8/17/24 – The clearing of trees blocking streams and channels in the Lake Houston Area has begun. The clearing began after a coordinated inventorying and reporting effort.
According to Chris Bloch, a member of the Bear Branch Trail Association Board, FEMA contractors working for Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), were seen this morning clearing trees blocking Bens Branch. The stream cuts diagonally through the middle of Kingwood.
Fallen trees blocking Bens Branch
If left in the stream, the trees can catch other debris floating downstream and create log dams that back floodwater up into streets and homes. So, contractors are cutting the fallen trees into sections and removing them.
This morning, I found them hauling the logs and underbrush out of the woods with a Bobcat fitted with grappling jaws. They stacked the debris near Woodland Hills Drive to be hauled away.
However, in coming days, contractors will be using much larger equipment and actually going down into the channel to remove logs and haul them off.
According to Bloch, just cutting the logs into small sections and letting them float away in the next flood is not the answer. They could still harm unsuspecting boaters and waterskiers in Lake Houston.
Beware of Heavy Equipment with Limited Visibility
It’s unclear at this time how long the clearing operation will take. But Bloch estimates that it could easily take a week or more to get all the way down Bens Branch.
Other contractors may be working on other channels simultaneously. However, I have been unable to verify that at this time.
Photograph taken 8/17/24 near St. Martha School at Bens Branch and Woodland Hills Drive.
Residents should exercise caution when using greenbelt trails during the removal operation. Operators maneuvering in tight spaces have limited visibility when transporting logs and brush. They will use greenbelt trails in some places and CenterPoint easements in others.
Residents who use the trails to get to school or for recreation should consider wearing brightly colored shirts or reflective vests to increase their visibility.
Members of the Bear Branch Trail Association Board met with the contractor last night to show them where obstructions are in Bens Branch and other channels.
Note the size of some of those logs. The pile is 6-8 feet tall.
Inventorying the blockages was difficult. Now comes the really hard part.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/17/24
2545 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 40 since Beryl
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240817-DSC_0213.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-08-17 15:50:282024-08-17 16:12:00HCFCD Contractors Begin Clearing Trees Blocking Streams, Channels
8/16/24 – Today, thanks to an anonymous tip by a fisherman, I observed an instance of sand-pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks in the headwaters of Lake Houston.
The sand pit in question used to be known as the Triple PG Mine, but is now being operated under a different name.
Alleged environmental violations caused the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to sue the mine and its owners through the Texas Attorney General’s Office in 2019.
The conditions that exist today are virtually identical to those that existed in 2018 when I previously observed another instance of sand-pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks in the same location.
Then as now, instead of following its normal course, White Oak Creek flows in one side of the mine and out the other into Caney Creek.
2019 satellite image. Red line shows path of White Oak Creek (left), then crossing pit to Caney Creek (right).
Pictures Taken 8/16/24
Pictures taken today show that two new breaches happened in the same locations (see below) as 2019.
2024 breach shows White Oak Creek entering pond in same place as in 2019...…and exiting pond to Caney Creek via another breach in same location on opposite side of pond as in 2019.
I do not know the exact date the breaches occurred.
There is one visible difference though. The pond where the two breaches occur today has been sealed off from other ponds in the mine by an internal dike that is not visible in earlier satellite photos.
Note dike now crossing mine (center L to R). New breaches occurred around dikes of pond in foreground.
The Texas Attorney General sued the mine in 2019 for a million dollars plus $25,000 per day for every day the breaches remained open.
Guniganti has denied all charges by the TCEQ and Attorney General.
Multiple Changes in Ownership Delay Trial
However, through a series of legal maneuverings that included multiple changes in attorneys and ownership (through shell companies), the case in Travis County District Court still has not come to trial five years later. After all this time, we are pretty much right back where we started – with pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks.
Prabakar Guniganti, a cardiologist from Nacogdoches, has transferred ownership of most of the mine to shell companies. The Montgomery County Appraisal District shows that the Guniganti 1999 Children’s Trust and the Guniganti 1992 Credit Shelter Trusts now own most of the mine. Some parcels rotated through different shell companies three times within two years.
The portion of the mine where the breaches occurred in 2019 and 2024 is in Harris County, just inside the Montgomery County Line. The Guniganti Children’s 1999 Trust now owns that.
Change in Mine Operator, Too
The sign at the mine entrance now reads “Texas Fracsand Materials,” a company reportedly hired to operate the mine. Sam Kurre serves as CEO of Texas Frac Sand Materials Inc. It was established in 2019, the same year as the AG’s lawsuit against Guniganti.
Entrance sign shows operator of the mine owned by Guniganti shell companies.
Kurre claims his company operates mines with more than a $100 million in reserves. But real estate records show the mine claims ag and timber exemptions.
In stark contrast, a 10-acre sliver of the mine within Harris County does not get the ag/timber exemption and appraises for virtually the same amount – $78,829.
No wonder Montgomery County attracts so many sand mines! Compared to Harris County, 800 acres of prime, income producing land are going untaxed.
Sand Subsidized by Other Property Owners
Kurre’s website claims he produces 2 million tons of sand annually from Guniganti’s location. However, appraisal district records show that Montgomery County classifies most of it as pastureland.
Guniganti should be able to afford some pretty good lawyers with numbers like these. Maybe that’s why he’s strung this out for five years…despite no lasting improvement to the dikes.
Meanwhile, people downstream of the sand-pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks complain of rapidly building sediment in their rivers and streams. They fear it could lead to flooding. As a consequence, they are clamoring for more costly dredging. But, it will be up to ordinary folks in a different county to subsidize that!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/16/2024
2544 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/2024/08/20240816-DJI_20240816101452_0578_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-08-16 17:54:462024-08-16 18:00:56Sand-Pit Capture Between White Oak and Caney Creeks
8/15/24 – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) released the state’s first state flood plan today. And it’s full of eye-popping factoids.
For instance: More than a quarter of the state’s land and one sixth of the state’s population are in floodplains. So flood mitigation and prevention rank as high priorities. The entire plan stretches more than 500 pages. It listed and prioritized 147 pages of evaluations/studies, projects, strategies in tiny type.
Fifteen regional groups, each representing one of the major river basins in Texas, compiled the plan.
I will dig into more detail in coming days. But today, here are some quick facts from the executive summary to whet your appetite.
Structures Affected by Flooding
Planning groups identified approximately 878,100 buildings within the 1 percent (100-year) annual chance floodplain, and an additional 786,100 buildings within the 0.2 percent (500-year) annual chance floodplain. Total: 1,664,200.
Figure ES-4 from Executive Summary. Existing residential buildings in the 1% (100-year) annual chance floodplain.
More than 6,258 hospitals, emergency medical services, fire stations, police stations, and schools are within the 1 percent (100-year) and 0.2 percent (500-year) annual chance floodplains.
Regional flood planning groups also identified 9,322 low water crossings within flood hazard areas.
Increases in Flooding Forecast
The projected future condition 1 percent (100-year) annual chance floodplain is estimated to increase by 11 percent over the existing flood hazard area to a total of 62,245 square miles.
The regional flood planning groups project an increase of approximately 2.6 million people and 740,000 buildings in the 1 percent annual chance floodplain under projected future condition flood hazard.
Boggling Number of Recommendations
The regional flood planning groups recommended 4,609 flood risk reduction solutions: 3,097 flood management evaluations, 615 flood mitigation projects, and 897 flood management strategies in the regional flood plans with an estimated total implementation cost of more than $54.5 billion.
Floodplain Buildings
A total of 1,239 Texas communities and counties with flood-related authority participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
More than 500 Texas entities have floodplain management standards that exceed National Flood Insurance Program minimum standards.
Costs
The plan includes recommendations in three categories: Evaluations/surveys; Projects, Strategies. The total cost of recommended:
Flood mitigation projects totals is more than $49.1 billion; nearly half of this cost is associated with the Galveston Bay Surge Protection Coastal Storm Risk Management project.
Flood management strategies exceeds $2.8 billion.
Planning groups reported sponsors requiring financial assistance with 80-90 percent of the costs to implement recommended flood risk reduction solutions.
Potential Benefits
Planning groups reported an estimated 843,339 people and 214,292 buildings would be removed from the 1 percent annual chance floodplain if the state flood plan was implemented.
Three regions identified potential water supply benefits for 37 recommended flood mitigation projects and one region recommended a flood management strategy with a potential water supply benefit.
Legislative and Policy Recommendations Included
The flood planning groups included legislative, administrative, and policy recommendations in the regional flood plans, and their policy recommendations informed the development of many of the legislative and floodplain management recommendations in this plan.
For More Information
This page on the TWDB site contains all the elements from the first state flood plan. But warning, the file sizes are large. And the spreadsheet listing all the projects is wide and best viewed on a large monitor.
I have reduced the file size of three of Texas State Flood Plan docs and am posting them here to make them easier to download.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240815-Residential-Bldgs-in-1-percent-Floodpolain.jpg?fit=1100%2C833&ssl=18331100adminadmin2024-08-15 16:44:022024-08-15 21:05:46Texas’ First State Flood Plan Released
HCFCD Contractors Begin Clearing Trees Blocking Streams, Channels
8/17/24 – The clearing of trees blocking streams and channels in the Lake Houston Area has begun. The clearing began after a coordinated inventorying and reporting effort.
According to Chris Bloch, a member of the Bear Branch Trail Association Board, FEMA contractors working for Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), were seen this morning clearing trees blocking Bens Branch. The stream cuts diagonally through the middle of Kingwood.
If left in the stream, the trees can catch other debris floating downstream and create log dams that back floodwater up into streets and homes. So, contractors are cutting the fallen trees into sections and removing them.
This morning, I found them hauling the logs and underbrush out of the woods with a Bobcat fitted with grappling jaws. They stacked the debris near Woodland Hills Drive to be hauled away.
However, in coming days, contractors will be using much larger equipment and actually going down into the channel to remove logs and haul them off.
According to Bloch, just cutting the logs into small sections and letting them float away in the next flood is not the answer. They could still harm unsuspecting boaters and waterskiers in Lake Houston.
Beware of Heavy Equipment with Limited Visibility
It’s unclear at this time how long the clearing operation will take. But Bloch estimates that it could easily take a week or more to get all the way down Bens Branch.
Other contractors may be working on other channels simultaneously. However, I have been unable to verify that at this time.
Residents should exercise caution when using greenbelt trails during the removal operation. Operators maneuvering in tight spaces have limited visibility when transporting logs and brush. They will use greenbelt trails in some places and CenterPoint easements in others.
Members of the Bear Branch Trail Association Board met with the contractor last night to show them where obstructions are in Bens Branch and other channels.
Inventorying the blockages was difficult. Now comes the really hard part.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/17/24
2545 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 40 since Beryl
Sand-Pit Capture Between White Oak and Caney Creeks
8/16/24 – Today, thanks to an anonymous tip by a fisherman, I observed an instance of sand-pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks in the headwaters of Lake Houston.
The sand pit in question used to be known as the Triple PG Mine, but is now being operated under a different name.
Alleged environmental violations caused the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to sue the mine and its owners through the Texas Attorney General’s Office in 2019.
The conditions that exist today are virtually identical to those that existed in 2018 when I previously observed another instance of sand-pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks in the same location.
Then as now, instead of following its normal course, White Oak Creek flows in one side of the mine and out the other into Caney Creek.
Pictures Taken 8/16/24
Pictures taken today show that two new breaches happened in the same locations (see below) as 2019.
I do not know the exact date the breaches occurred.
There is one visible difference though. The pond where the two breaches occur today has been sealed off from other ponds in the mine by an internal dike that is not visible in earlier satellite photos.
The Texas Attorney General sued the mine in 2019 for a million dollars plus $25,000 per day for every day the breaches remained open.
Guniganti has denied all charges by the TCEQ and Attorney General.
Multiple Changes in Ownership Delay Trial
However, through a series of legal maneuverings that included multiple changes in attorneys and ownership (through shell companies), the case in Travis County District Court still has not come to trial five years later. After all this time, we are pretty much right back where we started – with pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks.
Prabakar Guniganti, a cardiologist from Nacogdoches, has transferred ownership of most of the mine to shell companies. The Montgomery County Appraisal District shows that the Guniganti 1999 Children’s Trust and the Guniganti 1992 Credit Shelter Trusts now own most of the mine. Some parcels rotated through different shell companies three times within two years.
The portion of the mine where the breaches occurred in 2019 and 2024 is in Harris County, just inside the Montgomery County Line. The Guniganti Children’s 1999 Trust now owns that.
Change in Mine Operator, Too
The sign at the mine entrance now reads “Texas Fracsand Materials,” a company reportedly hired to operate the mine. Sam Kurre serves as CEO of Texas Frac Sand Materials Inc. It was established in 2019, the same year as the AG’s lawsuit against Guniganti.
Entrance sign shows operator of the mine owned by Guniganti shell companies.
Kurre claims his company operates mines with more than a $100 million in reserves. But real estate records show the mine claims ag and timber exemptions.
Thus…
The mine’s area exceeds 1,000 acres in total.
In stark contrast, a 10-acre sliver of the mine within Harris County does not get the ag/timber exemption and appraises for virtually the same amount – $78,829.
No wonder Montgomery County attracts so many sand mines! Compared to Harris County, 800 acres of prime, income producing land are going untaxed.
Sand Subsidized by Other Property Owners
Kurre’s website claims he produces 2 million tons of sand annually from Guniganti’s location. However, appraisal district records show that Montgomery County classifies most of it as pastureland.
Guniganti should be able to afford some pretty good lawyers with numbers like these. Maybe that’s why he’s strung this out for five years…despite no lasting improvement to the dikes.
Meanwhile, people downstream of the sand-pit capture between White Oak and Caney Creeks complain of rapidly building sediment in their rivers and streams. They fear it could lead to flooding. As a consequence, they are clamoring for more costly dredging. But, it will be up to ordinary folks in a different county to subsidize that!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/16/2024
2544 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.
Texas’ First State Flood Plan Released
8/15/24 – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) released the state’s first state flood plan today. And it’s full of eye-popping factoids.
For instance: More than a quarter of the state’s land and one sixth of the state’s population are in floodplains. So flood mitigation and prevention rank as high priorities. The entire plan stretches more than 500 pages. It listed and prioritized 147 pages of evaluations/studies, projects, strategies in tiny type.
Fifteen regional groups, each representing one of the major river basins in Texas, compiled the plan.
I will dig into more detail in coming days. But today, here are some quick facts from the executive summary to whet your appetite.
Structures Affected by Flooding
Planning groups identified approximately 878,100 buildings within the 1 percent (100-year) annual chance floodplain, and an additional 786,100 buildings within the 0.2 percent (500-year) annual chance floodplain. Total: 1,664,200.
More than 6,258 hospitals, emergency medical services, fire stations, police stations, and schools are within the 1 percent (100-year) and 0.2 percent (500-year) annual chance floodplains.
Regional flood planning groups also identified 9,322 low water crossings within flood hazard areas.
Increases in Flooding Forecast
The projected future condition 1 percent (100-year) annual chance floodplain is estimated to increase by 11 percent over the existing flood hazard area to a total of 62,245 square miles.
The regional flood planning groups project an increase of approximately 2.6 million people and 740,000 buildings in the 1 percent annual chance floodplain under projected future condition flood hazard.
Boggling Number of Recommendations
The regional flood planning groups recommended 4,609 flood risk reduction solutions: 3,097 flood management evaluations, 615 flood mitigation projects, and 897 flood management strategies in the regional flood plans with an estimated total implementation cost of more than $54.5 billion.
Floodplain Buildings
A total of 1,239 Texas communities and counties with flood-related authority participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
More than 500 Texas entities have floodplain management standards that exceed National Flood Insurance Program minimum standards.
Costs
The plan includes recommendations in three categories: Evaluations/surveys; Projects, Strategies. The total cost of recommended:
Planning groups reported sponsors requiring financial assistance with 80-90 percent of the costs to implement recommended flood risk reduction solutions.
Potential Benefits
Planning groups reported an estimated 843,339 people and 214,292 buildings would be removed from the 1 percent annual chance floodplain if the state flood plan was implemented.
Three regions identified potential water supply benefits for 37 recommended flood mitigation projects and one region recommended a flood management strategy with a potential water supply benefit.
Legislative and Policy Recommendations Included
The flood planning groups included legislative, administrative, and policy recommendations in the regional flood plans, and their policy recommendations informed the development of many of the legislative and floodplain management recommendations in this plan.
For More Information
This page on the TWDB site contains all the elements from the first state flood plan. But warning, the file sizes are large. And the spreadsheet listing all the projects is wide and best viewed on a large monitor.
I have reduced the file size of three of Texas State Flood Plan docs and am posting them here to make them easier to download.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/15/24
2543 Days since Hurricane Harvey