A letter dated September 30, 2023, and signed by all 25 members of the Texas Republican Congressional delegation urged Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate numerous allegations related to Colony Ridge in an upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature. The Colony Ridge developer has already launched a charm offensive designed […]
An analysis of Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and partner spending since 2000 reveals striking contrasts between watersheds in terms of where flood-mitigation dollars have gone. Watersheds vary as much as 130 to 1 since 2000 and almost as much since Harvey. Most watersheds remained relatively constant in the rankings during the different time […]
Weather buffs could soon be treated to a rare event: the Fujiwhara Effect. That’s when one tropical storm collides with another. Topical Storm Philippe is being overtaken by the newly formed Tropical Storm Rina. See the satellite image below taken around 12:30 PM CDT. Will They Merge? I asked Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner what […]
When I say “dig a little deeper” to improve flood mitigation, I’m speaking metaphorically, of course. On September 17, 2023, Jim Blackburn, a lawyer and professor of environmental law in the Rice University engineering department, published an article in the Houston Chronicle. He titled it, “What Houston’s next mayor needs to do about flooding.” Both Prof. Blackburn and […]
9/25/23 – Approximately 425,000 people live in the 204 square mile Cypress Creek watershed which has severe repetitive flooding. At a press conference this morning, County, State and Federal officials announced $50 million in funding for a massive complex of stormwater detention basins on Cypress Creek at T.C. Jester Blvd. to help protect those people. […]
The World Bank recently published the 177-page Urban Flood Risk Handbook: Assessing and Identifying Interventions by Scott Ferguson, Mathijs van Ledden, Steven Rubinyi, Ana Campos, and Tess Doeffinger. The book is primarily targeted to flood-project managers and city officials. However, the informative illustrations and easy-to-understand writing make it a useful primer for anyone who wants […]
Social media has been abuzz this week about the Northpark Drive entry to Kingwood. As contractors removed trees from the north side of the road to make room for a detention pond, many people complained. But it’s important to remember why we’re improving Northpark: to accommodate increased traffic and to create a reliable, all-weather evacuation […]
In northeast Houston, where residents and activists frequently chant “historic disinvestment,” I accidentally stumbled onto a much more likely cause of the frequent flooding than systemic racism. It happened while browsing a GIS database with hundreds of layers containing a broad range of information. The instant I saw it, it unlocked a mystery. Tumblers suddenly […]
Updated 3/7/26 – I wrote my first post about Colony Ridge in May 2020. Since then, I have written more than 80 about the controversial, Liberty County colonia that’s now 50% larger than Manhattan. Virtually all of them cover aspects of drainage, wetlands and flooding, as well as the development’s impact on people, the environment […]
Recent expansion of the Colony Ridge development in Liberty County means that the controversial colonia is now 50 percent bigger than Manhattan. By advertising exclusively to Hispanics under the name Terrenos Houston (translation: Houston Land), the developer has largely managed to fly under the radar of regulators as it rapidly expands. Comparison Of Areas in […]