12/12/24 – Karastin Katusin gets people to see, touch, and experience a healthy floodplain environment, so they will want to protect such places.
Katusin is a geologist and educator by training. She is also the Community Conservation Manager for the Bayou Land Conservancy, one of the leading environmental organizations in southeast Texas. Her mission: connecting people to nature and educating them about floodplains.
I interviewed Katusin recently about the Bayou Land Conservancy’s Arrowwood Preserve along Spring Creek. It’s one of her favorite places to teach. She frequently guides students and faculty from Lone Star College as well as community groups through this fragile ecosystem so they can experience the many ways nature can make us all healthier and safer from floods.
Giving Water a Safe Place to Go
Rehak: When you teach people how a healthy floodplain can help reduce flooding, what key points do you make?
Katusin: First, in order to have a healthy floodplain, you have to have a floodplain. I’ve lived in Texas now for eight years, and I still am amazed at how you can just build anything anywhere. So, I always try to point out to people that Arrowood, for example, is a great opportunity for us to not develop. The ecosystem is not yet as healthy as we want it to be, but it still gives water a safe place to go.
A two-inch rain along Spring Creek can produce flooding over your head in Arrowwood.
Karastin Katusin
During Hurricane Harvey, water in Spring Creek rose 26.5 feet! As development continues, we need to leave natural places for that water to go, so it doesn’t go into people’s living rooms.
Group going down the main entry trail to Arrowwoodto learn about floodplains.
Same entry trail in winter after a small rain.Where did that hill go?
Teaching and Applying the Fundamentals
Rehak: What do you tell people to help keep them safe from flooding?
Katusin: The number one thing is “get educated.” Learn flooding concepts. A lot of people don’t understand the difference between a floodway and a floodplain. Or a one-year flood, a 10-year flood and a 100-year flood?
I often hear people say, “We just had a 100-year flood. So, how can we have another?” They don’t understand that it’s a statistical estimate that means you have a one-percent chance of flooding EVERY year. So, educating yourself is Step One.
And then Step Two is, “Do the work.” Figure out how these flooding concepts apply to your situation. For instance, people sometimes say, “Oh well. So what if I’m in the 50 year floodplain?”
Rehak: So what! Someone in a 50-year floodplain has a 44.5% chance of flooding during the life of a 30-year mortgage! That’s almost like betting your home on a coin toss.
Katusin: Absolutely. I don’t think they understand how dangerous that is. There’s a related concept called system capacity. Can the stream hold a rain of a certain intensity without coming out of its banks? For instance, a stream that has a 50-year system capacity can hold a 50-year rain without flooding.
Rehak: The Spring Creek watershed seems to be a land of extremes.
Katusin: Some parts have a 500-year system capacity. Others out there by 290, right where all the development is happening, have less than a 25-year system capacity.
How BLC Helps Protect People from Flooding
Rehak: So, how does Bayou Land Conservancy help protect people from flooding?
Katusin: Most people want land preserved for wildlife, water and flood control. But they don’t know how that happens. That’s where we can help. We work with landowners to reduce development on property they own. But we do it in a way that lets them still use their land in a productive way, keep it in the family, and save money.
The Value of Conservation Agreements
Katusin: Sometimes people donate land to us outright. But more often, they retain ownership of their land and we put conservation easements on it. The easements restrict the land from being used for development. But they still let the landowner use their land in other ways. For instance, agriculture, forests, hunting, camping, etc.
The agreement stipulates what each party can and can’t do. For instance, we won’t clearcut the land or put in a shopping center. Instead, we will try to create a pocket of land that ideally becomes a sponge for floodwater.
Preserving wetlands helps store stormwater that would otherwise add to flood peaks downstream.
It’s great when the public can access the land. But remember, in most cases, we just have a conservation easement. The original owner may still own the land and keep it in their family. That may limit public accessibility.
Rehak: How does the family make money off the agreement? How do they benefit?
Katusin: Often, landowners get some sort of tax break.
Rehak: Why?
Katusin: Because the land has lost some of its development potential, typically the tax valuation decreases.
Rehak: Like on the portion of the land along a creek in a floodplain?
Katusin: Exactly. It doesn’t make any difference to us if it floods. By preserving the land in a natural state, we’re giving water a safe place to go. Wildlife has a safe place to live. And hopefully, the land soaks up excess rainwater. That helps reduce flooding downstream.
Rehak: What do you like most about your job?
Katusin: I love explaining these concepts to groups … in a natural setting. I lead tours of our preserves when groups request them. It’s fun watching people connect all the dots and understand why it’s important to protect land along rivers and streams.
Karastin (kneeling on left) with a BLC trail crew restoring Arrowwood Preserve.
For More Information
To learn about the many ways you can support the mission of the Bayou Land Conservancy, visit their website.
Posted by Bob Rehak and Karastin Katusin on 12/12/24
2662 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241212-Unknown-1.jpg?fit=1100%2C397&ssl=13971100adminadmin2024-12-12 17:11:032024-12-12 17:32:04Educating People About a Healthy Floodplain Environment
12/11/2024 – One of the most popular parks in Kingwood is KSA’s East End Park. Tens of thousands of people visit this 158 acre, dog-friendly nature park each year. It’s spectacularly beautiful – filled with towering pines, tall-grass meadows, wetlands, boardwalks, wildlife, and miles of hiking trails.
Members of the Lake Houston Nature Club and the Houston Audubon Society have documented an incredible 141 species of birds in East End Park, many threatened or endangered. The list keeps growing thanks to KSA and community conservation efforts.
The park is especially popular for sunrise walks. The photo below shows why. The sunrises can be a deeply spiritual, rejuvenating experience.
Sunrise over Lake Houston from Kingwood’s East End Park at Otter Point. By Dr. Charles Campbell.
Recreational Wonderland That Doubles as Flood Protection
The recreational benefits of the park are undeniable. But not many people realize that East End Park also plays an important role in flood mitigation.
Friendswood Development Company originally had plans to develop a subdivision where the park is today. But back in 1988, the EPA issued a cease and desist order to help preserve the wetlands. To make the most of the situation, Friendswood donated the land to the Kingwood Service Association (KSA). Friendswood hoped that KSA would turn the land into a recreational facility benefitting all Kingwood residents.
The southern half of East End Park. Looking S toward Lake Houston in upper right. East Fork on left.The mowed meadow areas are where Friendswood brought in fill to raise foundations.
As the EPA intended, in their natural state, the wetlands help protect water quality in Lake Houston. They act as nature’s sponges, storing stormwater and eroded sediment before it reaches the lake.
But East End Park also turned into a buffer zone. And that’s the main way it reduces flooding – by keeping homes a safe distance away from floods.
Although a few surrounding residents flooded in Hurricane Harvey, keep in mind that the East Fork San Jacinto submerged the entire park. Harvey was an extreme case. But the buffer has worked for everything else.
Today, the biggest dangers come from occasional encounters with alligators, poison ivy and golden silk banana spiders. They are the largest non-tarantula spiders in North America. Many have leg spans more than five inches wide.
Golden silk banana spiders look ferocious. But they are gentle. And they are beneficial because of all the insect pests they eat including grasshoppers and locusts. However, a single female can spin a web across a ten-foot wide trail overnight. They are most prevalent in the late fall. Webs are usually 5 – 9 feet above ground. So, early morning joggers beware!
I wish the Houston area had more places like East End Park. We’d have healthier lifestyles and less flooding.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/11/2024
2661 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241211-DJI_20241211121644_0352_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-12-11 17:21:382024-12-11 17:30:55Kingwood’s East End Park: Beautiful Flood Protection
12/10/24 – Halfway between Christmas and New Year’s, Harper Brothers Construction is still making progress on Northpark Expansion. The pace appears to have slowed somewhat. But that’s because of the current focus on subsurface drainage. Installing reinforced concrete box culverts takes significantly longer than work above ground.
It appears that all of the old westbound road bed between Caliber Collision and the railroad tracks has been removed except for driveways.
Meanwhile, farther east, I spotted more concrete being poured in the middle in preparation for additional demolition of westbound lanes.
Pictures Taken 12/10/24
Looking east from just west of Russell Palmer. Note new concrete being poured in middle of frame.Closer shot of today’s pour near Shipley’s. Still looking east.Wider shot looking west shows significant progress where old drainage ditch used to be in center. Installation of box culverts in front of Caliber Collision. Notice: old road bed removed between here and railroad tracks.
The area above is where surface turn lanes will diverge from westbound traffic headed over an as-yet-unbuilt bridge over the railroad tracks.
Coffer dam protects workers from cave ins as they work underground.
Up Next
In other news, according to the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website:
Waterline crews will continue transferring water services from the Porter SUD to the City of Houston waterline.
Dirt crews will backfill new paving on Loop 494 and excavate for the asphalt transition on each end to tie into the new concrete paving
Next week, project managers have scheduled atraffic switch on LP 494. They will move all traffic onto the new concrete paving, and close off the existing LP 494.
Another traffic switch during the week of 12/16 will occur just east of Kings Mill to the east end of the project. Traffic will detour into the middle closing off the existing eastbound lanes.
The next meeting of the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority Board will be Thursday morning at 8am at the Kingwood Community Center.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/10/24
2660 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241210-DJI_20241210160437_0328_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-12-10 18:14:242024-12-10 18:14:25Northpark Expansion Still Making Progress Despite Holidays
Educating People About a Healthy Floodplain Environment
12/12/24 – Karastin Katusin gets people to see, touch, and experience a healthy floodplain environment, so they will want to protect such places.
Katusin is a geologist and educator by training. She is also the Community Conservation Manager for the Bayou Land Conservancy, one of the leading environmental organizations in southeast Texas. Her mission: connecting people to nature and educating them about floodplains.
I interviewed Katusin recently about the Bayou Land Conservancy’s Arrowwood Preserve along Spring Creek. It’s one of her favorite places to teach. She frequently guides students and faculty from Lone Star College as well as community groups through this fragile ecosystem so they can experience the many ways nature can make us all healthier and safer from floods.
Giving Water a Safe Place to Go
Rehak: When you teach people how a healthy floodplain can help reduce flooding, what key points do you make?
Katusin: First, in order to have a healthy floodplain, you have to have a floodplain. I’ve lived in Texas now for eight years, and I still am amazed at how you can just build anything anywhere. So, I always try to point out to people that Arrowood, for example, is a great opportunity for us to not develop. The ecosystem is not yet as healthy as we want it to be, but it still gives water a safe place to go.
During Hurricane Harvey, water in Spring Creek rose 26.5 feet! As development continues, we need to leave natural places for that water to go, so it doesn’t go into people’s living rooms.
Same entry trail in winter after a small rain. Where did that hill go?
Teaching and Applying the Fundamentals
Rehak: What do you tell people to help keep them safe from flooding?
Katusin: The number one thing is “get educated.” Learn flooding concepts. A lot of people don’t understand the difference between a floodway and a floodplain. Or a one-year flood, a 10-year flood and a 100-year flood?
I often hear people say, “We just had a 100-year flood. So, how can we have another?” They don’t understand that it’s a statistical estimate that means you have a one-percent chance of flooding EVERY year. So, educating yourself is Step One.
And then Step Two is, “Do the work.” Figure out how these flooding concepts apply to your situation. For instance, people sometimes say, “Oh well. So what if I’m in the 50 year floodplain?”
Rehak: So what! Someone in a 50-year floodplain has a 44.5% chance of flooding during the life of a 30-year mortgage! That’s almost like betting your home on a coin toss.
Katusin: Absolutely. I don’t think they understand how dangerous that is. There’s a related concept called system capacity. Can the stream hold a rain of a certain intensity without coming out of its banks? For instance, a stream that has a 50-year system capacity can hold a 50-year rain without flooding.
Rehak: The Spring Creek watershed seems to be a land of extremes.
Katusin: Some parts have a 500-year system capacity. Others out there by 290, right where all the development is happening, have less than a 25-year system capacity.
How BLC Helps Protect People from Flooding
Rehak: So, how does Bayou Land Conservancy help protect people from flooding?
Katusin: Most people want land preserved for wildlife, water and flood control. But they don’t know how that happens. That’s where we can help. We work with landowners to reduce development on property they own. But we do it in a way that lets them still use their land in a productive way, keep it in the family, and save money.
The Value of Conservation Agreements
Katusin: Sometimes people donate land to us outright. But more often, they retain ownership of their land and we put conservation easements on it. The easements restrict the land from being used for development. But they still let the landowner use their land in other ways. For instance, agriculture, forests, hunting, camping, etc.
The agreement stipulates what each party can and can’t do. For instance, we won’t clearcut the land or put in a shopping center. Instead, we will try to create a pocket of land that ideally becomes a sponge for floodwater.
It’s great when the public can access the land. But remember, in most cases, we just have a conservation easement. The original owner may still own the land and keep it in their family. That may limit public accessibility.
Rehak: How does the family make money off the agreement? How do they benefit?
Katusin: Often, landowners get some sort of tax break.
Rehak: Why?
Katusin: Because the land has lost some of its development potential, typically the tax valuation decreases.
Rehak: Like on the portion of the land along a creek in a floodplain?
Katusin: Exactly. It doesn’t make any difference to us if it floods. By preserving the land in a natural state, we’re giving water a safe place to go. Wildlife has a safe place to live. And hopefully, the land soaks up excess rainwater. That helps reduce flooding downstream.
Rehak: What do you like most about your job?
Katusin: I love explaining these concepts to groups … in a natural setting. I lead tours of our preserves when groups request them. It’s fun watching people connect all the dots and understand why it’s important to protect land along rivers and streams.
For More Information
To learn about the many ways you can support the mission of the Bayou Land Conservancy, visit their website.
Posted by Bob Rehak and Karastin Katusin on 12/12/24
2662 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Kingwood’s East End Park: Beautiful Flood Protection
12/11/2024 – One of the most popular parks in Kingwood is KSA’s East End Park. Tens of thousands of people visit this 158 acre, dog-friendly nature park each year. It’s spectacularly beautiful – filled with towering pines, tall-grass meadows, wetlands, boardwalks, wildlife, and miles of hiking trails.
Members of the Lake Houston Nature Club and the Houston Audubon Society have documented an incredible 141 species of birds in East End Park, many threatened or endangered. The list keeps growing thanks to KSA and community conservation efforts.
The park is especially popular for sunrise walks. The photo below shows why. The sunrises can be a deeply spiritual, rejuvenating experience.
Recreational Wonderland That Doubles as Flood Protection
The recreational benefits of the park are undeniable. But not many people realize that East End Park also plays an important role in flood mitigation.
Friendswood Development Company originally had plans to develop a subdivision where the park is today. But back in 1988, the EPA issued a cease and desist order to help preserve the wetlands. To make the most of the situation, Friendswood donated the land to the Kingwood Service Association (KSA). Friendswood hoped that KSA would turn the land into a recreational facility benefitting all Kingwood residents.
As the EPA intended, in their natural state, the wetlands help protect water quality in Lake Houston. They act as nature’s sponges, storing stormwater and eroded sediment before it reaches the lake.
But East End Park also turned into a buffer zone. And that’s the main way it reduces flooding – by keeping homes a safe distance away from floods.
Although a few surrounding residents flooded in Hurricane Harvey, keep in mind that the East Fork San Jacinto submerged the entire park. Harvey was an extreme case. But the buffer has worked for everything else.
Today, the biggest dangers come from occasional encounters with alligators, poison ivy and golden silk banana spiders. They are the largest non-tarantula spiders in North America. Many have leg spans more than five inches wide.
Golden silk banana spiders look ferocious. But they are gentle. And they are beneficial because of all the insect pests they eat including grasshoppers and locusts. However, a single female can spin a web across a ten-foot wide trail overnight. They are most prevalent in the late fall. Webs are usually 5 – 9 feet above ground. So, early morning joggers beware!
I wish the Houston area had more places like East End Park. We’d have healthier lifestyles and less flooding.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/11/2024
2661 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Northpark Expansion Still Making Progress Despite Holidays
12/10/24 – Halfway between Christmas and New Year’s, Harper Brothers Construction is still making progress on Northpark Expansion. The pace appears to have slowed somewhat. But that’s because of the current focus on subsurface drainage. Installing reinforced concrete box culverts takes significantly longer than work above ground.
It appears that all of the old westbound road bed between Caliber Collision and the railroad tracks has been removed except for driveways.
Meanwhile, farther east, I spotted more concrete being poured in the middle in preparation for additional demolition of westbound lanes.
Pictures Taken 12/10/24
The area above is where surface turn lanes will diverge from westbound traffic headed over an as-yet-unbuilt bridge over the railroad tracks.
Up Next
In other news, according to the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website:
To see what happens when, consult the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project pages or the schedule below.
For More Information
To learn more about the project history, consult these ReduceFlooding.com posts:
The next meeting of the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority Board will be Thursday morning at 8am at the Kingwood Community Center.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/10/24
2660 Days since Hurricane Harvey