6/23/26 – In May of this year, I posted a PowerPoint from the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District showing a preview of their 2025 annual groundwater report. The final report has since been published. You can follow the links below to its component parts:
Two-page overview/info sheet – explains at a high level how drought, population growth, and regulation interact to influence groundwater use and subsidence
The people at the Subsidence District are real scientists. Anyone interested in earth sciences will find this material enlightening. It could even make a great summer science project for your students.
Report Shows Impact of Regulation in Reducing Subsidence
By comparing groundwater reports from previous years, you can see how subsidence has shifted in reponse to regulations. The earliest-regulated areas have minimized subsidence, while it still rages in areas only recently regulated.
Figure 17 from Page 27.
Two centimeters is a little less than an inch. So in a decade, those areas with maroon shading could sink 8-12 inches.
But downstream areas are sinking less. Far less. That’s called differential subsidence. And differential subsidence can reduce the elevation of one area relative to others nearby. You can clearly see differential subsidence in this map, which features InSAR data (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar).
Impacts of Subsidence on Infrastructure, Property Values
For instance, the Lake Houston Dam is sinking at a much slower rate than areas upstream in Montgomery County. That, in essence, tilts the lake toward its headwaters, reducing the safety margin that people built their homes above the floodplain.
But even before you flood, you could experience subsidence as cracks in concrete or in the walls of your home. Subsidence can even trigger geologic faulting.
Woodlands faulting damage triggered by subsidence.Home split by subsidenceSteps separating from house
Combatting Subsidence
Combatting subsidence requires reducing groundwater usage. Said another way, it requires getting on surface water. That’s why the City has spent $2 billion to quintuple the treated surface water supply from Lake Houston.
Northeast Water Purification Plant Expansion in progress in 2023.
The North Harris County Regional Water Authority is also constructing an additional 94 miles of transmission and distribution lines to connect 45 Municipal Utility Districts and get them off groundwater.
That’s how serious subsidence is.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/23/2026
3220 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Subsidence-2021-to-2025-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C825&ssl=18251100adminadmin2026-06-23 14:27:192026-06-29 12:01:12HGSD Issues Final 2025 Report on Groundwater, Subsidence
6/22/2026 – On Thursday, 6/25/26, Harris County Commissioners will consider appointing Marcus Stuckett to replace Dr. Tina Petersen as the new head of Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). Petersen resigned under pressure after the last Commissioners Court meeting on 6/11/2026. Slow project delivery during her tenure threatened the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
He joined HCFCD in 2015 and worked his way up through the organization. As Director of Engineering he oversaw planning, design, and implementation of flood-risk-reduction projects throughout Harris County.
Before and after his time at HCFCD, he worked in the private engineering sector and has roughly two decades of experience in stormwater, drainage, and flood-control engineering.
He has represented HCFCD in regional flood-planning efforts, including nomination to the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group in 2021.
He was the public face for several major flood-control initiatives, including projects on South Mayde Creek and other watershed improvement efforts.
Stuckett is not a newcomer. He is thoroughly versed in engineering and planning discussions regarding detention, channel conveyance, floodplain management, and implementation of the 2018 flood-bond projects.
The context surrounding his nomination is significant. He would take over amid concerns that some federal funding could be jeopardized if spending deadlines are missed. Those issues contributed to Petersen’s departure and will likely be among the first challenges facing the new director.
The big question surrounding Stuckett: Can he speed up procurement and project delivery to improve compliance with Federal grant requirements?
What Distinguishes Stuckett?
Stuckett comes directly from the engineering side of flood control. He spent years inside HCFCD managing project development and engineering delivery. People familiar with Stuckett point to strong qualifications for the job at hand:
Greater emphasis on project execution and delivery – He reportedly has a greater sense of urgency than the leader he may replace and is more confident in his decision making.
Strong institutional knowledge – He has been involved in HCFCD projects for more than a decade and understands the agency’s internal processes and technical staff. Same for the county.
No learning curve – Unlike an outside hire, he already knows the flood-bond program, federal grant requirements, watershed studies, and ongoing capital projects.
Potential return to an engineering-led culture – Stuckett worked under Petersen’s predecessors who placed more emphasis than she on technical decision-making (as opposed to political decision-making) and project delivery.
Issues to Watch
Stuckett’s potential return on Thursday suggests Commissioners Court may now be placing a premium on technical expertise and institutional experience at a time when project delivery and federal funding compliance are under intense scrutiny.
The key question is not whether Stuckett understands flood-control engineering; he clearly does. The more important question is whether he can convert that expertise into faster delivery of major projects while navigating the political and funding challenges that have recently affected HCFCD.
Votes of Confidence from Former Co-Workers
For this post, I spoke with several engineers and managers who previously worked with Stuckett in various capacities. They unanimously sang his praises.
One of the strongest recommendations came from Eric Heppen, head engineer for Harris County Precinct 3. He worked with Stuckett for more than a decade and said “I have zerodoubts about Marcus being able to do this.”
Heppen explained. “When Marcus started with flood control, he started as a coordinator between Flood Control’s Capital-Improvement-Project Department and Harris County Engineering to make sure that everything that the two offices did was properly coordinated.”
“After that,” said Heppen, “Stuckett worked his way up through watershed management into engineering and through the leadership ranks. He did a fantastic job and has been able to handle everything that we/I have ever thrown at him. He has a great handle on what it takes to get capital projects moving.”
Heppen described Stuckett’s management style. “It’s always ‘Let’s sit down. We’ll take an hour. We’ll sort through it. And we’ll move on.’ Stuckett doesn’t take six months to make a decision. It’s, ‘Let’s make the best possible decision today based on the facts. Then we’ll verify that it works. If we need to pivot, we’ll pivot. But let’s figure out what the ‘Decision-One’ point is today.’”
Posted by Bob Rehak
3219 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/2025/04/20250401-Commissioners-Court-3.27.25.jpg?fit=1100%2C617&ssl=16171100adminadmin2026-06-22 18:21:462026-06-24 19:57:55Harris County Commissioners Will Consider New HCFCD Head Thursday
Kelly Callahan is a retired widow who loves fishing, kayaking and living near nature. That’s why she bought a home near the San Jacinto West Fork. Callahan accepted the flood risk. However, she didn’t expect that the man who bought the sand mine behind her wooded lot would partially drain the dredge pond into the river. Where a small creek flows across part of her property, the sudden drop in the pond’s elevation triggered what geomorphologists call “headcut erosion.”
About Headcut Erosion
Headcut erosion happens where flowing water reaches an abrupt, near-vertical drop. The falling water scours the base, causing the overhanging soil and plant roots to collapse. That forces the “waterfall” to rapidly migrate upstream. In Kelly’s case, it could soon threaten her home. Instead of fixing the sand-pit dike, the mine’s new owner has offered to buy the widow’s land for below-market value. I talked with her at length about her situation and options. But first, some pictures that illustrate what happened.
#1: Satellite image as of 12/23with full sand-pit pondbehind Callahan’s home.#2: January 2026. The breach is now real and level of pond has dropped precipitously.#3 Breach is virtually twice as tall as man.Note excavator that created breach in upper left.#4: Meanwhile, the ephemeral creek flowing across Callahan’s land has downcut to the new level of the pond.
#5: 12-second video from inside the treeline shows attempt to slow erosion by owner of former mine. Recent heavy rains blew out the tarp and erosion continues.
Impact on Widow
Rehak: You investigated this property pretty thoroughly before buying it.
Callahan: Yes, I even talked to the sand-mine foreman. Never on God’s green earth did I think that somebody would purchase it and then lower the pond and cause all of this damage.
Rehak: What did the new owner do?
Callahan: He hired someone to cut through the dike surrounding the mine. He said it was to prevent flooding the homeowners on our street. But the dike completely blew out and 10-20 feet of water from the pond went downstream with a tremendous amount of sand.
Breach still not repaired as of 6/20/26
Rehak: You were dealing with some medical issues at the time?
Callahan: I had horrible sciatica and could barely walk. So, I couldn’t see what was going on back there until recently.
Rehak: What happened when he saw all the damage he caused?
Callahan: He started coming to me and saying “It’s eroding back there. You need to get some fill and fix it.
Rehak: Did you?
Callahan: No. He caused the problem.
Rehak: What happened the other day when you got 4.5 inches of rain in a few hours?
Callahan’s home in foreground. Note creek, bottom left, flowing toward pond near top.
Callahan: He showed up unannounced and trudged back to his pond. When he came back, he said, “Kelly, we got a $100,000 problem now. You didn’t put any fill back there.” I said, “That’s a band-aid and I’m not going to do it. It’s just going to erode again.”
Rehak: What did he say to that?
Kelly Callahan looking wistfully toward erosion on back of her property.
Callahan: He said, “As far as I can tell, in two and a half years, it’s going to be all the way up to your house.” (At this point, Callahan breaks down into tears.) “It’s already travelled over a hundred feet. My guess is that it’s already 20% of the way to your house.” And again he asked, “Did you ever get someone with heavy equipment to come out and give you a quote?”
Note how far erosion has cut into her back yard.
Rehak: You talked to Montgomery County Engineering instead.
Callahan: Right. Every department I talked to advised me why I shouldn’t. Had I been band-aiding this, I would have been fined by the MoCo permitting office. They were requiring me to hire an engineer and get a permit. The new owner of the former mine has the same problems.
Rehak: It doesn’t sound like you’re responsible for this. Headcut erosion happens when there’s an abrupt drop in a stream bed. That happened when the mine owner cut through the berm and lowered his pond. He created a miniature waterfall migrating upstream. That’s why they call it headcut.
Callahan: My son thinks he’s just trying to get my property on the cheap.
Despite the erosion and permitting issues, Callahan tries to keep smiling and enjoying the beauty that remains around her.
Rehak: Where do you go from here?
Callahan: I don’t want to move back to the suburbs. After being out here, you can’t really go back to that. I cry every day. It breaks my heart.
Callahan kayaking on the creek in her own backyard during happier times.
Posted By Bob Rehak on 6/21/26
3218 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DSC_5438.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2026-06-21 14:38:132026-06-21 15:21:32Sand-Mine Breach Triggers Erosion Threatening Widow’s Home
HGSD Issues Final 2025 Report on Groundwater, Subsidence
6/23/26 – In May of this year, I posted a PowerPoint from the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District showing a preview of their 2025 annual groundwater report. The final report has since been published. You can follow the links below to its component parts:
The people at the Subsidence District are real scientists. Anyone interested in earth sciences will find this material enlightening. It could even make a great summer science project for your students.
Report Shows Impact of Regulation in Reducing Subsidence
By comparing groundwater reports from previous years, you can see how subsidence has shifted in reponse to regulations. The earliest-regulated areas have minimized subsidence, while it still rages in areas only recently regulated.
Two centimeters is a little less than an inch. So in a decade, those areas with maroon shading could sink 8-12 inches.
But downstream areas are sinking less. Far less. That’s called differential subsidence. And differential subsidence can reduce the elevation of one area relative to others nearby. You can clearly see differential subsidence in this map, which features InSAR data (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar).
Impacts of Subsidence on Infrastructure, Property Values
For instance, the Lake Houston Dam is sinking at a much slower rate than areas upstream in Montgomery County. That, in essence, tilts the lake toward its headwaters, reducing the safety margin that people built their homes above the floodplain.
But even before you flood, you could experience subsidence as cracks in concrete or in the walls of your home. Subsidence can even trigger geologic faulting.
Combatting Subsidence
Combatting subsidence requires reducing groundwater usage. Said another way, it requires getting on surface water. That’s why the City has spent $2 billion to quintuple the treated surface water supply from Lake Houston.
The North Harris County Regional Water Authority is also constructing an additional 94 miles of transmission and distribution lines to connect 45 Municipal Utility Districts and get them off groundwater.
That’s how serious subsidence is.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/23/2026
3220 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Harris County Commissioners Will Consider New HCFCD Head Thursday
6/22/2026 – On Thursday, 6/25/26, Harris County Commissioners will consider appointing Marcus Stuckett to replace Dr. Tina Petersen as the new head of Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). Petersen resigned under pressure after the last Commissioners Court meeting on 6/11/2026. Slow project delivery during her tenure threatened the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
The question facing Stuckett is whether he can quickly restore the momentum that HCFCD had when he previously worked there as Director of Engineering.
Stuckett’s Background
Stuckett is a professional civil engineer and Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) who has spent much of his career working on flood mitigation projects in the Houston region.
Stuckett is not a newcomer. He is thoroughly versed in engineering and planning discussions regarding detention, channel conveyance, floodplain management, and implementation of the 2018 flood-bond projects.
The context surrounding his nomination is significant. He would take over amid concerns that some federal funding could be jeopardized if spending deadlines are missed. Those issues contributed to Petersen’s departure and will likely be among the first challenges facing the new director.
The big question surrounding Stuckett: Can he speed up procurement and project delivery to improve compliance with Federal grant requirements?
What Distinguishes Stuckett?
Stuckett comes directly from the engineering side of flood control. He spent years inside HCFCD managing project development and engineering delivery. People familiar with Stuckett point to strong qualifications for the job at hand:
Issues to Watch
Stuckett’s potential return on Thursday suggests Commissioners Court may now be placing a premium on technical expertise and institutional experience at a time when project delivery and federal funding compliance are under intense scrutiny.
The key question is not whether Stuckett understands flood-control engineering; he clearly does. The more important question is whether he can convert that expertise into faster delivery of major projects while navigating the political and funding challenges that have recently affected HCFCD.
Votes of Confidence from Former Co-Workers
For this post, I spoke with several engineers and managers who previously worked with Stuckett in various capacities. They unanimously sang his praises.
One of the strongest recommendations came from Eric Heppen, head engineer for Harris County Precinct 3. He worked with Stuckett for more than a decade and said “I have zero doubts about Marcus being able to do this.”
Heppen explained. “When Marcus started with flood control, he started as a coordinator between Flood Control’s Capital-Improvement-Project Department and Harris County Engineering to make sure that everything that the two offices did was properly coordinated.”
“After that,” said Heppen, “Stuckett worked his way up through watershed management into engineering and through the leadership ranks. He did a fantastic job and has been able to handle everything that we/I have ever thrown at him. He has a great handle on what it takes to get capital projects moving.”
Heppen described Stuckett’s management style. “It’s always ‘Let’s sit down. We’ll take an hour. We’ll sort through it. And we’ll move on.’ Stuckett doesn’t take six months to make a decision. It’s, ‘Let’s make the best possible decision today based on the facts. Then we’ll verify that it works. If we need to pivot, we’ll pivot. But let’s figure out what the ‘Decision-One’ point is today.’”
Posted by Bob Rehak
3219 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.
Sand-Mine Breach Triggers Erosion Threatening Widow’s Home
Kelly Callahan is a retired widow who loves fishing, kayaking and living near nature. That’s why she bought a home near the San Jacinto West Fork. Callahan accepted the flood risk. However, she didn’t expect that the man who bought the sand mine behind her wooded lot would partially drain the dredge pond into the river. Where a small creek flows across part of her property, the sudden drop in the pond’s elevation triggered what geomorphologists call “headcut erosion.”
About Headcut Erosion
Headcut erosion happens where flowing water reaches an abrupt, near-vertical drop. The falling water scours the base, causing the overhanging soil and plant roots to collapse. That forces the “waterfall” to rapidly migrate upstream. In Kelly’s case, it could soon threaten her home. Instead of fixing the sand-pit dike, the mine’s new owner has offered to buy the widow’s land for below-market value. I talked with her at length about her situation and options. But first, some pictures that illustrate what happened.
Impact on Widow
Rehak: You investigated this property pretty thoroughly before buying it.
Callahan: Yes, I even talked to the sand-mine foreman. Never on God’s green earth did I think that somebody would purchase it and then lower the pond and cause all of this damage.
Rehak: What did the new owner do?
Callahan: He hired someone to cut through the dike surrounding the mine. He said it was to prevent flooding the homeowners on our street. But the dike completely blew out and 10-20 feet of water from the pond went downstream with a tremendous amount of sand.
Rehak: You were dealing with some medical issues at the time?
Callahan: I had horrible sciatica and could barely walk. So, I couldn’t see what was going on back there until recently.
Rehak: What happened when he saw all the damage he caused?
Callahan: He started coming to me and saying “It’s eroding back there. You need to get some fill and fix it.
Rehak: Did you?
Callahan: No. He caused the problem.
Rehak: What happened the other day when you got 4.5 inches of rain in a few hours?
Callahan: He showed up unannounced and trudged back to his pond. When he came back, he said, “Kelly, we got a $100,000 problem now. You didn’t put any fill back there.” I said, “That’s a band-aid and I’m not going to do it. It’s just going to erode again.”
Rehak: What did he say to that?
Callahan: He said, “As far as I can tell, in two and a half years, it’s going to be all the way up to your house.” (At this point, Callahan breaks down into tears.) “It’s already travelled over a hundred feet. My guess is that it’s already 20% of the way to your house.” And again he asked, “Did you ever get someone with heavy equipment to come out and give you a quote?”
Rehak: You talked to Montgomery County Engineering instead.
Callahan: Right. Every department I talked to advised me why I shouldn’t. Had I been band-aiding this, I would have been fined by the MoCo permitting office. They were requiring me to hire an engineer and get a permit. The new owner of the former mine has the same problems.
Rehak: It doesn’t sound like you’re responsible for this. Headcut erosion happens when there’s an abrupt drop in a stream bed. That happened when the mine owner cut through the berm and lowered his pond. He created a miniature waterfall migrating upstream. That’s why they call it headcut.
Callahan: My son thinks he’s just trying to get my property on the cheap.
Rehak: Where do you go from here?
Callahan: I don’t want to move back to the suburbs. After being out here, you can’t really go back to that. I cry every day. It breaks my heart.
Posted By Bob Rehak on 6/21/26
3218 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.