Entries by admin

Book Review: Houston After Harvey: Stories from Inside the Hurricane by Jacqueline Havelka and Jill Bullard Almaguer

Houston After Harvey: Stories from Inside the Hurricane is an encyclopedic, almost kaleidoscopic collection of interviews with flood victims about their Hurricane Harvey experiences. The new Amazon eBook by two Houston authors, Jacqueline Havelka and Jill Bullard Almaguer, has a “you are there” quality to it. The interviews fall into roughly three categories: before, during and […]

River Mining Without Permit Goes Without Investigation

On April 21st, 2020, I reported on a sand mine that was river mining in the San Jacinto West Fork without a permit. It’s unlikely that any penalties will result. In fact, three weeks later, neither the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), nor Texas Parks and Wildlife Division (TPWD), have even investigated the incident. […]

Special Steps to Take for Hurricane Preparation During COVID Pandemic

On top of normal disaster preparation advice, FEMA and the CDC have released special instructions this year for hurricane preparation during the COVID pandemic. First, Cover All the Basics Most of the basic advice remains the same. For instance: Write down emergency phone numbers and keep them on the refrigerator or near every phone in […]

Woodridge Village Turns Into Beehive of Construction Activity

Last year, overland sheet flow from Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village contributed to flooding hundreds of homes in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest twice. Construction slowed last fall, but has now turned into a beehive of activity. Just days before a deadline for a deal with the Harris County and the City of Houston to […]

Abandoned Sand Mines Leave Lasting Legacy of Loss in Southeast Texas

More than a decade after one San Jacinto West Fork sand mine stopped mining, the abandoned mine is still:  Inundated by floods  Leaking silty water into the river from multiple locations Littered with mining debris Unrestored. That Was The Good News Worse, it has little hope of ever being restored. The West Fork has captured one of the […]

HCFCD Finishes Clean-Out of Its Portion of Rogers Gully; But Mouth Bar Remains

Aerial photos taken on April 21, 2020 show that Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) finished its Rogers Gully project in the Walden area of Lake Houston south of FM1960. However, a significant mouth bar remains in the portion of the ditch owned by the City of Houston. Project Did Not Extend to Lake Houston […]

Triple PG Sand Mine Turns Blue-Green

Aerial photos of the Triple PG sand mine in Porter taken on April 21, 2020, showed several of the ponds turning a bright blue/green (cyan). Expert Believes Color Not Due to Cyanobacteria A retired water-quality expert, who used to work for the City of Houston and who wishes to remain anonymous, reviewed the photos. He […]

Sadder Than Flooding: “I’m Sorry”

This is a rare, off-topic post. Flooding is one of the most heart-breaking things that families can experience. But this morning, I received two emails from my daughter-in-law, Dr. Aylin Ulku, that are even sadder. They describe health care delivery in the Four Corners area. The first email contained photos of doctors making rounds in […]

One Year Ago Today, Streets of Elm Grove Turned into Rivers for First Time

May 7th is the anniversary of the first large-scale flood in Elm Grove history. On that day, more than 200 homes flooded on the streets south of Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village and the Montgomery County line. Homes that did not flood, even during Harvey. Life After Harvey and Before May 7th In the weeks leading […]