City of Houston (COH) Public Works Department held a kick-off meeting with contractors and the Bear Branch Trail Association (BBTA) this morning for the Tree Lane Bridge Rehabilitation Project. Public Works and the contractors outlined plans for the project. They also discussed access through BBTA property and safety protocols. Construction should begin by mid-March and […]
Entergy power poles sit on City of Houston (COH) rights-of-way. The company also runs underground wires in an easement near US59. Yet after years of discussion, the company still has not moved them to make room for the widening of Northpark Drive. Nor did the company comply with a request by the City to say […]
At the abandoned Williams Brothers sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork, a strip of land – approximately 400 to 500 feet long and up to 50 feet wide – collapsed into the river during the flood in late January. The dramatic erosion, during a relatively minor (2-5-year) rain event, dramatizes the destructive power […]
Since last week’s post about the Northpark expansion project, contractors have made significant progress on the two stormwater detention basins at US59. Contractors are forming concrete retaining walls for both ponds. They have excavated the north pond down to the water table. And, in the south pond, contractors are mounding dirt in three locations for […]
Bayou Land Conservancy (BLC) has announced a conservation easement on 966 acres of critical Lake Creek property in Montgomery County. The property is just northeast of Magnolia on Tranquility Ranch, which is owned by Nathan and Lindy Ingram. BLC started working with the Ingrams in 2015. The conservation easement is across Lake Creek from the […]
According to Dr. Mark Wentzel, a hydrologist in the Surface Water Division at the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), January 2024 weather was much cooler and wetter than normal in the Houston area, but the same was not true across the state. Wentzel issues monthly reports that summarize weather, rainfall (or lack thereof), and water […]
Meritage Homes of Texas LLC, a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has begun clearing 40.2 acres between Kings River and Pinehurst of Atascocita. The company will reportedly build 210 homes there – 5.2 per acre. Although the new development is far above floodplains, wetlands cover a large part of the first phase. Two Phases of […]
The Association of State Flood Plain Managers has an excellent, educational website called FloodRiskReduction.org. In a few pages, it explains floodplains, sources of flooding and how to understand flood risk. It also breaks down 39 flood-mitigation strategies for property owners, buyers, renters, community associations, officials, representatives, and others. Part of the site’s magic is a […]
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 (LHRA/TIRZ) Board Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, focused almost exclusively on issues that have delayed the Northpark expansion project. LHRA/TIRZ also announced lane closures beginning Feb. 19, 2024. One Source of Hold Ups Resolved, Another Remains The Northpark expansion project is designed to move more traffic faster and […]
Just upstream from the blocked drainage ditch at Northpark Drive and the San Jacinto West Fork, Hallett Materials operates the biggest sand mine between I-69 and I-45. The mine complex sprawls across several square miles and has several leaks. During the last flood in January, those leaks likely contributed to sedimentation in the West Fork […]