June 1 marks the official start of hurricane season. And, as if on cue, the National Hurricane Center issued warnings about possible tropical storm formation in the Bay of Campeche. That’s the area between the Mexican mainland and the Yucatan peninsula. It is not forecast to move toward the Houston area. Northeastern Mexico and the […]
Some more bad news surfaced today for the people whose drainage has been affected by Woodridge Village construction activity. Rebel Contractors has built up the level of Woodridge before installing drainage between Woodridge and neighbors. As a result, water has ponded in Porter yards for months and damaged their property. Then, to add insult to […]
Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller reported tonight that Rebel Contractors was busy widening and deepening a crucial detention pond near homes that flooded in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest. According to Miller, “The pond is starting to assume its final shape with the sloping of the edges.” Here’s the plan for the pond. May […]
To date, most of the press coverage about the May 7th flood has focused on Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest to the south of the new Woodridge Village development. However, the flood also affected many homes in Porter to the west of it. This is an interview with Gretchen Dunlap-Smith in Porter whose home […]
Looking back at the 2019 Texas Legislature, we have cause for both celebration and soul searching. The good news: A multi-billion-dollar flood-mitigation bill that will do a lot of good for a lot of people. The bad news: death in various committees of any serious legislation to reign in the out-of-control abuses of sand miners. […]
Jason Webster and Kimberly Spurlock, two local lawyers, have teamed up to represent Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest (NKF) flood victims. On May 7th, video captured floodwater streaming out of the 268-acre site north and west of those two subdivisions. The contractor had already clearcut most of the land for the developer’s new Woodridge […]
Earlier this year, I posted about FEMA funding approval of the San Jacinto River Basin Study. The four partners in the project, Harris County Flood Control, SJRA, Montgomery County and City of Houston, have released a fact sheet that outlines the objectives and scope of their study. The study will cover 3000 square miles from […]
According to an Associated Press (AP) story published this weekend, “A recent study for the National Institute of Building Sciences found that society as a whole saves $7 in avoided costs for every $1 spent through federally funded grants to acquire or demolish flood-prone buildings.” Idea Behind Buyouts Buyouts are a strategy used by FEMA […]
Six hundred and thirty-seven days after Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Legislature finally passed and funded a massive flood-relief bill, Senate Bill #7 (SB 7), sponsored by State Senator Brandon Creighton. The lengthy delay between Harvey and the bill’s passage underscores the need for Creighton’s bill. Need for Faster Mitigation Few government entities, it seems, budget […]
According to residents in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest, their homes never flooded before May 7th, 2019, including during Hurricane Harvey. Then bulldozers cleared the 262 acres north and west of them to create a new subdivision called Woodridge Village. Reconstruction of Events After talking with dozens of residents, mapping flood damage, reviewing flood […]