Entries by admin

Beginning of End for Last of Forest Cove Townhomes

Today, 7/5/22, marked the beginning of the end for the last of the three remaining townhome complexes on Marina Drive in Forest Cove. Demolition began at 4:45 this afternoon on the complex nearest the Forest Cove community center. The job foreman estimates that removal of the two complexes shown below could take a week or […]

CWA Exploring Alternate Plan for Adding Lake Houston Dam Gates

Coastal Water Authority (CWA) recently posted minutes from its May 11th board meeting that reveal a possible new direction for adding more flood gates to the Lake Houston Dam. After months of discussing various crest gate alternatives to increase the release capacity of the dam, engineers will now focus on examining two tainter gate alternatives. […]

Questionable Validity of Flood-Mitigation Equity Formula

The results of an apparently invalid flood-mitigation equity formula could be used to steer billions of dollars in future flood-mitigation funding. Multiple data quality and collection issues may compound errors and the formula itself sometimes renders inconsistent, counter-intuitive results. In the 6/28/22 Harris County Commissioners Court meeting, the Community Flood Resilience Task Force presented its […]

Progress Report: Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal Contract

As of the end of June 2022, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) had removed 42,483 cubic yards of dirt from the Woodridge Village property in Montgomery County. The dirt is part of an excavation and removal (E&R) contract that allows removal of up to 500,000 cubic yards. That amount would double the floodwater detention […]

June Construction Update: Six Lake-Houston-Area Projects

Here’s a construction update on six large Lake-Houston-Area construction projects, told in aerial photos and captions. All photos were taken on the last day of June, 2022. Dry weather created almost ideal conditions for construction with little risk of sediment-laden runoff. But as the tropics heat up, that could soon change. High Street Residential At […]

County Discussing Another Billion-Dollar-Plus Bond

On 6/29/22, Harris County Commissioners Court discussed a billion-dollar-plus bond package presented by County Administrator Dave Berry, Budget Director Daniel Ramos and Engineering Department Head Dr. Milton Rahman, P.E. The presentation talks about a $1 billion package. But during discussion, commissioners asked to look at several higher options – $1.1 billion, $1.2 billion and $1.5 […]

HCFCD Asking to Tap Flood Resilience Trust for Bond Projects

Item #123 on the Harris County Commissioners Court Agenda for 6/28/22 is a request to tap the County’s Flood Resilience Trust Fund to help finance 16 flood-bond projects in the coming year. The request also seeks approval for a method of allocating future funds that weighs projects using a social vulnerability index. A Backstop for […]

May Flood-Bond Update Shows Spending Drought in Lake Houston Area Continues

The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) posted the June 2022 status of 2018 flood-bond expenditures for Commissioners Court last Friday. Among the report’s highlights: the spending drought continues in the Lake Houston Area where only two capital improvement construction projects are active. Their total reported value: $2 thousand. That’s out of more than $235 […]

Slight Chance of Tropical Cyclone Formation in Gulf Next Week

A weak surface low pressure system may develop into a tropical system over the northern Gulf of Mexico early to mid next week. The National Hurricane Center estimates the chance of development over the next 5 days at 20%. Chances of formation for another disturbance in the Atlantic remain at 60%. What’s behind this prediction? […]

Chances of Formation Increase to 60% for Invest 94L

  Overnight, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) increased the chances of tropical cyclone formation for Invest 94L to 60% in the next five days. Yesterday, NHC estimated 20%. “Invest” stands for Area of Investigation. Reasons for Increased Chance of Formation According to Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner, “The tropical wave located over the far eastern […]