6/11/26 – Commissioner’s decided to take no action on the question of Dr. Tina Petersen’s continued employment as head of the Harris County Flood Control District. Again. However, after commissioners returned from executive session, she promptly resigned before the meeting was over.
Despite Petersen repeatedly refusing to give direct answers to questions about the plan, Commissioners Court approved it as the best available option to skirt an imminent deadline. Petersen never did address what would happen after the immediate deadline to another half billion dollars of federal funding with an early 2028 deadline.
But she avoided the elephant in the room – what she was doing, if anything, to speed up project execution. Instead she talked in vague terms about “acceleration strategies” that would yield tens of millions of dollars in savings which could be reinvested in additional projects. It all sounded a bit too good to be true given the dire situation.
Commissioners tried to pin her down on the savings, but with little success. What Petersen didn’t say was that the savings she promised likely came from a consultant she hired who radically overestimated construction costs.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia has been one of Petersen’s biggest fans. He reportedly recommended hiring her. He also defended her today. Garcia even offered a factually incorrect timeline in an attempt to rewrite history and support his protege. But thankfully County Judge Lina Hidalgo corrected him.
I can’t speak to all of her claims. But “transparency” triggered a belly laugh.
Replacement Not Announced Today
At this hour, the major question is, “Who will replace Petersen?” Reportedly, the announcement will be made on June 25th at the next Business Court Meeting.
Another major question: Will voters re-elect Adrian Garcia? He got us in this mess. He also continued to defend Petersen long after it became clear she wasn’t achieving results.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/11/2026
3208 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/2026/06/Tina-Petersen-June-11-2026-e1781210658786.png?fit=1100%2C615&ssl=16151100adminadmin2026-06-11 17:33:042026-06-11 17:33:05HCFCD Executive Director Resigns Under Pressure
6/10/2026 – The City of Houston this morning approved the final board members for the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District created by State Rep. Charles Cunningham’s HB1532 during the 2025 legislature.
The appointment of the five board members is a significant step. Three of the five are engineers/construction experts. The other two represent the Lake Houston Area Community.
L to R: Sarah Berkey, Kathleen Jordan, City Council Member Fred Flickinger, Derek St. John, and William Simpson, Board Chair. Not present: Ken Kirchhofer.
Why Have a Dredging District?
After Hurricane Harvey, the Army Corps found that the West Fork was 90% blocked with sediment in places. However, it was unclear how much of the sand was deposited by Harvey and how much had built up over time through lack of maintenance.
As a consequence the City and Harris County argued with FEMA for two years about how much of the dredging FEMA would fund. (Think in terms of someone who makes an insurance claim on a house that was already partially damaged.)
To eliminate such squabbles in the future and to protect the area from flooding, the Army Corps recommended that local authorities set up a permanent dredging district for maintenance purposes.
West Fork south of the Kingwood Country Club’s Island Course after Harvey. Blockage contributed to catastrophic flooding in Humble and western half of Kingwood.West Fork mouth bar after Harvey and before dredging.East Fork Mouth Bar before dredging
Local streams and drainage ditches were also blocked.
Rogers Gully mouth bar in Atascocitabefore dredgingThis sand bar in the West Fork completely blocked the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and backed water up into thousands of homes during Harvey.
And it wasn’t just sand. Thousands of trees also blocked the river and damaged the US59, UPRR, and West Lake Houston Parkway Bridges.
UnionPacific Railroad Bridge after Harvey. Log dam raised water destroying railroad.
When Did the Effort to Start the District Begin
Dan Huberty, the Lake Houston Area’s state rep at the time tried to get a dredging district started in the 2021 and 2023 legislatures. However, his bills encountered pushback over raising taxes or imposing fees to support operations.
Cunningham’s bill in 2025 focused on selling the spoils for beneficial uses such as raising foundations and roads, and building the Ike Dike. It passed and the governor signed it into law.
State Rep. Charles Cunningham
Who Are the Board Members?
William Simpson, Board Chair, worked around the world as a Project Manager on billion dollars projects for 38 years at Chevron Corporation . Then he became a professor in the construction department at Lone Star College. He now serves as the District Governor for Lion’s Clubs International.
Derek St. John PE, CFM is a professional engineer and certified floodplain manager, and one of the two founding members of Gauge Engineering, now a part of HR Green, Inc. He specializes in water resources and stormwater issues.
Sarah M. Berkey, PE, has worked with Carollo Engineers since 2014. She currently serves as Project Advisor/Technical Consultant on the Northeast Water Purification Plant Expansion Project.
Kathleen Todd Jordan is a 47 year resident of Kingwood and a community activist. She is a leader in the Kingwood Area Republican Women’s Club and served as a Republican precinct chair. She also worked for Insperity and as an early childhood educator.
Ken Kirchhofer is a member the Humble ISD School Board where he serves as chair of the Audit Committee. He also serves on the Building and Planning Committee and the Superintendent Evaluation Committee. Ken is a PGA Member, credited with reviving the Atascocita Golf Club. Humble ISD lost multiple facilities to flooding during Harvey.
What Comes Next?
City Council Member Fred Flickinger focused on some of the practical issues facing the board.
This will be like starting up a new business. What will be the financial model? Will dredging be outsourced or handled within Houston Public Works? What will the budget be? How will it be funded? Where will the spoils be dried? Can selling them generate enough income to support operations? How long before dredging starts? Who will staff the operation? Etc.
Flickinger said, “The sooner we can get the dredging done, the better.” With that in mind, Flickinger leans toward outsourcing rather than developing in-house solutions. “But it’s going to be a while before we come up with the best plan that works for everyone,” he added. “Today’s announcement isn’t the end of the journey, but it’s another step forward.”
State Rep. Charles Cunningham said this about today’s development. “Today, the members of the Lake Houston Dredging District were installed by the City of Houston. After years of work by others and myself, I am pleased to welcome these community members to the effort in seeking flooding remediation for the Lake Houston area.”
“I am confident,” he continued, “that they will be diligent in working toward solutions for all residents. The dredging district is one piece of a larger initiative to design sustainable and practical responses to our challenges. They will soon begin meeting and working on the issues. I thank them for stepping up to serve.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/10/2026
3207 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Dredging-District-Board.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=115362048adminadmin2026-06-10 17:23:082026-06-10 20:19:56City Approves Board Members for Lake Houston Dredging District
6/9/2026 – New Northpark paving now stretches from one end of the project to the other.
We aren’t anywhere close to a ribbon cutting yet. But we did reach a milestone of sorts in the expansion project to create the first all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood. Specifically, newly paved surface lanes now stretch from US59 past Russell-Palmer Road – including across the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks.
You can’t drive on them yet. But you should be able to within a couple weeks after UnionPacific finishes installing crossing gates and the City re-programs traffic lights.
All pictures below were taken on 6/9/2026.
Last Four Feet Paved this Week
In the picture below, note the asphalt strips adjacent to the railroad where newly paved surface lanes cross the tracks.
Once new crossing and traffic signals become active, traffic can be rerouted to new surface lanes.
Not all the concrete work is done yet. A left-turn lane in front of the dry cleaners at Loop 494 still needs to be finished. And some cross-Northpark culverts still need to be installed in the center where the old lanes are now.
Wider shot shows culverts, turn lane and utility work remaining at Northpark/Loop 494/UPRR.
Contractors also still have some work to do on sidewalks/multi-purpose pathways, especially where streetlights are in the way.
Note how path on left stops just beyond tracks.
UnionPacific has scheduled June 23, 2026, to install the crossing gates and co-ordinate traffic signals.
East Abutment Being Paved
Farther east, contractors have started paving the east abutment for the bridge which will eventually cross the tracks and Loop 494.
New paving and rebar being installed on eastern abutment.Contractors were also busy today installing caps for the walls that will hold guardrails for the bridge.
Medians and Entry Ponds Coming Together
Beyond the abutment, a combination of sod and grass has been planted in the median between in/and outbound lanes. Thanks to recent rains, it is already starting to turn take root and green up.
Newly planted grass in medians begins to give you a sense of how project will look when complete.
At US59, excavation of the north entry pond looks complete. However, contractors still have work to do on the south pond.
Looking E from over US59. N on left. S on right.
Heavy rains last week appear to have slowed down work on the ponds. As you can see, the north pond is still holding a significant amount of stormwater.
For More Information
Use the keyword “Northpark” to review more than 200 previous posts about the expansion project. Also consult the LakeHouston Redevelopment Authority project pages.
The Authority will hold a board meeting this Thursday at the Kingwood Community Center on 6/11/26 starting at 8am. The address: 4102 Rustic Woods Drive, Kingwood, Texas 77345.
Harper Brothers Construction projects a completion date for the project of January 7, 2027, just seven months from now. You can expect to see a lot of activity on the bridge in coming weeks and months.
The drainage analysis for the new Regional Detention Basin (Project T-1015) is also nearing completion.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/9/2026
3206 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DJI_20260609131024_0363_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-06-09 19:00:112026-06-09 19:04:36New Northpark Paving Now Stretches from One End of Project to Other
HCFCD Executive Director Resigns Under Pressure
6/11/26 – Commissioner’s decided to take no action on the question of Dr. Tina Petersen’s continued employment as head of the Harris County Flood Control District. Again. However, after commissioners returned from executive session, she promptly resigned before the meeting was over.
Playing Dodgeball
Before the executive session, Petersen played dodgeball in the dock for 94 minutes re: her plan to avoid losing $322 million dollars in Federal funding. Here is a transcript of the discussion and a Powerpoint describing the plan. Judging by commissioners’ questions, her presentation/explanation was hard to understand.
Despite Petersen repeatedly refusing to give direct answers to questions about the plan, Commissioners Court approved it as the best available option to skirt an imminent deadline. Petersen never did address what would happen after the immediate deadline to another half billion dollars of federal funding with an early 2028 deadline.
But she avoided the elephant in the room – what she was doing, if anything, to speed up project execution. Instead she talked in vague terms about “acceleration strategies” that would yield tens of millions of dollars in savings which could be reinvested in additional projects. It all sounded a bit too good to be true given the dire situation.
Commissioners tried to pin her down on the savings, but with little success. What Petersen didn’t say was that the savings she promised likely came from a consultant she hired who radically overestimated construction costs.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia has been one of Petersen’s biggest fans. He reportedly recommended hiring her. He also defended her today. Garcia even offered a factually incorrect timeline in an attempt to rewrite history and support his protege. But thankfully County Judge Lina Hidalgo corrected him.
Petersen’s Resignation Announcement
After the executive session, Petersen announced her resignation in an email to employees. The letter enumerates what she believes her accomplishments were during her four and a half years in the office.
She called her work “transformational.” She also talked about:
Petersen just left out the part about endangering almost a billion dollars in federal funding.
I can’t speak to all of her claims. But “transparency” triggered a belly laugh.
Replacement Not Announced Today
At this hour, the major question is, “Who will replace Petersen?” Reportedly, the announcement will be made on June 25th at the next Business Court Meeting.
Another major question: Will voters re-elect Adrian Garcia? He got us in this mess. He also continued to defend Petersen long after it became clear she wasn’t achieving results.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/11/2026
3208 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.
City Approves Board Members for Lake Houston Dredging District
6/10/2026 – The City of Houston this morning approved the final board members for the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District created by State Rep. Charles Cunningham’s HB1532 during the 2025 legislature.
The appointment of the five board members is a significant step. Three of the five are engineers/construction experts. The other two represent the Lake Houston Area Community.
Why Have a Dredging District?
After Hurricane Harvey, the Army Corps found that the West Fork was 90% blocked with sediment in places. However, it was unclear how much of the sand was deposited by Harvey and how much had built up over time through lack of maintenance.
As a consequence the City and Harris County argued with FEMA for two years about how much of the dredging FEMA would fund. (Think in terms of someone who makes an insurance claim on a house that was already partially damaged.)
To eliminate such squabbles in the future and to protect the area from flooding, the Army Corps recommended that local authorities set up a permanent dredging district for maintenance purposes.
Local streams and drainage ditches were also blocked.
And it wasn’t just sand. Thousands of trees also blocked the river and damaged the US59, UPRR, and West Lake Houston Parkway Bridges.
When Did the Effort to Start the District Begin
Dan Huberty, the Lake Houston Area’s state rep at the time tried to get a dredging district started in the 2021 and 2023 legislatures. However, his bills encountered pushback over raising taxes or imposing fees to support operations.
Cunningham’s bill in 2025 focused on selling the spoils for beneficial uses such as raising foundations and roads, and building the Ike Dike. It passed and the governor signed it into law.
Who Are the Board Members?
William Simpson, Board Chair, worked around the world as a Project Manager on billion dollars projects for 38 years at Chevron Corporation . Then he became a professor in the construction department at Lone Star College. He now serves as the District Governor for Lion’s Clubs International.
Derek St. John PE, CFM is a professional engineer and certified floodplain manager, and one of the two founding members of Gauge Engineering, now a part of HR Green, Inc. He specializes in water resources and stormwater issues.
Sarah M. Berkey, PE, has worked with Carollo Engineers since 2014. She currently serves as Project Advisor/Technical Consultant on the Northeast Water Purification Plant Expansion Project.
Kathleen Todd Jordan is a 47 year resident of Kingwood and a community activist. She is a leader in the Kingwood Area Republican Women’s Club and served as a Republican precinct chair. She also worked for Insperity and as an early childhood educator.
Ken Kirchhofer is a member the Humble ISD School Board where he serves as chair of the Audit Committee. He also serves on the Building and Planning Committee and the Superintendent Evaluation Committee. Ken is a PGA Member, credited with reviving the Atascocita Golf Club. Humble ISD lost multiple facilities to flooding during Harvey.
What Comes Next?
City Council Member Fred Flickinger focused on some of the practical issues facing the board.
This will be like starting up a new business. What will be the financial model? Will dredging be outsourced or handled within Houston Public Works? What will the budget be? How will it be funded? Where will the spoils be dried? Can selling them generate enough income to support operations? How long before dredging starts? Who will staff the operation? Etc.
Flickinger said, “The sooner we can get the dredging done, the better.” With that in mind, Flickinger leans toward outsourcing rather than developing in-house solutions. “But it’s going to be a while before we come up with the best plan that works for everyone,” he added. “Today’s announcement isn’t the end of the journey, but it’s another step forward.”
State Rep. Charles Cunningham said this about today’s development. “Today, the members of the Lake Houston Dredging District were installed by the City of Houston. After years of work by others and myself, I am pleased to welcome these community members to the effort in seeking flooding remediation for the Lake Houston area.”
“I am confident,” he continued, “that they will be diligent in working toward solutions for all residents. The dredging district is one piece of a larger initiative to design sustainable and practical responses to our challenges. They will soon begin meeting and working on the issues. I thank them for stepping up to serve.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/10/2026
3207 Days since Hurricane Harvey
New Northpark Paving Now Stretches from One End of Project to Other
6/9/2026 – New Northpark paving now stretches from one end of the project to the other.
We aren’t anywhere close to a ribbon cutting yet. But we did reach a milestone of sorts in the expansion project to create the first all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood. Specifically, newly paved surface lanes now stretch from US59 past Russell-Palmer Road – including across the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks.
You can’t drive on them yet. But you should be able to within a couple weeks after UnionPacific finishes installing crossing gates and the City re-programs traffic lights.
All pictures below were taken on 6/9/2026.
Last Four Feet Paved this Week
In the picture below, note the asphalt strips adjacent to the railroad where newly paved surface lanes cross the tracks.
Not all the concrete work is done yet. A left-turn lane in front of the dry cleaners at Loop 494 still needs to be finished. And some cross-Northpark culverts still need to be installed in the center where the old lanes are now.
Contractors also still have some work to do on sidewalks/multi-purpose pathways, especially where streetlights are in the way.
UnionPacific has scheduled June 23, 2026, to install the crossing gates and co-ordinate traffic signals.
East Abutment Being Paved
Farther east, contractors have started paving the east abutment for the bridge which will eventually cross the tracks and Loop 494.
Medians and Entry Ponds Coming Together
Beyond the abutment, a combination of sod and grass has been planted in the median between in/and outbound lanes. Thanks to recent rains, it is already starting to turn take root and green up.
At US59, excavation of the north entry pond looks complete. However, contractors still have work to do on the south pond.
Heavy rains last week appear to have slowed down work on the ponds. As you can see, the north pond is still holding a significant amount of stormwater.
For More Information
Use the keyword “Northpark” to review more than 200 previous posts about the expansion project. Also consult the LakeHouston Redevelopment Authority project pages.
The Authority will hold a board meeting this Thursday at the Kingwood Community Center on 6/11/26 starting at 8am. The address: 4102 Rustic Woods Drive, Kingwood, Texas 77345.
Here is the agenda. And here is the 36-megabyte board packet.
Harper Brothers Construction projects a completion date for the project of January 7, 2027, just seven months from now. You can expect to see a lot of activity on the bridge in coming weeks and months.
The drainage analysis for the new Regional Detention Basin (Project T-1015) is also nearing completion.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/9/2026
3206 Days since Hurricane Harvey