Initial options that the City of Houston explored for adding more flood gates to the Lake Houston Dam struggled to achieve a high enough Benefit/Cost Ratio. However, all parties involved are still hopeful that a solution can be found. They are now evaluating yet another option. It would add gates in the earthen (eastern) portion […]
A TCEQ investigation found nothing wrong with construction practices at the Preserve at Woodridge despite photographic evidence. On April 23, 2022, I received multiple complaints about silty stormwater in Bens Branch. I confirmed discoloration in the water and followed it upstream. The source appeared to be the Preserve at Woodridge on Woodridge Parkway opposite the […]
Today, the last townhome in Forest Cove was demolished – 1799 days after Hurricane Harvey, the storm that left them uninhabitable. As of 3PM today, only one small portion of one wall remained and the demolition crew was busy loading up the last debris into waiting trucks. I may take another day or two to […]
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 […]
In December 2019, I wrote about five HVL pipelines in a utility corridor crossing the LMI River Bend Mine on the San Jacinto West Fork. Erosion had undermined them badly, causing them to sag like clotheslines, as water moved toward the West Fork from one part of the mine to another. Readers filed complaints with […]
The pace of excavation and removal of up to 500,000 cubic yards of soil from Woodridge Village has slowed slightly in recent months. That may be due to rising interest rates, which have slowed housing starts. Contractors use excavated dirt to elevate homesites in new developments. But the Census Bureau says housing starts in June […]
The “Tree Muggers” at the new Royal Pines subdivision in Montgomery County at the north end of West Lake Houston Parkway continue their relentless and remorseless destruction of trees. How ironic considering that the name implies the developer will market homes to Tree Huggers! Perhaps they: Feel the name will blind customers to the reality. […]
Contractors have begun clearing more than 1,100 acres owned by CH-B Kingland, LLC, north of the newly opened Grand Parkway. Construction plans obtained from Harris County Flood Control District via a FOIA request indicate the developer will build single-family residences. But the documents also indicate that engineers are using pre- not post-Harvey floodplain maps and […]
The City of Houston’s new $2 billion Northeast Water Purification Plant between Lake Houston and Beltway 8 East is now more than 50% complete. The last monthly progress report posted on GreaterHoustonWater.com was from more than a year ago. At the time, it showed construction 55% complete. Since then, the City has continued to post […]
The hand of sand miners weighs heavily on the San Jacinto watershed. Not all miners. But many. While exploring the river basin by helicopter last week, the contrast between two scenes struck me: 1) The natural blanket of green in Lake Houston Wilderness Park. 2) Sand mines that lined the banks of the East and […]