Questionable assumptions about soil composition, rainfall patterns, wetlands and floodplain status for Perry Homes’ troubled Woodridge Village development may have compounded flooding in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest. Previously, I have focused on other more obvious issues, such as missing detention ponds and expected rainfall totals. However, Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller who has […]
Twenty-three days ago, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner read a letter to a packed town hall meeting at the Kingwood Community Center. The letter was from a lawyer named J. Carey Gray. Mr. Gray laid out a timetable for accelerating completion of the detention ponds on the troubled Perry Homes’ development, Woodridge Village, just north of […]
Last Monday I photographed white water in the West Fork. Alarmed by what I saw, I sent photos to the TCEQ and SJRA. Then I posted about it last night. Fox 26 saw the post and decided to do some of its own investigating. Fox News Investigates Further Today, Fox called for an interview. The […]
On Monday, November 4, I flew up the San Jacinto West Fork in a helicopter and was shocked by what I saw. The West Fork had turned milky white. Here are a series of shots starting at the confluence of the West Fork and Spring Creek and heading upstream. Spring Creek angles off to the […]
Many readers have asked what the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) is doing to its bridge over the San Jacinto near US59. According to the Houston Chronicle, UP is widening the spans to reduce the potential for catastrophic damage in the event of another storm like Harvey. If you have children or grandchildren that love trains, […]
In September, Imelda caused the Triple PG sand mine dikes to breach in multiple locations. As a result, the mine’s process water flushed into the drinking water for millions of people. When the owners left the breaches open for weeks, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) filed a harsh report with the Texas Attorney […]
Here’s a science lesson for the entire family. The SJRA’s peak streamflow and rainfall map for Imelda demonstrated how rain can fall heavily over one part of a watershed and barely touch another. There are huge implications for flooding. Peak Streamflows West to East Vary by 1500X Note how the gage at Spring Creek in […]
This will be the most important mayoral election in Kingwood’s history, but the turnout in early voting was dismal. You would think people don’t care about flooding or that it’s been fixed already. Well, they should care. It hasn’t been fixed. Below are some photos that show the difference pre- and post-dredging in the mouth […]
Thirteen years ago, American Rivers named the West Fork of the San Jacinto one of the ten most endangered rivers in America. It’s only gotten worse since then. Sand mines now form long strips along both shores of the river between I-45 and I-69. You can’t see them from the ground. They’re hidden by “beauty […]
This story illustrates on of the dangers of pit capture in sand mining. During the peak of Imelda, 42,000 cubic feet of floodwater per second came down Caney Creek. However, early the morning of September 19th, residents south of the Triple PG Sand Mine on Hueni Road in Porter started seeing water coming from the […]