While trying to sell the controversial, “detail-free” $1.1 Billion Road and Parks bond in 2022, Democrats on Harris County Commissioners Court passed a resolution promising voters that each precinct would get at least $220 million. But according to an allocation formula approved on 1/31/23, Precinct 3 will get tens of millions of dollars less despite […]
As of January 30, 2023, Sprint Sand and Clay had excavated 80,360 Cubic Yards of dirt from a sixth Woodridge Village stormwater detention basin under an Excavation and Removal Contract with Harris County Flood Control District. Even though the new basin is not yet complete, it is already the second largest on the site. Sprint’s […]
Surprisingly heavy rains in the last week of January 2023 have led to floodwater rising on area streams. As of 1:38 PM on Monday 1/30/23, the National Weather Service predicted minor flooding throughout much of the northern part of the Houston region, including: One on Top of Another Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist, said, “While […]
Recent heavy rains and high-density upstream development on Ben’s Branch in Montgomery County have increasingly placed pressure on the aging Ben’s Branch Bridge over Tree Lane. The bridge is immediately adjacent to Bear Branch Elementary School in Kingwood and its 638 students. The City of Houston repaired the bridge less than three years ago in […]
Harris County Community Services Department (CSD) has finally shared a high-level summary of how it would spend $750 million in Hurricane Harvey Flood Mitigation Funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The plan, called a Method of Delivery (MOD), was submitted to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) in December for […]
According to Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) latest flood-bond update, 19 of 19 active capital improvement construction projects are now in Democratic precincts (1, 2 and 4). None is in the County’s lone Republican-led Precinct 3, the county’s largest. Moreover, the update also shows that the San Jacinto watershed now has NO active maintenance […]
The dangers of street flooding can be costly. We’ve all read about people who drown while driving through flooded underpasses. But other dangers exist, too. Costly ones. On Tuesday 1/24/23, the Lake Houston Area received a 5-year rain. Streets flooded throughout the area because storm sewers are generally designed to carry 1- to 2-year rains. […]
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 […]
The National Weather Service and Harris County warn of a severe weather threat for Tuesday. Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner warns that severe thunderstorms, some of which could turn into tornados are likely with heavy rainfall, and gusty winds across SE Texas Tuesday. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center also warns of the potential […]
The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group (SJRFPG) submitted its final recommendations to the Texas Water Development Board on January 10. The 316-page report includes recommendations on floodplain management evaluation, strategies and projects; the plan’s impacts; administration, regulatory and legislative recommendations; and financing. I discussed the floodplain projects and impacts when I reviewed the draft […]