A friend sent me a link to a Facebook post by a landscape/design company called Happy Gardens featuring this image of nature’s flood protection – the root systems of native grasses.
Said Happy Gardens, “This is why you don’t have to water native grasses. And their roots act like sponges to control flooding.”
It’s interesting to see the parts of these grasses that we never see. Note that some of these roots have been folded back and tied up to minimize their height for display purposes! Some are deeper than the lady is tall!
Providing Multiple Defenses Against Floods
Such grasses help reduce flooding several ways. They:
Slow water down in storms, decelerating runoff, and giving more runoff more time to soak in.
Absorb water like sponges.
Bind soil and reduce erosion.
Maintain more of an ecosystem’s natural hydrographic profile, which extends the time of accumulation and reduces flood peaks.
Runoff in natural areas spreads out over longer periods and has lower peaks.
No Watering and Less Maintenance
An additional plus: you never have to water them. They do look a little (pardon the pun) “rangy.” So some neighbors might object…until they flood.
The West Fork, by contrast, had been devastated by sand mining and erosion. The eroded sediment contributed to massive buildups of sand in the West Fork which reduced the conveyance of the river and also contributed to flooding.
Sometimes all you have to do to enjoy the protection of nature is just let it be. I hope this powerful image serves a reminder of that simple fact.
During Hurricane Harvey, the Humble ISD Ag Barn at Deer Ridge Park flooded badly. Shortly thereafter, the school board made a decision to move the ag barn facility to higher ground using money from the 2018 bond.
Since then, the district purchased 7 acres of land at the intersection of Ford and Mills Branch Roads in late 2018, broke ground in 2020, and constructed several new buildings.
Photos of New Facility
The district originally targeted 2021 for opening the facility. But permit issues with the City of Houston delayed the target opening to 2022. Don Thompson, the contractor for the facility, tells me it is now complete. However, as of last Sunday, two dumpsters still remained in the parking lot. Here are several aerial pictures of the beautiful new facility taken on Sunday 9/4/22.
Looking south toward North Kingwood ForestLooking SELooking NNWLooking NNW over detention pond in foreground.
The day before I took these pictures, the area received 2.5 inches of rain. It looks like the detention pond did its job. It absorbed the water and then released it slowly toward White Oak Creek so as not to overwhelm the creek’s capacity and cause flooding downstream.
If all new construction retained its rain, we would all be a lot better off from a flood perspective. Thanks to the Humble ISD for a beautiful new ag barn, which hopefully should make both students, their parents and the animals safer from flooding.
The animals at the old ag barn had to be evacuated several times recently because of rising floodwaters.
Reminder
Today is the statistical peak of hurricane season. We’ve dodged any hits so far this year, but there’s still a lot of weather yet to come.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/10/22
1838 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/20220904-DJI_0455.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-09-10 11:55:192022-09-10 15:37:13New Humble ISD Ag Barn Construction Complete
And the Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center next door flooded just days before its scheduled grand opening in 2017. That delayed the opening 14 months for repairs!
What’s in a Name?
Was naming this center “The Docks” a wise move?
Lovett’s brochure and website emphasizes the HEIGHT of docks. Perhaps they thought that would reassure people concerned about flooding.
But the word “Docks” also conjures up waterfront images, reinforced by the proximity of the property to a drainage ditch, a large detention basin, and memories of Harvey. Probably not the best association!
I wasn’t surprised to see that the first two tenants both had a fitness theme. Yoga mats are a lot cheaper to replace than MRI and CAT-scan machines.
That said, many renters want exclusivity within a shopping center; more fitness businesses may not prosper in such close proximity. The YMCA is just three blocks south. And a fitness chain is rumored to be moving into the large retail center one block south next to the new ACE Hardware.
Lovett originally envisioned this center as a strip of restaurants. And their latest brochure, updated in March 2022, indicates they still hope to achieve that. It shows Asian, pizza, breakfast, and TexMex restaurants in remaining spaces.
New Name Needed
Frankly, I wish Lovett hadn’t built so close to major flood risk. Having said that, I hope they can rent the space and eliminate the ghost-town look. The trick may be finding businesses, like yoga, with minimal equipment that would minimize flood damage if it happens.
Having spent 50 years in marketing, I would advise Lovett to ditch their “Docks” name. They don’t have to rename it Mount Kingwood. But please lose the waterfront association. How about something like “The Food ‘n Fitness Center”? Eat up and slim down. Now, that sounds like fun!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/9/22
1837 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/2022/09/20220908-RJR_0967.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-09-09 17:34:552022-09-09 19:33:53Bad Name? “Docks” Center Still Mostly Empty
Nature’s Flood Protection
A friend sent me a link to a Facebook post by a landscape/design company called Happy Gardens featuring this image of nature’s flood protection – the root systems of native grasses.
It’s interesting to see the parts of these grasses that we never see. Note that some of these roots have been folded back and tied up to minimize their height for display purposes! Some are deeper than the lady is tall!
Providing Multiple Defenses Against Floods
Such grasses help reduce flooding several ways. They:
No Watering and Less Maintenance
An additional plus: you never have to water them. They do look a little (pardon the pun) “rangy.” So some neighbors might object…until they flood.
Some time ago, another friend took me on a jet boat up the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto. The East Fork was plush with riparian vegetation.
The West Fork, by contrast, had been devastated by sand mining and erosion. The eroded sediment contributed to massive buildups of sand in the West Fork which reduced the conveyance of the river and also contributed to flooding.
Sometimes all you have to do to enjoy the protection of nature is just let it be. I hope this powerful image serves a reminder of that simple fact.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/11/2022
1839 Days since Hurricane Harvey
New Humble ISD Ag Barn Construction Complete
During Hurricane Harvey, the Humble ISD Ag Barn at Deer Ridge Park flooded badly. Shortly thereafter, the school board made a decision to move the ag barn facility to higher ground using money from the 2018 bond.
Since then, the district purchased 7 acres of land at the intersection of Ford and Mills Branch Roads in late 2018, broke ground in 2020, and constructed several new buildings.
Photos of New Facility
The district originally targeted 2021 for opening the facility. But permit issues with the City of Houston delayed the target opening to 2022. Don Thompson, the contractor for the facility, tells me it is now complete. However, as of last Sunday, two dumpsters still remained in the parking lot. Here are several aerial pictures of the beautiful new facility taken on Sunday 9/4/22.
The day before I took these pictures, the area received 2.5 inches of rain. It looks like the detention pond did its job. It absorbed the water and then released it slowly toward White Oak Creek so as not to overwhelm the creek’s capacity and cause flooding downstream.
If all new construction retained its rain, we would all be a lot better off from a flood perspective. Thanks to the Humble ISD for a beautiful new ag barn, which hopefully should make both students, their parents and the animals safer from flooding.
The animals at the old ag barn had to be evacuated several times recently because of rising floodwaters.
Reminder
Today is the statistical peak of hurricane season. We’ve dodged any hits so far this year, but there’s still a lot of weather yet to come.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/10/22
1838 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Bad Name? “Docks” Center Still Mostly Empty
Almost three years after completion, Lovett Commercial’s 28,000 square foot retail center named Kingwood Docks still has only two small tenants. Both are fitness oriented: StretchLab and YogaSix. Together they occupy only about 3,500 square feet.
Unfortunately, the rest of the center remains vacant despite a resurgence of retail leasing in the Kingwood Town Center area.
Rentable space comprises just 7.67% of the property shown above.
Despite the size of the detention basin, this whole area flooded badly during Harvey.
Torchy’s Tacos, about a block west, painted the high-water mark during Harvey about 7 feet high on its walls.
And the Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center next door flooded just days before its scheduled grand opening in 2017. That delayed the opening 14 months for repairs!
What’s in a Name?
Was naming this center “The Docks” a wise move?
Lovett’s brochure and website emphasizes the HEIGHT of docks. Perhaps they thought that would reassure people concerned about flooding.
But the word “Docks” also conjures up waterfront images, reinforced by the proximity of the property to a drainage ditch, a large detention basin, and memories of Harvey. Probably not the best association!
And many remember that their construction was plagued by wet weather.
Who Would Make Ideal Tenants for this Space?
I wasn’t surprised to see that the first two tenants both had a fitness theme. Yoga mats are a lot cheaper to replace than MRI and CAT-scan machines.
That said, many renters want exclusivity within a shopping center; more fitness businesses may not prosper in such close proximity. The YMCA is just three blocks south. And a fitness chain is rumored to be moving into the large retail center one block south next to the new ACE Hardware.
Lovett originally envisioned this center as a strip of restaurants. And their latest brochure, updated in March 2022, indicates they still hope to achieve that. It shows Asian, pizza, breakfast, and TexMex restaurants in remaining spaces.
New Name Needed
Frankly, I wish Lovett hadn’t built so close to major flood risk. Having said that, I hope they can rent the space and eliminate the ghost-town look. The trick may be finding businesses, like yoga, with minimal equipment that would minimize flood damage if it happens.
Having spent 50 years in marketing, I would advise Lovett to ditch their “Docks” name. They don’t have to rename it Mount Kingwood. But please lose the waterfront association. How about something like “The Food ‘n Fitness Center”? Eat up and slim down. Now, that sounds like fun!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/9/22
1837 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.