The long-awaited Lauder Basin Phase II on Greens Bayou is now under construction. In May of last year, the Texas Water Development Board announced a $2.2 million grant to expand the basin.
HCFCD is expanding the basin into the old Castlewood Subdivision east of Aldine Westfield Road.
A visit to the job site earlier this week showed that construction is now well underway. See the photos below.
Looking NW.Phase II of the Lauder Basin under construction. Greens Bayou is in upper right. Small creek in foreground is a tributary.
Looking West. Greens Bayou flows toward camera position from upper right to lower right.Still looking west, but from closer position reveals that HCFCD is excavating area closest to Greens first.Looking West from farther away reveals proximity of Phase II with two ponds built during Phase I.See diagram below.
Eventually, Phase 2 should have several compartments with water-quality plantings to help filter out pollutants, and a small stream connecting the ponds. This presentation is a bit dated, but shows HCFCD’s plans for the basin as they existed in 2020.
Artists rendering of Phases I and II of Lauder Basin.Plans for Phase II have reportedly changed slightly.
Project Scope
Together, Phases I and II should provide more than 1,200 acre-feet of stormwater storage. HCFCD designed them to fill up during storms to help reduce the risk of Greens from flooding local homes, businesses and schools. After a flood, the basins release excess water slowly when the channel can safely accept it.
Phase II (651 acre feet) will actually provide more stormwater storage than Phase I (588 acre feet).
HCFCD estimates total Phase II construction costs at $32 million and predicts construction could take 2.5 years.
Spending Comparison with Other Watersheds
Greens Bayou has received more than a quarter billion dollars of projects such as these since 2000. That’s more than any other watershed in Harris County with the exception of Brays Bayou – where Commissioner Rodney Ellis lives.
Data obtained from HCFCD by FOIA request. Includes all spending from 1/1/2000 through end of Q1 2023.
Greens Bayou is one of the few watersheds where HCFCD spending did not plummet last quarter. Even as spending decreased in 15 watersheds, it rose in Greens Bayou by almost $4.8 million. To put that in perspective, it increased 11 times more than the watershed with the second largest increase, White Oak, at $431,126.
Here are the actual numbers.
Data obtained from HCFCD via FOIA requests.
No doubt, the activity you see in the photos above had a lot to do with Greens’ ranking. So, does construction on Garners Bayou, a tributary of Greens farther downstream.
Stay tuned for more news as construction progresses.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/12/23
2082 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/20230507-DJI_0719.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2023-05-12 15:59:292023-05-12 16:02:39Lauder Basin Phase II on Greens Bayou Under Construction
Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin has announced that Houston City Council unanimously accepted an additional $29,000,000 in state grant funds to continue dredging around the canals and channels of Lake Houston. The money will also help start a pilot program to trap sediment upstream before it reaches the lake, thereby hopefully reducing dredging costs in the long run.
East Side of Lake
The additional funding will allow dredging activities to start on the east side of Lake Houston in the various canals/channels. Martin emphasized, however, that they have some touch up work to do on Rogers Gully on the west side of the lake before they move to the east side.
Once on the east side, dredging will start near FM1960 and work its way south. The City has not yet established a firm timeline.
DRC will handle the dredging. That is the same company that has handled the dredging since the Corps finished its Emergency West Fork Dredging program several years ago.
DRC will reportedly use mechanical, not hydraulic dredging. That means, they’ll be working with long-armed excavators and scooping dirt onto pontoons. See second picture below.
If successful, this could reduce long-term dredging costs. The pilot program will rely on sand miners to excavate sand from point bars outside their mines. But there are few, if any, mines upstream on Cypress and Spring Creeks, where the miners claim most of the sediment is coming from. So that could limit the replicability of the test, even if successful on the West Fork.
More than 4 Million Cubic Yards Dredged to Date
“Tremendous progress has been made since Hurricane Harvey through the completion of FEMA, Texas Water Development Board, Harris County, and City of Houston projects,” said Martin. “Since 2018, the total combined efforts of these entities have resulted in approximately 4,004,008 cubic yards of silt and sediment dredged from Lake Houston and its tributaries at a total cost of $222 million.” That money has come from federal, state, and local funding sources.
Example of canal dredging. Rogers Gully mouth bar in Atascocita before it was removed. This picture shows mechanical dredgers at work. This blockage was eventually removed, but some touch up work elsewhere reportedly remains.
Blockages like those above can back water up during storms, and flood homes and businesses.
Kudos
Martin passed out kudos to those who supported the $29 million appropriation. Martin thanked former State Representative Dan Huberty and Senator Brandon Creighton for their commitment to seeing this project through and their dedication to the long-term maintenance dredging on Lake Houston.
“Harris County Commissioner Precinct 3, Tom Ramsey, and Harris County Flood Control District have also been terrific partners,” said Martin. “I also want to thank my colleagues on City Council, Mayor Sylvester Turner for his unwavering support for Lake Houston, and Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello for his continued diligence on flood mitigation efforts.”
Status of Dredging District Legislation
State Representative Charles Cunningham introduced HB 5341 this year. The bill would have created a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District to handle sediment issues like these in perpetuity. The bill received a public hearing on 4/11/23, but unfortunately, it has stalled in the Natural Resources Committee since then. So has HB 1093, a bill which would have assured cleanup of abandoned sand mines.
With time running out in this session, we will likely need to recycle those bills for the next session.
More news to follow when the dredging starts.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/11/2023 based on information from the Houston District E officeand Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin
2081 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/20220520-DJI_0451.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2023-05-11 07:50:472023-05-11 08:22:27Houston City Council Approves $29 Million More For Dredging, Sand Trap Tests
According to Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner, we can expect more heavy rainfall today. Showers and thunderstorms have developed this morning with a line of thunderstorms extending from near Columbus to near Bay City. Showers and thunderstorms are also developing ahead of this line.
Lindner also adds that the storms’ forward motion is fast enough to help limit any one area from experiencing an excessive amount of rainfall.
More concentrated showers and thunderstorms will likely move into Houston metro area between 6 and 8 a.m. This may result in some street flooding under the heaviest storms. Activity will linger into the midday hours.
Primary Heavy Rainfall Threat During Morning Hours
As the low pressure system over central Texas begins to lift northward today, drier air will move in from the west and rainfall will become increasingly isolated during the afternoon hours.
Additional rainfall this morning of 1-2 inches will be common with isolated totals of 3-5 inches under any areas of cell training.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist
Main threat remains street flooding through the morning hours. While rises on area creeks and bayous will be likely with heavy rainfall this morning, the chances for significant and widespread flooding are low.
Beyond Today
The unsettled weather pattern will continue into late week. This weekend and early next week, another slow moving upper level system over northern Mexico will slowly progress into Texas.
Those storms will probably drop more rain on central and southwest Texas than southeast Texas. But how and whether they advance eastward is still in question.
The more significant flood threat this weekend will focus west of Houston. However, showers and thunderstorms will be possible in the Houston area through the weekend and into next week.
Forecasted Rainfall Today
Source: National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center5/10/23
Forecasted Rainfall Next 7 Days
Source: National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center5/10/23.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/10/2023 based on info from Harris County
2080 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image001-2.png?fit=800%2C563&ssl=1563800adminadmin2023-05-10 06:35:182023-05-10 06:37:49Potential For More Heavy Rainfall Continues into Midday
Lauder Basin Phase II on Greens Bayou Under Construction
The long-awaited Lauder Basin Phase II on Greens Bayou is now under construction. In May of last year, the Texas Water Development Board announced a $2.2 million grant to expand the basin.
Then in September, HCFCD announced that construction would be starting “soon.” Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) estimated sometime in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Construction Photos Taken 5/7/23
A visit to the job site earlier this week showed that construction is now well underway. See the photos below.
Looking NW. Phase II of the Lauder Basin under construction. Greens Bayou is in upper right. Small creek in foreground is a tributary.
Eventually, Phase 2 should have several compartments with water-quality plantings to help filter out pollutants, and a small stream connecting the ponds. This presentation is a bit dated, but shows HCFCD’s plans for the basin as they existed in 2020.
Project Scope
Together, Phases I and II should provide more than 1,200 acre-feet of stormwater storage. HCFCD designed them to fill up during storms to help reduce the risk of Greens from flooding local homes, businesses and schools. After a flood, the basins release excess water slowly when the channel can safely accept it.
Phase II (651 acre feet) will actually provide more stormwater storage than Phase I (588 acre feet).
HCFCD estimates total Phase II construction costs at $32 million and predicts construction could take 2.5 years.
Spending Comparison with Other Watersheds
Greens Bayou has received more than a quarter billion dollars of projects such as these since 2000. That’s more than any other watershed in Harris County with the exception of Brays Bayou – where Commissioner Rodney Ellis lives.
Greens Bayou is one of the few watersheds where HCFCD spending did not plummet last quarter. Even as spending decreased in 15 watersheds, it rose in Greens Bayou by almost $4.8 million. To put that in perspective, it increased 11 times more than the watershed with the second largest increase, White Oak, at $431,126.
Here are the actual numbers.
No doubt, the activity you see in the photos above had a lot to do with Greens’ ranking. So, does construction on Garners Bayou, a tributary of Greens farther downstream.
Stay tuned for more news as construction progresses.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/12/23
2082 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Houston City Council Approves $29 Million More For Dredging, Sand Trap Tests
Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin has announced that Houston City Council unanimously accepted an additional $29,000,000 in state grant funds to continue dredging around the canals and channels of Lake Houston. The money will also help start a pilot program to trap sediment upstream before it reaches the lake, thereby hopefully reducing dredging costs in the long run.
East Side of Lake
The additional funding will allow dredging activities to start on the east side of Lake Houston in the various canals/channels. Martin emphasized, however, that they have some touch up work to do on Rogers Gully on the west side of the lake before they move to the east side.
Once on the east side, dredging will start near FM1960 and work its way south. The City has not yet established a firm timeline.
DRC will handle the dredging. That is the same company that has handled the dredging since the Corps finished its Emergency West Fork Dredging program several years ago.
The company will deposit the spoils at the same marina it has used for the last year.
DRC will reportedly use mechanical, not hydraulic dredging. That means, they’ll be working with long-armed excavators and scooping dirt onto pontoons. See second picture below.
Pilot Sand-Trap Program
Part of the $29 million will also go towards implementing a pilot program testing sand traps upstream of Lake Houston. The goal: capture silt and sediment coming down the San Jacinto West Fork before it ever reaches Lake Houston.
If successful, this could reduce long-term dredging costs. The pilot program will rely on sand miners to excavate sand from point bars outside their mines. But there are few, if any, mines upstream on Cypress and Spring Creeks, where the miners claim most of the sediment is coming from. So that could limit the replicability of the test, even if successful on the West Fork.
More than 4 Million Cubic Yards Dredged to Date
“Tremendous progress has been made since Hurricane Harvey through the completion of FEMA, Texas Water Development Board, Harris County, and City of Houston projects,” said Martin. “Since 2018, the total combined efforts of these entities have resulted in approximately 4,004,008 cubic yards of silt and sediment dredged from Lake Houston and its tributaries at a total cost of $222 million.” That money has come from federal, state, and local funding sources.
Blockages like those above can back water up during storms, and flood homes and businesses.
Kudos
Martin passed out kudos to those who supported the $29 million appropriation. Martin thanked former State Representative Dan Huberty and Senator Brandon Creighton for their commitment to seeing this project through and their dedication to the long-term maintenance dredging on Lake Houston.
“Harris County Commissioner Precinct 3, Tom Ramsey, and Harris County Flood Control District have also been terrific partners,” said Martin. “I also want to thank my colleagues on City Council, Mayor Sylvester Turner for his unwavering support for Lake Houston, and Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello for his continued diligence on flood mitigation efforts.”
Status of Dredging District Legislation
State Representative Charles Cunningham introduced HB 5341 this year. The bill would have created a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District to handle sediment issues like these in perpetuity. The bill received a public hearing on 4/11/23, but unfortunately, it has stalled in the Natural Resources Committee since then. So has HB 1093, a bill which would have assured cleanup of abandoned sand mines.
With time running out in this session, we will likely need to recycle those bills for the next session.
More news to follow when the dredging starts.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/11/2023 based on information from the Houston District E office and Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin
2081 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Potential For More Heavy Rainfall Continues into Midday
According to Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner, we can expect more heavy rainfall today. Showers and thunderstorms have developed this morning with a line of thunderstorms extending from near Columbus to near Bay City. Showers and thunderstorms are also developing ahead of this line.
Lindner also adds that the storms’ forward motion is fast enough to help limit any one area from experiencing an excessive amount of rainfall.
More concentrated showers and thunderstorms will likely move into Houston metro area between 6 and 8 a.m. This may result in some street flooding under the heaviest storms. Activity will linger into the midday hours.
Primary Heavy Rainfall Threat During Morning Hours
As the low pressure system over central Texas begins to lift northward today, drier air will move in from the west and rainfall will become increasingly isolated during the afternoon hours.
Main threat remains street flooding through the morning hours. While rises on area creeks and bayous will be likely with heavy rainfall this morning, the chances for significant and widespread flooding are low.
Beyond Today
The unsettled weather pattern will continue into late week. This weekend and early next week, another slow moving upper level system over northern Mexico will slowly progress into Texas.
Those storms will probably drop more rain on central and southwest Texas than southeast Texas. But how and whether they advance eastward is still in question.
The more significant flood threat this weekend will focus west of Houston. However, showers and thunderstorms will be possible in the Houston area through the weekend and into next week.
Forecasted Rainfall Today
Forecasted Rainfall Next 7 Days
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/10/2023 based on info from Harris County
2080 Days since Hurricane Harvey