8/24/26 at 5PM – After quick-thinking residents spotted TXDoT contractors dumping fill in the Lake Houston floodplain on Friday night, August 21, local authorities leaped into action and stopped the operation by mid-day on Saturday, August 22, 2026.
On Sunday, August 23, a silt fence was installed improperly on the property. And today, Monday, August 24, Houston Public Works launched an investigation. Here’s the latest.
Landowners can move dirt within the floodplain. But they cannot bring dirt INTO the floodplain from outside of it. That reduces stormwater storage.
Shortly after Flickinger’s visit, neighbors reported that the TXDoT contractors stopped their fill operation, and that the landowner would likely be forced to pay a fine and remove the fill dirt.
Google Earth Pro satellite image of floodplain being filled. See red oval.
Ineffective Silt Fence
After Saturday’s post pointed out that there was no silt fence around the fill, the next day, someone installed a laughably ineffective silt fence. It didn’t even reach the ground. So rain could easily wash silt under the bottom edge of the fence.
Note gap below fence.Photo taken Sunday 8/23/26.
Best practices for silt fence installation recommend burying the bottom edge of the fabric at least six inches in a trench on the uphill side of fence supports, then back-filling the trench. See the diagram below, compiled by ChatGPT.
Note inset illustration on bottom right.
City Investigation Issues Red Tags
Houston Public Works investigators visited the site this morning. At 5PM today, they issued this statement, “The Floodplain Management Office inspection team issued red tags on the affected parcels this morning and contacted the trucking contractor. As of this afternoon, one of the onsite red tags was not found when we returned. We’ll continue to follow up.”
Public Works says it will issue a more detailed report tomorrow morning and has requested TXDoT’s cooperation in stopping the floodplain filling.
TXDoT Response to County Investigation Request
Meanwhile, Harris County Precinct 3 also asked TXDoT to look into recurring problems like this. TXDoT contractors are excavating the dirt from a large detention basin four miles north as mitigation for the FM2100 expansion project.
Eric Heppen, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s head engineer, shared this statement from Nyemb Nyemb, P.E., North Harris Assistant Area Engineer for TXDoT.
Nyemb said, “We recognize that this has been a recurring concern and will be meeting with the contractor as soon as possible to address the matter and reinforce compliance with all applicable requirements.”
“If it is determined that material was improperly dumped in this area, the contractor will be required to remove it and restore the site.”
Nyemb Nyemb PE, TXDoT manager for North Harris County
Nyemb continued, “Failure to comply with project requirements and corrective measures could result in project enforcement actions. The TxDOT project team will work and investigate the reported activity and take appropriate action if any project-related material is found to have been placed without the required approvals, authorizations, or permits.”
Harris County Appraisal District Records show that Lake Houston Lighthouse, L.L.C. owns it. However, Texas Secretary of State records show that the LLC last filed a required Public Information Report in 2022 and went through a tax forfeiture in February 2024. So presumably, the individual owners lack a corporate veil to protect them from liability.
Both of the LLC’s managing members list their address at a single residence on Page Lane – the street immediately south of the channel shown above.
How to Stop Floodplain Fill
Engineers tell me such activity goes on all over Harris County. How can we stop it? Previously, there was talk about criminalizing such behavior. Currently, it is a civil offense.
Heppen said that the county may work with the state in the next session to pass a law against such fill activity. Making it a criminal offense changes the whole “What if I get caught?” equation. Instead of a slap-on-the-wrist fine, a criminal record might disqualify someone from getting future jobs or permits.
If we want to reduce damage in the next flood, we must do more than pay lip service to floodplain preservation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/24/26
3282 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Silt-Fence-Cropped.jpg?fit=1100%2C544&ssl=15441100adminadmin2026-08-24 18:00:312026-08-27 09:45:33Two Lake Houston Floodplain-Fill Investigations Launched
8/22/2026 – Look at flooding long enough and you will come to think of it as a series of debits and credits where the balance in the public-safety ledger is never quite clear. It feels as if flood-risk increases constantly offset flood-risk decreases. For example, shortly after posting about drainage improvements on Bens Branch, I witnessed contractors dumping fill in the Lake Houston floodplain.
Offsetting Efforts
On the plus side, a new clear-span bridge replaced a low-water crossing that backed up water in Bens Branch.
But on the minus side, last night around 7pm, I started receiving a barrage of text messages, emails and phone calls from people in Huffman. TXDoT contractors excavating a detention basin on FM2100 outside of the floodplain started dumping the dirt inside the floodplain…right next to a part of Lake Houston…that flooded badly…and that we just spent millions dredging.
East side of Lake Houston. Fill site in center foreground. FM1960 in upper right.
The trucks dumped their fill in a small trailer park east of the Lake Houston Brewery on the south side of FM1960. The area lies in floodplains and floodways.
From FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Cross-hatch = Floodway. Blue = 100-year floodplain.Red oval signifies approximate fill location.
According to multiple residents, the dump trucks went all night and continued this morning. So I went to Huffman shortly before noon today and started counting trucks. At one point, I counted six in a ten-minute period.
They backed up to a little channel that residents say was just dredged. Then they dumped their loads. A small bulldozer spread the dirt out, pushing it toward the water as fast as it was dumped. The owner had no silt fences in place. Nor did he have a permit or stormwater pollution prevention plan posted at the site entrance as required by law.
Truckers’ Carousel
I then spent approximately an hour tracking the trucks to and from the excavation site, near where Huffman-Cleveland road intersects FM2100. The trucks made one round trip after another.
This is not the first time contractors were caught dumping fill in floodplains from that detention basin. Even if the property owner didn’t know better, the contractors and TXDoT should have.
Upon learning of the problem, Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger went to the dump site and shut down the operation. He said…
“The owner will likely face a fine and be forced to remove the fill.”
Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger
What Regulations Say
City of Houston regulations prohibit bringing fill into a 100-year floodplain or floodway. See Ord. No. 2018-258, Sections 19-34 and 19-43. The area where the dumping occurred lies inside the City’s limits.
Three trucks and a bulldozer working simultaneously in fill area. As quickly as trucks dumped their loads, the dozer would spread them out.No silt fences!
No Adverse Impact Allowed
Flooding has been likened to the death of a thousand cuts.
Any displacement of floodwater in one area simply raises the level somewhere else. And many of the homeowners and businesses surrounding this site have flooded before on multiple occasions.
Adding fill to the floodplain reduces the area available to store floodwater during large storms.
So, if you see fill being dumped in a floodplain, please report it to the appropriate authorities. You could be saving your home from a flood that hasn’t yet happened.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/22/2026
3280 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_20260822112255_0043_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-08-22 16:20:162026-08-23 10:24:45FM2100 Contractors Caught Dumping Fill in Lake Houston Floodplain
8/20/2026 – Ralph DeLeon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, shared some good news about Northpark Drive expansion today. It concerns the entry ponds at US59 and sidewalks near Loop 494.
Entergy has relocated power poles that were partially blocking sidewalks.
Entry ponds could have water in them by the end of October.
Here are the stories behind the developments.
Entergy Power Poles Relocated
Years before the Northpark project began, Entergy placed more than half a dozen power poles in front of Public Storage and Self-U storage west of the UnionPacific Railroad tracks. The placement of the poles encroached on the City’s easement. But the encroachment did not become apparent until construction of the 10-foot wide sidewalks along Northpark began as part of the expansion project.
Had Entergy fought moving the poles, the sidewalks would have had to narrow down in that area from 10 feet to 4.
Then the sidewalks would have expanded again past the pinch point. That could have compromised the functionality of the sidewalks which were designated as multi-use pathways. The idea behind the wider-than-normal pathways: allow pedestrians, handicapped people and bicyclists to all use the paths simultaneously. But the pinch point could have prohibited that.
Entergy began moving the encroaching poles on 8/12/26.
Entergy began moving the poles last week.Image supplied by De Leon.Another photo from 8/12/26 supplied by De Leon as Entergy began shifting poles.New Entergy Pole. Image taken today by De Leon.The job’s not quite done, but the wider sidewalks will make the pedestrian experience much more pleasant.
As of this afternoon, Entergy has finished relocating all its conflicting poles. That means continuous 10’-wide sidewalk along the north side of the roadway.
Closing on property for the well that would fill the ponds when rainwater doesn’t
The need to cover the pond liners with water to keep sunlight from damaging them.
De Leon says he now hopes to close on the property for the well during the first week of October 2026. If all goes according to plan, that would allow installation of the pond liners and filling of the ponds, presumably before the end of October.
Photographs supplied by De Leon today show that the pond liners have already arrived on location. They will prevent the loss of water due to seepage and stabilize lake levels.
Entry pond liners stored under protective blankets near Exxon station.
When complete, the Northpark entries should look as beautiful as the Kingwood Drive entries. That will be a major upgrade for the entire community.
For more than 20 years, I was president of the Northpark Place Commercial Association. During that time, I received hundreds, if not thousands of complaints about the appearance of Northpark entries compared to Kingwood Drive. Now, 30 years later, the community will get its wish.
Two Lake Houston Floodplain-Fill Investigations Launched
8/24/26 at 5PM – After quick-thinking residents spotted TXDoT contractors dumping fill in the Lake Houston floodplain on Friday night, August 21, local authorities leaped into action and stopped the operation by mid-day on Saturday, August 22, 2026.
On Sunday, August 23, a silt fence was installed improperly on the property. And today, Monday, August 24, Houston Public Works launched an investigation. Here’s the latest.
Flickinger Visit Stops Dumping
Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger visited the dump site on Saturday.
Floodplain fill reduces stormwater-storage volume during floods. That increases flood risk for others. As a consequence, City regulations prohibited such fill in 2018.
Landowners can move dirt within the floodplain. But they cannot bring dirt INTO the floodplain from outside of it. That reduces stormwater storage.
Shortly after Flickinger’s visit, neighbors reported that the TXDoT contractors stopped their fill operation, and that the landowner would likely be forced to pay a fine and remove the fill dirt.
Ineffective Silt Fence
After Saturday’s post pointed out that there was no silt fence around the fill, the next day, someone installed a laughably ineffective silt fence. It didn’t even reach the ground. So rain could easily wash silt under the bottom edge of the fence.
Best practices for silt fence installation recommend burying the bottom edge of the fabric at least six inches in a trench on the uphill side of fence supports, then back-filling the trench. See the diagram below, compiled by ChatGPT.
City Investigation Issues Red Tags
Houston Public Works investigators visited the site this morning. At 5PM today, they issued this statement, “The Floodplain Management Office inspection team issued red tags on the affected parcels this morning and contacted the trucking contractor. As of this afternoon, one of the onsite red tags was not found when we returned. We’ll continue to follow up.”
Public Works says it will issue a more detailed report tomorrow morning and has requested TXDoT’s cooperation in stopping the floodplain filling.
TXDoT Response to County Investigation Request
Meanwhile, Harris County Precinct 3 also asked TXDoT to look into recurring problems like this. TXDoT contractors are excavating the dirt from a large detention basin four miles north as mitigation for the FM2100 expansion project.
Eric Heppen, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s head engineer, shared this statement from Nyemb Nyemb, P.E., North Harris Assistant Area Engineer for TXDoT.
Nyemb said, “We recognize that this has been a recurring concern and will be meeting with the contractor as soon as possible to address the matter and reinforce compliance with all applicable requirements.”
Nyemb continued, “Failure to comply with project requirements and corrective measures could result in project enforcement actions. The TxDOT project team will work and investigate the reported activity and take appropriate action if any project-related material is found to have been placed without the required approvals, authorizations, or permits.”
Unfortunately, we’ve heard that before from Mr. Nyemb.
Who Owns the Floodplain Property Being Filled?
Harris County Appraisal District Records show that Lake Houston Lighthouse, L.L.C. owns it. However, Texas Secretary of State records show that the LLC last filed a required Public Information Report in 2022 and went through a tax forfeiture in February 2024. So presumably, the individual owners lack a corporate veil to protect them from liability.
Both of the LLC’s managing members list their address at a single residence on Page Lane – the street immediately south of the channel shown above.
How to Stop Floodplain Fill
Engineers tell me such activity goes on all over Harris County. How can we stop it? Previously, there was talk about criminalizing such behavior. Currently, it is a civil offense.
Heppen said that the county may work with the state in the next session to pass a law against such fill activity. Making it a criminal offense changes the whole “What if I get caught?” equation. Instead of a slap-on-the-wrist fine, a criminal record might disqualify someone from getting future jobs or permits.
If we want to reduce damage in the next flood, we must do more than pay lip service to floodplain preservation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/24/26
3282 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
FM2100 Contractors Caught Dumping Fill in Lake Houston Floodplain
8/22/2026 – Look at flooding long enough and you will come to think of it as a series of debits and credits where the balance in the public-safety ledger is never quite clear. It feels as if flood-risk increases constantly offset flood-risk decreases. For example, shortly after posting about drainage improvements on Bens Branch, I witnessed contractors dumping fill in the Lake Houston floodplain.
Offsetting Efforts
On the plus side, a new clear-span bridge replaced a low-water crossing that backed up water in Bens Branch.
But on the minus side, last night around 7pm, I started receiving a barrage of text messages, emails and phone calls from people in Huffman. TXDoT contractors excavating a detention basin on FM2100 outside of the floodplain started dumping the dirt inside the floodplain…right next to a part of Lake Houston…that flooded badly…and that we just spent millions dredging.
The trucks dumped their fill in a small trailer park east of the Lake Houston Brewery on the south side of FM1960. The area lies in floodplains and floodways.
According to multiple residents, the dump trucks went all night and continued this morning. So I went to Huffman shortly before noon today and started counting trucks. At one point, I counted six in a ten-minute period.
They backed up to a little channel that residents say was just dredged. Then they dumped their loads. A small bulldozer spread the dirt out, pushing it toward the water as fast as it was dumped. The owner had no silt fences in place. Nor did he have a permit or stormwater pollution prevention plan posted at the site entrance as required by law.
Truckers’ Carousel
I then spent approximately an hour tracking the trucks to and from the excavation site, near where Huffman-Cleveland road intersects FM2100. The trucks made one round trip after another.
This is not the first time contractors were caught dumping fill in floodplains from that detention basin. Even if the property owner didn’t know better, the contractors and TXDoT should have.
Upon learning of the problem, Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger went to the dump site and shut down the operation. He said…
What Regulations Say
City of Houston regulations prohibit bringing fill into a 100-year floodplain or floodway. See Ord. No. 2018-258, Sections 19-34 and 19-43. The area where the dumping occurred lies inside the City’s limits.
No Adverse Impact Allowed
Flooding has been likened to the death of a thousand cuts.
Any displacement of floodwater in one area simply raises the level somewhere else. And many of the homeowners and businesses surrounding this site have flooded before on multiple occasions.
Adding fill to the floodplain reduces the area available to store floodwater during large storms.
So, if you see fill being dumped in a floodplain, please report it to the appropriate authorities. You could be saving your home from a flood that hasn’t yet happened.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/22/2026
3280 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Northpark Update: Sidewalks, Entry Ponds Nearing Completion
8/20/2026 – Ralph DeLeon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, shared some good news about Northpark Drive expansion today. It concerns the entry ponds at US59 and sidewalks near Loop 494.
Here are the stories behind the developments.
Entergy Power Poles Relocated
Years before the Northpark project began, Entergy placed more than half a dozen power poles in front of Public Storage and Self-U storage west of the UnionPacific Railroad tracks. The placement of the poles encroached on the City’s easement. But the encroachment did not become apparent until construction of the 10-foot wide sidewalks along Northpark began as part of the expansion project.
Had Entergy fought moving the poles, the sidewalks would have had to narrow down in that area from 10 feet to 4.
Then the sidewalks would have expanded again past the pinch point. That could have compromised the functionality of the sidewalks which were designated as multi-use pathways. The idea behind the wider-than-normal pathways: allow pedestrians, handicapped people and bicyclists to all use the paths simultaneously. But the pinch point could have prohibited that.
Entergy began moving the encroaching poles on 8/12/26.
As of this afternoon, Entergy has finished relocating all its conflicting poles. That means continuous 10’-wide sidewalk along the north side of the roadway.
Entry Pond Liners and Well
On 7/24/26, I wrote a brief update about the entry ponds at US59 Two things were holding up completion.
De Leon says he now hopes to close on the property for the well during the first week of October 2026. If all goes according to plan, that would allow installation of the pond liners and filling of the ponds, presumably before the end of October.
Photographs supplied by De Leon today show that the pond liners have already arrived on location. They will prevent the loss of water due to seepage and stabilize lake levels.
When complete, the Northpark entries should look as beautiful as the Kingwood Drive entries. That will be a major upgrade for the entire community.
For more than 20 years, I was president of the Northpark Place Commercial Association. During that time, I received hundreds, if not thousands of complaints about the appearance of Northpark entries compared to Kingwood Drive. Now, 30 years later, the community will get its wish.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/26
3278 Days since Hurricane Harvey