News - Reduce Flooding

April 7 Meeting on Spring Creek Flood Control Dams

Spring Creek Flood Control Dams are back in the news. The San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) recently announced the first of three meetings related to a feasibility study. So save the date – April 7.

According to Matt Barrett of the SJRA, this feasibility study is a continuation of the Spring Creek Siting Study which came out of the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan project (SJMDP). The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and multiple partner agencies including SJRA developed the Master Drainage Plan.

Overview of Feasibility Study

The Spring Creek Siting Study from December 2020 explored multiple alternative locations that could provide flood-mitigation benefits to the Spring Creek watershed. Two of the more cost-effective were dams on Walnut and Birch Creeks.

The Spring Creek Flood Control Dams Feasibility Study will include:

A conceptual design for each dam
Benefits and costs for each dam and a combination of the two dams.

The goal: to determine the most feasible and economical alternative(s) for possible future design and construction.

The cost of the study is estimated at $1 million. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) grant program will provide half. City of Humble, HCFCD, and five (5) Municipal Utility Districts will fund the other half. SJRA is performing in-kind services to reduce the local match amount to be funded by the Partners.

One Crucial Step of Many

This project is currently only in the feasibility phase. Construction of one or both dams, if feasible, would likely not occur for several years. Partners still need to identify a project sponsor and funding. They also need to perform final design, obtain environmental permits, and acquire land.

Details of Public Input Meeting

Public input and participation are critical components of this study, and SJRA wants to hear from you. A public meeting related to the study will be held on/at the following date and location:

Thursday, April 7, 2022

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Fields Store Community Center

26098 FM 362

Waller, Texas 77484

The meeting will be in an open-house format, allowing members of the public to come and go at their convenience at any time between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. A five-minute, high-level, project-summary presentation will be given at 6:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

Between these presentations, project team members will answer questions and collect input. If you can’t attend in person, you can view the summary presentation on SJRA’s Facebook page following the meeting. You may also submit questions via email and the project team will answer them.

Project Location

Below, see preliminary maps. These project areas could change based on the results of study efforts.

*The proposed Spring Creek Flood Control Dams would lie in far northeastern Waller County, a few miles west of Magnolia in Montgomery County.*

The next map shows parcels of land that partners would need to acquire to develop the project(s).

*Preliminary map of Birch and Walnut Creeks flood control dams. Extent of inundation limits subject to change during study.*

*One more public engagement meeting will be held this summer. The third will happen after partners release the draft report in February, next year.*

Projected Benefits of Projects

As presently conceived, the Birch Creek dam could reduce water surface elevations by a half foot in a 100-year storm for almost 26 miles downstream. The larger Walnut Creek dam could produce a similar benefit for 41 miles downstream.

Each would cut the annual chance of exceedance (ACE) in half for the people in the affected areas. Thus, a hundred year storm would only have the impact of a 50-year storm.

Barrett currently estimates that the Birch Creek Dam could remove 815 structures from the 100-year floodplain and the Walnut Creek Dam could remove 1205. However, he also points out that those numbers will likely change as a result of updated modeling in the current study now underway.

How much would these dams benefit people in the Lake Houston Area? Barrett admits the impact would be small that far downstream. But he also points out that these represent the first two of 16 similar projects proposed in the Master Drainage Plan, and that they could have a major cumulative impact.

Every little bit helps. Even if you can’t attend the meeting, I hope you submit a public comment via email in support of the project.

How to Learn More and Provide Public Comment

For a fact sheet on each of the two proposed dams, click here.

For more information about the Spring Creek Flood Control Dams Feasibility Study, please visit www.SpringCreekStudy.com.

You can submit comments at the public meeting and throughout the duration of the study. Email comments to floodmanagementdivision@sjra.net, or submitted online at www.SpringCreekStudy.com.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/18/2022

1662 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Mysterious black spots in Laurel Springs RV Resort Detention Pond

Laurel Springs RV Resort Update: Mysterious Black Spots and Other News

In the two weeks since I last posted about the “RV Resort” under construction on Laurel Springs Lane, a lot has happened. Among other things, I’ve noticed contractors repeatedly covering up black spots in the detention pond that have a habit of mysteriously reappearing.

Mysterious Black Spots Keep Reappearing

*Photo taken 3/5/22. Note difference of color in puddles just inches from each other.*

*Wide shot also taken on 3/5 shows bulldozer filling in one black area while another leaks into pond*. *Note streak in water and see below.*

*Also taken 3/5. Pond was being manually pumped into Lakewood Cove Storm sewer* *system* *and thence into Lake Houston.* *The pumping explains the streak.*

*On 3/10/22, I noted these black areas at the western end of the pond emerging from freshly bulldozed areas.*

*Photo taken 3/11. The situation was worse and the bulldozers were back.*

*On 3/14, the floor of the detention pond had been smoothed out, but the black spots were making another embarrassing comeback.*

I have dozens of other shots that show similar patterns. But you get the idea.

I asked the Railroad Commission if they could identify oil seepage from photos. The answer was no. But they did send an investigator out. Unfortunately, he arrived after everything had been covered up.

The contractor acknowledged the black spots, but claimed they were just seepage from rotting mulch. But why would a contractor place mulch below an area being excavated? That would just raise the level of the pond they were deepening. The mystery continues.

The Railroad Commission of Texas found no records of abandoned oil or gas wells on this property, although many are nearby.

As a show of good faith, I wish the developer would have an independent lab confirm what this stuff is now that it’s being pumped to a storm sewer system that feeds into Lake Houston.

Other Recent Activity

In other news:

The developer has removed hundreds of truckloads of debris from below the detention pond.
They have excavated material from the southern walls of the pond and moved it north. This effectively shifted the pond back onto the developer’s property while elevating other portions of the property.
Contractors erected posts for what appears will be a chain link fence at the southern edge of the resort.
Contractors have finished tying the detention pond into the Lakewood Cove Storm Sewer system.
They also installed more underground drainage throughout the property.

The photographs below illustrate the points above.

*Photo taken 2/23/22 shows part of debris pulled up from south of detention pond. Also note the black spots in the detention pond.*

*Taken 3/16/22.* *Photo courtesy of reader. Used with permission.* *Note fence posts along left.* *These would appear to confirm the property boundary.*

*The detention pond intake valve in the foreground is now connected with the pump housings on higher ground. However, the pumps may not yet be installed. And the housing still looks sealed off.* *Photo taken 3/15/22.*

*Additional dirt is being brought in to raise the elevation of the site.* *Photo taken 3/13/22. Note water still ponding on site from a half inch of rain on 3/15. This soil is not as porous as the stormwater pollution prevention plan claims.*

*Rebar being laid for the next concrete pour* *on 3/14/22.*

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/16/22

1660 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 Caney ISD West Fork High School March Construction Update

One of the largest construction projects currently underway in the Kingwood Area is New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School, south of the HCA Kingwood Medical Center. New Caney ISD provided degrees of completion for all the trades associated with the project as of March 2022.