I first interviewed Tammy Gunnels and her husband Ronnie almost three years ago. They had flooded ten times at that point even though they weren’t in a flood zone. The Gunnels are devout people and prayed for a buyout. Friday, their prayers were answered. Here is the story of how their faith and persistence paid […]
Here’s a digest of several efforts relating to flood mitigation in the Lake Houston Area and recent developments. Subsidence Groundwater Management Area 14 has another Discussion of Desired Future Conditions (DFCs) on the agenda for its upcoming October 5 meeting. Notice Item #7: “Discussion and possible action regarding the DFCs/Proposed DFCs and the path forward […]
Most of us have seen sinkholes. And most of us have probably given little thought to what causes them. Retired engineer Chris Bloch, a local flood fighter, measured a 13-foot deep sinkhole near Taylor Gulley earlier this year that had become overgrown with vegetation. Working with the City of Houston and a local homeowner who […]
The City of Houston Planning Commission was to have considered plat approval on September 30th for redevelopment of the old Kingwood Cove Golf Course acquired by Ron Holley and his FLOG Partners. However, I learned late today from District E Councilman Dave Martin’s office that Planning Commission staff is recommending postponing the public hearing until […]
Starting Oct. 1, FEMA’s new Risk Rating 2.0 will fundamentally change the way FEMA rates a property’s flood risk and prices insurance premiums. But to what extent will that affect premium changes in your area? To help answer that question, the American Society of Flood Plain Managers (ASFPM) and The Pew Charitable Trusts recently unveiled new interactive […]
Today, at a meeting of the Harris County Flood Resilience Task Force, Vanessa Toro of the County Judge’s Office and Leah Chambers, Principal of consulting firm Outside Voices presented several slides about flooding and flood-mitigation efforts in Harris County that you might find interesting. Their presentation started with a series of slides that illuminated the […]
On July 9, the City of Houston announced a plan to dredge its way from the West Fork San Jacinto to the East Fork through a narrow channel south of Royal Shores in Kingwood. Since then, I’ve been tracking the progress. Between July 11 and August 28, the dredging moved about 1,200 feet east, or […]
Tuesday, City of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Housing and Community Development Director Tom McCasland got into a verbal brawl over alleged improprieties in the distribution of Harvey relief funds. The trigger was the award of $15 million to build a Clear Lake multi-family housing complex in which the Mayor’s former law partner is […]
Humble ISD’s North Transportation Center adjacent to Woodridge Village on Ford Road is now complete. And the District’s new Ag Barn should be completed by the start of next year. North Transportation Center Now Fully Operational As I drove by the transportation center on Ford Road in Porter today, I noticed a steady stream of […]
A new flood-insurance rating system, designed to make rates reflect the true risk to an individual property will go into effect on October 1. FEMA calls it their Risk Rating 2.0 system. They describe it as Equity in Action. It’s FEMA’s attempt to put the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on a sound actuarial footing […]