According to an article in the Bluebonnet News, two new segments of the Grand Parkway (aka State Highway 99) will open Thursday, May 19. They will connect US 59 in New Caney to I-10 in Baytown. And they will invite development of thousands of acres in Harris, Chambers and Liberty Counties. About the Grand Parkway […]
Multiple Houston-based news outlets reported a story recently about a contractor that killed or maimed 138 egrets and herons protected under the Migratory Species Act. The birds were nesting on a site being cleared by the contractor. It’s not clear from news coverage whether the contractor was working for a homebuilder or homeowner. While I […]
The Katy Prairie Conservancy (now the Coastal Prairie Conservancy) has preserved prairies for more than 25 years to slow down and reduce floodwaters. Tall-grass prairies and wetlands soak up, store and slow runoff from heavy rains, all of which decrease flooding for residents downstream. But how does that work in practice in specific locations? How […]
About a month after it began, the developers of Royal Pines have cleared a swath of trees about 1,000 feet wide and a half mile long. Photos Taken 5/15/22 Clearing Started Before Permits Issued Plans Show 80+ Homes in Pre-Atlas 14 Floodplain The following links will show you the general plan and layouts for the […]
Harris County’s Community Services Department wants to know how you would spend $750 million? The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Texas General Land Office (GLO) allocated that amount to the County for flood mitigation in the wake of Harvey. Flood Mitigation funds (MIT) go to projects that help communities reduce […]
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) will hold a virtual Community Engagement Meeting for Adlong Ditch Conveyance Improvements on May 25. The purpose: to share project information and update residents on status of the project. This project is in the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) stage. PER objectives include delivering more detailed recommendations for flood […]
One of the more innovative flooding solutions in the Houston area can be found in Clear Lake. It’s called Exploration Green. Exploration Green is an old 178-acre golf course converted into a series of five large stormwater retention basins that also act as wetlands, wildlife habitat, and recreational amenities. Reforestation forms an extensive part of […]
Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) delivered its March 2022 Flood Bond Spending Update yesterday to Commissioners Court. It shows $226,476,745 dollars worth of active capital construction projects underway throughout the county. But only two of those valued at a grand total of $2,000 are in the Lake Houston Area. That’s less than one-tenth of […]
Last month, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved a $2,208,906 grant from the State’s Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) to the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) for expansion of the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin. The detention basin will eventually hold 1,260 acre-feet of stormwater in Aldine along Greens Bayou. The project will help reduce […]
Ironically, Hurricane Harvey united us in disaster and divided us during recovery. Perhaps that is the storm’s most lasting insult. United by Disaster 1,714 days ago, Hurricane Harvey ravaged Harris and surrounding counties. The storm dropped the greatest rainfall in the history of the North American continent. It flooded 154,000 homes in Harris County and […]