System, showed that the official gage at FM1485 and the San Jacinto East Fork recorded approximately 3.6 inches between 1 and 3 PM today.
Harris County Flood Warning System hyetograph shows approximately 3.6 inches fell in two hours on 1/24/23.
Cross-referencing that rate with NOAA’s Atlas-14 rainfall probability estimates for this area, we can see that 3.6 inches in 2 hours equals a 5-year rain.
NOAA Atlas 14 rainfall probabilities for Lake Houston Area.
100-Year Flood Line
Now let’s look at how close that 5-year rain came to the 100-year flood line. In the construction diagram below, the developer shows the edge of the 100-year flood plain. It’s the dotted line between Zone AE and Zone X. I’ve circled the relevant portion in red.
If you were to project that line toward the lower right, it would roughly parallel the heavy black line that forms the eastern boundary of Country Colony, which you can see in the middle right of the photo below.
Floodwaters from Creek Overflow Royal Pines
The water comes almost to the edge of the floodplain shown in the construction diagram above.
Looking SE across Royal Pines. County Colony in upper right.
That big area filled with water, is a part of White Oak Creek cutting across Royal Pines. Think it’s just standing water? Think again.
The closer shot below shows water streaming through the soon-to-be subdivision and filling the Country Colony drainage ditch to overflowing.
Notice the water streaming through the cleared area and carrying away sediment downstream.
Notice also how the floodwaters approach what appears to be some sort of water treatment facility in the upper right.
These shots also document the absence of silt fence on the eastern side of Royal Pines.
All that silt will migrate down White Oak Creek and Caney Creek into the East Fork San Jacinto which the City of Houston just dredged at great public expense. The public also must foot the bill for increased water-purification costs.
More Missing Silt Fence in NW Corner of Royal Pines
The SE corner of Royal Pines wasn’t the only part of the development missing silt fence. The developer removed it from the NW corner – where a neighbor has now flooded three times in two months.
Looking N toward White Oak Creek. Contractors removed the silt fence last week. Rain then swept sediment into the woods.
Those woods contain sensitive wetlands.
Notice how water coming from the north (left) is clear. But water coming from Royal Pines (right) is filled with sediment.The muck filled the wetlands for more than a mile downstream.
How Can a 5-Year Rain Reach Almost as Far as a 100-Year Floodplain?
We need an answer to that question before this development starts pouring concrete. There are several possible explanations.
Clearcutting accelerated runoff.
Bulldozers compacted soil, limiting the rate of infiltration.
The developer hasn’t built any stormwater-detention-basin capacity to offset the increased runoff.
Planners used old (lower) Montgomery County rainfall data to determine the extent of the floodplain in their plats and plans.
Engineers didn’t count on the cumulative impact of insufficiently mitigated upstream development, some of which used beat-the-peak, hydrologic-timing surveys to avoid building detention basins.
More rain fell upstream than at the gage shown above.
Some or all of the above.
I took these photos within an hour of the end of the rain. So there wasn’t much time for water to work its way downstream very far.
Two floodplain experts I consulted pointed to the cumulative impact of upstream development as a possible culprit. Engineers are likely working with flood data acquired in the 1980s before Montgomery County became one of the fastest growing counties in the region. The data is simply too complex to adjust after each new development. So, it never gets revised and errors compound over time.
I’m sure the Montgomery County Engineers Office and TCEQ will want to get to the bottom of this before the developer starts building homes. If homebuyers flood on rains that are far less than 100-year rains, tremendous liabilities could result.
If Royal Pines or Montgomery County would like to rebut the issues I’ve raised, I will be happy to publish their point of view. The public deserves to know what’s going on.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/25/23
1975 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.
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Three areas in northwest Humble are in various stages of development. Parts or all of these areas flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The flooding was deep enough that reportedly one of the developers is not even going to try to raise the area. Instead, he said he will raise the homes 6-7 feet. Let’s hope that’s enough.
The numbers in the satellite image correspond to the groups of photos below. I took all shots on 1/3/23.
#1 will become light industrial. #2 will become single family residential. #3 will become single- and multi-family residential.
Area #1 – Light Industrial
According to a 2016 map by Skymark, the developer, the first area will become light industrial.
A four-lane divided road leads from the NW corner of Townsen Boulevard to Spring Creek on the north. By Skymark Development.The road abruptly stops before reaching Spring Creek and the Spring Creek Nature Trail.
The unpaved area between Spring Creek and where the road ends is owned by another developer (Pacific Indio) who also owns the land on the far side of the creek.
The Spring Creek Nature Trail cuts through the woods near the creek and follows it north toward I-45.Reverse angle shot looking SE toward Deerbook Mall shows large cleared area with stormwater detention basin.
Area #2 – Single Family Residential
Contractors are in the process of building roads into an area west of Target and Kohls. Saratoga Homes reportedly plans to build 357 homes and townhomes on this location.
Looking S from over Townsen Blvd. we can see two large stormwater detention basins (lower and upper left) Same area, but looking east toward Kohls and Target.
The closer shot below shows that not all the roads have been built yet.
Saratoga plans to build elevated homes here.
Area #3 – Single- and Multi-Family Residential
Looking south toward Sam’s with Townsen Blvd West on right, we can see a large stormwater detention pond that already has grass growing. This area will become single- and multi-family residential, some of which will be dedicated to seniors.
Note last of trees in center foreground being cleared and shredded for mulch. Spillway from detention basin seems to have a detour built into it. The purpose? Likely to slow the water and avoid erosion at the base of the utility poles.The long ditch on the left will drain Areas 2 and 3.
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As proof of how dangerous clearcutting without sufficient mitigation can be, the controversial Royal Pines development has flooded a neighbor on a rain that was less than 1″ – even as the Lake Houston area flirts with drought.
Royal Pines sits at the northern end of West Lake Houston Parkway in Montgomery County. Looking SE from NW corner on 10.31.22.
The circumstances are similar to those of a nearby development – Woodridge Village. There, clearcutting flooded Elm Grove Village and North Kingwood Forest twice in 2019. Without sufficient detention basins, sheet flow from approximately 268 acres swept through hundreds of homes. But those incidents weren’t during a drought. And the rainfalls were much heavier.
Less than an Inch of Rain
In this case, the rain fell on October 28, 2022. Harris County’s Flood Warning System recorded a peak of .72 inches of rain in an hour at the nearest gage. To put that in perspective, .72 inches is so slight that it would have had to have fallen in five minutes to qualify as a five-year rain or ten minutes to qualify as a one-year rain.
NOAA’s Atlas 14 rainfall probabilities
However, the rain was spread out over about a half hour.
And the soils were not saturated either. The Lake Houston Area has been in drought for much of the year. As of 11/5/22, the US Drought Monitor rated this area “abnormally dry.”
From US Drought Monitor
During the entire month before October 28, the area had received only a little more than a half inch of rain.
The flooding occurred in the northwest corner of the new development. From pictures and emails supplied by the neighbor, aerial photos taken during the last several months, elevation profiles obtained from the USGS national map, and construction plans obtained via a FOIA Request, I’ve been able to piece together the following. It appears that:
Montgomery County asked the developer to revise its plans for a detention basin.
Before approval of the revisions, contractors clearcut 200+ acres.
Contractors filled in a natural depression that channeled runoff toward White Oak Creek and sloped the development toward the neighbor’s home.
Runoff from the .72-inch rain rushed toward the northwest corner of the development.
Silt fences funneled most of the runoff toward the corner, where it broke through the fence.
Runoff also seeped under the fence.
The runoff washed sediment across the back of the neighbor’s property toward White Oak Creek.
Video shot by resident on 10/28/22Sloping mudline on silt fence shows how land had been angled toward this corner.The lower elevation used to be to the right.See discussion below.Water and muck running onto neighbor’s propertythrough break in corner. Water also ran underneath silt fence.Aerial photo taken five days later on 11/2/22.Notice all the muck still in the corner and the silt deposited in the woods.
The neighbor’s property extends on a straight line beyond the left fence. Water flowed from bottom of frame toward corner.
Wider shot taken after the rainon 11.2.22 shows contractor tried to fill in trench eroded by runoff.On 11.5.22, contractors repaired the silt fence and installed additional silt fences to slow and block runoff.
Luckily, the neighbor’s house did not flood. But a heavier rain might have flooded it.
Development Now Slopes Toward Neighbor Instead of Away
The USGS National Map shows that this area used to slope AWAY from their property, NOT TOWARD it.
In this area water flows from the bottom of the frame toward the top where White Oak Creek is. Comparing the contours on the left above and depression on the right with the direction the water actually travelled confirm that contractors altered the slope of the land.
Yet Chapter 11.086 of the Texas Water Code begins “No person way divert … the natural flow of surface waters in this state, or permit a diversion … that damages the property of another …”
Missing Detention Basin
Construction plans show that the developer was supposed to have built a detention basin in the corner that flooded.
Royal Pines construction plan shows detention basin in northwest corner.Also note same contour shown on USGS map above.
However, the Montgomery County Engineer’s Office has reportedly asked for changes to the design of the detention basin. A sound business practice would have been to avoid clearcutting that area until the basin could have been excavated immediately.
Montgomery County does not require the approval of construction plans before clearcutting. This story shows why that should change. Delays expose people to more flood risk.
Clearly, the flooding shown in the pictures below could have been much worse in a normal year.
Let’s hope they get that stormwater detention basin built before heavier rains return! And let’s also hope that other contractors learn this clearcutting lesson.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/6/2022
1895 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.
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The Pulte Homes Mavera development at FM 1314 and SH 242 comprises approximately 2000 acres. Contractors first focused on clearing the 865 acres east of FM 1314. Photos taken on 7/22/2022 show they’re now also focusing on the 1150 acres west of FM 1314. Significant clearing in this western portion has already occurred. But more remains.
Map of Mavera At Ultimate Buildout
Mapexcerpted from developer’s 5/29/2020 memo to Montgomery County engineers.
Photos From West to East
Looking west from middle of western portion of Mavera. SH 242 in background. Channel drains into Crystal Creek which drains into West Fork San Jacinto by sand mine ponds in upper left.Looking south from same position. SH 242 cuts left to right through upper middle of frame. Ponds in background are sand mines bordering the San Jacinto West Fork.Looking east from same position at drainage coming from eastern portion of same development in distant background.Moving farther east toward FM 1314. Still looking east. SH 242 cuts diagonally from middle right toward upper left.Intersection of FM 1314 (bottom) and SH 242 (right). Looking east toward first section cleared and drained.Eastern-most section of Mavera.Looking NE.
Hydrologic Timing Used to Reduce Detention Requirements
Hydrologic timing studies attempt to show that a development can get stormwater to a river, such as the West Fork, before the peak of a flood arrives. The theory: if you aren’t adding to the peak, you don’t need as much detention.
In a hundred-year (1% annual chance) flood, this development claims it will not add to the peak. And therefore, it will have no adverse impact downstream. Yet it alone sends more than 16,300 cubic feet per second downstream toward West Fork sand mines and the Humble/Kingwood Area. That represents about 10% of the water that came down the West Fork during Harvey at this location.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/2/2022
1799 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.
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Since Hurricane Harvey, I’ve continually run into several widely held misperceptions about flooding in Harris County. As we head into another hurricane season, let’s set the record straight about the most common myths. Some of the facts below have been adapted from information provided by the Harris County Flood Control District.
MYTH: The Harris County Flood Control District is responsible for addressing all types of flooding.
FACT: The Harris County Flood Control District is responsible for bayous and many of their tributaries. However, the City of Houston, other municipalities, and Precincts – in unincorporated Harris County – handle storm sewers and roadside ditches.
The Texas Department of Transportation handles drainage of highways and their feeder roads.
The moral of this story: make sure you call the right people when you see a problem developing.
MYTH: I’ve lived in my house for more than 30 years and I’ve never flooded. Therefore, I don’t need flood insurance.
FACT: Most Harris County residents live in homes vulnerable to flooding because:
Our topography is flat.
Many of us have impermeable clay soils that increase runoff.
Our subtropical climate can produce large amounts of rain in short periods of time.
Storm rainfall patterns may have spared your area since you have lived there. But that could change like the weather.
During Harvey, more than 68 percent of the homes that flooded in Harris County were outside the 100-year flood plain. So, consult your insurance agent. Most homeowner insurance policies do not cover flooding. You need a separate policy for that.
MYTH: A 1-percent (100-year) flood occurs only once every 100 years.
FACT: A 1-percent (100-year) flood can occur multiple times throughout a century. A 100-year flood has a 1-percent chance of occurring in any given location in any given year. Doesn’t sound like a lot? Think of it this way: A home in a 1-percent (100-year) floodplain has at least a 26-percent chance of flooding during a 30-year period of time – the duration of many home mortgages. And remember, Harris County experienced four hundred-year events in four years (Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey, and Imelda).
MYTH: I only need to worry about flooding during hurricane season.
FACT: Flooding can happen any time of the year. Of the four storms mentioned above, two occurred outside of hurricane season.
Short, high intensity rainfalls can cause street flooding that invades vehicles and homes built close to street level or near developments with insufficient mitigation.
High water rescue truck on flooded Elm Grove Street, May 2019
MYTH: If I didn’t flood during Allison or Harvey, chances are I won’t ever flood.
FACT: The greatest rainfall brought by Tropical Storm Allison hit the northeast part of Houston and Harris County, dropping more than 28 inches of rain in 12 hours and 35 inches of rain in five days. However, some areas received fewer than 5 inches of rain. Had the damaging rains of Allison targeted other areas, they would have experienced similar, devastating flooding.
Harvey also hit and missed certain areas. But the differences were even more dramatic. While Friendswood received 56″ of rain, Willis in Montgomery County received only 5″ between August 25 through September 1, 2017. See USGS, Table 1, Page 3.
MYTH: I don’t need flood insurance because I don’t live in a mapped floodplain.
FACT: We are all at risk for flooding regardless of our proximity to a mapped floodplain. Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs or floodplain maps) published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are good indicators of flooding risks from bayous and creeks overflowing their banks. However, they do not show flooding risks from storm sewers and roadside ditches exceeding their capacity, risks from unstudied bayous and creeks, or risks from storms greater than a 0.2 percent (500-year) flood — such as Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 or Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
MYTH: New land development causes flooding.
FACT: New development can accelerate the time of concentration of floodwaters, contributing to faster, higher flood peaks. That’s why cities and counties regulate development. But some see lax regulation and enforcement as a tool to attract new development. And even those with strict regulations may find that they aren’t strict enough to handle storms of increasing intensity.
HCFCD graph showing effect of development in Brays Bayou watershed. Insufficiently mitigated development over 85 years accelerated runoff, building flood peaks faster and higher.
Regulations dating to the early 1980s in many areas require stormwater runoff after development to be no greater than runoff before development. Developers must detain any excess stormwater on site. However:
Development prior to the 1980s was not as regulated.
Our understanding of what constitutes a 100-year rainfall continues to evolve. So pre/post estimates may be off.
Loopholes exist in many jurisdictions that allow developers to avoid building detention ponds.
MYTH: A storm surge from a tropical storm or hurricane will inhibit our bayou system’s ability to drain.
FACT: Most of our bayous and creeks are upland and drain by gravity. Because of their natural slope toward Galveston Bay, a storm surge caused by a tropical storm or a hurricane will not impede this process. Of the roughly 2,500 miles of bayous and creeks in Harris County, only a small portion near Galveston Bay will be influenced by storm surge for a short period of time.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/20/22with thanks to the Harris County Flood Control District
1756 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MultiBlockages.jpg?fit=1440%2C960&ssl=19601440adminadmin2022-06-20 12:44:012022-06-21 07:32:35Mythbusters: Common Misperceptions about Flooding in Harris County
To compensate for the potential shortfall, Commissioners established a flood-resilience trust with money from other Harris County departments and changed equity guidelines in June.
To help you follow this story, I make quarterly FOIA requests for Harris County Flood Control District spending and post the analyses on a dedicated funding page.
Sand-Mining Best Management Practices
Activists led by the Lake Houston Area Flood Prevention Initiative and the Bayou Land Conservancy petitioned the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to establish best management practices for sand mines in the San Jacinto watershed. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we got a vast improvement over what we had. And the new BMPs may help reduce erosion that contributes to future floods in this area.
West Fork Sand Mine illustrates need for vegetative controls to reduce erosion.
May 9, 2021, was 1349 days after Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas and the Gulf Coast. That’s the number of days it took the US and its allies to win World War II. But during that time we’ve had few victories in the fight against future flooding in the Lake Houston Area with the exception of dredging, So far, we’ve mainly completed studies. And many of those are still in the works.
For instance, the City of Houston has been studying ways to increase the release capacity of the Lake Houston Dam. Right now, the release capacity is one-fifteenth that of the gates on Lake Conroe. That makes it difficult to shed water quickly before and during floods. FEMA gave the City money to study the problem, but is still finalizing recommendations. The City hopes to make an announcement in January.
The Texas Attorney General is still suing the Triple PG Sand Mine in Porter on behalf of the TCEQ. There has been little movement on the case in the last 18 months. The mine’s owner changed legal counsel in July 2020. A TCEQ representative says the AG has not given up. The two sides are still in discovery.
Approximately 1700 homeowners in the Lake Houston Area sued sand mines for contributing to flooding during Harvey. The cases were consolidated in the 281st Harris County District Court under Judge Sylvia Matthews. She recently set deadlines in the first half of next year for motions, depositions, joinder, expert witness testimony and more. The case is known as “Harvey Sand Litigation.”
Various lawsuits against the SJRA for flooding during Harvey are still working their way through the legal system.
Kingwood residents reached a settlement with Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors this year over two floods that damaged hundreds of homes in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest during 2019. The incidents had to do with development of Woodridge Village, just across the Harris/Montgomery County line.
East Fork Dredging. Photographed in early December between Huffman and Royal Shores in Kingwood.Looking south toward Lake Houston.
Bens Branch and Taylor Gully Cleanouts
In Kingwood, HCFCD finished excavating both Bens Branch and Taylor Gully to help restore their conveyance. Through gradual sediment built up, both had been gradually reduced to a 2-year level of service in places. That means they would come out of their banks after a 2-year rain.
Final phase of Bens Branch maintenance between Kingwood Drive and Rocky Woods. Note Kingwood High School in upper right.
GMA-14 will take a final vote on January 5 on the final DFCs. You still have time to protest.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/31/2021
1585 Days since Hurricane Harvey
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One of the most popular natural attractions in the north Houston area is the Spring Creek Greenway. But between mile marker 8 and 8.5, a large new development called Breckenridge East has cut across the trail, leaving a massive scar through the forest to accommodate its drainage.
Nature Interrupted
Since 1979, Harris County Precinct 4 commissioners have added to the beautiful trail system between I-69 and I-45. The Spring Creek Greenway currently connects and protects approximately 7,000 acres of forest in Harris County, preserving this ecological gem as a mecca for ecotourism, education, and outdoor recreation.
But yesterday, a reader and cyclist, Ken Matthews, alerted me to an issue.
Photo by Ken Matthews on 10/31/2021. Taken from Spring Creek Greenway looking toward new development.NE portion of development from the air. Oval indicates where it cuts across greenway.Spring Creek cuts through top of frame from left to right.
Role of Forests in Flood Prevention
According to Harris County Precinct 4 and Harris County Flood Control District:
Forests buffer against flooding by absorbing rainfall in their canopies and in the soil.
Trees act as natural water filters and significantly slow the movement of storm water, which lowers runoff, soil erosion, and flooding.
From an economic viewpoint, communities that use this important function of trees and canopy cover may spend less money on other flood control methods.
Infiltration rates for forested areas are 10-15 times greater than for equivalent areas of turf and grass.
Harris County Flood Control District
Recipe for Runoff
In the shot above, you can see the beginning of what looks like a large detention pond. But as we saw with Woodridge Village flooding in 2019, putting in the detention ponds AFTER the land has been cleared can be a recipe for runaway runoff during big storms.
Lush forest replaced by vast expanse of sterile nothingness.Entire development. A local resident told me that during Harvey, water came up to Cypresswood Drive in the lower left. That put this entire area underwater.Breckenridge East is in far upper left. Another development a little more than a block away is also cutting into the forest. Cypresswood Drive in foreground.Looking NW from second development across Planet Ford Stadium toward Breckenridge East, one can see a whole series of developments starting to encroach on the Spring Creek floodplain and greenway.
Reach from Highway 249 in Tomball east to US 59 in Kingwood, and
Cover more than 12,000 acres.
Please support the Bayou Land Conservancy. They preserve land along streams for flood control, clean water, and wildlife. Not to mention future generations.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/1/2021 with thanks to Harris County Precinct 4, Bayou Land Conservancy and Ken Matthews
1425 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/DJI_0645.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2021-11-01 09:07:532021-11-01 13:32:51Spring Creek Greenway Threatened by New Development
Confluence of Spring Creek (left) and San Jacinto West Fork (top) on March 6, 2020.The Montgomery County line cuts left to right through the center of this picture at the tip of that white sand bar.
If the Clean Water Act were still being enforced, we might see scenes like this less often. You’re looking at the confluence of Spring Creek and the San Jacinto West Fork. It has looked like this during random flyovers in four out of the last six months.
Liberty isn’t the only sand mine on the West Fork. You can find approximately 20 square miles of sand mines in the twenty mile stretch between I-69 and I-45. Spring Creek on the other hand has only one mine – almost 30 miles upstream at SH249.
Most West Fork mines have a tendency to leak waste water from time to time. That’s part of what you see in the photo above. Below are seven NEW breaches spotted this month upstream on the West Fork.
Mine water leaks into wetlands and out past perimeter road at LMI E. River Road mine in Conroe.Pumping water over dike at same Liberty Materials Mine on River Road.At same mine, a pipe through the dike discharges water at a fixed height into an adjoining ditch that leads to the West Fork.Liberty Materials leaks water into backyard of home in Bennett Estates. From here it goes into a storm drain on Calhoun and into the river.Difficult to see at this resolution, there’s a pump in front of the trees on the left. It’s sending waste water into the wetlands below the mine. Hallett sprouts another leak into the West Fork (lower right).Most of these breaches happen out of sight and never get reported.
Another part of the West Fork turbidity problem is upstream construction in Montgomery County. Believe it or not, Montgomery County starts at the tip of that white sand bar at the confluence of Spring Creek and the West Fork.
That’s how you get construction practices like those in the new 2200 acre Artavia complex going in next to the West Fork sand mines, just south of SH242 by FM1314. Brand new culverts are already clogging. See below.
Artavia drainage ditch and culverts. A river of mud.
More on Artavia in a future post.
The erosion is so bad, even the erosion is eroding in many places.
Decline of Clean Water Act
Then, of course, another part of the problem is the gutting of the Federal Clean Water Act. States, counties and municipalities used to have someone setting standards and looking over their shoulders. The rollback of key provisions, such as the redefinition of “waters of the U.S.”, has been heralded as a boon to developers and the death knell of wetlands.
Of course, you don’t have to change regulations to kill them. You can just not enforce them. By turning a blind eye. Gutting enforcement staff. Overruling staff. Reinterpreting policy. Ignoring evidence. Or resetting priorities. To name just a few.
Don’t Know What You Got Till It’s Gone
Many of us who grew up before the Clean Water Act (formerly known as Federal Water Pollution Control Act, passed in 1972) remember how bad things were. Like the Cuyahoga River fire in 1969.
The San Jacinto West Fork has already been named one of the most endangered rivers in America. But my biggest fears are not for the river. They’re for the health of the millions of people who depend on water from the river. For the people who will flood when the river becomes clogged with sediment. For the poor and elderly who can’t afford sky high bills to cover the cost of water treatment. And for the long-term health of the economic hub of the region, Houston.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/14/2020
928 Days after 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20200306-RJR_9506.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-03-14 21:46:342020-03-14 21:47:53Clean Water Act, R.I.P.
Montgomery County commissioners will consider changing flood mitigation requirements for new developments at their regular August 27 meeting. Commissioners will hear public testimony and consider approving a revision to the Montgomery County Drainage Criteria Manual. The change would close a loophole that allows developers to substitute “flood routing studies” for detention ponds in new Montgomery County developments.
How Developers Use Flood Routing Studies
Flood routing studies calculate when runoff from a new development will hit a river during a major rain event. If results show that the runoff will reach the river before the crest of a flood, developers may not need to build detention ponds. The idea: it’s not adding to the peak, so why run up costs needlessly?
Why Flood Routing Studies are Inadequate
In principle, that sounds good. However, routing studies almost always contain flawed assumptions according to Jeff Johnson, Montgomery County’s Engineer.
First, they don’t consider the cumulative effects of other developments. Second, they are almost always based on outdated hydrologic models. And third, they assume “ideal” storm conditions.
“If you start with a brand new hydrologic model,” says Johnson, “the modeling a developer does could theoretically be accurate.” But his/her runoff changes the model. That runoff rarely gets incorporated into the model that the next developer uses. “So the next developer is dealing with outdated assumptions,” says Johnson. Same way with the third and fourth developers, etc. They all keep going back to the original model, even though they know it has been changed by previous developments. Said another way, additional runoff is not added to the model on which subsequent developers base their calculations. So they all show no consequences when the cumulative effects can be large.
Another problem. They all base calculations on ideal assumptions. Johnson estimated that only a small percentage of storms conformed with ideal conditions. For one example, calculations are valid only if rain stops before the flood reaches its peak.
Shortage of Detention Leads to Downstream Flooding
As a result, there’s not enough detention upstream to protect downstream residents during a major storm.
Many developers like the flawed assumptions behind the routing studies. They justify building less detention, which costs developers time and money. And with less detention, they can develop and sell more lots per acre. So they reduce costs and increase income.
But when that happens, somebody downstream pays the price. “They’re not being responsible,” said Johnson. “This is a public safety issue.”
One flood expert that I interviewed for this article said, “Only good things come from more detention.”
City of Houston Public Works Director Agrees
As if to punctuate Johnson’s point, shortly after my interview with him, I attended a talk by City of Houston Publics Work Director Carol Haddock. Haddock emphasized that flooding today largely stems from problems inherited from legacy infrastructure. “We’re living with infrastructure developed before we knew what we now know about flooding,” said Haddock.
Haddock argued for both higher drainage and detention capacity. They will help accommodate future floods and future development – while protecting people and property downstream, she argued.
Projected MoCo Growth Underscores Need to Close Development Loophole
Getting drainage and detention right is crucial, not just for families downstream in northern Harris County, but also for families in Montgomery County itself. The New Caney ISD (NCISD) is projected to grow substantially in the next few years. The NCISD just completed a demographic update from Population and Survey Analysts (PASA). (Caution: 58 meg download.) Page 6 of the study shows that the District expects to grow by more than 19,000 housing units in the next 10 years. That’s almost as large as Kingwood. And it doesn’t even include commercial space.
A graphic from a Caldwell Brokerage brochure shows some of the major current and planned developments in the area between the Woodlands and Kingwoodwith the number of homes.
In the previous 5 years, the NCISD had the second highest percent change in school district enrollment in the region at a whopping 30.3%. Only Alvin had a higher increase at 31.6%.
PASA graphic comparing 5-year growth rates in area school district enrollments.
PASA predicts the new commercial area near 45 and 99 will have as much square footage as downtown Austin. And, further upstream, Conroe was the fastest growing City in America in 2017.
Fortunately, the new San Jacinto River Basin Survey will update hydrologic models. But with projected growth like this, they will become outdated as soon as they are complete. All the more reason to move away from the flood routing paradigm of development and require more on-site detention. ASAP.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Growth-NCISD.jpg?fit=856%2C1160&ssl=11160856adminadmin2019-07-31 22:56:442019-07-31 23:00:03MoCo Will Consider Requiring More Detention for New Developments in August 27 Meeting
