Three lawsuits representing a total of approximately 1700 plaintiffs against more than 50 San-Jacinto-River-Basin sand mines have been joined in Multi-District Litigation (MDL). The lawsuits each arose out of flooding during Hurricane Harvey. Particulars of each suit vary slightly, but they all have common elements. Basis for Lawsuits At a high level, plaintiffs allege that […]
On August 12, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Commissioners voted unanimously to initiate a rule-making process that would establish best management practices for commercial sand mining in the San Jacinto River watershed. Joint TACA/Lake Houston Area Request In June, 2020, both TACA and the Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative presented petitions to […]
In June, the Lake Conroe Association (LCA) filed a 102-page complaint to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) through Austin attorneys about the San Jacinto River Authority’s (SJRA) policy of seasonally lowering Lake Conroe. The SJRA’s purpose for the lowering: to lower flood risk for downstream residents. To download the complete complaint by Birch, […]
Clarification: General plans, as described below, are primarily about street layouts. However, many people have been trying to raise awareness at the Planning Commission that street patterns are affected to a significant degree by the volume and and layout of drainage and detention features. And, of course with Atlas 14 that is more true than […]
I can’t urge you enough to watch the San Jacinto Watershed Master Drainage Plan Meeting tonight at 6:30. Updating of River Models Leads to New Insights I previewed the presentation this morning and was extremely impressed. The study partners have updated or created hydraulic and hydrologic models for 535 miles of major streams in the […]
Tuesday, 8/11/2020, Harris County Commissioners Court approved creation of a new Community Flood Resilience Task Force by a 3-2 vote along party lines. Three Vote FOR Despite Protests from Supporters Judge Lina Hidalgo, Commissioner Adrian Garcia and Commissioner Rodney Ellis voted FOR the measure despite every speaker complaining about some aspect of it. Even those who had […]
In January, the City hired DRC Emergency Services, LLC (DRC) to begin mechanical dredging of the San Jacinto West Fork Mouth Bar. I’ve provided periodic updates on that. According to Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin, DRC has now officially completed 60% of that project. In the meantime, other related dredging projects, including East Fork […]
Harris County Flood Control District, Montgomery County, City of Houston, and San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) will host a virtual public meeting on August 13, 2020. Purpose: to provide information about work to date in the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan (SJMDP) and give you a chance to provide input. About the […]
Since August 1, the level of Lake Conroe has hovered around 200 feet. As of this writing, it stands at 199.95 feet, virtually at the target level of the seasonal lowering for the month. That’s three hundredths of a foot above its seasonal average for the last 46 years and five hundredths of a foot […]
Defendants in the Elm Grove flood lawsuit have filed more than 20 new documents with the Harris County District Clerk since mid-July. The big news: The addition of Concourse Development, LLC to the lawsuit has pushed back the trial date from March to September next year. It has also triggered more victim-blaming plus claims and […]