It’s always nice to start the new year by looking at the big picture. And big pictures don’t get much bigger than this. The image below comes from NOAA’s Global Data Explorer. It shows sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific and Atlantic. Reds show areas with warmer than normal temperatures. Blues are cooler. Degrees […]
Below are my personal picks for the top flood-mitigation stories of 2021. The Fight for Funding In 2019, Commissioners Court established “equity” guidelines that prioritized projects in Low-to-Moderate Income watersheds. Then this year: Harris County won no US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Grants in the first round of Harvey competition. To compensate […]
A myth being promulgated in Harris County Commissioners Court and certain low-to-moderate income (LMI) watersheds these days goes something like this: The FEMA Benefit/Cost Ratio (used to rank grant applications for flood-mitigation projects) favors high-dollar homes. That disadvantages less affluent, inner-city neighborhoods compared to more affluent suburbs. Therefore, less affluent neighborhoods get no help and […]
The new Harris County Administrator has proposed “excluding” potential partner funds from consideration in the allocation of flood-bond and flood-resilience trust dollars. There’s only one problem with that. Without partner funds, there won’t nearly be enough money to cover all the proposed flood-mitigation projects in the bond, the trust, or future bonds. The conclusions above […]
Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has a large active construction project underway in Tomball. Phase I of the project stretches about two-thirds of a mile from SH249 to FM2920 on a tributary of Willow Creek as it arcs around a major shopping center near downtown Tomball and Lone Star College/Tomball. The project includes channel […]
On 12/23/21, a group of petitioners trying to stop implementation of the Ellis-3 redistricting plan for Harris County took their case to the Texas Supreme Court. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle, Precinct 3 commissioner Tom Ramsey and their supporters filed their original lawsuit in District Court last November. They claimed the Ellis-3 redistricting plan was […]
A lawsuit by Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle and their supporters that sought to overturn a redistricting plan devised by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis has been dismissed by an Ellis-backed judge, Dedra Davis. Details of Redistricting Plan The Ellis redistricting plan swapped the numbers of Precincts 3 […]
The San Jacinto Regional Flood-Planning Group is soliciting nominations for a voting member position in the Small Business Category. The primary responsibility: to assist in the development of a regional flood plan for the San Jacinto Watershed. Nominees who have a strong affiliation or interest with small businesses are encouraged to apply. As the Small […]
At the last meeting of Harris County Commissioners Court, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) released a flood-bond update that shows spending through the end of November 2021. It provides a quick and easy way to see what your money is being spent on and where it is going. This differs from data reported recently […]
Widening of Hunting Bayou, one of the poorest and most flood-damaged watersheds in the county, is kicking into high gear. Annual Rate of Spending Almost Quadruples since Harvey According to data obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Harris County Flood Control District and its partners (mainly the Army Corps and […]