Academic research into flooding suggests that “Flood protection tends to reduce small floods, but increases the consequences of rare, large floods.” This is one of the central ideas in modern flood-risk management. It does not mean that flood-control projects are bad. Rather, it describes an unintended sociological feedback loop that can emerge over the long […]
7/2/26 – Political fragmentation can increase flood risk many ways. It is one of the least appreciated, but most significant factors in flooding – particularly in rapidly urbanizing watersheds like the San Jacinto River Basin. Floodwater doesn’t respect jurisdictional boundaries. When many different jurisdictions make drainage decisions independently, it rarely, if ever, optimizes results. Here […]
7/1/2026 – Urban development lifecycles follow predictable stages. Those stages help explain why and when flood risk increases. A better understanding of development lifecycles also helps inform efforts to decrease flood risk. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) bills itself as world’s oldest and largest global network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land-use experts. They do […]
6/30/26 – Two days after posting about the slow rate of progress on Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Woodridge Detention Basin, the rate suddenly increased. And dramatically! But, will it be enough? The sudden increase coincided with the start date for HCFCD’s new Executive Director Marcus Stuckett who is under pressure to accelerate operations. […]
6/29/26 – Forming a Montgomery County Lake District could create a unified post-mining plan for dozens of individual sand mines along the West Fork, benefiting industry, residents and government at all levels. Here’s how. Roaring Through the Cracks In August of 2025, I documented the massive breach in the dike of an old sand mine […]
6/28/2026 – Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) contractor on the Woodridge/Taylor Gully Project apparently didn’t get the memo about billing as much work as soon as possible. Harris County Commissioners Court approved Brice Construction and Design LLC’s $29.4 million contract in their March 31, 2026, meeting. It took Brice two months to mobilize for […]
6/26/26 – After getting off to a sluggish start, construction of the giant 725-acre-foot East TC Jester stormwater detention basin along Cypress Creek has kicked into high gear. History of Project On 11/30/21, Harris County Commissioners approved an agreement with an engineering company to provide design/bid/construction-phase services. In September of 2023, Dr. Tina Petersen held […]
6/25/26 – After 15 minutes in executive session this morning, Harris County Commissioners unanimously approved Marcus Stuckett as the new head of Harris County Flood Control District. 2-Years of Debate Boil Down to 57 Words Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE made the motion. Ramsey: I’d like to make a motion to ratify the appointment […]
6/24/26 – Traffic now flows smoothly – straight through – on new Northpark Drive surface lanes all the way from US59 to Russell Palmer Road and beyond! Yesterday afternoon, crews switched crossing arms and traffic signals at Loop 494 and the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks. Traffic flowed smoothly all the way down Northpark! And within […]
6/23/26 – In May of this year, I posted a PowerPoint from the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District showing a preview of their 2025 annual groundwater report. The final report has since been published. You can follow the links below to its component parts: The people at the Subsidence District are real scientists. Anyone interested in earth […]