10/13/6 – Harris County Commissioners will consider 44 items on their 10/15/26 agenda this week from the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). In addition to several routine easements, property acquisitions and settlements, commissioners will consider more than $30 million of flood-control contracts and $75 million of grants from the Texas Water Development Board.
CDBG Grants
However, the most lively discussion will likely be around the Community Development Block Grant Programs for Disaster Recover and Mitigation (CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT), for which HCFCD recently received a one-year extension. Without the extension, the county faced the imminent loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Texas General Land Office.
With just five months left before the 2/28/27 deadline, only two of seven subdivision drainage projects totaling $112.5 million were completed and only two-thirds of the money had been expended. And of 30 other CDBG-DR and MIT projects backed by grants totaling $850 million, only $69.8 million had been expended – 8% of the total.
But the county needed to spend at least $322 million of the $850 million before 2/28/27. So…
With roughly 90% of the allotted time expired, HCFCD has spent only 22% of the $322 million.
Calculation based on HCFCD spreadsheet
Little wonder that the previous executive director of HCFCD resigned under pressure in June despite Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s defense of her performance.
According to the agenda, new management at HCFCD has been working with the GLO “on potential approaches to maximize the benefits county entities can deliver utilizing the grant funds,” so commissioners can take “potential action on a path forward for the programs.”
We should learn more on Thursday about exactly what that means. The GLO says it is looking forward to seeing a comprehensive plan. In other news…
Contract Approvals
HCFCD is asking for contract approvals totaling approximately $31 million. They include:
$1,000,000 for VERSA Infrastructure with four additional one-year renewal terms to provide on-call construction engineering and inspection services
$1,000,000 for Aguirre & Fields, LP with four additional one-year renewal terms to provide on-call construction engineering and inspection services
Reimbursement to MUD #276 for mowing for the next five years in the Addicks Reservoir Watershed under an Interlocal Agreement ($41,130.45/year)
Mowing reimbursement to MUD #439 for the next five years in the Halls Bayou Watershed ($41,964.45/year)
$393,210 one-year joint-funding agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior/U.S. Geological Survey to research surface water resources and provide technical assistance
Amendment to staff augmentation and geotechnical services agreement with Aviles Engineering ($200,000)
Amendment to agreement with HR Green to provide design, bidding, and construction-phase engineering services for a detention basin in the Sims Bayou Watershed
Change in Contract #2 with Environmental Allies Inc. for the Brookglen Stormwater Detention Basin (Phase 2) in the Armand Bayou Watershed
Extending contract #7 with Allgood Construction for 32 days for the excavation of the Inwood Forest Stormwater Detention Basin in the White Oak Bayou Watershed
$6,186,800 low-bid contract with Ceballos Construction for channel repairs in Vince Bayou, Armand Bayou, San Jacinto/Galveston Bay, Clear Creek and Brays Bayou watersheds for one year with four one-year renewal options
$192,000 one-year contract with SiteOne Landscape Supply to supply wildflower seeds with four one-year extensions (only bid)
With Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. for professional engineering services/program management for the Clear Creek Federal Flood Risk Management Program on basis of highest overall evaluation
$429,619 one-year renewal with ArborTrue for hazardous tree and tree limb removal
$3,500,000 one-year renewal with A. Morfin Trucking for concrete-channel-lining repairs
$977,450 with Outreach Strategists for community-income surveys and evaluation for mitigation projects
$281,250 one-year renewal for CSI Consolidated for de-silting outfalls and storm sewer systems
$2,036,970 with HR Green for professional engineering/support services for the Helms Stormwater Detention Basin and conveyance improvements
$7,263 for additional ClayHr services
One-year Disaster Recovery Renewal Options with:
GrantWorks for $4,000,000
Tetra Tech for $4,000,000
Stuart Consulting for $7,000,000.
Grant-Agreement Approvals
HCFCD is asking for approval of eight grants from the Texas Water Development Board totaling $75 million that were approved by the Texas Legislature in the last session. They include:
$5,000,000 for Kingwood Diversion Ditch Improvements in the San Jacinto River Watershed
$6,500,000 for the West Little York Stormwater Detention Basin in the Addicks Reservoir Watershed
$22,500,000 for repairs along Cypress Creek adjacent to the Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve
$2,500,000 for the Halls Aldine Westfield South Stormwater Detention Basin and Channel Conveyance Improvements in the Halls Bayou Watershed
$10,000,000 for the South Mayde Creek Bypass Channel in the Addicks Reservoir
$11,000,000 for the Cloverleaf Area Drainage Improvements in the Carpenters Bayou Watershed
$15,000,000 for the Helms Stormwater Detention Basin and Channel Conveyance Improvements in the Halls Bayou Watershed
$2,500,000 for channel modification and stormwater detention basins in the Greens Bayou mid-reach area.
Transmittals
HCFCD sent a number of reports to commissioners, including:
Two certificates of substantial completion with:
RES Environmental for floating islands at a detention basin in the Clear Creek Watershed
Texas Dewatering for the Addicks and Barker Reservoir Watersheds Package 2
12-month procurement outlook as of Q3 2026, reflecting both Invitations to Bid and Requests for Proposals/Qualifications
Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force annual report
Projects scheduled for advertisement to bid for:
Mowing and maintenance for the East, Northeast, West and Central Regions (separately)
Friendswood Regional stormwater detention basin
Watershed repairs to channels in the Spring Creek, Cypress Creek, Little Cypress Creek, Barker Reservoir, Addicks Reservoir, and Willow Creek watersheds
Installation of Aerating Fountains at Hill at Sims Park.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/KingwoodGreens-e1551452236612.jpg?fit=1500%2C1038&ssl=110381500adminadmin2026-10-13 15:20:562026-10-13 15:20:57Harris County Commissioners To Consider 44 Flood Control Items Thursday
10/12/26 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has 44 items on the 10/15/26 Commissioners Court Agenda. Among them, a request to approve a $5 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for drainage improvements to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch. See Item 432.
TWDB authorized the grant to HCFCD in January this year. State Rep. Charles Cunningham obtained it during the 89th Legislative Regular Session. By itself, the $5 million won’t come close to funding the entire Diversion Ditch Project. But it will play an important part in the larger funding picture.
On 3/26/26, former HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen, told the San Jacinto River Authority Board that the entire project will cost approximately $43 million and is fully funded through construction. At the time, Petersen estimated that construction would start in April 2027 and finish before the end of 2027.
Scope, Location Funding of Project
The scope includes four bridge replacements, a new diversion structure, 4.2 miles of channel work, and a new outfall that bypasses River Grove Park. See Page 18 of Petersen’s presentation.
Red Diagonal = Bens Branch. White = Kingwood Diversion Ditch. Green = new outfall to river.
Additional funding for Diversion Ditch improvements will come from Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s 2023 earmark to replace the Walnut Lane Bridge shown below. Crenshaw’s earmark helped rescue the project from oblivion in 2025 when the Democratic members of Harris County Commissioners Court passed a motion to reallocate all funding from projects that fell below the top quartile of their equity prioritization framework to projects in the top quartile.
However, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE warned of unintended consequences associated with that plan, i.e., the loss of federal funding already committed, such as Crenshaw’s. Crenshaw requested the funding in 2023. Congress awarded it in 2024.
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw gives the thumbs up to the Walnut Lane Bridge project. Widening the bridge is necessary to widen the Kingwood Diversion Ditch (background) which will also help reduce flood risk along Bens Branch.
Diverting water from Bens Branch is important because Bens Branch runs through Kingwood Town Center where 12 people died from Harvey flooding.
Looking N toward Kingwood Drive from over the Walnut Lane Bridge.
Complementary Project
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10, also plans to build a detention basin and expand the Diversion Ditch north of Northpark Drive in Montgomery County. Spending Harris County money outside Harris County has encountered political resistance among some Harris County Commissioners in the past even though it could save Harris County lives.
10/10/26 – After a life measured in days, Hurricane Isaias went from an area of low pressure in the Bay of Campeche to a killer, Cat 3 hurricane to a post-tropical storm now causing flash flooding in the Appalachians. So, what forces cause hurricanes to form, strengthen and weaken?
I dedicate this post to curious readers and budding scientists still in school. Please share it with your students, children and grandchildren.
What Causes Hurricanes to Form?
The forces listed below support formation of an organized tropical cyclone.
Key force or condition
What happens physically
Effect on the developing storm
An existing weather disturbance
Thunderstorms gather around a low-pressure area, such as a tropical wave.
Provides the starting circulation around which a storm can organize.
Warm ocean water
The ocean supplies heat and water vapor to air above it. Water temperatures around 80°F (27°C) generally favor development.
Supplies energy for sustained thunderstorms.
Moist air
Humidity limits evaporation and cooling within developing thunderstorms.
Helps thunderstorms persist and organize.
An atmosphere that supports rising air
Warm, moist air rises, cools, and condenses, releasing heat.
Builds deep thunderstorms that help strengthen the circulation.
Low vertical wind shear
Winds change relatively little with height, allowing the lower and upper circulation to remain aligned.
Helps thunderstorms organize around the surface center.
Sufficient distance from the equator
Earth’s rotation deflects moving air through the Coriolis effect.
Helps organize a rotating circulation; tropical cyclones rarely form within about 5 degrees of the equator.
Warm, moist air flows inward over the ocean and rises in thunderstorms. An organized hurricane develops a central eye, and outflow high above the storm.Source: NOAA
Surface air picks up heat and water vapor, then carries that energy into the eyewall.
Fuels stronger thunderstorms and circulation.
Warm water extending deep below the surface
Wind-driven mixing brings up relatively warm water instead of quickly exposing cold water.
Sustains the energy supply as the hurricane churns the ocean.
Concentrated heating in the eyewall
Rising water vapor condenses and releases heat close to the center.
Strengthens the warm core and helps central pressure fall, increasing winds.
Low or no vertical wind shear
The circulation remains more vertically aligned.
Allows eyewall thunderstorms to organize and heat the core efficiently.
Moist surrounding air
Less dry air enters and disrupts eyewall updrafts.
Helps maintain vigorous thunderstorms around the center.
Effective outflow aloft
Air rising through the eyewall spreads outward near the top of the storm.
Supports the continuing flow of air inward below and upward through the eyewall.
An increasingly organized inner core
Thunderstorms form a more continuous eyewall; the eyewall may contract.
Concentrates the strongest circulation closer to the center and can accelerate strengthening.
Low wind shear lets circulation remain vertically aligned, helping thunderstorms concentrate heat around the center and favoring strengthening. Contrast this image with the one below. Source: NOAA
These conditions cause hurricanes to weaken as they move.
Key force or condition
What happens physically
Effect on the hurricane
Strong vertical wind shear
Winds at different heights tilt the circulation and displace thunderstorms from the surface center.
Disrupts the organized eyewall and reduces heating of the core.
Dry air entering the inner core
Evaporation cools air within thunderstorms, encouraging downdrafts and interrupting moist updrafts.
Erodes eyewall thunderstorms and can open gaps in the eyewall.
Cooler ocean water
Less heat and water vapor transfer from the ocean to the atmosphere.
Reduces the energy available to sustain the hurricane.
Cold water mixed upward by the storm
Strong winds churn the ocean and can bring colder water to the surface.
Allows the hurricane to weaken its own energy supply, especially over a shallow warm layer.
Landfall
Access to ocean heat and moisture diminishes; surface friction increases, and terrain can disrupt circulation.
Slows winds and breaks down the eyewall, although heavy rain can persist.
An eyewall replacement cycle
An outer eyewall develops and intercepts inflow feeding the original eyewall, which weakens and disappears.
Often temporarily lowers maximum winds while expanding the wind field; strengthening may resume.
Strong wind shear tilts the circulation and disrupts the organized flow of heat and moisture, inhibiting development and potentially weakening the storm. Landfall, dry air, and cooler water also cause weakening. Source: NOAA.
Isaias encountered wind sheer shortly before reaching land. That lowered its intensity at landfall from Cat 3 to Cat 2.
Note that “strengthening” and “weakening” usually describe changes in maximum sustained winds. A weakening hurricane can still produce destructive storm surge and prolonged, intense rainfall. Hurricane Harvey is an excellent example.
Harvey struck near Rockport as a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph sustained winds.
Weakening, August 26
It weakened to a tropical storm within approximately 12 hours, then maintained winds around 40 mph for the next couple of days.
Prolonged flooding
Weak steering currents caused Harvey to stall near the coast. Part of its circulation remained over the Gulf, sustaining its moisture supply and repeated torrential rainfall.
The key point: Harvey weakened as a windstorm, but remained a catastrophic rainstorm.
A lower hurricane category does not necessarily mean a lower flood threat.
In fact, Harvey produced the highest recorded rainfall total ever from a single tropical cyclone in the continental United States: 60.58 inches near Nederland, Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/10/2026
3329 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Shear-Weakens.jpg?fit=1100%2C324&ssl=13241100adminadmin2026-10-10 17:49:042026-10-12 10:04:28What Causes Hurricanes to Form, Strengthen and Weaken?
Harris County Commissioners To Consider 44 Flood Control Items Thursday
10/13/6 – Harris County Commissioners will consider 44 items on their 10/15/26 agenda this week from the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). In addition to several routine easements, property acquisitions and settlements, commissioners will consider more than $30 million of flood-control contracts and $75 million of grants from the Texas Water Development Board.
CDBG Grants
However, the most lively discussion will likely be around the Community Development Block Grant Programs for Disaster Recover and Mitigation (CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT), for which HCFCD recently received a one-year extension. Without the extension, the county faced the imminent loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Texas General Land Office.
A related spreadsheet, dated 9/15/26 (a month ago – and just days before the extension), shows how much the County stood to lose.
With just five months left before the 2/28/27 deadline, only two of seven subdivision drainage projects totaling $112.5 million were completed and only two-thirds of the money had been expended. And of 30 other CDBG-DR and MIT projects backed by grants totaling $850 million, only $69.8 million had been expended – 8% of the total.
But the county needed to spend at least $322 million of the $850 million before 2/28/27. So…
Little wonder that the previous executive director of HCFCD resigned under pressure in June despite Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s defense of her performance.
According to the agenda, new management at HCFCD has been working with the GLO “on potential approaches to maximize the benefits county entities can deliver utilizing the grant funds,” so commissioners can take “potential action on a path forward for the programs.”
We should learn more on Thursday about exactly what that means. The GLO says it is looking forward to seeing a comprehensive plan. In other news…
Contract Approvals
HCFCD is asking for contract approvals totaling approximately $31 million. They include:
Grant-Agreement Approvals
HCFCD is asking for approval of eight grants from the Texas Water Development Board totaling $75 million that were approved by the Texas Legislature in the last session. They include:
Transmittals
HCFCD sent a number of reports to commissioners, including:
The meeting on Thursday will start at 9AM. To watch it live, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/13/26
3332 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Partial Kingwood Diversion Ditch Funding Up For Approval Thursday
10/12/26 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has 44 items on the 10/15/26 Commissioners Court Agenda. Among them, a request to approve a $5 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) for drainage improvements to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch. See Item 432.
TWDB authorized the grant to HCFCD in January this year. State Rep. Charles Cunningham obtained it during the 89th Legislative Regular Session. By itself, the $5 million won’t come close to funding the entire Diversion Ditch Project. But it will play an important part in the larger funding picture.
On 3/26/26, former HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen, told the San Jacinto River Authority Board that the entire project will cost approximately $43 million and is fully funded through construction. At the time, Petersen estimated that construction would start in April 2027 and finish before the end of 2027.
Scope, Location Funding of Project
The scope includes four bridge replacements, a new diversion structure, 4.2 miles of channel work, and a new outfall that bypasses River Grove Park. See Page 18 of Petersen’s presentation.
Additional funding for Diversion Ditch improvements will come from Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s 2023 earmark to replace the Walnut Lane Bridge shown below. Crenshaw’s earmark helped rescue the project from oblivion in 2025 when the Democratic members of Harris County Commissioners Court passed a motion to reallocate all funding from projects that fell below the top quartile of their equity prioritization framework to projects in the top quartile.
However, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE warned of unintended consequences associated with that plan, i.e., the loss of federal funding already committed, such as Crenshaw’s. Crenshaw requested the funding in 2023. Congress awarded it in 2024.
Diverting water from Bens Branch is important because Bens Branch runs through Kingwood Town Center where 12 people died from Harvey flooding.
Complementary Project
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10, also plans to build a detention basin and expand the Diversion Ditch north of Northpark Drive in Montgomery County. Spending Harris County money outside Harris County has encountered political resistance among some Harris County Commissioners in the past even though it could save Harris County lives.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/12/26
3331 Days since Hurricane Harvey
What Causes Hurricanes to Form, Strengthen and Weaken?
10/10/26 – After a life measured in days, Hurricane Isaias went from an area of low pressure in the Bay of Campeche to a killer, Cat 3 hurricane to a post-tropical storm now causing flash flooding in the Appalachians. So, what forces cause hurricanes to form, strengthen and weaken?
I dedicate this post to curious readers and budding scientists still in school. Please share it with your students, children and grandchildren.
What Causes Hurricanes to Form?
The forces listed below support formation of an organized tropical cyclone.
These conditions favor formation, but their presence does not guarantee that a hurricane will develop. Sources: NOAA’s hurricane overview and formation explanation. www.noaa.gov.
What Causes Hurricanes to Strengthen?
Once a tropical storm develops, alignment of the conditions below can intensify it into a hurricane (sustained winds 74 mph or greater).
Sources: NOAA’s ocean conditions research and hurricane modeling explanation.
What Causes Hurricanes to Weaken?
These conditions cause hurricanes to weaken as they move.
Isaias encountered wind sheer shortly before reaching land. That lowered its intensity at landfall from Cat 3 to Cat 2.
Sources: NOAA’s satellite interpretation guide, hurricane FAQ, and eyewall research.
Effect on Flooding
Note that “strengthening” and “weakening” usually describe changes in maximum sustained winds. A weakening hurricane can still produce destructive storm surge and prolonged, intense rainfall. Hurricane Harvey is an excellent example.
In 2017, Harvey’s winds weakened dramatically before much of Houston’s catastrophic flooding occurred. The National Weather Service documents the sequence below.
The results were extraordinary:
The key point: Harvey weakened as a windstorm, but remained a catastrophic rainstorm.
In fact, Harvey produced the highest recorded rainfall total ever from a single tropical cyclone in the continental United States: 60.58 inches near Nederland, Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/10/2026
3329 Days since Hurricane Harvey