The recent drought has reduced the rate of erosion under the Tree Lane/Bens Branch Bridge for now. But with wetter weather expected, we need to accelerate the repair effort. Recent pictures show the desperate need for repairs to the bridge. It’s next to Bear Branch Elementary School where more than 600 students attend grades K-5. […]
In April of 2022, State Senator John Whitmire contacted me. He wanted to set up a meeting to learn more about flooding in the Kingwood area. Whitmire carved out the better part of a day for me. I gave him a tour of flooded areas to show him the extent and severity of flooding. I […]
(Note: Within an hour of posting this, I received additional information from a source familiar with Federal grants and have updated the section on Funding below.) Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and Sprint Sand & Clay have ended their Woodridge Village excavation and removal (E&R) contract. As of Friday afternoon, 11/24/23, Sprint had removed […]
In two weeks, approximately 40 acres timber has turned into toothpicks at the new Northpark South development. Clearing is now about two-thirds to three-quarters complete. The development lies between Sorters-McClellan Road and the West Fork San Jacinto at the end of Northpark Drive. The developer, Century Land Holdings of Texas, LLC, hopes to build 236 […]
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division is attempting to speed up disaster relief with its Swift Current program. The goal is to shorten the disaster/repair cycle for repetitively flooded or substantially damaged properties. According to a FEMA press release, “Swift Current strives to better align the delivery of flood mitigation funding with the disaster survivor experience. […]
Part 3 of a 3-part series – In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I discussed root causes of flood damage. Today, let’s start a community brainstorming session about possible ways to address the issues. I’ll briefly summarize each of the root causes, then list three or four ideas to address them. What are your thoughts? Unreliable Predictions […]
Second in a 3-part Series on the Root Causes of Flood Damage – Yesterday, I posted about three root causes of flood damage. Beyond “too much rain,” they included: Today, I’ll discuss three more root causes of flood damage: Through this series, I hope to distill key lessons from thousands of observations during the last […]
Part 1 of a three part series – We can’t stop flooding because we can’t control rainfall. But we can control flood damage – by regulating where and how we build. So, why do we experience so much flood damage? If our scientific and regulatory systems always worked, homes would never flood. But they do […]
11/18/23 – It was a busy week for the new Northpark South development. A Drainage Impact Analysis submitted to Montgomery County for the development at the west end of Northpark Drive shows that the developer intends to drain its property through adjacent sand mines owned by other entities. The analysis does not address potential sedimentation […]
The Northpark Drive Expansion Project struck oil this week. But this was no Jed-Clampett moment. Oil in the context of a construction project is not good. Workers discovered what appears to be oil dumped some years ago on the site of what will become the north pond at the 59 entrance to Kingwood. Ralph De […]