Entries by admin

Lengthy Catalog of Concerns about Proposed Ryko Development

4/25/25 – A company called Ryko has proposed building a 5,500 acre development in southern Montgomery County, immediately west of US59. More than half of their land lies in the floodway and floodplains of Spring Creek and the West Fork. The Ryko property is 20 times larger than the Woodridge Village property, which flooded hundreds […]

County’s Climate-Justice Plan Gets Weird Nephew Izzy All Excited

4/24/25 – My weird nephew Izzy called again this morning. He was all atwitter about Harris County’s new Climate-Justice Plan adopted by Commissioner’s Court on 4/10/25. And he could barely contain his excitement. The Phone Call from Nephew Izzy “They did it, Uncle Bob. They really, finally done did it?” “Did what, Izzy?” “We finally […]

Harris County Did NOT Approve Ryko Development

4/23/25 – At a Town Hall meeting on 4/14/25, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler implied that Harris County had “approved” a proposed 5,500 acre Ryko floodplain development in MoCo. It did not. Wheeler, who is newly elected, likely misunderstood the nuances of reports and the outcome of meetings his predecessor held. Documents Clear […]

New Web Page Helps Users Explore HCFCD Spending Trends

4/22/25 – HCFCD has added Microsoft Power BI capabilities to its website. They let users interactively explore and visualize HCFCD spending by watershed. Data goes back to the start of the 2018 Flood Bond. Users can even sort spending data by: See below. Using those “filters” on the left-hand side of the page instantly reconfigures […]

Far More Proposals in State Flood Plan Than Funds For Them

4/20/25 – There are far more flood-risk-reduction proposals (studies, projects and strategies) in Texas’ first state flood plan than funds to finance them. Tressa Olsen, Assistant Director of Flood Planning for the Texas Water Development Board, spoke about the plan at a meeting of the Society of American Military Engineers on 4/14/25. Altogether, the 15 […]

Building 7,000 Homes Here Would Accelerate Subsidence

4/19/25 – Ryko, a development company, has announced plans to build 7,000 new homes in an environmentally sensitive, flood-prone area immediately west of Kingwood. Moreover, the area already experiences the highest subsidence in the north Houston region. Residents in the area currently use groundwater. Assuming an average household size of 2.5 people, Ryko would add […]

Bald Eagles Live Where Developer Wants to Build 7,000 Homes

4/18/25 – Just upstream from the Humble/Kingwood Area, residents of Benders Landing Estates in Montgomery County frequently spot bald eagles flying overhead and resting in trees adjacent to 5,500 acres that Ryko is trying to develop for 7,000 homes. Frequent Eagle Sightings Suggest Nearby Nests Susan Gillespie Marrero of Benders Landing Estates, near the Ryko […]

MoCo Commissioner Taking Townsen Blvd. Extension Off 2025 Road Bond

4/17/2025 – Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler’s office says he is taking the controversial Townsen Blvd. extension off of the County’s 2025 Road Bond. However, as of 4 P.M. this afternoon, the county’s website does not yet reflect the deletion. The change comes after a Town Hall meeting last night at which the […]

MoCo Precinct 3 Town Hall Meeting Tonight Will Discuss Road Bond, Townsen Blvd.

4/16/25 – Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler will host a town hall meeting tonight at 6:30 to discuss the 2025 Montgomery County Road Bond including the Townsen Blvd. extension. One of the proposed projects is the extension of Townsen Boulevard south from the Grand Parkway toward Spring Creek. The Montgomery County long-range transportation […]

Why Flood Mitigation Needs Steady Funding Source

4/15/25 – At a flood resilience workshop yesterday in Houston, the importance of a steady funding source for flood-mitigation projects became abundantly clear. The Biannual Resiliency Workshop of the Society of American Military Engineers (S.A.M.E.) drew a star-studded lineup of speakers for the hundreds of engineers, lawyers and business people in attendance. Alia Vinson, a […]