On Thursday, May 16, I photographed a contractor for a subsidiary of Perry Homes dumping dirt, mulch and sticks in a neighbor’s drainage ditch. I was investigating flooding around the edges of a new development called Woodridge Village in Montgomery County just north of the Harris County line. The developer, Figure Four Partners (a subsidiary […]
Since Harvey, I’ve been talking about the dangers of sand mining too close to the river. Texas is the only state I can find that has no minimum setback for mines. Tony Buzbee, candidate for Mayor of Houston, asked to see what I was talking about. So a friend, Josh Alberson, took us on out […]
Last Christmas, the Army Corps issued a public notice about Romerica Investment’s permit application to build a high rise development in the floodplain and floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. Almost immediately, people and groups began writing protest letters. By the end of the public comment period, the Army Corps had received 727. That […]
“No adverse impacts.” Really? Really! That’s what they say. Read the full report here. It May Be Time to Rethink That Assertion, LJA! In the conclusion of the cover letter of the report dated 8/28/18, Phyllis Mbewe, the project manager of hydrology and hydraulics for LJA Engineering guarantees Dan Wild, Montgomery County’s assistant engineer, that […]
Late yesterday, I received engineering and drainage plans for the new development north of Elm Grove called Woodridge Village. They show that the developer had planned detention that was not yet installed when last week’s heavy rains hit. This helps explain why water overflowed into the streets of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest instead […]
Below are several links that allow you to download the engineering plans for Woodridge Village, sections one and two. I haven’t had time to read them yet. Frankly they make my eyeballs bleed. But maybe some younger eyes can help. I’m posting these because Kingwood is full of engineers who are more qualified to evaluate […]
The Webster and Spurlock law firms today jointly filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than one hundred flooded home owners in the Elm Grove area. Webster and Spurlock list Figure Four Partners, LTD., PSWA, Inc., and Rebel Contractors, Inc. as the defendants. Details of Suit The lawyers say they may amend the suit to […]
I spent four hours driving around Kingwood and Forest Cove this afternoon counting flood-damaged homes from the heavy rains last week. I counted a total of 211. Of those, 196 were in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest. That means 93% were near the 262 acres that Figure Four Partners clearcut for its new development […]
We all understand intellectually that vegetation helps reduce runoff. But I never fully appreciated how MUCH runoff it could prevent until I saw this video. Michael Jrab sent the link to me this morning. It shows a brilliantly simple, table-top experiment in a science class. The experiment dramatizes the value of vegetation and how clearcutting […]
Edy and Ricky Cogdill live across the street from Abel Vera on Village Springs Drive. Both the Veras and the Cogdills live at the end of the street. Their properties butts up against the new development on the other side of the Montgomery County line seen in the background of this video. Edy Cogdill shot […]