Four members of the Lake Houston Area Flood Prevention Initiative Steering Committee have sent a protest letter to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. The Judges’ desire to prioritize flood bond projects based on “equity” (percent of low to moderate income (LMI) housing in communities) rather than flood danger has sparked a tsunami of protest. Changing […]
At its Thursday board meeting, the SJRA will reconsider whether to seasonally lower Lake Conroe again this year. Last year, the board lowered the lake as a way to provide an additional buffer against flooding until flood mitigation projects could be put in place. As part of the motion it approved last year, the board […]
Yesterday’s surprise announcement about Marissa Aho, the City of Houston’s new chief resilience officer, left me wondering about Stephen Costello. Costello formerly held that title. In November of last year, Costello also took on the responsibilities of Marvin Odum. Odum previously served as the President of Shell Oil Company. He volunteered to work for the […]
The Houston Chronicle reported at noon today that Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed a new Chief Resilience Officer, a job formerly held by Stephen Costello. The story makes only a brief reference to Costello in the last paragraph. It says, “Stephen Costello, Houston’s former chief resilience officer, began overseeing the city’s Harvey recovery efforts in November […]
Fabio M. Covarrubias Piffer is one of the two men applying for a permit to develop high rises near the floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. A title search revealed that Friendswood deed restrictions seemingly limit development to “single-family residential. Mr. Covarrubias-Piffer has refused to meet publicly with the Kingwood community to explain how […]
Only five more days remain to protest the proposed high-rise development near River Grove Park. The deadline for public comments? Friday, March 1. About the High-Rise Development Two developers from Mexico have bought up land east of Woodland Hills between Kingwood Lakes and the San Jacinto River. They hope to build 5000 condos, a retail […]
Two top geologists, now retired from one of the world’s leading oil companies, have developed a reliable and repeatable way to estimate the volume of sediment deposited in the West Fork mouth bar by Hurricane Harvey. They calculate that Harvey deposited at least 268,000 cubic yards of sediment in that area alone. No Pre-Harvey Measurements […]
Houston City Council Member Dave Martin issued an alert on Feb. 22, 2019, stating that the Coastal Water Authority will soon lower the level of Lake Houston for dam repairs. The City is warning all property and boat owners to take appropriate action. First Step in 18 Month Process The Coastal Water Authority plans to […]
As we approach the 18 month anniversary of Harvey next week, I am struck by how little we have actually accomplished in terms of flood mitigation. And as the election season heats up, I am also forced to wonder whether changes at City Hall could accelerate the effort. Looking Back at the Effort to Date […]
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just released a video that shows dredging equipment at work. Shot from the river, it gives viewers a rare glimpse into a world few will ever see first hand. Where All the Sand is Going As equipment moves downriver, the Corps is piping sand back upstream to two […]