Entries by admin

Flood Digest: Brief Updates on 9 Flood-Related Items

Below is a brief digest of nine items concerning flood risk in the San Jacinto River Basin. Many of the groups mentioned need public input on their recommendations before they move forward. So make your voice heard. Flood Gate B/CR Addition of More Flood Gates to Lake Houston: Engineers expect to have a Benefit/Cost Ratio […]

Batches 1 and 2 of Cypress Creek Major-Maintenance Projects Completed, More to Come

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has essentially completed Batches 1 and 2 of Cypress Creek major maintenance projects, according to District spokesperson Karen Hastings. On 9/12/22, I photographed the freshly repaired and reseeded channel K131-00-00 (Spring Gully) at Cypresswood Drive, one of the last projects in Batch #1. See the pictures below. Such projects […]

Dems Deprive Republican Precincts of Services

Late in the afternoon on 9/13/22, my phone started blowing up. Frantic callers asked, “Are you watching Commissioners Court?” I wasn’t unfortunately. I was working on a post about the completion of a flood-mitigation project. But my priorities quickly changed when I learned that the three Democrats (Garcia, Ellis and Hidalgo) voted – as a […]

Batch 3 of Cypress Creek Major Maintenance Projects Ramping Up

Harris County Flood Control District has essentially completed the first two batches of major maintenance projects along Cypress Creek tributaries and is ramping up for the third, according to District spokesperson Karen Hastings. Current Batch to Cost about $10.8 Million Construction costs for Batch 3 should total about $10.8 million. Batch 3 includes 11 channels. […]

Nature’s Flood Protection

A friend sent me a link to a Facebook post by a landscape/design company called Happy Gardens featuring this image of nature’s flood protection – the root systems of native grasses. It’s interesting to see the parts of these grasses that we never see. Note that some of these roots have been folded back and […]

New Humble ISD Ag Barn Construction Complete

During Hurricane Harvey, the Humble ISD Ag Barn at Deer Ridge Park flooded badly. Shortly thereafter, the school board made a decision to move the ag barn facility to higher ground using money from the 2018 bond. Since then, the district purchased 7 acres of land at the intersection of Ford and Mills Branch Roads […]

Bad Name? “Docks” Center Still Mostly Empty

Almost three years after completion, Lovett Commercial’s 28,000 square foot retail center named Kingwood Docks still has only two small tenants. Both are fitness oriented: StretchLab and YogaSix. Together they occupy only about 3,500 square feet. Unfortunately, the rest of the center remains vacant despite a resurgence of retail leasing in the Kingwood Town Center […]

Major Kingwood Shopping Center Almost Back

Hurricane Harvey flooded 100 percent of all the businesses in Kingwood Town Center. Recovery has been a long, hard road. Some retailers threw in the towel. Others hung on by their nails. The shopping center on the northwest side of Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway was one of the hardest hit – caught […]

Effort Begins to Form Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District

Leaders from the Cypress Creek area met on 9/6/2022 to hear a pitch about forming a Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District. The purpose: to accelerate projects that could reduce flood damage. A Gathering of Utility District Heads Approximately 100 to 120 people attended the meeting. Most represented municipal utility and other special purpose districts. Much […]

Construction Starting Soon on Lauder Basin Phase 2

The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) will soon begin constructing its Lauder Basin Phase 2 in the Greens Bayou watershed. Scheduled for Fall 2022, Phase 2 is located east of Aldine Westfield Road in the area of the Castlewood Subdivision between Aldine Bender and Lauder Roads. Size and Scope This project help reduce existing […]