October 8, 2023 – Karma is fast catching up with the corner-cutting Colony Ridge developer in Liberty County. Drainage infrastructure that doesn’t meet Liberty County regulations is fast eroding.
To offset negative publicity, the developer invited legislators to meet at his development last week and tour it.
But just before the meeting, Liberty County deputies, a narcotics unit, and SWAT team responded to an abduction at gunpoint. They also launched a manhunt for two escaped suspects in the sprawling development, which is now 50% larger than Manhattan.
On the day of the developer’s meeting, the main entrance to the development flooded. Badly. Ditches designed to keep roads clear in a 5-year storm overflowed during a 1-year rain.
The next day when the storm clouds cleared, an aerial survey showed that Colony Ridge drainage channels and stormwater detention basins were badly damaged.
Had the developer simply followed Liberty County regulations, he could have reduced or avoided the costly damage.
Missing Erosion Controls
Section 50 of Liberty County’s Subdivision and Development regulations specifies requirements for construction of drainage ditches and stormwater detention basins.
The County emphasizes the need to control erosion and sedimentation. It warns these twin threats can have very serious effects on stormwater ditches and basins. Specifically, they can:
Cause slope failures
Reduce the efficiency of drainage channels
Clog drainage culverts
Reduce channel capacity
Reduce maintainability of drainage facilities
Increase maintenance costs
Require more frequent repairs
Increase turbidity
Impair water quality.
To counter these problems, the regulations say…
“Interceptor structures and backslope swale systems are required to prevent sheet flows from eroding the side slopes of open channels and detention facilities.”
Liberty County Subdivision and Development Regulations, Page 100
The diagram below explains how they work.
The regulations also specify design requirements for these structures and other erosion control measures. Altogether, Colony Ridge apparently violated requirements for:
Bermuda grass on side slopes of channels and ditches
Erosion controls around outfall pipes
Geo-textile bedding under rip rap
Pilot channels at the bottom of detention basins
Maintenance strips
Storage of excavated dirt
Side-slope angles
Not all locations in Colony Ridge exhibit all problems. Regardless, karma was swift. Thursday’s 1-year rain severely eroded the side slopes of channels and basins. Eroded sediment also started filling in new ditches and basins.
Repairs and compliance – if attempted – will be costly and time consuming.
Karma Hurts Residents Upstream and Down
While critics might rejoice at the karma, others will pay the price. The developer’s practices increase flood risk for people in Colony Ridge as well as those downstream.
In the development, erosion threatens property.
Downstream, sediment reduces the conveyance of streams, increasing flood risk.
TCEQ has warned the developer about his construction practices before. But many dubious practices continue. See photos below.
The first two are NASA satellite images from Google Earth. I shot the rest on 10/6/23 with one exception.
Threat to Colony Ridge Residents
When a three-mile ditch down the center of Colony Ridge was completed, it was about 120 feet wide at the yellow line.
August 2017
Today, it’s 76 feet wider.
Residents on EACH side lost 38 feet of their back yards.
This ditch has steadily widened since its construction. Without backslope interceptor swales or grass to reduce erosion, millions of cubic feet of dirt swept downstream from this single ditch.
Then, when the water slowed at the headwaters of Lake Houston, the sediment dropped out of suspension, reducing the conveyance of the East Fork San Jacinto.
Here are several shots showing what that erosion damage looks like up close from a helicopter.
The ravine forms more ravines. No room for a maintenance road here.Or here.
Virtually every ditch in Colony Ridge has erosion and compliance problems. Here’s another one.
No maintenance road. No backslope interceptor swales. No grass on sides of ditch. Note: home on right has no back fence.What happened to it?Note piles of dirt stored where they can erode back down into ditches.
Even detention basins in the newer sections of Colony Ridge have erosion problems. Again, most don’t have grass on the side slopes. Nor do they have backslope interceptor swales. Many, like the one below, don’t have room for maintenance roads.
Note the erosion threat already to these recently placed mobile homes in a newer section of Colony Ridge.Erosion will soon threaten one of the new roadsin Colony Ridge.Regs specify that rip rap like you see here should have had a geo-textile lining under it to reduce erosion.Erosion washed sediment into new basin. Also note how erosion is starting to block the outfall at the lower right.No backslope swales here. Not much Bermuda grass either. Regs say “side slopes shall be no steeper than 3 horizontal to 1 vertical (3:1).”No grass or backslope interceptor system here. No pilot channels either.Note piles of excavated dirt stacked on both sides of road, eroding back into ditches.
As all those ditches and basins gradually fill in, they will add to future flood risk.
But repairing such issues will be a big, costly challenge – one that the developer has ignored for years.
Threat to Downstream Residents
All this erosion also contributes to downstream flooding and likely violates Section 11.086 of the Texas water code. It states that “No person may divert … the natural flow of surface waters in this state … in a manner that damages the property of another…”
Where does all that eroded sediment eventually go? To Lake Houston, of course.
East Fork San Jacinto downstream from Colony Ridgeon Thursday 10/5/23 – same day as shots above.
The river slows down where it meets the headwaters of Lake Houston. That causes sediment to drop out of suspension.
Harris County, City of Houston and the State just finished a major dredging effort on the East Fork that cost the public tens of millions of dollars.
Before dredging, it looked like this.
East Fork Mouth Bar after Imelda and before dredging. This bar grew 4,000 feet between Harvey and Imelda.
But the cost is only part of the issue. Reduction in the river’s conveyance contributed to the flooding of thousands of nearby homes during Harvey and Imelda.
Harris County Commissioners Court May Address Issues on Tuesday
Drainage is a public-safety issue. And it’s not the only one caused by the developer’s disregard for regulations.
TCEQ has also documented problems with the Colony Ridge sewage system that led to a 48,000 gallons of fecal matter escaping into Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.
Colony Ridge does not have enough fire hydrants or water pressure to comply with the Liberty County fire code.
Harris County Commissioners Court may discuss these problems on Tuesday at the request of Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, PE. See Item 406 on the Agenda.
The developer alleges that racism motivates criticism of his Hispanic development. But racism does not explain flooding, feces and fire.
The failure of a developer to follow regulations shouldn’t pit Liberty County against Harris County, rich against poor, or Democrats against Republicans.
We all suffer equally. We all face increased risk. And Colony Ridge is one issue where we should all find common cause.
I hope that Commissioners Courts in both counties support the legislature’s investigation into Colony Ridge. I also pray that both Counties can work together to protect all residents.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/8/23
2231 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.
Colony Ridge taught the world about karma on Thursday, October 5, 2023. The development’s main entrance flooded during a meeting of legislators. The purpose of the meeting: to convince legislators that the development wasn’t as bad as media reports.
In eastern religions, karma is when a person’s actions decide his/her future. Think of cause and effect. Sometimes people get what they deserve.
The main entrance to the development flooded during or immediately after the meeting. So did areas downstream in Plum Grove. The parking lot of an elementary school flooded so badly that Cleveland ISD had to reschedule an open house. I doubt flooded areas were on the tour.
Drainage Not Meeting Regulations
All this happened during a 1- to 2-year storm that dumped less than four inches of rain in a 12-hour period.
The gage at the San Jacinto East Fork and FM2090 received 3.8 inches of rain. According to Atlas 14, that falls almost exactly in the middle of totals for 1- to 2-year storms and is within the confidence interval of each.
However, the Liberty County subdivision regulations specify that resdiential street drains should be able to carry runoff from a 5-year storm(See page 132, Section 50, C1Ai). It also states, “Major thoroughfares should accommodate five-year peak runoff rates with a minimum ten-foot dry travel lane and 25-year peak runoff rates without overtopping curbs.” Regardless of how you classify the streets below…
Thursday’s rainfall should not have covered these streets if Colony Ridge had built roads, channels and stormwater detention basins to Liberty County standards.
But look at the pictures that residents sent me that day.
Photo supplied by reader showing Colony Ridge main entrance during storm on Thursday, October 5, while developer schmoozed lawmakers elsewhere.FM1010 at Orange Branch downstream from Colony Ridge in Plum Grove during same storm.
FM1010, the main north-south artery between Huffman and Cleveland
That’s a huge public safety issue in itself. The legislature should address it. FM1010 is a major evacuation route.
But according to KHOU, lawmakers who attended the developer’s PR counter-offensive didn’t see anything wrong with Colony Ridge.
Karma Part II: High-Profile Crime
Ironically, in addition to flooding, a high-profile crime happened shortly before the meeting with lawmakers. A young man was kidnapped at gunpoint by three armed teens in Colony Ridge. That triggered a response by police, Texas Rangers and the Liberty County SWAT team. They captured one suspect and launched a manhunt for the other two.
Subsequently, the Liberty County Vindicator reported that a coalition of lawmakers citing rampant crime and a possible drug-cartel presence are urging the state to put the embattled Colony Ridge development under government conservatorship.
According to the Vindicator, the Texas House Appropriations, County Affairs, Public Health, and Criminal Jurisprudence committees proposed establishing funding for a Texas Department of Public Safety substation to multiply law enforcement presence in Colony Ridge. Colony Ridge remains unincorporated despite being the largest settlement in Liberty County.
Political/Media Brawl
The sudden surge in media attention surrounding Colony Ridge problems has generated its own media attention. The developer called his critics racists. Both the Associated Press and Houston Chronicle have rushed to his defense. They implied that Colony Ridge problems are overblown and that the developer is providing a path to homeownership for low-income Hispanics.
However, the stories ignored the developer’s usurious interest rates and couldn’t even get the age of the development correct. The lead sentence in the Chronicle article (which borrows heavily from the AP article) begins with “For two decades, Colony Ridge has been an escape for low income…” [Emphasis added.]
Satellite images in Google Earth show that the first Colony Ridge homes started appearing in October 2014 – nine years ago, not 20.
In the upcoming special session, I hope we can focus on real issues that affect human beings, such as flooding, and not just trade barbs. We need to get past the misinformation and political spin to solutions.
Tomorrow: Karma Part III
Tomorrow, I will publish a photo essay that shows Colony Ridge last Friday. Come back for Karma Part III. During Thursday’s rainfall, erosion damaged months of work on ditches and stormwater detention basins, also not built to Liberty County or industry standards.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/7/23
2230 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/2023/10/20231005-IMG_1650.jpg?fit=1100%2C865&ssl=18651100adminadmin2023-10-07 14:48:382023-10-12 17:35:24Colony Ridge Karma: Area Floods While Developer Hosts Lawmakers
Dana Kennedy of the New York Post published a 2,500-word exposé on Colony Ridge titled “Murders, cartels, squalor: Inside ‘colony’ near Houston accused of being ‘haven for illegal aliens.’”
Kennedy spent weeks researching and writing the article. She interviewed the developer as well as residents, neighbors, local officials and law enforcement. Her story includes 27 photos and a 10-minute video – rare for a daily newspaper. If you really want to get a feeling for Colony Ridge and its impact on surrounding areas, Kennedy’s article is a great place to start.
Summary Of Exposé
She delves into the development’s housing, population, criminal activity, drug cartels, roving dogs, gang activity, access issues and how it has become a magnet for illegal immigration.
In short, she covers why Governor Greg Abbott is making it part of a special legislative session that he called for next Monday. And why Texas’s 25 House Republicans have unanimously called for an investigation.
Kennedy then segues into how the developer markets the property to Hispanics, i.e., with owner financing, small down payments, and interest rates up to 15%. She also details the high foreclosure rates and the revolving door at the county courthouse that allows the developer to resell the same property multiple times.
From there, she turns her attention to the impacts on surrounding communities – homes flooded, FM1010 washed out, endless traffic snarls, a severed human hand that a dog dragged home, and plummeting property values. She lets disenchanted purchasers and neighbors tell their stories in their own words.
Developers Claim of Racism Disputed
The developer blames the criticism on racism among the locals. Former Plum Grove Mayor Lee Ann Penton-Walker disputes that. “We don’t have the infrastructure to take on all these new people. Hell, Houston doesn’t. New York doesn’t. Look what your mayor’s been saying lately. Is Eric Adams a racist?”
The developer’s claim of racism belies the fact that most of the criticism in the story came from Hispanics.
Kennedy ends her expose with some quotes from me about conditions “hazardous to human health.” They referred to TCEQ reports documenting sewage spills and poorly mitigated drainage.
How the Other Half Lives
All told, it’s a gripping story and a solid piece of journalism. It reminded me of the work done by a pioneering photojournalist in New York named Jacob Riis. He documented living conditions in New York City slums during the 1880s. Riis published a book called “How the Other Half Lives.” It served as a basis for future muckraking journalism by exposing the slums in New York to the City’s upper and middle classes.
I hope Kennedy’s work for the Post has a similar impact and brings Colony Ridge to national attention. Even more, I hope it brings about some much needed change.
Just hours after the Post published Kennedy’s story, the developers launched a PR counter-offensive. They hosted a tour of Colony Ridge for state legislators who will begin their investigation into the controversial development next week during their special session.
The address below probably won’t be on the PR tour.
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/2023/10/20210101-RJR_4783.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2023-10-05 12:29:042023-10-05 13:15:19New York Post Publishes Gripping Exposé on Colony Ridge
Karma Strikes Again: Colony Ridge Drainage Systems Severely Eroding
October 8, 2023 – Karma is fast catching up with the corner-cutting Colony Ridge developer in Liberty County. Drainage infrastructure that doesn’t meet Liberty County regulations is fast eroding.
And tomorrow, a special session of the Texas legislature will start investigating the embattled development. The special session will focus on crime, infrastructure, illegal immigration, and more.
To offset negative publicity, the developer invited legislators to meet at his development last week and tour it.
But just before the meeting, Liberty County deputies, a narcotics unit, and SWAT team responded to an abduction at gunpoint. They also launched a manhunt for two escaped suspects in the sprawling development, which is now 50% larger than Manhattan.
On the day of the developer’s meeting, the main entrance to the development flooded. Badly. Ditches designed to keep roads clear in a 5-year storm overflowed during a 1-year rain.
The next day when the storm clouds cleared, an aerial survey showed that Colony Ridge drainage channels and stormwater detention basins were badly damaged.
Had the developer simply followed Liberty County regulations, he could have reduced or avoided the costly damage.
Missing Erosion Controls
Section 50 of Liberty County’s Subdivision and Development regulations specifies requirements for construction of drainage ditches and stormwater detention basins.
The County emphasizes the need to control erosion and sedimentation. It warns these twin threats can have very serious effects on stormwater ditches and basins. Specifically, they can:
To counter these problems, the regulations say…
The diagram below explains how they work.
The regulations also specify design requirements for these structures and other erosion control measures. Altogether, Colony Ridge apparently violated requirements for:
Not all locations in Colony Ridge exhibit all problems. Regardless, karma was swift. Thursday’s 1-year rain severely eroded the side slopes of channels and basins. Eroded sediment also started filling in new ditches and basins.
Repairs and compliance – if attempted – will be costly and time consuming.
Karma Hurts Residents Upstream and Down
While critics might rejoice at the karma, others will pay the price. The developer’s practices increase flood risk for people in Colony Ridge as well as those downstream.
TCEQ has warned the developer about his construction practices before. But many dubious practices continue. See photos below.
The first two are NASA satellite images from Google Earth. I shot the rest on 10/6/23 with one exception.
Threat to Colony Ridge Residents
When a three-mile ditch down the center of Colony Ridge was completed, it was about 120 feet wide at the yellow line.
Today, it’s 76 feet wider.
This ditch has steadily widened since its construction. Without backslope interceptor swales or grass to reduce erosion, millions of cubic feet of dirt swept downstream from this single ditch.
Then, when the water slowed at the headwaters of Lake Houston, the sediment dropped out of suspension, reducing the conveyance of the East Fork San Jacinto.
Here are several shots showing what that erosion damage looks like up close from a helicopter.
Virtually every ditch in Colony Ridge has erosion and compliance problems. Here’s another one.
Even detention basins in the newer sections of Colony Ridge have erosion problems. Again, most don’t have grass on the side slopes. Nor do they have backslope interceptor swales. Many, like the one below, don’t have room for maintenance roads.
As all those ditches and basins gradually fill in, they will add to future flood risk.
But repairing such issues will be a big, costly challenge – one that the developer has ignored for years.
Threat to Downstream Residents
All this erosion also contributes to downstream flooding and likely violates Section 11.086 of the Texas water code. It states that “No person may divert … the natural flow of surface waters in this state … in a manner that damages the property of another…”
Where does all that eroded sediment eventually go? To Lake Houston, of course.
The river slows down where it meets the headwaters of Lake Houston. That causes sediment to drop out of suspension.
Harris County, City of Houston and the State just finished a major dredging effort on the East Fork that cost the public tens of millions of dollars.
Before dredging, it looked like this.
But the cost is only part of the issue. Reduction in the river’s conveyance contributed to the flooding of thousands of nearby homes during Harvey and Imelda.
Harris County Commissioners Court May Address Issues on Tuesday
Drainage is a public-safety issue. And it’s not the only one caused by the developer’s disregard for regulations.
Harris County Commissioners Court may discuss these problems on Tuesday at the request of Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, PE. See Item 406 on the Agenda.
The developer alleges that racism motivates criticism of his Hispanic development. But racism does not explain flooding, feces and fire.
The failure of a developer to follow regulations shouldn’t pit Liberty County against Harris County, rich against poor, or Democrats against Republicans.
We all suffer equally. We all face increased risk. And Colony Ridge is one issue where we should all find common cause.
I hope that Commissioners Courts in both counties support the legislature’s investigation into Colony Ridge. I also pray that both Counties can work together to protect all residents.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/8/23
2231 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.
Colony Ridge Karma: Area Floods While Developer Hosts Lawmakers
Colony Ridge taught the world about karma on Thursday, October 5, 2023. The development’s main entrance flooded during a meeting of legislators. The purpose of the meeting: to convince legislators that the development wasn’t as bad as media reports.
In eastern religions, karma is when a person’s actions decide his/her future. Think of cause and effect. Sometimes people get what they deserve.
The closed-door meeting and private tour for elected representatives happened in advance of a special session of the legislature that begins next Monday.
The main entrance to the development flooded during or immediately after the meeting. So did areas downstream in Plum Grove. The parking lot of an elementary school flooded so badly that Cleveland ISD had to reschedule an open house. I doubt flooded areas were on the tour.
Drainage Not Meeting Regulations
All this happened during a 1- to 2-year storm that dumped less than four inches of rain in a 12-hour period.
The gage at the San Jacinto East Fork and FM2090 received 3.8 inches of rain. According to Atlas 14, that falls almost exactly in the middle of totals for 1- to 2-year storms and is within the confidence interval of each.
However, the Liberty County subdivision regulations specify that resdiential street drains should be able to carry runoff from a 5-year storm (See page 132, Section 50, C1Ai). It also states, “Major thoroughfares should accommodate five-year peak runoff rates with a minimum ten-foot dry travel lane and 25-year peak runoff rates without overtopping curbs.” Regardless of how you classify the streets below…
But look at the pictures that residents sent me that day.
Insufficiently mitigated drainage that causes flooding is a huge public safety issue. However, it certainly doesn’t get the attention it deserves short of a major disaster, such as Hurricane Harvey. Harvey wiped out the FM1010 bridge over Rocky Branch due to excessive, uncontrolled runoff from Colony Ridge. The bridge has not been repaired to this day.
That’s a huge public safety issue in itself. The legislature should address it. FM1010 is a major evacuation route.
But according to KHOU, lawmakers who attended the developer’s PR counter-offensive didn’t see anything wrong with Colony Ridge.
Karma Part II: High-Profile Crime
Ironically, in addition to flooding, a high-profile crime happened shortly before the meeting with lawmakers. A young man was kidnapped at gunpoint by three armed teens in Colony Ridge. That triggered a response by police, Texas Rangers and the Liberty County SWAT team. They captured one suspect and launched a manhunt for the other two.
Subsequently, the Liberty County Vindicator reported that a coalition of lawmakers citing rampant crime and a possible drug-cartel presence are urging the state to put the embattled Colony Ridge development under government conservatorship.
According to the Vindicator, the Texas House Appropriations, County Affairs, Public Health, and Criminal Jurisprudence committees proposed establishing funding for a Texas Department of Public Safety substation to multiply law enforcement presence in Colony Ridge. Colony Ridge remains unincorporated despite being the largest settlement in Liberty County.
Political/Media Brawl
The sudden surge in media attention surrounding Colony Ridge problems has generated its own media attention. The developer called his critics racists. Both the Associated Press and Houston Chronicle have rushed to his defense. They implied that Colony Ridge problems are overblown and that the developer is providing a path to homeownership for low-income Hispanics.
However, the stories ignored the developer’s usurious interest rates and couldn’t even get the age of the development correct. The lead sentence in the Chronicle article (which borrows heavily from the AP article) begins with “For two decades, Colony Ridge has been an escape for low income…” [Emphasis added.]
Satellite images in Google Earth show that the first Colony Ridge homes started appearing in October 2014 – nine years ago, not 20.
In the upcoming special session, I hope we can focus on real issues that affect human beings, such as flooding, and not just trade barbs. We need to get past the misinformation and political spin to solutions.
Tomorrow: Karma Part III
Tomorrow, I will publish a photo essay that shows Colony Ridge last Friday. Come back for Karma Part III. During Thursday’s rainfall, erosion damaged months of work on ditches and stormwater detention basins, also not built to Liberty County or industry standards.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/7/23
2230 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.
New York Post Publishes Gripping Exposé on Colony Ridge
Dana Kennedy of the New York Post published a 2,500-word exposé on Colony Ridge titled “Murders, cartels, squalor: Inside ‘colony’ near Houston accused of being ‘haven for illegal aliens.’”
Kennedy spent weeks researching and writing the article. She interviewed the developer as well as residents, neighbors, local officials and law enforcement. Her story includes 27 photos and a 10-minute video – rare for a daily newspaper. If you really want to get a feeling for Colony Ridge and its impact on surrounding areas, Kennedy’s article is a great place to start.
Summary Of Exposé
She delves into the development’s housing, population, criminal activity, drug cartels, roving dogs, gang activity, access issues and how it has become a magnet for illegal immigration.
In short, she covers why Governor Greg Abbott is making it part of a special legislative session that he called for next Monday. And why Texas’s 25 House Republicans have unanimously called for an investigation.
Kennedy then segues into how the developer markets the property to Hispanics, i.e., with owner financing, small down payments, and interest rates up to 15%. She also details the high foreclosure rates and the revolving door at the county courthouse that allows the developer to resell the same property multiple times.
From there, she turns her attention to the impacts on surrounding communities – homes flooded, FM1010 washed out, endless traffic snarls, a severed human hand that a dog dragged home, and plummeting property values. She lets disenchanted purchasers and neighbors tell their stories in their own words.
Developers Claim of Racism Disputed
The developer blames the criticism on racism among the locals. Former Plum Grove Mayor Lee Ann Penton-Walker disputes that. “We don’t have the infrastructure to take on all these new people. Hell, Houston doesn’t. New York doesn’t. Look what your mayor’s been saying lately. Is Eric Adams a racist?”
The developer’s claim of racism belies the fact that most of the criticism in the story came from Hispanics.
Kennedy ends her expose with some quotes from me about conditions “hazardous to human health.” They referred to TCEQ reports documenting sewage spills and poorly mitigated drainage.
How the Other Half Lives
All told, it’s a gripping story and a solid piece of journalism. It reminded me of the work done by a pioneering photojournalist in New York named Jacob Riis. He documented living conditions in New York City slums during the 1880s. Riis published a book called “How the Other Half Lives.” It served as a basis for future muckraking journalism by exposing the slums in New York to the City’s upper and middle classes.
I hope Kennedy’s work for the Post has a similar impact and brings Colony Ridge to national attention. Even more, I hope it brings about some much needed change.
Just hours after the Post published Kennedy’s story, the developers launched a PR counter-offensive. They hosted a tour of Colony Ridge for state legislators who will begin their investigation into the controversial development next week during their special session.
The address below probably won’t be on the PR tour.
For more about Colony Ridge drainage and related infrastructure issues, see these posts.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/5/2023
2228 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.