The Texas Water Development Board is seeking public comment on its plan to allocate $375 million in funding from the State’s flood infrastructure fund for the 2024-25 state fiscal year. That prompted me to compare the TWDB and Harris County plans for ranking flood projects. The differences remind me of how the scoring systems favor […]
In the 2023 runoff election for Mayor of Houston, John Whitmire won by a landslide. Kingwood voted for Whitmire at much higher rates than the city as a whole. He won 91.4% of the votes in Kingwood – a 10.6 to 1 margin of victory over Sheila Jackson Lee, compared to 1.9 to 1 for […]
This is a week for good news and bad. Yesterday, we locked in another $50 million for the Lake Houston Gates Project. But one of the key people who helped us secure that funding is himself locked in a runoff election for City of Houston Mayor. And turnout so far has been abysmally low. Whitmire […]
Misleading statements. Broken promises. Redefining commonly accepted meanings of words. Math that doesn’t add up. Gobbledygook explanations. These practices have all become “business as usual” in Harris County Commissioners Court. And they come with a high price tag. Bait-and-Switch Bonds To get the 2022 Road and Parks Bond approved, County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Commissioner Adrian […]
Adapted from NOAA Post: The above-normal 2023 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended on Nov. 30. It was characterized by record-warm Atlantic sea-surface temperatures, a strong El Niño, and the fourth highest number of named storms in a season. 20 Named Storms, One of Which was Unnamed The Atlantic basin saw 20 named storms in 2023. […]
Last week, I published a three-part series on the root causes of flooding. Some readers immediately started leaping to solutions. But different mitigation strategies each have pros and cons. That prompted the idea for this post. Flood control experts say that there are only three things you can do with excess stormwater: Within each of […]
In the last two weeks, progress on the Northpark expansion project has slowed somewhat but is still pressing forward. Illegally dumped oil, utility surprises, and a traffic signal have all created bumps in the road, so to speak. But there’s also good news to report: the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA) wired a $53,000 payment […]
I took the first picture below two years ago before the clearing of Northpark South started. All the rest were taken during the three weeks between November 9 and December 1, 2023. Looking west toward the San Jacinto West Fork from the west end of Northpark Drive at Sorters-McClellan Road, this is what you saw […]
Save the date. On December 7, 2023, the Texas Water Development Board will consider a $50 million grant to the City of Houston for structural improvements to the Lake Houston Dam. The improvements will extend the life of the dam and enable rapid lowering of lake levels in advance of a flood. The project, led […]
The National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center and Harris County have issued outlooks for today that include risks of heavy rainfall, hail, high winds, tornadoes and street flooding. NWS predicts an “enhanced risk” of severe weather (3 on a scale of 5) with a 10%-14% chance of tornados. NWS rates the excessive, heavy rainfall […]