At Harris County Commissioners Court yesterday, “equity” proponents from low-to-moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods in Precinct 1 again complained they weren’t getting their fair share of flood mitigation dollars. In crying “foul” over a perceived lack of buyout dollars, they ignore the fact that the bulk of Federal mitigation spending is on construction projects that benefit their […]
“Equity” proponents would have you believe that Harris County flood mitigation money is all going to high-income neighborhoods. However, data obtained from Harris County Flood Control under the Freedom of Information Act shows that construction spending for flood mitigation is highly concentrated in Precinct 1, which contains many low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods. At the last Harris County […]
A close reading of the Woodridge Village Section One plat shows that the Montgomery County engineer disclaimed any responsibility for the impact of Woodridge Village both upstream and downstream, in fact, anywhere in the watershed. At the same time, the county engineer certified that the plans developed by LJA Engineering met all the requirements of […]
Since Harvey, the Lake Houston Area has seen some huge changes for the better in the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA). When the Governor visited Kingwood and took a helicopter tour of the San Jacinto River basin after Harvey, he directed the SJRA to establish a flood mitigation division. He also appointed two directors from […]
In 1969, the rock group Three Dog Night released a hit recording called “One is the Loneliest Number.” As I listened to Elaine Phillips tell me her story about the May 7th flood, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. Elaine, still fighting off the effects of chemo, found herself alone at home […]
Correction: This article has been modified to include information about the confirmation election. In all the hoopla over the big ticket flood mitigation bills passed by the 86th legislature, some smaller bills escaped the headlines in Harris County. One such bill was HB 1820. It created a Liberty County Drainage District. Think of it as […]
Yesterday, I posted about the discovery of something called the Odom Lake Swamp on a 70-year-old map. Many of the homes that flooded in Elm Grove on May 7 were built in or near it. But learning that required scaling and aligning maps in Photoshop. It’s a time consuming process and not everyone has Photoshop. […]
A 1949 map of the area now called Kingwood reveals that the homes in Elm Grove that flooded on May 7 were built in something once called the Odom Lake Swamp. It turns out, “Nature never forgets.” I previously posted about this map in the context of how the West Fork has shifted over time. […]
Tonight, the Lake Houston area is under yet another flash flood watch. Residents of North Kingwood Forest and Elm Grove are wondering whether a new detention pond in Woodridge Village will be enough to protect them. Another 1-4 Inches of Rain Possible We may get another chance to test the engineering on the detention ponds […]
The Army Corps of Engineers announced last week that it had received a mission assignment from FEMA to dredge 500,000 cubic yards in the area of the mouth bar of the San Jacinto West Fork. This week, the dredge operated by Great Lakes was sighted within 200 yards of the bar. (See videos below.) Dredging […]