2/11/26 – Based on a tip from a reader, I learned that a large construction site along Spring Creek near the Hardy Toll Road and State Highway 99 was pumping muddy stormwater directly into Spring Creek.
Images Sent By Reader
The reader sent me pictures taken along the Spring Creek Greenway that suggested this was no accidental overflow. The images show neatly cut and stacked underbrush along a ditch cut between the construction site and the creek.
Photo taken by reader on 2/10/26. Reader wishes to remain anonymous.
Another photo taken from a greenway bridge shows the speed of the discharge.
Note that the discharge appears to have been much higher at one point judging by the grass laying down.
Aerial Images Taken on 2/10/2026
So, I grabbed my drone and headed over to nearby Harris County Precinct 3 Dennis Johnston Park. From the air, you could clearly see where the sediment-laden sludge was coming from.
Construction site emptying detention basin straight into Spring CreekSomeone had cut channels to drain silty stormwater from a drainage ditch and detention basin.The path to Spring Creek took the sludge under the greenway in the forest.Opposite angle shows muck flowing straight into Spring Creek.Silt migrating downstreamtoward Harmony, Benders Landing Estates, Humble, Kingwood and Lake Houston.They were actually pumping the sediment from the stormwater detention basin. What they were pumping…And those silt fences don’t do much good when you tear them down.
The Human Toll: Ruining a Community Asset
The reader who sent me the ground level images told me how she felt she had had a pleasant experience stolen from her. She was out for a fun bike ride during spring break. The Spring Creek Greenway is one of the longest urban trails in North America. It is supposed to be a refuge. But instead of clear water and a healthy ecosystem, she found this appalling sight.
She said the plume was migrating downstream toward Jesse Jones Park where she saw “tons of kids fishing today.”
An avid environmentalist, she says, “Siltation kills the fishing experience. The cloudy water makes it impossible for sight-feeding fish to hunt for insects. And the heavy sediment smothers the ‘honey holes’ where fish congregate.”
Silt Contributes to Flooding
When a developer pumps mud into the creek, that sediment eventually settles and raises the creek bed. That means the channel holds less water.
Spring Creek is a major tributary to the San Jacinto West Fork. Every ton of mud pumped into the Spring Creek eventually migrates downstream to the San Jacinto, exacerbating flood risks in Humble, Kingwood and the Lake Houston Area.
Pumping silt like this also creates a burden on taxpayers. Developers profit by taking “shortcuts” on-site. But the public pays the price. When the river fills with silt and flood risk increases, taxpayers bear the burden of multi-million dollar dredging projects to restore the river’s capacity.
Since Harvey, taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars dredging area rivers.
Ecological Suffocation
My source, who wishes to remain anonymous, talked about “gill clogging.” High concentrations of suspended solids can literally suffocate fish.
Silt settling into the gravel and woody debris on the creek floor also smothers the macro-invertebrates (bugs) that form the base of the food chain.
Just as bad, such activities kill the filtering mechanism that keeps creeks healthy. Oranizations, such as the Bayou Land Conservancy, work to protect the wetlands that filter our water. Dumping raw silt bypasses this natural filtration and destroys the very plants that help stabilize the banks.
Silt isn’t just dirt. Construction runoff often carries other pollutants attached to the soil particles, including fertilizers, heavy metals, or chemical residues from the site, which are now being “injected” into the local water supply.
That’s why pumping sediment-laden water directly into a creek is a flagrant violation of sediment-control protocols. Not preserving floodplains has many costs that most people don’t realize.
How to Report Such Violations
Readers who share my concerns should report such violations to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Harris County Flood Control District. You may also want to notify Harris County Precinct 3 and Montgomery County MUDs, as Spring Creek serves as the border between the two counties. Both have a vested interest in keeping that channel clear. Readers report that this is the site of the new Spring ISD High School.
I couldn’t find an entrance to the site with an address, sign, or stormwater pollution prevention plan. But for reporting purposes, the GPS coordinates are: 30°05’16.3″N 95°24’07.6″W.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/11/26
3088 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/2026/02/20260210-DJI_20260210164515_0136_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2026-02-11 09:43:112026-02-11 20:14:21Construction Site Pumping Sludge Straight into Spring Creek
2/10/2026 – On 2/9/2026, Colony Ridge and its owners settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and State of Texas. The 30-page settlement includes:
Comprehensive reforms of the developer’s sales, marketing, and financing practices
A three-year moratorium on expansion
Public safety improvements
Establishment and enforcement of deed restrictions
Compliance with consumer protection laws
$20 million to beef up law enforcement
A $48 million plan to address deficiences in existing infrastructure.
The latter includes $18 million to address flooding and drainage issues. It also includes $30 million to address other infrastructure needs such as potable water, sewage, roads, and waste management.
The sprawling Colony Ridge in Liberty County grew 50% larger than Manhattan in just 15 years. It was accused of being a foreclosure mill with predatory, deceptive lending practices.
At least nine TCEQ investigations reprimanded Colony Ridge construction practices. The TCEQ even accused Colony Ridge of endangering human life.
I wrote more than 75 posts about the development beginning in 2020. For more background see: History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. Below, I’ll summarize the major elements of the settlement.
While this settlement should vastly improve future development, it contains nothing to compensate past victims
Moratorium on Development
In exchange for resolving all the claims against it in 2023 lawsuits by the Department of Justice and State of Texas, Colony Ridge, its owners, employees and all affiliated entities have agreed to a moratorium on development. That means:
For two years, they will not seek new plats for direct-to-consumer sales.
After that, they may seek approval of new plats if they require new deed-restricted homes to be built prior to sale.
Colony Ridge will not seek platting of new subdivisions for three years unless the lots have deed restrictions. Further, newly platted subdivisions will require:
Compliance with all county permitting and construction requirements
New dwellings to be approved by an architectural control committee.
ILSA and Texas Property Code Compliance
The settlement requires Colony Ridge to comply with the Interstate Land Sales Act and the Texas Property Code. That means requiring purchasers to present:
An unexpired Texas driver’s license
A Texas-issued ID card, or
An unexpired passport and valid visa.
It also requires Colony Ridge to work with law enforcement to confirm buyers are not cartel members or on a terrorism watch list.
Finally, Colony Ridge must confirm that purchasers do not have a prohibited relationship with any ‘designated country’ including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. That’s to comply with the Texas Property Code.
Prohibition Against Discrimination
Colony Ridge has agreed to comply with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for all sales or rentals.
Hire A Compliance Specialist
At its own expense, Colony Ridge must hire a compliance specialist to ensure the owners, their corporate entities and their employees comply with all terms of the settlement.
Increasing Housing Affordability and Availability
Colony Ridge has agreed to reform its underwriting standards by:
Making sure buyers can repay their loans
Notifying buyers of ways to avoid default and rescind their sales agreements
Developing a default-avoidance plan including credit assessments, relief and remission options.
Addressing harm to borrowers credit, including removing negative credit reports
Developing a foreclosure policy that meaningfully reduces the number and frequency of foreclosures
Addressing Misrepresentations to Consumers
Colony Ridge has also agreed to truthfully and accurately describe the properties it has for sale and applicable loan terms. It will not advertise that all properties are “move in ready” or currently have “all city services.” The company will add appropriate limiting language or disclaimers to its advertisements.
Colony Ridge has also agreed to disclose loan terms, utility connections, flooding, wetlands, and readiness for use.
The flooding provision requires all plats to receive pre-development drainage and flood-control approval by the appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities.
Colony Ridge must disclose whether property is in the 100-year flood plain. The company must also disclose whether the buyer is responsible for leveling, grading, or otherwise filling the lot to provide proper drainage to culverts.
Re: cost, Colony Ridge must disclose the true total cost of the property to buyers including interest, closing costs, taxes, POA fees, etc. The company must also mail monthly statements.
Infrastructure Improvements
Within three months, Colony Ridge must develop and begin implementing a $48 million infrastructure improvement plan. Its goals: to reduce and prevent flooding, improve roads, provide for proper management of sewage and other waste, and invest in other projects designed to improve the habitability and public safety.
The company must develop a road drainage system capable of handling 10-year rains based on new Atlas 14 data. It must also build a 100-year-storm flood-control system.
The plan must prioritize fixing existing problems before developing new infrastructure.
The defendants must spend at least $20 million to increase a law enforcement presence in Colony Ridge. That includes building a DPS and County Constable sub-station, funding full-time law enforcement officers, supplying them with vehicles, and ensuring compliance with immigration laws.
Property Owners Association
The Property Owners Association (POA) must report to owners how their dues are expended. Previously, the dues were used to finance new development, not provide services to the people paying the dues.
Training and Complaint Procedures
Colony Ridge must now train its staff on how to comply with federal and state regulations. The company must explain how Colony Ridge previously fell short and also develop a “Nondiscrimination Policy and Complaint Procedure.”
Law Enforcement Support
Colony Ridge must develop a discount program that encourages law-enforcement officers to take up residence there.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Noncompliance with any of these provisions will land the owners back in court.
Not All Residents Happy
An activist named Maria Acevedo who bought property in Colony Ridge and was victimized by the company’s business practices was unhappy with the settlement. Her concern: It will protect people in the future, but doesn’t provide any compensation to people victimized in the past.
Said Acevedo, “The money used to pay penalties came from the very families who were scammed — it was our money, not Colony Ridge’s. We were victims.”
Another lady, Jennifer Stewart, a Huffman resident who has many friends living in and around Colony Ridge said, “I’m glad a settlement was reached, but the people who were truly harmed have not been made whole. That’s unconscionable.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/10/25
3087 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/2020/12/20201207-Aerial-Dec-2020_1210.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=18131200adminadmin2026-02-10 15:22:092026-02-10 18:03:40Colony Ridge Settles Lawsuit with U.S., State of Texas
2/9/2026 – The Harris County Infrastructure Resilience Team wants public input on ideas to make the area more resilient to flooding. As someone who believes that all of us are smarter than one of us, I’m passing the request on to ReduceFlooding.com readers.
Do you see a situation that could lead to flooding? On your street? In your neighborhood? In your city or county?
What would reduce the potential for flooding in your opinion?
What would help us recover from flooding faster?
Please email your thoughts to the contact page on this website and I will forward them to the people who can do something about them.
As thought starters, here are several ideas I see that could make living here safer.
Create a River-Basin-Wide Flood Control District
Much flooding originates in cities and counties that let development happen in floodplains. Sometimes they let development happen with insufficient mitigation. This problem is exacerbated by the dozens of municipalities, counties, MUDs, PUDs, and drainage districts each of which have their own regulations and few of which of effective enforcement.
Entire San Jacinto River Basin by SJRA. Note: the area draining past Kingwood is larger than all of Harris County.
A flood control district that covers the entire river basin could solve flooding due to this fragmentation and a patchwork quilt of regulations across the region. There is no central coordinating body.
In the last legislation, Rep. Dennis Paul introduced HB204. It would have let other counties join Harris County to create an expanded flood control district. However, the bill never made it out of committee.
Senator Bettancourt and Representative Paul introduced similar bills in the previous legislative session. Perhaps next year, they will succeed with your support.
Control Erosion Better
Erosion can reduce the carrying capacity of our rivers and streams. It displaces water that may end up in your living room during a flood event because the stream can no longer hold it. Fighting erosion is two-front war. We need to reduce it at its source. And we need to remove sediment that makes its way downstream, blocking our rivers and channels.
This means addressing the main sources of sediment, such as sand mining and insufficiently mitigated upstream development. It also means removing any sediment that makes its way downstream by scrupulous adherence to maintenance intervals.
Subsidence, caused by excessive groundwater withdrawals, can alter the gradient of rivers and create bowls in the landscape. The Harris Galveston Subsidence District has put regulations in place to reduce it. And they’ve worked where they have been in effect the longest.
The way to solve this problem is to get rapidly subsiding areas on surface water. But that’s more expensive. So, we also need educational campaigns that explain the benefits of surface water. People may not argue about paying a few dollars more each month if they know it could save them hundreds of thousands in a high water event.
Locate Assisted-Living Centers Outside of Floodplains
Twelve people, aged 75-95, died at Kingwood Village Estates as a result of Harvey. That’s one third of all the people who died in Harris County. Evacuating them by life boats put their lives and the lives of first responders at risk. They weren’t warned in time to make a safe, orderly evacuation by cars or buses.
Residents trying to escape Kingwood Village Estates as Harvey’s floodwaters rose
Warning Sirens
Install warning sirens in areas that flood frequently to give people time to evacuate. Floods frequently knock out communications or happen in the middle of the night. The chain of communication can be disrupted. But wailing sirens can wake up even the soundest sleepers in the middle of the night.
With sirens, many lives could have been saved in Kingwood and along the Guadalupe last July.
Flood Education in High Schools
We have drivers’ ed. Why not flood ed? Greater awareness of the causes and dangers of flooding could eventually shift housing demand to safer locations.
Perhaps the State Board of Education could create course materials that they distribute to school districts. They might educate young people how to research flood risk before buying a home. Or where to find information about projected flood crests in an emergency.
Better to learn before you buy a home than after!
Create County/City Parks in Flood-Prone Areas
It’s hard to tell people that they can’t build on their land. So why not buy dangerous flood-prone land and convert it into parks or recreational space?
Please send me your thoughts on how to make your community more resilient to flooding. Just write a paragraph or two. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Then email your thoughts through the contact page of this website.
I’ll make sure the Harris County Infrastructure Resilience Team sees them.
The deadline for submissions is February 12, 2026. Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/9/26
3086 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/KVE-2017-Flood.jpg?fit=1500%2C968&ssl=19681500adminadmin2026-02-09 18:37:112026-02-09 18:50:00Easy Way to Make Your Community More Resilient to Flooding
Construction Site Pumping Sludge Straight into Spring Creek
2/11/26 – Based on a tip from a reader, I learned that a large construction site along Spring Creek near the Hardy Toll Road and State Highway 99 was pumping muddy stormwater directly into Spring Creek.
Images Sent By Reader
The reader sent me pictures taken along the Spring Creek Greenway that suggested this was no accidental overflow. The images show neatly cut and stacked underbrush along a ditch cut between the construction site and the creek.
Another photo taken from a greenway bridge shows the speed of the discharge.
Aerial Images Taken on 2/10/2026
So, I grabbed my drone and headed over to nearby Harris County Precinct 3 Dennis Johnston Park. From the air, you could clearly see where the sediment-laden sludge was coming from.
The Human Toll: Ruining a Community Asset
The reader who sent me the ground level images told me how she felt she had had a pleasant experience stolen from her. She was out for a fun bike ride during spring break. The Spring Creek Greenway is one of the longest urban trails in North America. It is supposed to be a refuge. But instead of clear water and a healthy ecosystem, she found this appalling sight.
She said the plume was migrating downstream toward Jesse Jones Park where she saw “tons of kids fishing today.”
An avid environmentalist, she says, “Siltation kills the fishing experience. The cloudy water makes it impossible for sight-feeding fish to hunt for insects. And the heavy sediment smothers the ‘honey holes’ where fish congregate.”
Silt Contributes to Flooding
When a developer pumps mud into the creek, that sediment eventually settles and raises the creek bed. That means the channel holds less water.
Spring Creek is a major tributary to the San Jacinto West Fork. Every ton of mud pumped into the Spring Creek eventually migrates downstream to the San Jacinto, exacerbating flood risks in Humble, Kingwood and the Lake Houston Area.
Pumping silt like this also creates a burden on taxpayers. Developers profit by taking “shortcuts” on-site. But the public pays the price. When the river fills with silt and flood risk increases, taxpayers bear the burden of multi-million dollar dredging projects to restore the river’s capacity.
Since Harvey, taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars dredging area rivers.
Ecological Suffocation
My source, who wishes to remain anonymous, talked about “gill clogging.” High concentrations of suspended solids can literally suffocate fish.
Silt settling into the gravel and woody debris on the creek floor also smothers the macro-invertebrates (bugs) that form the base of the food chain.
Just as bad, such activities kill the filtering mechanism that keeps creeks healthy. Oranizations, such as the Bayou Land Conservancy, work to protect the wetlands that filter our water. Dumping raw silt bypasses this natural filtration and destroys the very plants that help stabilize the banks.
Silt isn’t just dirt. Construction runoff often carries other pollutants attached to the soil particles, including fertilizers, heavy metals, or chemical residues from the site, which are now being “injected” into the local water supply.
That’s why pumping sediment-laden water directly into a creek is a flagrant violation of sediment-control protocols. Not preserving floodplains has many costs that most people don’t realize.
How to Report Such Violations
Readers who share my concerns should report such violations to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Harris County Flood Control District. You may also want to notify Harris County Precinct 3 and Montgomery County MUDs, as Spring Creek serves as the border between the two counties. Both have a vested interest in keeping that channel clear. Readers report that this is the site of the new Spring ISD High School.
I couldn’t find an entrance to the site with an address, sign, or stormwater pollution prevention plan. But for reporting purposes, the GPS coordinates are: 30°05’16.3″N 95°24’07.6″W.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/11/26
3088 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.
Colony Ridge Settles Lawsuit with U.S., State of Texas
2/10/2026 – On 2/9/2026, Colony Ridge and its owners settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and State of Texas. The 30-page settlement includes:
The latter includes $18 million to address flooding and drainage issues. It also includes $30 million to address other infrastructure needs such as potable water, sewage, roads, and waste management.
The sprawling Colony Ridge in Liberty County grew 50% larger than Manhattan in just 15 years. It was accused of being a foreclosure mill with predatory, deceptive lending practices.
At least nine TCEQ investigations reprimanded Colony Ridge construction practices. The TCEQ even accused Colony Ridge of endangering human life.
In 2023, the entire Texas Republican Congressional Delegation urged Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate Colony Ridge.
I wrote more than 75 posts about the development beginning in 2020. For more background see: History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. Below, I’ll summarize the major elements of the settlement.
While this settlement should vastly improve future development, it contains nothing to compensate past victims
Moratorium on Development
In exchange for resolving all the claims against it in 2023 lawsuits by the Department of Justice and State of Texas, Colony Ridge, its owners, employees and all affiliated entities have agreed to a moratorium on development. That means:
ILSA and Texas Property Code Compliance
The settlement requires Colony Ridge to comply with the Interstate Land Sales Act and the Texas Property Code. That means requiring purchasers to present:
It also requires Colony Ridge to work with law enforcement to confirm buyers are not cartel members or on a terrorism watch list.
Finally, Colony Ridge must confirm that purchasers do not have a prohibited relationship with any ‘designated country’ including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. That’s to comply with the Texas Property Code.
Prohibition Against Discrimination
Colony Ridge has agreed to comply with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for all sales or rentals.
Hire A Compliance Specialist
At its own expense, Colony Ridge must hire a compliance specialist to ensure the owners, their corporate entities and their employees comply with all terms of the settlement.
Increasing Housing Affordability and Availability
Colony Ridge has agreed to reform its underwriting standards by:
Addressing Misrepresentations to Consumers
Colony Ridge has also agreed to truthfully and accurately describe the properties it has for sale and applicable loan terms. It will not advertise that all properties are “move in ready” or currently have “all city services.” The company will add appropriate limiting language or disclaimers to its advertisements.
Colony Ridge has also agreed to disclose loan terms, utility connections, flooding, wetlands, and readiness for use.
The flooding provision requires all plats to receive pre-development drainage and flood-control approval by the appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities.
Colony Ridge must disclose whether property is in the 100-year flood plain. The company must also disclose whether the buyer is responsible for leveling, grading, or otherwise filling the lot to provide proper drainage to culverts.
Re: cost, Colony Ridge must disclose the true total cost of the property to buyers including interest, closing costs, taxes, POA fees, etc. The company must also mail monthly statements.
Infrastructure Improvements
Within three months, Colony Ridge must develop and begin implementing a $48 million infrastructure improvement plan. Its goals: to reduce and prevent flooding, improve roads, provide for proper management of sewage and other waste, and invest in other projects designed to improve the habitability and public safety.
The company must develop a road drainage system capable of handling 10-year rains based on new Atlas 14 data. It must also build a 100-year-storm flood-control system.
Increased Law Enforcement Presence
The defendants must spend at least $20 million to increase a law enforcement presence in Colony Ridge. That includes building a DPS and County Constable sub-station, funding full-time law enforcement officers, supplying them with vehicles, and ensuring compliance with immigration laws.
Property Owners Association
The Property Owners Association (POA) must report to owners how their dues are expended. Previously, the dues were used to finance new development, not provide services to the people paying the dues.
Training and Complaint Procedures
Colony Ridge must now train its staff on how to comply with federal and state regulations. The company must explain how Colony Ridge previously fell short and also develop a “Nondiscrimination Policy and Complaint Procedure.”
Law Enforcement Support
Colony Ridge must develop a discount program that encourages law-enforcement officers to take up residence there.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Noncompliance with any of these provisions will land the owners back in court.
Not All Residents Happy
An activist named Maria Acevedo who bought property in Colony Ridge and was victimized by the company’s business practices was unhappy with the settlement. Her concern: It will protect people in the future, but doesn’t provide any compensation to people victimized in the past.
Said Acevedo, “The money used to pay penalties came from the very families who were scammed — it was our money, not Colony Ridge’s. We were victims.”
Another lady, Jennifer Stewart, a Huffman resident who has many friends living in and around Colony Ridge said, “I’m glad a settlement was reached, but the people who were truly harmed have not been made whole. That’s unconscionable.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/10/25
3087 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.
Easy Way to Make Your Community More Resilient to Flooding
2/9/2026 – The Harris County Infrastructure Resilience Team wants public input on ideas to make the area more resilient to flooding. As someone who believes that all of us are smarter than one of us, I’m passing the request on to ReduceFlooding.com readers.
Please email your thoughts to the contact page on this website and I will forward them to the people who can do something about them.
As thought starters, here are several ideas I see that could make living here safer.
Create a River-Basin-Wide Flood Control District
Much flooding originates in cities and counties that let development happen in floodplains. Sometimes they let development happen with insufficient mitigation. This problem is exacerbated by the dozens of municipalities, counties, MUDs, PUDs, and drainage districts each of which have their own regulations and few of which of effective enforcement.
A flood control district that covers the entire river basin could solve flooding due to this fragmentation and a patchwork quilt of regulations across the region. There is no central coordinating body.
In the last legislation, Rep. Dennis Paul introduced HB204. It would have let other counties join Harris County to create an expanded flood control district. However, the bill never made it out of committee.
Senator Bettancourt and Representative Paul introduced similar bills in the previous legislative session. Perhaps next year, they will succeed with your support.
Control Erosion Better
Erosion can reduce the carrying capacity of our rivers and streams. It displaces water that may end up in your living room during a flood event because the stream can no longer hold it. Fighting erosion is two-front war. We need to reduce it at its source. And we need to remove sediment that makes its way downstream, blocking our rivers and channels.
This means addressing the main sources of sediment, such as sand mining and insufficiently mitigated upstream development. It also means removing any sediment that makes its way downstream by scrupulous adherence to maintenance intervals.
We’ve seen numerous examples of blocked drainage ditches and even rivers such as the mouth bars on the East and West Forks, the Kingwood Diversion Ditch, Rogers Gully.
Reduce Subsidence Across a Wider Area
Subsidence, caused by excessive groundwater withdrawals, can alter the gradient of rivers and create bowls in the landscape. The Harris Galveston Subsidence District has put regulations in place to reduce it. And they’ve worked where they have been in effect the longest.
But newly regulated areas are still subsiding at alarming rates. And that subsidence can erase the safety margin of your home above the floodplain (usually one or two feet above the 100-year floodplain, depending on the age of your home and where you live).
The way to solve this problem is to get rapidly subsiding areas on surface water. But that’s more expensive. So, we also need educational campaigns that explain the benefits of surface water. People may not argue about paying a few dollars more each month if they know it could save them hundreds of thousands in a high water event.
Locate Assisted-Living Centers Outside of Floodplains
Twelve people, aged 75-95, died at Kingwood Village Estates as a result of Harvey. That’s one third of all the people who died in Harris County. Evacuating them by life boats put their lives and the lives of first responders at risk. They weren’t warned in time to make a safe, orderly evacuation by cars or buses.
Warning Sirens
Install warning sirens in areas that flood frequently to give people time to evacuate. Floods frequently knock out communications or happen in the middle of the night. The chain of communication can be disrupted. But wailing sirens can wake up even the soundest sleepers in the middle of the night.
With sirens, many lives could have been saved in Kingwood and along the Guadalupe last July.
Flood Education in High Schools
We have drivers’ ed. Why not flood ed? Greater awareness of the causes and dangers of flooding could eventually shift housing demand to safer locations.
Perhaps the State Board of Education could create course materials that they distribute to school districts. They might educate young people how to research flood risk before buying a home. Or where to find information about projected flood crests in an emergency.
Better to learn before you buy a home than after!
Create County/City Parks in Flood-Prone Areas
It’s hard to tell people that they can’t build on their land. So why not buy dangerous flood-prone land and convert it into parks or recreational space?
The Houston Parks Board has been doing this for decades. Texas Parks and Wildlife did it with Lake Houston Wilderness Park (which they gave to the City.)
If people don’t live where it floods, they can’t flood. No buyouts. And no demand for expensive flood-mitigation projects. Prevention is always much cheaper than correction in the long run.
What Are Your Ideas?
Please send me your thoughts on how to make your community more resilient to flooding. Just write a paragraph or two. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Then email your thoughts through the contact page of this website.
I’ll make sure the Harris County Infrastructure Resilience Team sees them.
The deadline for submissions is February 12, 2026. Thanks in advance for your help!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/9/26
3086 Days since Hurricane Harvey