3/28/26 – At the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) Board Meeting on 3/26/26, HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen updated the board on a number of Lake Houston Area projects including the Kingwood Diversion Ditch. She confirmed it is fully funded – through construction.
However, design of the Diversion Ditch Project has not yet started. It should begin in April and finish by the end of 2027.
A year ago, the preliminary engineering study estimated the cost of the project at $40.7 million. Current estimates put the cost at $43 million, according to Petersen.
Looking N at the Kingwoodwood Diversion Ditch from over the Walnut Lane Bridge
Relationship to Bens Branch Flooding
The Diversion Ditch splits off of Bens Branch near St. Martha Catholic Church north of Northpark Drive.
Stormwater flow to Bens Branch will be restricted by pipes. That will force more stormwater into the expanded Diversion Ditch. In the process, that would take enough stormwater out of Bens Branch to improve it from a 2-year level of service to a 100-year level.
Red Diagonal = Bens Branch. White = Kingwood Diversion Ditch. Green = new outfall to river.
Diverting water from Bens Branch is important because Bens Branch runs through Kingwood Town Center where 12 people died from Harvey flooding.
Crenshaw Connection
Ironically, funding obtained by US Congressman Dan Crenshaw back in 2024 to widen the bridge shown above at Walnut Lane saved this project from the chopping block – even though it was ranked the most important project in Kingwood by the Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis.
At the time, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE warned that killing projects in Quartiles 2, 3 and 4 could have dire unintended consequences. The Diversion Ditch project fell into Quartile 3.
After the Democrats saw how much partnership funding they would lose by killing projects in the lower quartiles, they relented. In their next meeting, they voted to exempt projects in the lower quartiles that already had partnership funds committed.
That breathed new life into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch project because it included widening of the Walnut Lane Bridge which Crenshaw had already secured funding for.
HCFCD spokesperson Emily Woodell confirmed the Diversion Ditch funding today. “It was categorized as a partnership project during the bond update presented to commissioners court in August [2025] which means it is fully funded through construction.”
For Updates on Other San Jacinto Watershed Projects
It covers a lot of territory including the history of HCFCD, status of the bond program, partnership funding, maintenance programs, gauges, the flood-warning system, and more.
Other capital improvement projects in the Lake Houston Area that she discusses include:
Woodridge Village/Taylor Gully – Construction starting in April.
Jackson Bayou Detention Basin – Construction starting Q3/2026.
Barrett Station Drainage Improvements – Currently in Design Stage.
Lake Houston/East Fork/West Fork Dredging – Completed.
Lake Houston Gates – Engineering should finish by end of this year.
3/27/26 – On 3/26/26, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) board heard the results of a feasibility study about creating “dry-bottom dams” on Birch and Walnut Creeks. The creeks are far upstream in the Spring Creek watershed in Waller County and were being studied for potential flood-mitigation benefits.
The board made no decision in the meeting on whether to pursue recommendations from the study. However, they did agree to discuss several issues with study partners. Other sponsors included the City of Humble, Harris County Flood Control District and five municipal utility districts in Harris and Montgomery Counties.
Chief among the concerns discussed:
Whether funding is available given low Benefit-Cost Ratios (BCR)
Whether land is still available to build the projects
Finding a party that could take “ownership” the projects.
But before the presentation even started, Kaaren Cambio, a former director, laid down a fiery challenge to the board. Let’s look at the study first. It will provide a context for Cambio.
Benefit/Cost Ratio Concerns
Matt Barrett, PE, SJRA’s Water Resources and Flood Management Division Director, gave a presentation that summarized the results of the 661-page feasibility study.
The feasibility study came out of the larger San Jacinto Master Drainage Plan study which identified 16 projects costing more than $3 billion in a 3000 square mile area upstream from Lake Houston.
Birch Creek had an estimated BCR of .55 to .83. That means costs exceeded benefits by almost as much as 2 to 1.
Walnut Creek had an estimated BCR of .77 to 1.04. In the best case scenario, benefits barely exceeded costs.
See estimated BCRs in blue boxes. Date of BCR calculations is not listed, but they came from 2020 Master Drainage Plan, not Feasibility Study, according to Barrett.
Design and Operation
Barrett identified the construction as something akin to detention basins. The dams would feature a long barrier that trapped water with a small opening that let water out at a slow rate.
He next described how such construction would work in four different scenarios.
On a sunny day with no rain, water in the creeks would simply pass through them unobstructed.In a small storm, not likely to cause flooding, water would still pass through the opening unobstructed.But in a moderate storm that could cause minor flooding, water would pool behind the dam faster than it could go through.In a major storm, water would also pass over the spillway at the top of the dam.
Barrett then talked about the exact locations of the dams, their widths, and land-use conflicts. The latter include a solar farm and new developments in the project footprints.
Benefits of Project(s)
Next, Barrett addressed the flood reduction benefits of the two dams in 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year storms.
He discussed the benefits of both dams together and individually. Below are the combined benefits of both dams.
They produce benefits measured in feet upstream and inches downstream.
Upstream, near the dams, the benefits exceed 3 to 4 feet. But downstream, near the confluence with the West Fork at the US59 bridge, benefits would only be 3 to 4 inches. That’s because the dams have a large effect on the small watersheds they directly control. But they exert no influence over the rest of the San Jacinto River Basin draining to that point.
Location of Structures Benefitted
The study found that more structures in Montgomery County Precinct 3 would benefit than anywhere else – by a factor of almost 4X compared to other jurisdictions.
Social Benefits Needed to Justify Funding
Near the end, Barrett showed what happens to the BCRs if you include “social benefits,” such as time lost from work during and after a flood. When you factor those in, the benefits exceed costs. However, Barrett also pointed out that as of 2025, the federal government no longer allows social benefits in BCR calculations.
In my opinion, this makes federal support unlikely in the current environment. And the state is unlikely to be able to make up the difference. The cost of the dams comprises a huge percentage of the balance in the Texas Flood Infrastructure Fund.
Significantly, while Barrett addressed the BCR, he did not call out total current costs. He did mention 2020 costs of $200 million in his narration. But total current estimates from the study put the cost at $298 million. And even $298 million assumes property can be acquired at market rates.
Conclusions
Barrett’s concluding slide focused on the challenges ahead based on the findings of his feasibility study. He implies the projects are still worthwhile if you consider social benefits. However, he acknowledges several additional hurdles ahead. And they are high hurdles.
For instance:
Who will take ownership of this project when the dams are in Waller County? (Editorial comment: the largest beneficiary is Montgomery County Precinct 3)
Where will the money come from when social benefits no longer apply?
For a high-resolution PDF of Barrett’s complete slide deck, click here.
Cambio Comments
You may also want to watch Kaaren Cambio during the public comment period before Barrett took the floor. Cambio starts at 11:10 into the video. She is a former SJRA director appointed by Governor Abbott.
Cambio began by reminding the board that after Harvey, the governor charged the SJRA with developing short, medium, and long range plans to ensure another Harvey would never produce so much damage again.
Time it has taken the SJRA flood management division to produce studies
Management of the studies
Absence of any benefits produced to date in any of the SJRA studies since Harvey
Pursuit of the Spring Creek study even after it became clear the land was not available
Cost per structure pulled out of the floodplain in the Spring Creek study – more than $800,000 each
SJRA’s inability to examine less expensive options, such as buyouts or elevation of those structures
Cambio closed her remarks by urging the board to “Please go back and look at the goals that this division had and make sure you’re meeting those goals. And redirect your efforts, so that we are seeing manageable solutions.”
An outspoken leader, Cambio raised some great points.
You could sense the urgency in her voice as she pled with the board to implement solutions, not just studies.
Plea for Involvement
More people from downstream areas need to testify at SJRA board meetings. We should never let the SJRA board – now heavily dominated by Lake Conroe residents – forget the destruction of lives and property caused by the massive release from Lake Conroe during Hurricane Harvey.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/27/26
3132 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/2026/03/5.3_Spring-Creek-Rev2_Page_10.jpg?fit=2000%2C1125&ssl=111252000adminadmin2026-03-27 19:00:522026-03-29 09:07:18SJRA Board Takes No Action on Birch, Walnut Creek Dams Feasibility Study
3/26/26 – A $29,387,654 bid from Bryce Construction & Design, LLC has been approved by the county purchasing agent to construct the Woodridge and Taylor Gully flood mitigation projects in Kingwood. See Item 45 on the agenda. Here is their bid transmitted to Commissioners Court. It was the low bid.
To streamline approval of US Housing and Urban Development Department Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), several months ago Commissioners Court approved a proposal to let the County Purchasing Agent approve CDBG projects. They all have tight deadlines.
The contractor will mobilize within two weeks according to Emily Woodell, a Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) spokesperson. We should see dirt flying this Spring.
History of Project
Up to 600 families in Kingwood flooded twice in 2019 when Perry Homes’ contractors cleared approximately 268 acres for Woodridge Village just north of the Harris County line. Then they sloped the land toward Taylor Gully. Many of the families had just recovered from the first flood on May 7th when they flooded again in September before the stormwater detention basins had been built.
Subsequently, in 2020, Harris County and the City of Houston purchased the land so that it couldn’t be developed and flood Kingwood again. Before the purchase, Perry Homes built five stormwater detention basins on the Woodridge property. However, Montgomery County regulations at the time required much less detention capacity that Harris County – about 40% less.
That was because Harris County had already adopted Atlas 14 and because Montgomery County averaged rainfall estimates across the entire county, even though annual rainfall increases as you move south toward the county line.
Elements of Solution
So, Harris County Flood Control set out to study what it would take to properly reduce flood risk using Atlas 14 data near the county line. The studies recommended:
More upstream detention
Increasing conveyance of Taylor Gully
Replacing a culvert bridge at Rustic Elms with a clear-span bridge
Project overview from construction plans
The project limits of the proposed Taylor Gully Channel Improvements stretch from the Montgomery County boundary on the west to approximately 700 feet upstream of the confluence with White Oak Creek – a length of approximately 12,630 linear feet.
This portion of the project includes replacing the bridge at Rustling Elms.
At Rustling Elms, HCFCD will replace a culvert bridge with a clear-span bridge to remove a bottleneck.
HCFCD also plans to finish one more large stormwater detention basin upstream from Taylor Gully in Montgomery County.
HCFCD started work on the pond in January 2022 under an Excavation and Removal contract with Sprint Sand & Clay. The contract to remove up to 500,000 cubic yards of soil would have more than doubled the previous detention capacity on the site and more than made up for the 40% Atlas 14 shortfall.
However, HCFCD paused the Sprint contract when it applied for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant. That’s because HUD rules stipulate that a project cannot change during the grant application period.
HCFCD later terminated the contract in November 2023 when it became clear the project would qualify for the grant. At that point, Sprint had already removed 160,000 cubic yards, an amount equivalent to approximately 100 acre feet. So if the figures in the construction drawing are accurate, the capacity of the basin will quadruple compared to what you see below.
Woodridge Village on May 31, 2025. The final basin will extend down past the trees near the end of the entry road.
Expected Impact
Contractually, work must finish within 552 days from the notice to proceed – approximately 18 months. That would make a great 2027 Christmas present for a lot of Kingwood families.
Under HUD’s Community Development Block Grant for Mitigation, all work must finish and billing must be completed by March 31, 2028. That should be doable.
The project will give Taylor Gully a 100-year level of service.
HCFCD
That means it should only come out of its banks in a hundred-year storm.
The improvements would reduce water-surface elevation (WSE) along Taylor Gully up to 6.9 feet in places and 4 to 5 feet on average for a 100-year storm event.
Also, this project will remove approximately 276 structures from a 100-year flood plain. Without the project, area residents would continue to flood in lesser storms.
Taylor Gully bridge at Rustling Elms during May 7, 2019, storm.
That means we should NOT see many more scenes like the one above until Noah’s comeback tour.
Thanks to Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE, for continuing to push this project when things seemed bleak.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/26/26
3131 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Overview.jpg?fit=2550%2C1650&ssl=116502550adminadmin2026-03-26 16:35:252026-03-27 08:08:45$29 Million Construction Contract for Woodridge, Taylor Gully Project Approved
HCFCD Confirms Kingwood Diversion Ditch Project Fully Funded Through Construction
3/28/26 – At the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) Board Meeting on 3/26/26, HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen updated the board on a number of Lake Houston Area projects including the Kingwood Diversion Ditch. She confirmed it is fully funded – through construction.
However, design of the Diversion Ditch Project has not yet started. It should begin in April and finish by the end of 2027.
A year ago, the preliminary engineering study estimated the cost of the project at $40.7 million. Current estimates put the cost at $43 million, according to Petersen.
Features Included in PER Recommendation
The preliminary engineering report published last year recommended:
The bridges at Northpark Drive will also be rebuilt, but as part of the Northpark Expansion Project.
Relationship to Bens Branch Flooding
The Diversion Ditch splits off of Bens Branch near St. Martha Catholic Church north of Northpark Drive.
Stormwater flow to Bens Branch will be restricted by pipes. That will force more stormwater into the expanded Diversion Ditch. In the process, that would take enough stormwater out of Bens Branch to improve it from a 2-year level of service to a 100-year level.
Diverting water from Bens Branch is important because Bens Branch runs through Kingwood Town Center where 12 people died from Harvey flooding.
Crenshaw Connection
Ironically, funding obtained by US Congressman Dan Crenshaw back in 2024 to widen the bridge shown above at Walnut Lane saved this project from the chopping block – even though it was ranked the most important project in Kingwood by the Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis.
Crenshaw requested funding for the Walnut Lane Bridge in 2023. Congress awarded it in 2024. Then in 2025, the Democratic members of Harris County Commissioners Court passed a motion to reallocate all funding from projects that fell below the top quartile of their equity prioritization framework to projects in the top quartile. That was because inflation had eaten up 25-30% of the purchasing power in the 2018 Flood Bond.
Ramsey to the Rescue
At the time, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE warned that killing projects in Quartiles 2, 3 and 4 could have dire unintended consequences. The Diversion Ditch project fell into Quartile 3.
After the Democrats saw how much partnership funding they would lose by killing projects in the lower quartiles, they relented. In their next meeting, they voted to exempt projects in the lower quartiles that already had partnership funds committed.
That breathed new life into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch project because it included widening of the Walnut Lane Bridge which Crenshaw had already secured funding for.
HCFCD spokesperson Emily Woodell confirmed the Diversion Ditch funding today. “It was categorized as a partnership project during the bond update presented to commissioners court in August [2025] which means it is fully funded through construction.”
For Updates on Other San Jacinto Watershed Projects
See the video of the SJRA Meeting on 3/26/26 starting at about 1:05:18 into the meeting. Dr. Petersen’s presentation runs roughly 25 minutes to 1:30:00.
It covers a lot of territory including the history of HCFCD, status of the bond program, partnership funding, maintenance programs, gauges, the flood-warning system, and more.
Other capital improvement projects in the Lake Houston Area that she discusses include:
See Dr. Petersen’s entire presentation for more details.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/28/26
3133 Days since Hurricane Harvey
SJRA Board Takes No Action on Birch, Walnut Creek Dams Feasibility Study
3/27/26 – On 3/26/26, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) board heard the results of a feasibility study about creating “dry-bottom dams” on Birch and Walnut Creeks. The creeks are far upstream in the Spring Creek watershed in Waller County and were being studied for potential flood-mitigation benefits.
The board made no decision in the meeting on whether to pursue recommendations from the study. However, they did agree to discuss several issues with study partners. Other sponsors included the City of Humble, Harris County Flood Control District and five municipal utility districts in Harris and Montgomery Counties.
Chief among the concerns discussed:
But before the presentation even started, Kaaren Cambio, a former director, laid down a fiery challenge to the board. Let’s look at the study first. It will provide a context for Cambio.
Benefit/Cost Ratio Concerns
Matt Barrett, PE, SJRA’s Water Resources and Flood Management Division Director, gave a presentation that summarized the results of the 661-page feasibility study.
The feasibility study came out of the larger San Jacinto Master Drainage Plan study which identified 16 projects costing more than $3 billion in a 3000 square mile area upstream from Lake Houston.
Design and Operation
Barrett identified the construction as something akin to detention basins. The dams would feature a long barrier that trapped water with a small opening that let water out at a slow rate.
He next described how such construction would work in four different scenarios.
Barrett then talked about the exact locations of the dams, their widths, and land-use conflicts. The latter include a solar farm and new developments in the project footprints.
Benefits of Project(s)
Next, Barrett addressed the flood reduction benefits of the two dams in 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year storms.
He discussed the benefits of both dams together and individually. Below are the combined benefits of both dams.
Upstream, near the dams, the benefits exceed 3 to 4 feet. But downstream, near the confluence with the West Fork at the US59 bridge, benefits would only be 3 to 4 inches. That’s because the dams have a large effect on the small watersheds they directly control. But they exert no influence over the rest of the San Jacinto River Basin draining to that point.
Location of Structures Benefitted
The study found that more structures in Montgomery County Precinct 3 would benefit than anywhere else – by a factor of almost 4X compared to other jurisdictions.
Social Benefits Needed to Justify Funding
Near the end, Barrett showed what happens to the BCRs if you include “social benefits,” such as time lost from work during and after a flood. When you factor those in, the benefits exceed costs. However, Barrett also pointed out that as of 2025, the federal government no longer allows social benefits in BCR calculations.
In my opinion, this makes federal support unlikely in the current environment. And the state is unlikely to be able to make up the difference. The cost of the dams comprises a huge percentage of the balance in the Texas Flood Infrastructure Fund.
Significantly, while Barrett addressed the BCR, he did not call out total current costs. He did mention 2020 costs of $200 million in his narration. But total current estimates from the study put the cost at $298 million. And even $298 million assumes property can be acquired at market rates.
Conclusions
Barrett’s concluding slide focused on the challenges ahead based on the findings of his feasibility study. He implies the projects are still worthwhile if you consider social benefits. However, he acknowledges several additional hurdles ahead. And they are high hurdles.
For instance:
For More Information
See Barrett’s full 38-minute presentation (including the Q&A that followed) on the SJRA website. The video starts at 27:50 and runs to 1:05:18.
For a high-resolution PDF of Barrett’s complete slide deck, click here.
Cambio Comments
You may also want to watch Kaaren Cambio during the public comment period before Barrett took the floor. Cambio starts at 11:10 into the video. She is a former SJRA director appointed by Governor Abbott.
Cambio began by reminding the board that after Harvey, the governor charged the SJRA with developing short, medium, and long range plans to ensure another Harvey would never produce so much damage again.
She reminded them of the successful lake lowering plan and said “you have abandoned a proven solution with no substantive plan” because of a “lawsuit by a non-representative organization.” She lamented the:
Cambio closed her remarks by urging the board to “Please go back and look at the goals that this division had and make sure you’re meeting those goals. And redirect your efforts, so that we are seeing manageable solutions.”
An outspoken leader, Cambio raised some great points.
Plea for Involvement
More people from downstream areas need to testify at SJRA board meetings. We should never let the SJRA board – now heavily dominated by Lake Conroe residents – forget the destruction of lives and property caused by the massive release from Lake Conroe during Hurricane Harvey.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/27/26
3132 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.
$29 Million Construction Contract for Woodridge, Taylor Gully Project Approved
3/26/26 – A $29,387,654 bid from Bryce Construction & Design, LLC has been approved by the county purchasing agent to construct the Woodridge and Taylor Gully flood mitigation projects in Kingwood. See Item 45 on the agenda. Here is their bid transmitted to Commissioners Court. It was the low bid.
To streamline approval of US Housing and Urban Development Department Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), several months ago Commissioners Court approved a proposal to let the County Purchasing Agent approve CDBG projects. They all have tight deadlines.
The contractor will mobilize within two weeks according to Emily Woodell, a Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) spokesperson. We should see dirt flying this Spring.
History of Project
Up to 600 families in Kingwood flooded twice in 2019 when Perry Homes’ contractors cleared approximately 268 acres for Woodridge Village just north of the Harris County line. Then they sloped the land toward Taylor Gully. Many of the families had just recovered from the first flood on May 7th when they flooded again in September before the stormwater detention basins had been built.
Subsequently, in 2020, Harris County and the City of Houston purchased the land so that it couldn’t be developed and flood Kingwood again. Before the purchase, Perry Homes built five stormwater detention basins on the Woodridge property. However, Montgomery County regulations at the time required much less detention capacity that Harris County – about 40% less.
That was because Harris County had already adopted Atlas 14 and because Montgomery County averaged rainfall estimates across the entire county, even though annual rainfall increases as you move south toward the county line.
Elements of Solution
So, Harris County Flood Control set out to study what it would take to properly reduce flood risk using Atlas 14 data near the county line. The studies recommended:
The project limits of the proposed Taylor Gully Channel Improvements stretch from the Montgomery County boundary on the west to approximately 700 feet upstream of the confluence with White Oak Creek – a length of approximately 12,630 linear feet.
This portion of the project includes replacing the bridge at Rustling Elms.
HCFCD also plans to finish one more large stormwater detention basin upstream from Taylor Gully in Montgomery County.
HCFCD started work on the pond in January 2022 under an Excavation and Removal contract with Sprint Sand & Clay. The contract to remove up to 500,000 cubic yards of soil would have more than doubled the previous detention capacity on the site and more than made up for the 40% Atlas 14 shortfall.
However, HCFCD paused the Sprint contract when it applied for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant. That’s because HUD rules stipulate that a project cannot change during the grant application period.
HCFCD later terminated the contract in November 2023 when it became clear the project would qualify for the grant. At that point, Sprint had already removed 160,000 cubic yards, an amount equivalent to approximately 100 acre feet. So if the figures in the construction drawing are accurate, the capacity of the basin will quadruple compared to what you see below.
Expected Impact
Contractually, work must finish within 552 days from the notice to proceed – approximately 18 months. That would make a great 2027 Christmas present for a lot of Kingwood families.
Under HUD’s Community Development Block Grant for Mitigation, all work must finish and billing must be completed by March 31, 2028. That should be doable.
That means it should only come out of its banks in a hundred-year storm.
The improvements would reduce water-surface elevation (WSE) along Taylor Gully up to 6.9 feet in places and 4 to 5 feet on average for a 100-year storm event.
Also, this project will remove approximately 276 structures from a 100-year flood plain. Without the project, area residents would continue to flood in lesser storms.
That means we should NOT see many more scenes like the one above until Noah’s comeback tour.
Thanks to Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE, for continuing to push this project when things seemed bleak.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/26/26
3131 Days since Hurricane Harvey