The Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, aka the world’s largest trailer park, has more than doubled in size in the last 3 years. Measurements in Google Earth show that Colony Ridge, which started clearing land in 2012, has expanded from approximately 8,000 acres in 2019 to almost 20,000 acres today. To put that in perspective, Kingwood comprises approximately 14,000 acres and took more than 40 years to build out.
Colony Ridge started developing on the left (west). It is expanding eastand north.
Growing Pains
But the rapid growth of Colony Ridge has not come without pain:
Rivers of mud continue to flow out of drainage ditches with big rains because the developer flaunted construction regulations for them.
Consequences of Poor Construction Practices
As a result of such drainage issues and exposed soils, more sediment flows downstream than otherwise would. This contributed to sediment buildups on the San Jacinto East Fork (see below). Those, in turn, reduce conveyance and contribute to downstream flooding – unless the public continues to spend millions on dredging.
East Fork Mouth Bar after Imelda but before recent dredging. Average river depth had been reduced to three feet.
Still Not Following Best Practices
Aerial photos taken on 7/22/2022 with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari, two fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, show the current state of the development and construction practices in Colony Ridge. Sadly, not much has improved. For instance, the developer still piles dirt on the edge of ditches without protecting them with silt fences.
Note long drainage ditch cutting diagonally through middle of frame. Developer has piled dirt next to it (middle left of frame) without protecting ditch with silt fencing.Major ditch cutting through older section is sill not protected with back-slope interceptor swales or vegetation.Erosion is rampant.
Water shooting down the ditch above created a major headache during Harvey. See below.
FM 1010 Still Washed Out
Floodwater from the ditch washed out FM 1010. This major N/S thoroughfare still needs repair…five years later!
Break in FM 1010, aka Plum Grove Roadforces residents to detour for miles.
Photos Showing New Development
Area developed last year is starting to fill in with new trailer homes already.Note absence of fire hydrants…still.Looking east at area still under construction.Looking E from NE corner of development.Another area semi-cleared but still unpaved.
If there’s good news in these photos, it is that the developer appears to be leaving more natural ground cover in the newest areas. Still, without vegetation on the sides of ditches, without better construction practices, excess sediment could continue washing into the Lake Houston Area for years to come.
Downstream residents will continue to pay the price for egregious development practices upstream.
Someday, the people who buy these lots will also become flood victims of similar new developments even farther upstream.
Will we continue to repeat mistakes of the past in ever widening circles? Will we continue to sow the seeds of future flooding? Or will we wake up to the fact that we are all part of one giant community?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/23/2022
1792 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/2022/07/20220726-Screen-Shot-2022-07-26-at-10.27.55-AM-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C854&ssl=18541200adminadmin2022-07-26 15:04:302022-08-29 15:09:39Controversial Colony Ridge Development Doubles in Size
Two new subdivisions are now routing their drainage through or toward San Jacinto West Fork sand mines.
The one already going through a mine is Artavia on the north/east side of the Westfork between FM 1314 and river.
The other is near Woodson’s Reserve on the south/west side of the river just inside the Grand Parkway (SH99). Their ditch currently stops just feet short of another sand mine.
Routing drainage through sand mines raises concerns about the potential for increasing sediment in the West Fork. Increased sediment can reduce conveyance and contribute to flooding.
Accident Waiting to Happen?
During a flyover of the West Fork on Friday 7/22/2022 with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari, two fellow members of the Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force, I photographed both drainage issues from the air. They gave me a queasy, “accident-waiting-to-happen” feeling.
So, I reached out to Texas A&M, the TCEQ, the Montgomery County Engineer’s office and two hydrologists to ask about about safety. I could not reach anyone at A&M, TCEQ, or the MoCo Engineer’s office. But this is vacation time.
However, the two hydrologists did express concerns. See them below the pictures.
Wide shot looking SW. Artavia Drainage Ditch heading toward LMI Moorehead mine. West Fork is at far edge of mine in trees.Water from ditch goes into one pond and makes a right turn into another, then……spills out into the West Fork via a pipe or overflow swale.West Fork in foreground runs toward the right and Humble/Kingwood Area.
Second Development’s Drainage
On the opposite side of the West Fork, upstream just south of the Grand Parkway, another new development is expanding near Woodson’s Reserve.
Red dot represents location of helicopter when taking the two shots immediately below.Part of expansionA small part of the clearing. Note drainage ditch on right (not fully completed).Close up of the far end of the shot above.Looking east. West Fork is in trees on far side of mine.
The developer could make the ditch go around the mine. But around would be an expensive proposition. Right now, the ditch ends a half mile from the river.
Going around would add another 2 miles. Plus, to reach the river, the ditch would have to make a sharp U-turn and cut across a series of properties owned by other entities. So, I’m fairly confident that’s NOT the plan.
Looking north across mine. Red X marks current end of ditch. West Fork is on right.
This mine stretches two miles north to south and a half mile east to west.
Concerns of Hydrologists
The two hydrologists who returned my calls both spoke on condition of anonymity. They expressed concerns about the potential for sedimentation and erosion created by routing subdivision drainage through sand mines.
The first acknowledged that the practice might have benefits during small rains. Sediment transported down ditches could get a chance to drop out of suspension before it reaches the river. And the ponds might provide some small floodwater retention benefit, too.
However, he also felt that in large floods the higher volume and speed of the water could churn up sediment in the pond and flush it downstream.
The second hydrologist worried about pressure on the mines’ dikes. He cited the potential for breaches and the risk of sediment escaping into the West Fork and onto neighboring properties.
He also worried about erosion of the loose, sandy soils. Already, he said, you can see significant erosion where they are trying to shore up roadways. He remembered the 56 million gallon spill from the LMI Moorehead mine that turned the West Fork white with sludge. He also remembered how LMI tried to blame it on Artavia at the time.
Confluence of Spring Creek and West Fork. TCEQ alleged that Liberty Mines discharged 56 million gallons of white waste water into the West Fork.Liberty blamed Artavia for flooding the mine. Photo taken 11/04/2019.
I couldn’t find any academic papers written about routing subdivision drainage through mines. Montgomery County may be breaking new ground, so to speak.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/25/22
1791 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/2022/07/20220722-RJR_0283.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-07-25 19:12:032022-07-26 07:25:30New Subdivisions Now Routing Drainage Through, Toward West Fork Sand Mines
A popular misperception says Halls Bayou has received no flood-mitigation funding. Yet it has received $175 million since 2000. $65 million of that happened since Harvey.
Channel widening, stormwater-detention basins and neighborhood drainage improvements have reduced flood risk somewhat, but several factors – including the need for more funding – make mitigation difficult. HCFCD has many projects still seeking federal assistance.
The Bond Program approved by voters in 2018 includes more than $110 million for the Halls Bayou watershed. That money could help attract another $236 million in federal matching grants for a total of $346 million. But many projects have yet to receive grants and start construction.
Halls cuts diagonally across the northern part of Harris County between Beltway 8 and Loop 610 North. It joins Greens Bayou before the Ship Channel.
From HCFCD.org on 7/24/2022.Halls, a tributary of Greens Bayou, is the darker shaded area.
Background: Halls Ahead
Halls received an extraordinary amount of damage during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Among all 23 Harris County watersheds, it ranked second only behind Greens Bayou during that storm. But Greens has four times the area and three times the population. (Greens had 15,590 damaged structures; Halls had 12,820.)
As a result, HCFCD launched many studies of Halls drainage after Allison. They culminated in the 2013 Halls Ahead Plan. But HCFCD lacked money to fully implement it and still does. All unfunded Halls Ahead projects carried forward into the 2018 Bond Program and many were able to start as you will see in the pictures below. Several have even finished. However…
A Phasing Study designated 58 flood risk reduction projects in 12 phases, with estimated costs between $100 million and $150 million per phase.
Flood Control executives recently traveled to Washington to plead for more help from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps now has a pilot program to help economically disadvantaged areas and Halls certainly qualifies. Halls has the highest percentage of vulnerable, Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) residents of any watershed in Harris County (71%).
Complicating Factors
Blocked roadside ditches trap floodwater in neighborhoods. City of Houston and Harris County Precincts are responsible for roadside ditches, not HCFCD.
Halls is plagued by a combination of factors that make flood mitigation difficult:
Silted-in roadside ditches
Aging stormwater infrastructure
Developments built to older standards
Homes frequently built at street level
Dense population that leaves little room for mitigation projects
Structures built in floodplains that have to be bought out before many mitigation can begin (see below).
Flood History in Halls Watershed
Much of the Halls Bayou watershed developed during or after the 1950s. Take this area immediately east of what became I-45. It was farmland before then.
Google Earth image from 1953.Same area in 1978.Floodplains today. Cross hatched = Floodway. Aqua = 100-year floodplain. Brown = 500-year.Based on data developed after Allison. Floodplains will expand even farther after new updates.
Homes and businesses built in Halls Bayou floodplains created the flood risk. They also make widening channels or building detention basins difficult because of time-consuming, expensive buyouts.
Vital Stats
These statistics help put Halls Bayou flood problems in perspective. Here’s how Halls ranks among 23 Harris County watersheds on:
Watershed size – #16 (42.3 square miles)
Population – #10 (152,358 in 2020 census, down 5% from 2010)
Population density – #6 (3,602 people/square mile)
Dollars per capitain flood mitigation spending – #5 ($1151 per resident)
Dollars per square mile – #4 ($3.9 million dollars per square mile between 2000 and the end of last year).
Damaged structures – #4 (25,691 structures during five major storms since 2000 [Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey and Imelda])
Damage per square mile – #1 (607.4 structures/sq. mi.)
That last point makes recovery difficult for communities, especially less affluent ones. It may help explain the decrease in population.
Allison, Harvey Dramatize Need for Mitigation
HCFCD has documented flooding along Halls 14 times since 1989. But the two worst storms were Allison (2001) and Harvey (2017). Allison damaged 12,820 structures in the watershed. But Harvey damaged fewer – 11,831.
It’s fairly safe to say that without many mitigation improvements made prior to Harvey, Harvey damage would have been worse. However, rainfall distribution patterns make comparisons between the storms difficult.
The following table from HCFCD’s final Harvey report compares rainfall associated with severe, recent storms for various time periods. Tropical Storm Allison exceeds Harvey’s rainfall in the 6, 12 and 24-hr periods. But in the 2-day period, Harvey produced 6.0 inches more than Allison and 8.9 inches more over 4 days.
Photos of Stormwater Detention Projects from 7/19/22 Flyover
Last Tuesday, I flew most of the length of Halls Bayou with two fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, Ken Williams and Bill Callegari. Let’s take a look at several Halls projects already completed or under construction – starting upstream and working east.
Helms Street Basins
East Helms runs between these two small basins just south of Aldine Mail Route Road. HCFCD completed these last year. They hold 119 acre-feet. That’s a little less than 3″ of stormwater falling over a square mile.
The basin will hold 180 acre-feet of stormwater. That’s about 3.5 inches of rain falling across a square mile. It will be a wet-bottom basin with a vegetated shelf.
Looking S at new detention basin. Between Halls Bayou at far end and Isom Street in foreground. Aldine Mail Route Road is under the camera position.
This basin is part of a larger mitigation project that will also extend and enlarge a channel north to the Western Homes subdivision along Aldine Mail Route Road.
Keith Weiss Park
One of the hidden gems of Houston is Keith Weiss Park east of Aldine-Westfield Road. The area is really a series of large connected detention basins disguised as a nature park with hike and bike trails, soccer fields, piers and boardwalks. City of Houston owns the park.
The Keith Weiss project removed 1,770,000 cubic yards of soil to create detention basins that hold approximately 963 acre feet of stormwater storage. That’s enough to hold a foot of stormwater falling across 1.5 square miles.
Google Earth shows that excavation started around 2006 and was substantially completed by 2010.
Wide shot looking east from over Aldine-Westfield Road. Halls Bayou flows away from camera.See close-ups of the three detention ponds below.Western-most basin. Halls Bayou in bottom center.Center pond. Still looking east toward US 59.Eastern-most pond.
Channel Improvements
HCFCD is making channel improvements along Halls in many locations. See project C-41. The area below lies between Keith Weiss Park and US59.
Looking SE along Halls toward US59. According to the HCFCD website, channel conveyance improvements and an additional detention basin are still in preliminary engineering.
Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin
The Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin on Halls Bayou added approximately 635 acre feet of additional stormwater storage upstream of Jensen Drive at US 59. It holds a foot of stormwater falling across one square mile.
Looking East across Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin toward US59. The Fiesta store is by 59, left of center. Downtown is out of frame to the right.
HCFCD also had to buy out a large part of a subdivision to build the Hall Park basin on the opposite side of US 59. Flood Control substantially completed this project in 2018.
Looking NE across US 59 toward the Hall Park basin and Halls Bayou.
Hall Park holds 835 acre-feet. That’s enough to hold a foot of water falling across 1.3 square miles.
This project involved relocating a City of Houston sanitary sewer line and removing approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of soil.
This project required many buyouts that took almost a decade to complete.Roads shown inside the basin have been removed.
As part of its Bayou Greenways 2020 project, the nonprofit Houston Parks Board is designing and constructing the Halls Bayou Greenway – which includes a hike and bike trail, landscaping and neighborhood connections – along the southern edge of the stormwater detention basin. The full Halls Bayou Greenway will provide nine miles of publicly accessible open space from Brock Park to Keith Wiess Park.
In many cases, such stormwater detention basins are disguised as parks. So, many people don’t even recognize them as basins.
Hopper and Little York Basins
Slightly east of 59 at Hopper and Little York, HCFCD constructed two smaller basins in 2021 along a tributary of Halls. Together they hold approximately 200 acre feet. That’s about a foot of rain falling over a third of a square mile. Or four inches across a whole square mile.
Looking west toward 59 at Hopper Basin. Halls tributary cuts diagonally through pond in foreground.Looking S along the same tributary (in shade at left) at Little York basin. Little York runs along the bottom of the frame.
Such projects hold water back during storms until it can be slowly and safely released later when water in the bayou has receded.
Holding Back A Foot of Rain Falling Across Almost 5 Square Miles
Altogether, the detention basins in this post will hold almost a foot of stormwater falling across 5-square miles.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220719-RJR_9716.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-07-24 08:23:182022-07-24 21:02:55Halls Bayou Has Come a Long Way, But Still Has Long Way to Go
Controversial Colony Ridge Development Doubles in Size
The Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, aka the world’s largest trailer park, has more than doubled in size in the last 3 years. Measurements in Google Earth show that Colony Ridge, which started clearing land in 2012, has expanded from approximately 8,000 acres in 2019 to almost 20,000 acres today. To put that in perspective, Kingwood comprises approximately 14,000 acres and took more than 40 years to build out.
Growing Pains
But the rapid growth of Colony Ridge has not come without pain:
Consequences of Poor Construction Practices
As a result of such drainage issues and exposed soils, more sediment flows downstream than otherwise would. This contributed to sediment buildups on the San Jacinto East Fork (see below). Those, in turn, reduce conveyance and contribute to downstream flooding – unless the public continues to spend millions on dredging.
Still Not Following Best Practices
Aerial photos taken on 7/22/2022 with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari, two fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, show the current state of the development and construction practices in Colony Ridge. Sadly, not much has improved. For instance, the developer still piles dirt on the edge of ditches without protecting them with silt fences.
Water shooting down the ditch above created a major headache during Harvey. See below.
FM 1010 Still Washed Out
Floodwater from the ditch washed out FM 1010. This major N/S thoroughfare still needs repair…five years later!
Photos Showing New Development
If there’s good news in these photos, it is that the developer appears to be leaving more natural ground cover in the newest areas. Still, without vegetation on the sides of ditches, without better construction practices, excess sediment could continue washing into the Lake Houston Area for years to come.
Ever Widening Circles
These images support the need to harmonize and enforce higher drainage standards throughout the region. Without change two things will happen:
Will we continue to repeat mistakes of the past in ever widening circles? Will we continue to sow the seeds of future flooding? Or will we wake up to the fact that we are all part of one giant community?
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/23/2022
1792 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 Subdivisions Now Routing Drainage Through, Toward West Fork Sand Mines
Two new subdivisions are now routing their drainage through or toward San Jacinto West Fork sand mines.
The one already going through a mine is Artavia on the north/east side of the Westfork between FM 1314 and river.
The other is near Woodson’s Reserve on the south/west side of the river just inside the Grand Parkway (SH99). Their ditch currently stops just feet short of another sand mine.
Routing drainage through sand mines raises concerns about the potential for increasing sediment in the West Fork. Increased sediment can reduce conveyance and contribute to flooding.
Accident Waiting to Happen?
During a flyover of the West Fork on Friday 7/22/2022 with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari, two fellow members of the Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force, I photographed both drainage issues from the air. They gave me a queasy, “accident-waiting-to-happen” feeling.
So, I reached out to Texas A&M, the TCEQ, the Montgomery County Engineer’s office and two hydrologists to ask about about safety. I could not reach anyone at A&M, TCEQ, or the MoCo Engineer’s office. But this is vacation time.
However, the two hydrologists did express concerns. See them below the pictures.
Where Artavia Drainage Reaches Mine
The Artivia ditch approached the LMI Moorehead Mine in 2019. And reached the West Fork in the second half of 2021. Here’s how it looks today.
Second Development’s Drainage
On the opposite side of the West Fork, upstream just south of the Grand Parkway, another new development is expanding near Woodson’s Reserve.
The developer could make the ditch go around the mine. But around would be an expensive proposition. Right now, the ditch ends a half mile from the river.
Going around would add another 2 miles. Plus, to reach the river, the ditch would have to make a sharp U-turn and cut across a series of properties owned by other entities. So, I’m fairly confident that’s NOT the plan.
This mine stretches two miles north to south and a half mile east to west.
Concerns of Hydrologists
The two hydrologists who returned my calls both spoke on condition of anonymity. They expressed concerns about the potential for sedimentation and erosion created by routing subdivision drainage through sand mines.
The first acknowledged that the practice might have benefits during small rains. Sediment transported down ditches could get a chance to drop out of suspension before it reaches the river. And the ponds might provide some small floodwater retention benefit, too.
The second hydrologist worried about pressure on the mines’ dikes. He cited the potential for breaches and the risk of sediment escaping into the West Fork and onto neighboring properties.
He also worried about erosion of the loose, sandy soils. Already, he said, you can see significant erosion where they are trying to shore up roadways. He remembered the 56 million gallon spill from the LMI Moorehead mine that turned the West Fork white with sludge. He also remembered how LMI tried to blame it on Artavia at the time.
I couldn’t find any academic papers written about routing subdivision drainage through mines. Montgomery County may be breaking new ground, so to speak.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/25/22
1791 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.
Halls Bayou Has Come a Long Way, But Still Has Long Way to Go
A popular misperception says Halls Bayou has received no flood-mitigation funding. Yet it has received $175 million since 2000. $65 million of that happened since Harvey.
Channel widening, stormwater-detention basins and neighborhood drainage improvements have reduced flood risk somewhat, but several factors – including the need for more funding – make mitigation difficult. HCFCD has many projects still seeking federal assistance.
The Bond Program approved by voters in 2018 includes more than $110 million for the Halls Bayou watershed. That money could help attract another $236 million in federal matching grants for a total of $346 million. But many projects have yet to receive grants and start construction.
Halls cuts diagonally across the northern part of Harris County between Beltway 8 and Loop 610 North. It joins Greens Bayou before the Ship Channel.
Background: Halls Ahead
Halls received an extraordinary amount of damage during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Among all 23 Harris County watersheds, it ranked second only behind Greens Bayou during that storm. But Greens has four times the area and three times the population. (Greens had 15,590 damaged structures; Halls had 12,820.)
As a result, HCFCD launched many studies of Halls drainage after Allison. They culminated in the 2013 Halls Ahead Plan. But HCFCD lacked money to fully implement it and still does. All unfunded Halls Ahead projects carried forward into the 2018 Bond Program and many were able to start as you will see in the pictures below. Several have even finished. However…
Flood Control executives recently traveled to Washington to plead for more help from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps now has a pilot program to help economically disadvantaged areas and Halls certainly qualifies. Halls has the highest percentage of vulnerable, Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) residents of any watershed in Harris County (71%).
Complicating Factors
Halls is plagued by a combination of factors that make flood mitigation difficult:
Flood History in Halls Watershed
Much of the Halls Bayou watershed developed during or after the 1950s. Take this area immediately east of what became I-45. It was farmland before then.
Homes and businesses built in Halls Bayou floodplains created the flood risk. They also make widening channels or building detention basins difficult because of time-consuming, expensive buyouts.
Vital Stats
These statistics help put Halls Bayou flood problems in perspective. Here’s how Halls ranks among 23 Harris County watersheds on:
That last point makes recovery difficult for communities, especially less affluent ones. It may help explain the decrease in population.
Allison, Harvey Dramatize Need for Mitigation
HCFCD has documented flooding along Halls 14 times since 1989. But the two worst storms were Allison (2001) and Harvey (2017). Allison damaged 12,820 structures in the watershed. But Harvey damaged fewer – 11,831.
It’s fairly safe to say that without many mitigation improvements made prior to Harvey, Harvey damage would have been worse. However, rainfall distribution patterns make comparisons between the storms difficult.
The following table from HCFCD’s final Harvey report compares rainfall associated with severe, recent storms for various time periods. Tropical Storm Allison exceeds Harvey’s rainfall in the 6, 12 and 24-hr periods. But in the 2-day period, Harvey produced 6.0 inches more than Allison and 8.9 inches more over 4 days.
Photos of Stormwater Detention Projects from 7/19/22 Flyover
Last Tuesday, I flew most of the length of Halls Bayou with two fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, Ken Williams and Bill Callegari. Let’s take a look at several Halls projects already completed or under construction – starting upstream and working east.
Helms Street Basins
East Helms runs between these two small basins just south of Aldine Mail Route Road. HCFCD completed these last year. They hold 119 acre-feet. That’s a little less than 3″ of stormwater falling over a square mile.
P518-11-00
I last reported on this project in March 2022. It’s still under construction.
The $6 million stormwater detention basin project will provide regional mitigation benefits.
The basin will hold 180 acre-feet of stormwater. That’s about 3.5 inches of rain falling across a square mile. It will be a wet-bottom basin with a vegetated shelf.
This basin is part of a larger mitigation project that will also extend and enlarge a channel north to the Western Homes subdivision along Aldine Mail Route Road.
Keith Weiss Park
One of the hidden gems of Houston is Keith Weiss Park east of Aldine-Westfield Road. The area is really a series of large connected detention basins disguised as a nature park with hike and bike trails, soccer fields, piers and boardwalks. City of Houston owns the park.
The Keith Weiss project removed 1,770,000 cubic yards of soil to create detention basins that hold approximately 963 acre feet of stormwater storage. That’s enough to hold a foot of stormwater falling across 1.5 square miles.
Google Earth shows that excavation started around 2006 and was substantially completed by 2010.
Channel Improvements
HCFCD is making channel improvements along Halls in many locations. See project C-41. The area below lies between Keith Weiss Park and US59.
Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin
The Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin on Halls Bayou added approximately 635 acre feet of additional stormwater storage upstream of Jensen Drive at US 59. It holds a foot of stormwater falling across one square mile.
A large part of a subdivision had to be bought out before construction of this basin could begin. HCFCD substantially completed this basin in 2015.
Hall Park Basin
HCFCD also had to buy out a large part of a subdivision to build the Hall Park basin on the opposite side of US 59. Flood Control substantially completed this project in 2018.
Hall Park holds 835 acre-feet. That’s enough to hold a foot of water falling across 1.3 square miles.
This project involved relocating a City of Houston sanitary sewer line and removing approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of soil.
As part of its Bayou Greenways 2020 project, the nonprofit Houston Parks Board is designing and constructing the Halls Bayou Greenway – which includes a hike and bike trail, landscaping and neighborhood connections – along the southern edge of the stormwater detention basin. The full Halls Bayou Greenway will provide nine miles of publicly accessible open space from Brock Park to Keith Wiess Park.
Hopper and Little York Basins
Slightly east of 59 at Hopper and Little York, HCFCD constructed two smaller basins in 2021 along a tributary of Halls. Together they hold approximately 200 acre feet. That’s about a foot of rain falling over a third of a square mile. Or four inches across a whole square mile.
Such projects hold water back during storms until it can be slowly and safely released later when water in the bayou has receded.
Holding Back A Foot of Rain Falling Across Almost 5 Square Miles
Altogether, the detention basins in this post will hold almost a foot of stormwater falling across 5-square miles.
Halls Bayou has many other projects in various stages. For a complete listing, see the HCFCD website. Or review this presentation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/23/2022
1790 Days since Hurricane Harvey