More than 2000 years ago, Aristotle coined the phrase, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” But in the case of River Grove Park since Beryl, it should be, “Nature enjoys a vacuum.” Flooded out, sanded in, and still under repair from May flooding and Beryl, humans may be visiting River Grove Park less frequently these days. But […]
9/3/2024 – Today, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) posted six state action-plan amendments for public comment. The amendments reallocate remaining money from federal grants for disasters between 2008 and 2019. Includes Disaster Recovery Reallocation Program Each of the six amendments includes a new Disaster Recovery Reallocation Program (DRRP). The DRRP will let the GLO […]
9/2/24 – On 8/26/24, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued a report on a San Jacinto West Fork pit capture. “Pit capture” happened when the river cut through an abandoned sand pit on a point bar instead of taking the long way around it. Worldwide, many environmental consequences have been linked to such […]
8/30/24 – Another month has flown by. Below are quick updates on six flood-mitigation projects in the area. HCFCD Beryl-related Ditch Maintenance According to Jeremy Phillips, Director of Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Asset Management Division, “The quickest way to ensure we are including debris in our post-storm cleanup is to fill out a […]
8/29/24 – The City of Houston Solid Waste Department’s Beryl Storm-Debris Tracker shows that the department has completed the second pass of debris cleanup in virtually all of District E’s north sector. If you still have debris from the storm but don’t yet have it to the curb, you only have one more pass. So […]
8/28/24 – In its July 10 board meeting, the Coastal Water Authority (CWA) unanimously approved a motion to move forward with final design for 11 new Lake Houston floodgates. Houston will now consider the same motion at its September 11th City Council Meeting. If approved, final engineering design of the gates will commence. Separately, Houston […]
8/27/24 — This week marks the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Today is the 2555th day since the event. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact date for a storm that ravaged SE Texas for the better part of a week. But most of us remember anniversaries in a personal context. For whatever reason, back when […]
8/26/24 – On Thursday night, 8/22/24, Doctor Arelia Johnson addressed the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force about Harris County’s new definition of equity. Dr. Johnson is the County’s new Chief Equity Officer and has been in her job only three weeks. She has a PhD in sociology and criminology from Howard University. You […]
8/25/2024 – An investigation by the Associated Press shined a light on how information is being withheld by the government that affects flood risk below dams. The secrecy also affects the cost of flood insurance that residents below dams pay. Two Related Stories A copyrighted story by David A. Lieb published by AP on 8/23/2024 […]
Proximity to abandoned sand mines can bring down home values. But with care, abandoned sand mines can also become community assets. People and planning can make the difference. Ever since Hurricane Harvey when mountains of sand blocked the San Jacinto West Fork, contributing to the flooding of thousands of homes and businesses, I have predominantly […]