The persistent after-hours pumping of silty stormwater from the Trammell Crow construction site into the street drains has been reported to Harris County Engineering for several months now. Despite warnings, the practice continues. The danger: accumulated silt in drain pipes and the river can reduce their conveyance, back water up in heavy rains, and lead to flooding.
One small development won’t be catastrophic. But the cumulative impact of hundreds could be.
For all those reasons, construction permits come with instructions to use things that retain and filter silty water such as berms, sediment basins and semi-permeable fencing.
Repeat Offender
In January 2024, contractors began clearing Phase II of an apartment complex on West Lake Houston Parkway without any of these safeguards. Because the complex lies just outside the City limits, Harris County Engineering is responsible for inspections.
They have visited the site numerous times and cautioned contractors about discharges of silty stormwater. At different times, the contractors installed silt fences and erected berms. They also built sediment basins and channeled excess stormwater to them.
On April 10th, the area received approximately 2 inches of rain. And yesterday, April 11, the contractors were pumping water back into the street THROUGH A PILE OF MUD. After quitting time. When inspectors wouldn’t be around. Again!!!
Caught on Camera
Michelle Chavez, a nearby resident, caught the action on camera.
39 second video by Michelle Chavez showing extent and source of pumping
Chavez also took several still photos.
Silty stormwater being pumped through open gate washing out drivewayNote mud on right being washed into street.Pumping took place near sunset, around 8PM when County inspectors were unlikely to be present.They appeared to be pumping water from unfinished, underground storm drains, but pumped it through mud. Photo by BR taken around 7PM on 4/11/24.
At least one local resident concerned about flooding reported the pumping to Harris County Engineering. He was told that Engineering would send an inspector out.
Sending Wrong Message: Will Sixth Time be the Charm?
This is the sixth story I have posted about stormwater-control issues at this construction site. See the previous five.
One wonders when the county will level a stiff fine or shut down this site. At this point the Harris County Engineering Department also has its reputation on the line. Tolerating such behavior sends a message to other developers that may be unsafe in the long run.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/12/24
2418 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/434446698_733173785641283_9042163331193754798_n-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=119202560adminadmin2024-04-12 17:28:372024-04-12 17:28:38Trammell Crow Contractors Still Pumping Silty Stormwater into Street
The April 10th storm that swept through Houston during the early morning hours dumped amazing amounts of rainfall just east of here.
A report received today from Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner says that the April 10th storm dumped 12-17 inches of rain in a 12 hour period in a swatch across East Texas. The result: widespread, catastrophic flooding in parts of Newton, Jasper, Hardin, and Tyler Counties.
A peak total of 17.68 inches was recorded near Kirbyville, TX. Lindner characterized the totals as “insanely high.” In fact, NOAA’s Atlas 14 rainfall chart for Kirbyville lists a 12-hour/17-inch rainfall as a 1000-year event.
Late yesterday morning, Weather.com reported that a Disaster Declaration had been issued for Jasper County, Texas. Officials there said that multiple people were rescued from both homes and vehicles due to flooding in the area. “The city of Kirbyville remains underwater.”
April 10th Storm Rivaled Tax Day Storm
The squall line which started near the Rio Grande around 9:30 pm Monday evening traveled some 800 miles reaching the FL panhandle producing wind damage and tornadoes along much of the path.
According to Lindner, “This should serve as a reminder that when the flash flood ingredients are in place around here, it can rain, and rain a lot, in a very short period of time.”
Some 12-hour rainfall totals were near those of the April 2016 (Tax Day) Storm. It is worth noting that yesterday’s event took place at nearly the same time of year.
The flash flooding developed along a stalled low-level convergence boundary. An influx of tropical moisture and repeat cell training anchored on the boundary for much of the night fed the high totals.
“This was a classic meso-scale flash-flood event common along the Gulf coast,” said Lindner.
High resolution computer models suggested the heaviest rainfall would occur over central Louisiana. So this caught many forecasters off guard.
Tornadoes, Too
The April 10th storm also produced several tornados including one that briefly touched down south of the Katy Freeway inside of SH99.
EF-1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 90mph touched down around 2:45 am just west of Mason Rd south of Kingsland. It tracked generally eastward toward Fry Rd.
Damage along the east side of Mason Rd was consistent with low-end EF-1 rating. It included lifting and movement of vehicles in a parking lot, the complete failure and collapse of a Tire Shop, blow-out of windows, and failure of roofing on a nearby strip center.
The storm also lofted a commercial AC unit on the top of the strip center and dumped it in the parking lot.
Wind damage continued eastward along and south of Cimarron Pkwy toward Fry Rd.
The wind snapped and uprooted numerous trees through this area and blew down several fences. A corridor of damage continued eastward, but there was little evidence of a full fledged tornado at that point.
Winds estimates in the residential areas between Mason and Fry Rd were on the order of 65-75mph – an EF-0 rating.
Lindner says that these types of tornadoes are common along the leading edge of intense squall lines. Bows or “kinks” develop in the line, enhancing low-level rotation, which results in quick, short-lived, weak tornados.
The path lasted 1.7 miles and width ranged from 300 to 400 yards.
The maximum intensity reached EF-1 (90mph) on east side of Mason Road.
Maximum Winds
High winds were reported in numerous places through the Houston/Galveston area.
62 MPH at Hooks Airport in Tomball
55-59 MPH in Galveston, Pearland, Palacios and Fulshear
2.16 inches at West Lake Houston Parkway and the West Fork.
3.00 inches in Huffman
4.92 inches farther east along Luce Bayou at 321.
Notice the trend as you move farther east?
All things considered, the Lake Houston Area lucked out. We got enough rain to green up the grass, but not so much that people flooded.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/11/2024
2418 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240411-Atlas-14-Stats-for-Kirbyville-TX.jpg?fit=1100%2C931&ssl=19311100adminadmin2024-04-11 18:19:522024-04-11 18:19:54April 10th Storm Dumps 12-17 Inches in 12 Hours East of Houston
Google Earth shows a massive breach in the southernmost pond of the Hallett San Jacinto West Fork mine in a satellite image dated February 19, 2024.
Google Earth image from 2/19/2024. Breach circled in red.
Here’s how the same area looked today from a drone.
Hallett Breach. Looking WNW from over San Jacinto West Fork on 4/10/24.
And here’s how it looked from a boat just hours earlier.
River-level shot shows height of shoreline. But river level was up because of rain last night.
A Harris County Flood Control Gage at Highway 99, slightly upstream from this location, showed the river level was up approximately 9 feet when I took the drone photo above this afternoon.
That puts the river-level photo, taken by a resident who prefers to remain anonymous, in a whole new light. The amount of water that escaped from the pond went from near the top of the bank (which you can see) to approximately another 9 feet lower (which you can’t see in these photos).
Breach Open for More than Two Months
Photographing this area is difficult. It is impossible to reach by public roads. And it’s at the edge of my drone’s range.
However, I do have photos that show it happened sometime between January 28 and February 5, 2024.
One drone photo shows the dike intact on January 28. A second, on February 5, shows the breach.
Color of Pond Changes After Breach
The color of the pond is dramatically different in the two photos. Before the January 28 photo and the January floods, the pond was an ghostly off-white color. By February 5, it returned to a more natural brown color.
How Much Wastewater Entered the River?
Google Earth shows the pond measures approximately 182 acres. The difference between the vegetation line around the pond and today’s water level appears to be about 6 feet. But as we saw above, the river was up about 9 feet nearby. If you add another 9 feet to the 6-foot estimate, it’s conceivable that the pond level dropped as much as 15 feet after the breach when floodwaters receded.
But let’s say, to be conservative, that it only dropped 10 feet. That would mean that 1,820 acre feet of wastewater entered the San Jacinto West Fork and made its way downstream to the source of drinking water for two million people – Lake Houston. That equals 593 million gallons – more than half a billion!
If my estimates for the Hallett breach are correct, it exceeds the LMI breech by 10X.
Estimating Escaped Sediment More Difficult
I documented at least three other leaks from other Hallett ponds during the January flood. No telling how much sediment escaped from this pond and the others.
A side-scanning sonar survey shows that the West Fork is now only 1-2 feet deep near River Grove Park. The Army Corps dredged that area in December 2018 and Kayden Industries dredged it again in 2020.
And let’s not forget the new City of Houston dredging program. It will remove another 800,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment between Kings Point and FM1960.
To be fair, some of that sediment could have originated from river-bank erosion, other mines, upstream developments under construction, and even smaller tributaries.
Perhaps Hallett would like to chip in what they feel is their fair share for dredging. Then again, maybe they wouldn’t. Only time and the courts will tell.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/10/2024
2416 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240410-DJI_20240410154235_0005_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-04-10 22:35:542024-05-14 17:24:26Hallett Breach Sends Hundreds of Millions of Gallons of Wastewater Downstream
Trammell Crow Contractors Still Pumping Silty Stormwater into Street
The persistent after-hours pumping of silty stormwater from the Trammell Crow construction site into the street drains has been reported to Harris County Engineering for several months now. Despite warnings, the practice continues. The danger: accumulated silt in drain pipes and the river can reduce their conveyance, back water up in heavy rains, and lead to flooding.
One small development won’t be catastrophic. But the cumulative impact of hundreds could be.
For all those reasons, construction permits come with instructions to use things that retain and filter silty water such as berms, sediment basins and semi-permeable fencing.
Repeat Offender
In January 2024, contractors began clearing Phase II of an apartment complex on West Lake Houston Parkway without any of these safeguards. Because the complex lies just outside the City limits, Harris County Engineering is responsible for inspections.
They have visited the site numerous times and cautioned contractors about discharges of silty stormwater. At different times, the contractors installed silt fences and erected berms. They also built sediment basins and channeled excess stormwater to them.
On April 10th, the area received approximately 2 inches of rain. And yesterday, April 11, the contractors were pumping water back into the street THROUGH A PILE OF MUD. After quitting time. When inspectors wouldn’t be around. Again!!!
Caught on Camera
Michelle Chavez, a nearby resident, caught the action on camera.
Chavez also took several still photos.
At least one local resident concerned about flooding reported the pumping to Harris County Engineering. He was told that Engineering would send an inspector out.
Sending Wrong Message: Will Sixth Time be the Charm?
This is the sixth story I have posted about stormwater-control issues at this construction site. See the previous five.
One wonders when the county will level a stiff fine or shut down this site. At this point the Harris County Engineering Department also has its reputation on the line. Tolerating such behavior sends a message to other developers that may be unsafe in the long run.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/12/24
2418 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.
April 10th Storm Dumps 12-17 Inches in 12 Hours East of Houston
The April 10th storm that swept through Houston during the early morning hours dumped amazing amounts of rainfall just east of here.
A report received today from Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner says that the April 10th storm dumped 12-17 inches of rain in a 12 hour period in a swatch across East Texas. The result: widespread, catastrophic flooding in parts of Newton, Jasper, Hardin, and Tyler Counties.
A peak total of 17.68 inches was recorded near Kirbyville, TX. Lindner characterized the totals as “insanely high.” In fact, NOAA’s Atlas 14 rainfall chart for Kirbyville lists a 12-hour/17-inch rainfall as a 1000-year event.
Late yesterday morning, Weather.com reported that a Disaster Declaration had been issued for Jasper County, Texas. Officials there said that multiple people were rescued from both homes and vehicles due to flooding in the area. “The city of Kirbyville remains underwater.”
April 10th Storm Rivaled Tax Day Storm
The squall line which started near the Rio Grande around 9:30 pm Monday evening traveled some 800 miles reaching the FL panhandle producing wind damage and tornadoes along much of the path.
According to Lindner, “This should serve as a reminder that when the flash flood ingredients are in place around here, it can rain, and rain a lot, in a very short period of time.”
Some 12-hour rainfall totals were near those of the April 2016 (Tax Day) Storm. It is worth noting that yesterday’s event took place at nearly the same time of year.
The flash flooding developed along a stalled low-level convergence boundary. An influx of tropical moisture and repeat cell training anchored on the boundary for much of the night fed the high totals.
“This was a classic meso-scale flash-flood event common along the Gulf coast,” said Lindner.
High resolution computer models suggested the heaviest rainfall would occur over central Louisiana. So this caught many forecasters off guard.
Tornadoes, Too
The April 10th storm also produced several tornados including one that briefly touched down south of the Katy Freeway inside of SH99.
EF-1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 90mph touched down around 2:45 am just west of Mason Rd south of Kingsland. It tracked generally eastward toward Fry Rd.
Damage along the east side of Mason Rd was consistent with low-end EF-1 rating. It included lifting and movement of vehicles in a parking lot, the complete failure and collapse of a Tire Shop, blow-out of windows, and failure of roofing on a nearby strip center.
The storm also lofted a commercial AC unit on the top of the strip center and dumped it in the parking lot.
Wind damage continued eastward along and south of Cimarron Pkwy toward Fry Rd.
The wind snapped and uprooted numerous trees through this area and blew down several fences. A corridor of damage continued eastward, but there was little evidence of a full fledged tornado at that point.
Winds estimates in the residential areas between Mason and Fry Rd were on the order of 65-75mph – an EF-0 rating.
Lindner says that these types of tornadoes are common along the leading edge of intense squall lines. Bows or “kinks” develop in the line, enhancing low-level rotation, which results in quick, short-lived, weak tornados.
The path lasted 1.7 miles and width ranged from 300 to 400 yards.
The maximum intensity reached EF-1 (90mph) on east side of Mason Road.
Maximum Winds
High winds were reported in numerous places through the Houston/Galveston area.
Lake Houston Area
The Harris County Flood Warning System recorded:
Notice the trend as you move farther east?
All things considered, the Lake Houston Area lucked out. We got enough rain to green up the grass, but not so much that people flooded.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/11/2024
2418 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Hallett Breach Sends Hundreds of Millions of Gallons of Wastewater Downstream
Correction: This sand pit in this post was sold by Hallett to Riverwalk Porter LLC on January 23, 2024.
Google Earth shows a massive breach in the southernmost pond of the Hallett San Jacinto West Fork mine in a satellite image dated February 19, 2024.
Here’s how the same area looked today from a drone.
And here’s how it looked from a boat just hours earlier.
A Harris County Flood Control Gage at Highway 99, slightly upstream from this location, showed the river level was up approximately 9 feet when I took the drone photo above this afternoon.
That puts the river-level photo, taken by a resident who prefers to remain anonymous, in a whole new light. The amount of water that escaped from the pond went from near the top of the bank (which you can see) to approximately another 9 feet lower (which you can’t see in these photos).
Breach Open for More than Two Months
Photographing this area is difficult. It is impossible to reach by public roads. And it’s at the edge of my drone’s range.
However, I do have photos that show it happened sometime between January 28 and February 5, 2024.
One drone photo shows the dike intact on January 28. A second, on February 5, shows the breach.
Color of Pond Changes After Breach
The color of the pond is dramatically different in the two photos. Before the January 28 photo and the January floods, the pond was an ghostly off-white color. By February 5, it returned to a more natural brown color.
How Much Wastewater Entered the River?
Google Earth shows the pond measures approximately 182 acres. The difference between the vegetation line around the pond and today’s water level appears to be about 6 feet. But as we saw above, the river was up about 9 feet nearby. If you add another 9 feet to the 6-foot estimate, it’s conceivable that the pond level dropped as much as 15 feet after the breach when floodwaters receded.
But let’s say, to be conservative, that it only dropped 10 feet. That would mean that 1,820 acre feet of wastewater entered the San Jacinto West Fork and made its way downstream to the source of drinking water for two million people – Lake Houston. That equals 593 million gallons – more than half a billion!
Back in 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality cited the LMI Moorhead mine (upstream from Hallett) for the unauthorized discharge of 56 million gallons of white goop into the San Jacinto West Fork. It literally turned the West Fork white.
If my estimates for the Hallett breach are correct, it exceeds the LMI breech by 10X.
Estimating Escaped Sediment More Difficult
I documented at least three other leaks from other Hallett ponds during the January flood. No telling how much sediment escaped from this pond and the others.
I also documented huge amounts of sand suddenly appearing downstream.
A side-scanning sonar survey shows that the West Fork is now only 1-2 feet deep near River Grove Park. The Army Corps dredged that area in December 2018 and Kayden Industries dredged it again in 2020.
And let’s not forget the new City of Houston dredging program. It will remove another 800,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment between Kings Point and FM1960.
To be fair, some of that sediment could have originated from river-bank erosion, other mines, upstream developments under construction, and even smaller tributaries.
Perhaps Hallett would like to chip in what they feel is their fair share for dredging. Then again, maybe they wouldn’t. Only time and the courts will tell.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/10/2024
2416 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.