At the abandoned Williams Brothers sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork, a strip of land – approximately 400 to 500 feet long and up to 50 feet wide – collapsed into the river during the flood in late January.
The dramatic erosion, during a relatively minor (2-5-year) rain event, dramatizes the destructive power of moving water and the need for greater setbacks from the river for sand mines. It also raises questions about abandonment plans for sand mines.
Resident Photo From Boat Shows Collapse
A resident who frequently boats the river and wishes to remain anonymous supplied the picture below. As the resident said, “All that dirt went somewhere. And it didn’t go upstream.”
Looking upstreamadjacent to Williams Brothers Mine south of Kingwood Drive
Aerial Shots Show Extent of Damage
From the air, the same location looks like this.
Williams Brothers Mine on right. Eagle Sorters Mine top left. Note extent of fresh sand on left.Same area from lower angle. Note how trees collapsed into river.Note also how erosion has eaten half of maintenance road around mine.
Where Trees Once Stood
Compare that with the satellite image below from Google Earth taken last year. Note how there used to be a row of trees on each side of the road. Now, trees remain only on one side.
The measuring tool Google Earth shows the width of the eroded strip was approximately 50 feet.
Most of the trees on the river side of the road are now floating down the river somewhere.
Blankets of Fresh Sand Everywhere
The resident who took the first shot above (the one from the boat) has lived near the river for 40 years. He says he’s never seen so much fresh sand deposited in a flood. See below.
Fresh sand flanks both side of the West Fork.Note trail of trees in water.
The images above show the power of moving water. One cubic foot of fresh water weighs 62.4 pounds. And more than 20,000 cubic feet per second moved down this reach of the West Fork during the peak of the January flood. That’s a lot of force on sandy soil.
We Must Plan for River Migration
That force was magnified by the way a river meanders. On the outside of curves, water accelerates. That extra speed accelerates erosion and creates what geologists call the cut bank.
Conversely, water travels less far and slower on the inside of a curve. As a result, sand is often deposited there in what geologists call point bars. Learn more in this post about Why Rivers Move.
Over time, erosion on one side of a river and deposition on another tends to exaggerate curves. Geologists call that process river migration. River migration already broke through the dike of one sand mine slightly upstream.
During the January flood, water flushing through that mine likely contributed to the buildup of sand blocking the Northpark drainage ditch near Northpark Woods.
Looking upriver along West Fork. Red arrow indicated where West Fork migrated through dike of abandoned sand mine.
Note in the photo above that the Northpark Ditch is now blocked by sand higher than ditch itself. This blockage suddenly appeared during the Jan. ’24 flood. It is backing water up toward Northpark Woods and Oakhurst in the upper right. At least some of the sand was likely flushed out through the breach in the dike above.
Need Greater Setbacks from the River For Sand Mines
As I stated in the beginning, this dramatizes the need for greater setbacks from the river for sand mines. At one time, there was no minimum distance.
In November 2021, after years of work by Bill McCabe and the Lake Houston Flood Prevention Initiative, TCEQ adopted new Best Management Practices (BMPs) for sand mining in the San Jacinto River Basin.
The new rules specify “A minimum 100-foot buffer zone is required adjacent to perennial streams greater than 20 feet wide, 50 feet for perennial streams less than 20 feet wide, and 35 feet for intermittent streams.”
Clearly, that may not be enough. For a list of what other states specify, see the Sand Mining page of ReduceFlooding.com.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/27/2024
2363 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240216-FullSizeRender.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-02-17 18:29:392024-02-22 08:52:58River Bank Collapses, Taking Half of Sand Mine Road
Since last week’s post about the Northpark expansion project, contractors have made significant progress on the two stormwater detention basins at US59. Contractors are forming concrete retaining walls for both ponds. They have excavated the north pond down to the water table. And, in the south pond, contractors are mounding dirt in three locations for removal and temporary storage.
The ponds are designed to provide storage capacity for excess stormwater that might otherwise flood this crucial intersection. The intersection will provide the final link in the only all-weather evacuation route in Kingwood for 78,000 residents. During Hurricane Harvey, floodwaters blocked both Hamblen Road and Kingwood Drive.
Photos Taken on 2/16/24
I took the following photos at noon on Friday, 2/16/24..
South Pond
Looking NW across the south pond at Northpark and US59. Transplanted trees in foreground.
Contractors are temporarily storying the dirt at the Eagle sand mine on Sorters-McClellan Road. They will later retrieve it to fill in the road bed above the box culverts that are replacing the center ditch down Northpark.
From opposite direction, you can see three mounds of dirt awaiting relocation and the first concrete wall by grass.Ground level shot shows height of pile.
North Pond
Contractors began working on the north pond first, so it is further along. However, excavation is not yet complete. They will do it in two stages. For now, they’ve excavated down to the water table. When pond liners arrive (any day now), contractors will begin the second phase and excavate even deeper.
Looking NNW at north pond. Note wet areas. They indicate level of water table.
The pipe you see lined up in the photo below will help carry excess stormwater in the ponds to Ditch One which parallels Northpark on the north. From there, it will follow gravity to Bens Branch and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch which will carry it to Lake Houston.
Looking SE at retaining wall for what will become the focal point of the North pond.Looking S from over north pond at another retaining wall around a grove of trees.When complete, the ponds should look like this.
CenterPoint Almost Finished Burying New Gas Line
CenterPoint had one westbound lane blocked off at noon today where it was burying a new gas line outside of the City’s easement. Reportedly, the utility is close to finished with the relocation effort. It is replacing one line that used to go down the center ditch with two, one on each side of the expanded roadbed.
As Ralph De Leon, the project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 said, “It’s one thing for a company to say they’ll handle something. It’s another for them to show up with giant boring machines to make it happen.” De Leon was happy with the progress they were making.
Still No News from Entergy
Entergy had until the close of business today to respond to the City of Houston’s demand for a plan to relocate its electrical services along Northpark. Project coordinators asked Entergy to move its lines in 2020. But the company has not moved anything to date.
It’s not clear at press time, whether Entergy met the City’s deadline. More next week when I learn more from City Hall.
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/2024/02/20240216-DJI_0952.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-02-16 18:44:262024-02-16 18:44:28Excavation of Second Northpark Detention Basin Well Underway
Bayou Land Conservancy (BLC) has announced a conservation easement on 966 acres of critical Lake Creek property in Montgomery County. The property is just northeast of Magnolia on Tranquility Ranch, which is owned by Nathan and Lindy Ingram. BLC started working with the Ingrams in 2015.
The conservation easement is across Lake Creek from the 7,000-acre Cook’s Branch preserve owned by the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation. The proximity of the two large properties will benefit wildlife by maintaining the “carrying capacity” of the land.
Lake Creek flows diagonally through this satellite image from Google Earth. Note how new developments are gobbling up the natural (green) area in the middle where the conservation easement is.
The 966 acres permanently preserved at Tranquility Ranch help meet BLC’s long-term conservation goals and contribute to the environmental health of the region.
The preserve will function as a wetland and stream mitigation bank, known as the West Montgomery Mitigation Bank. It has credits available to developers seeking to offset impacts in this rapidly growing area.
Wild area along Lake Creek where it flows through Tranquility Ranch.
Featuring a mix of hardwood and pine forest, Tranquility Ranch consists of over 400 acres of existing wetland habitat, 20 acres of streams & ponds, and 13,000 linear feet (2.5 miles) of stream frontage on Lake Creek.
In addition to high quality existing habitat, over 90 acres of wetlands and 300 acres of flooded forests will be improved and restored on the land.
Bottomland hardwoods provide habitat for wildlife.
The 966-acre preserve is part of a larger 1200-acre property that hosts a special event venue called The Wyldes at Tranquility Ranch. It hosts retreats, weddings, and other events.
Benefits to People and Wildlife
Jill Boullion, Executive Director of Bayou Land Conservancy, said, “This conservation agreement makes a significant stride towards BLC’s conservation goals to preserve land in the Lake Houston watershed.”
“We’re grateful to landowner Nathan Ingram and his care and protection of this special place,” said Boullion.
“This land will provide positive impacts in the region for generations to come.”
Jill Boullion, Exec. Director, BLC
Preservation of Tranquility Ranch will provide many community benefits. They include flood control, water-quality improvements for drinking water and recreation, and wildlife habitat. The preserve also is an important nesting, wintering, and migratory stop-over site for many bird species, including owls, raptors, and songbirds.
Importance of Lake Creek Preservation to Downstream Flood Protection
Leaving natural areas natural won’t reduce flooding per se. But it will keep flooding from getting worse.
It will also reduce flood damage by ensuring generous setbacks from areas that flood.
Wetlands are nature’s sponges. They retain runoff that might otherwise quickly add to flood peaks downstream. They also clean water.
Bayou City Waterkeeper ranks the wetlands along Lake Creek as one of the five most critical wetland areas in the Houston Region.
For those who may not know where Lake Creek is, it enters the San Jacinto West Fork just south of Conroe, about 9 miles south of the Lake Conroe Dam. See the big green area in the upper left.
From this map, we can see that rainfall from seven watersheds flows under the US59 bridge. Comparing peak flow data from them during the January 2024 flood, we can see that Lake Creek had the highest discharge rate. See below. USGS graphs are arranged in order from highest to lowest, except for the last, which reflects rain falling in all seven watersheds.
Lake Creek peaked at 20,800 cubic feet per second (CFS)Lake Conroe peaked at 19,100 CFS.Spring Creek peaked at 9,810 CFS.Cypress Creek peaked at 6,580 CFS.Willow Creek peaked at 842 CFS.Little Cypress peaked at 780 CFS.
All of the streams above flow under the US59 bridge.
USGS registered a peak of 40,400 cubic feet per secondat the 59 Bridge.
Note: the first six peaks do not total up to the last because streams peaked at different times.
Of course, these numbers partially reflect uneven rainfall distribution during the January event. And rainfall totals in the Lake Creek watershed were among the highest in the area.
Looking solely at watershed size shows that even if the rainfall distribution had been uniform, Lake Creek would have contributed a major percentage of the overall flow.
And that – in a sentence – is why Lake Houston Area residents should care about conservation along Lake Creek, especially considering that the watershed is developing so quickly!
Conservation Easement Will Protect Land in Perpetuity
BLC conducted an extensive audit of natural resources including wetlands and wildlife on the Ingram property before the conservation agreement was put in place. No matter who the owner is, the easement will run with the land and protect the land in perpetuity. The audit will provide a baseline for future comparison.
Ingram reportedly had offers to buy the land from sand miners and developers but chose to conserve it instead. Said Boullion, “I commend him because obviously it’s not cheap to own and hold that much land in a natural state. So, he looked for a way to monetize his property while conserving the land and benefiting the community. He is one of the most conservation-minded people I know.”
The conservation easement held by BLC will let Ingram sell wetland-mitigation credits through the West Montgomery Mitigation Bank. He will sell them to developers who have no other choice but to disturb wetlands while developing the rest of their property.
BLC is one of the leading conservation groups in the Houston region. It preserves land along streams for flood control, clean water, and wildlife. BLC is a nationally accredited, community-sponsored land preservation organization working to permanently protect land, with a focus on the streams that feed Lake Houston, an important source of drinking water for millions of people.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/25/24
2361 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20230919-Tranquility-Ranch-Sign-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C825&ssl=18251100adminadmin2024-02-15 16:08:152024-02-16 10:25:47Bayou Land Conservancy Protects Another 966 Acres in Lake Creek Watershed
River Bank Collapses, Taking Half of Sand Mine Road
At the abandoned Williams Brothers sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork, a strip of land – approximately 400 to 500 feet long and up to 50 feet wide – collapsed into the river during the flood in late January.
The dramatic erosion, during a relatively minor (2-5-year) rain event, dramatizes the destructive power of moving water and the need for greater setbacks from the river for sand mines. It also raises questions about abandonment plans for sand mines.
Resident Photo From Boat Shows Collapse
A resident who frequently boats the river and wishes to remain anonymous supplied the picture below. As the resident said, “All that dirt went somewhere. And it didn’t go upstream.”
Aerial Shots Show Extent of Damage
From the air, the same location looks like this.
Where Trees Once Stood
Compare that with the satellite image below from Google Earth taken last year. Note how there used to be a row of trees on each side of the road. Now, trees remain only on one side.
Most of the trees on the river side of the road are now floating down the river somewhere.
Blankets of Fresh Sand Everywhere
The resident who took the first shot above (the one from the boat) has lived near the river for 40 years. He says he’s never seen so much fresh sand deposited in a flood. See below.
The images above show the power of moving water. One cubic foot of fresh water weighs 62.4 pounds. And more than 20,000 cubic feet per second moved down this reach of the West Fork during the peak of the January flood. That’s a lot of force on sandy soil.
We Must Plan for River Migration
That force was magnified by the way a river meanders. On the outside of curves, water accelerates. That extra speed accelerates erosion and creates what geologists call the cut bank.
Conversely, water travels less far and slower on the inside of a curve. As a result, sand is often deposited there in what geologists call point bars. Learn more in this post about Why Rivers Move.
Over time, erosion on one side of a river and deposition on another tends to exaggerate curves. Geologists call that process river migration. River migration already broke through the dike of one sand mine slightly upstream.
During the January flood, water flushing through that mine likely contributed to the buildup of sand blocking the Northpark drainage ditch near Northpark Woods.
Note in the photo above that the Northpark Ditch is now blocked by sand higher than ditch itself. This blockage suddenly appeared during the Jan. ’24 flood. It is backing water up toward Northpark Woods and Oakhurst in the upper right. At least some of the sand was likely flushed out through the breach in the dike above.
Need Greater Setbacks from the River For Sand Mines
As I stated in the beginning, this dramatizes the need for greater setbacks from the river for sand mines. At one time, there was no minimum distance.
In November 2021, after years of work by Bill McCabe and the Lake Houston Flood Prevention Initiative, TCEQ adopted new Best Management Practices (BMPs) for sand mining in the San Jacinto River Basin.
The new rules specify “A minimum 100-foot buffer zone is required adjacent to perennial streams greater than 20 feet wide, 50 feet for perennial streams less than 20 feet wide, and 35 feet for intermittent streams.”
Clearly, that may not be enough. For a list of what other states specify, see the Sand Mining page of ReduceFlooding.com.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/27/2024
2363 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Excavation of Second Northpark Detention Basin Well Underway
Since last week’s post about the Northpark expansion project, contractors have made significant progress on the two stormwater detention basins at US59. Contractors are forming concrete retaining walls for both ponds. They have excavated the north pond down to the water table. And, in the south pond, contractors are mounding dirt in three locations for removal and temporary storage.
The ponds are designed to provide storage capacity for excess stormwater that might otherwise flood this crucial intersection. The intersection will provide the final link in the only all-weather evacuation route in Kingwood for 78,000 residents. During Hurricane Harvey, floodwaters blocked both Hamblen Road and Kingwood Drive.
Photos Taken on 2/16/24
I took the following photos at noon on Friday, 2/16/24..
South Pond
Contractors are temporarily storying the dirt at the Eagle sand mine on Sorters-McClellan Road. They will later retrieve it to fill in the road bed above the box culverts that are replacing the center ditch down Northpark.
North Pond
Contractors began working on the north pond first, so it is further along. However, excavation is not yet complete. They will do it in two stages. For now, they’ve excavated down to the water table. When pond liners arrive (any day now), contractors will begin the second phase and excavate even deeper.
The pipe you see lined up in the photo below will help carry excess stormwater in the ponds to Ditch One which parallels Northpark on the north. From there, it will follow gravity to Bens Branch and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch which will carry it to Lake Houston.
CenterPoint Almost Finished Burying New Gas Line
CenterPoint had one westbound lane blocked off at noon today where it was burying a new gas line outside of the City’s easement. Reportedly, the utility is close to finished with the relocation effort. It is replacing one line that used to go down the center ditch with two, one on each side of the expanded roadbed.
As Ralph De Leon, the project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 said, “It’s one thing for a company to say they’ll handle something. It’s another for them to show up with giant boring machines to make it happen.” De Leon was happy with the progress they were making.
Still No News from Entergy
Entergy had until the close of business today to respond to the City of Houston’s demand for a plan to relocate its electrical services along Northpark. Project coordinators asked Entergy to move its lines in 2020. But the company has not moved anything to date.
It’s not clear at press time, whether Entergy met the City’s deadline. More next week when I learn more from City Hall.
For More Information
For more information about the project including construction plans, visit the project pages of the LHRA/Tirz 10 website. Or see these posts on ReduceFlooding:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/16/2024
2362 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.
Bayou Land Conservancy Protects Another 966 Acres in Lake Creek Watershed
Bayou Land Conservancy (BLC) has announced a conservation easement on 966 acres of critical Lake Creek property in Montgomery County. The property is just northeast of Magnolia on Tranquility Ranch, which is owned by Nathan and Lindy Ingram. BLC started working with the Ingrams in 2015.
The conservation easement is across Lake Creek from the 7,000-acre Cook’s Branch preserve owned by the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation. The proximity of the two large properties will benefit wildlife by maintaining the “carrying capacity” of the land.
The 966 acres permanently preserved at Tranquility Ranch help meet BLC’s long-term conservation goals and contribute to the environmental health of the region.
The preserve will function as a wetland and stream mitigation bank, known as the West Montgomery Mitigation Bank. It has credits available to developers seeking to offset impacts in this rapidly growing area.
Featuring a mix of hardwood and pine forest, Tranquility Ranch consists of over 400 acres of existing wetland habitat, 20 acres of streams & ponds, and 13,000 linear feet (2.5 miles) of stream frontage on Lake Creek.
In addition to high quality existing habitat, over 90 acres of wetlands and 300 acres of flooded forests will be improved and restored on the land.
The 966-acre preserve is part of a larger 1200-acre property that hosts a special event venue called The Wyldes at Tranquility Ranch. It hosts retreats, weddings, and other events.
Benefits to People and Wildlife
Jill Boullion, Executive Director of Bayou Land Conservancy, said, “This conservation agreement makes a significant stride towards BLC’s conservation goals to preserve land in the Lake Houston watershed.”
“We’re grateful to landowner Nathan Ingram and his care and protection of this special place,” said Boullion.
Preservation of Tranquility Ranch will provide many community benefits. They include flood control, water-quality improvements for drinking water and recreation, and wildlife habitat. The preserve also is an important nesting, wintering, and migratory stop-over site for many bird species, including owls, raptors, and songbirds.
Importance of Lake Creek Preservation to Downstream Flood Protection
Leaving natural areas natural won’t reduce flooding per se. But it will keep flooding from getting worse.
It will also reduce flood damage by ensuring generous setbacks from areas that flood.
Wetlands are nature’s sponges. They retain runoff that might otherwise quickly add to flood peaks downstream. They also clean water.
Bayou City Waterkeeper ranks the wetlands along Lake Creek as one of the five most critical wetland areas in the Houston Region.
For those who may not know where Lake Creek is, it enters the San Jacinto West Fork just south of Conroe, about 9 miles south of the Lake Conroe Dam. See the big green area in the upper left.
From this map, we can see that rainfall from seven watersheds flows under the US59 bridge. Comparing peak flow data from them during the January 2024 flood, we can see that Lake Creek had the highest discharge rate. See below. USGS graphs are arranged in order from highest to lowest, except for the last, which reflects rain falling in all seven watersheds.
All of the streams above flow under the US59 bridge.
Note: the first six peaks do not total up to the last because streams peaked at different times.
Of course, these numbers partially reflect uneven rainfall distribution during the January event. And rainfall totals in the Lake Creek watershed were among the highest in the area.
The discharge rates above also reflect watershed size. According to Table 2 in the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan:
Looking solely at watershed size shows that even if the rainfall distribution had been uniform, Lake Creek would have contributed a major percentage of the overall flow.
And that – in a sentence – is why Lake Houston Area residents should care about conservation along Lake Creek, especially considering that the watershed is developing so quickly!
Conservation Easement Will Protect Land in Perpetuity
BLC conducted an extensive audit of natural resources including wetlands and wildlife on the Ingram property before the conservation agreement was put in place. No matter who the owner is, the easement will run with the land and protect the land in perpetuity. The audit will provide a baseline for future comparison.
Ingram reportedly had offers to buy the land from sand miners and developers but chose to conserve it instead. Said Boullion, “I commend him because obviously it’s not cheap to own and hold that much land in a natural state. So, he looked for a way to monetize his property while conserving the land and benefiting the community. He is one of the most conservation-minded people I know.”
The conservation easement held by BLC will let Ingram sell wetland-mitigation credits through the West Montgomery Mitigation Bank. He will sell them to developers who have no other choice but to disturb wetlands while developing the rest of their property.
For more about how the wetland credits work in Texas, see this page from Texas A&M.
The Army Corps controls and permits the process. But non-profit groups, such as the Bayou Land Conservancy, play a major role in it.
About Bayou Land Conservancy
BLC is one of the leading conservation groups in the Houston region. It preserves land along streams for flood control, clean water, and wildlife. BLC is a nationally accredited, community-sponsored land preservation organization working to permanently protect land, with a focus on the streams that feed Lake Houston, an important source of drinking water for millions of people.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/25/24
2361 Days since Hurricane Harvey