Last month, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved a $2,208,906 grant from the State’s Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) to the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) for expansion of the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin.
The detention basin will eventually hold 1,260 acre-feet of stormwater in Aldine along Greens Bayou. The project will help reduce repetitive flooding in that area. It is one of dozens of such projects under construction in the watershed.
“We are extremely thankful for this funding and for the support of the Texas Water Development Board to improve flood resilience for residents in the Greens Bayou Watershed,” said Tina Petersen, Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director.
HCFCD estimates the total cost of Phase 2 will be approximately $20.5 million. The additional capacity in Phase 2 will hold excess stormwater during heavy rain events and then release it slowly back to the channel when the threat of flooding has passed.
Phase 2 will be broken into two compartments.
Compartment 1 will bid later this month. Construction will start later this year and finish in 2024.
Compartment 2 (which TWDB is funding) is currently will be in design until 2023. Construction will begin in April 2024 and complete in early 2025.
Photos of Areas Involved
Phase 1 included a wet-bottom stormwater detention basin, with a permanent pool and features designed to improve stormwater quality.
Lauder Detention Basin Phase 1 on Greens Bayou (right) as of 10/12/2021. Looking SSW toward Lauder Road.
Phase 2 will be a dry-bottom stormwater detention basin with opportunities for recreational development by other entities. It will be in the wooded area (top center) of the photo below.
HCFCD will construct Phase 2 of the HCFCD Lauder Detention Basin in the wooded area (top center) along Greens Bayou (upper right). Looking northwest toward Greenspoint area.
Garcia Lauds Lauder Progress
“Reducing chronic flooding has been my main priority since taking office. This Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin project represents the kind of progress residents expect and need to see, and we are grateful for the Texas Water Development Board’s support in making this critical project possible,” said Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.
“Making Harris County businesses and homeowners safer from flood events requires a commitment to make smart investments, like the TWDB’s. If we want to see our community thrive, we have to ensure families and companies can confidently grow in areas where their businesses and homes are free from flood fears,” he continued.
Relief from Repetitive Flooding
TWDB Chairwoman Brooke Paup said, “We’re proud to provide grant funding for this much-needed project, which has been a team effort, and to partner with our good friends at the Harris County Flood Control District. The TWDB works diligently to help communities across the state, but it’s especially fulfilling to be a partner in helping an area see some relief after experiencing repetitive flooding.”
Absorbs a Foot of Rain Falling Over 2 Square Miles
The two basin phases will hold at least 1,260 acre-feet, or 391 million gallons, of excess stormwater that might otherwise flood homes and businesses.
Another way to think about that is to visualize water spreading out horizontally. 1260 acre feet would would be a little less than two square miles. (A square mile comprises 640 acres.) So the two basins would hold a foot of rain falling over two square miles!
Looking at the Atlas 14 Rainfall Probability table below, the two phases would hold a 24-hour, 25-year rain falling over 2 square miles.
Atlas 14 rainfall probabilitiesfor northern Harris County
Flood-Risk Reduction Status
But the service area for the basins is bigger than 2 square miles. So the ponds won’t be enough by themselves to provide protection in a 25-year flood. That’s when other Greens Bayou projects will help. Together, the projects in the Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Program, when all are complete, should protect residents in a ten-year rain. See 10-year column in table above.
The two phases of the Lauder basin by themselves should reduce the risk of flooding for more than 4,500 structures in the 100-year floodplain. Learn more about the Lauder Basin at www.hcfcd.org/C34.
Overall, the flood bond allocated $280 million for Greens Bayou improvements. So far, HCFCD has spent $104 million in bond funds on those projects. So 63% the planned budget remains.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/10/22
1715 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210724-DJI_0225.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-05-10 13:29:562022-05-10 14:38:35TWDB grants HCFCD $2,208,906 to Expand Lauder Basin
Ironically, Hurricane Harvey united us in disaster and divided us during recovery. Perhaps that is the storm’s most lasting insult.
United by Disaster
1,714 days ago, Hurricane Harvey ravaged Harris and surrounding counties. The storm dropped the greatest rainfall in the history of the North American continent. It flooded 154,000 homes in Harris County and destroyed 300,000 vehicles.
In the months that followed, HCFCD organized meetings in each watershed to gather input from residents on what it would take to reduce flood risk in their neighborhoods. At the meetings, HCFCD also discussed what professionals thought it would take. Out of that dialog came a project list with a hefty $5 billion price tag.
Despite the price, exactly one year after Harvey, voters approved a historic flood bond by 86%! People came together and recognized the need to address flooding to ensure the future of their homes, businesses, and communities.
I contacted Matt Zeve, then the Deputy Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), immediately after the vote tally to congratulate him on the outcome. He was already hard at work on projects. Within seconds, I received this response.
Matt Zeve, Former Deputy Executive Director of HCFCD after passage of bond, 8/25/2018
It was a rare moment of unity. Then the backbiting started as factions jockeying for a greater share of funding.
Soon, Russ Poppe, HCFCD’s executive director, and Zeve would be hounded from office, despite their contributions in architecting the bond.
Divided by Recovery
Since passage of the bond, a contentious recovery process – driven by partisan politics – has divided us.
Initially, questions centered around which projects HCFCD would implement first. After promising to fix the “worst first” (but never defining what “worst” meant). The three Democratic members of Commissioners Court pushed through an “Equity Prioritization Framework.”
The framework prioritized projects in watersheds with a high Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and high percentage of Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) residents. Said another way, they defined the “worst” flooding as flooding that affected LMI neighborhoods. This is not necessarily where the deepest flooding, the most frequent flooding or the most damaged homes are.
Since then, the three Democrats recommended changing the framework several times. For example:
Despite promises that all projects in the flood bond would eventually be completed, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia have also voted to cancel projects that voters approved. For instance, they tried to defund $191 million of flood-mitigation projects in Cedar Bayou and transfer the money to Garcia’s new Precinct 2.
Garcia has also suggested fixing 500-year flooding in LMI neighborhoods before more frequent flooding elsewhere. Together with other changes to the equity formula, that could mean certain projects in outlying neighborhoods never get built for lack of enough money.
Now the mostly Democrat-appointed Community Flood Resilience Task Force has recommended more changes to the formula. They include cherry-picking certain flood-risk reduction investments for a proposed Flood Mitigation Benefit Index. The apples-to-oranges comparison would make it look as though some watersheds were underfunded compared to others.
Who Would Favor Another Bond at this Point?
The new changes would apply to the flood resilience trust as well as any future flood bonds which do NOT have defined project lists approved by voters. Thus, a majority of commissioners could move dollars freely to the projects of their choice.
Throughout the constant changing of priorities, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia have sent signals that the amount of money in the bond isn’t enough to fix our flooding problems. Without mentioning any specific projects, defining costs, estimating benefits, or promising how the money would be spent, they have suggested they want another $50 to $60 billion from voters.
That’s a pretty big ask before we know what the first $5 billion has achieved – or even where the most frequent flooding occurs.
Democratic commissions say all the money to date has gone to affluent watersheds and LMI watersheds have received none. But people in neighborhoods like Kingwood can see the money going to LMI watersheds. This has created a “confusion” disaster that undermines trust in government – perhaps the biggest disaster of all.
Funding since 2000 in all 23 Harris County watersheds through end of 2021.
Net: everyone believes they are getting nothing from the first flood bond. So, why would they vote for a second?
Ultimately, the partisan dialog now dividing us could make everyone in the county more vulnerable to the next big flood. This is part of the reason why disasters repeat themselves.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/9/22
1714 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Harvey-Peak-Intensity.jpg?fit=1500%2C843&ssl=18431500adminadmin2022-05-09 17:50:272022-05-09 20:12:51United by Disaster, Divided by Recovery
Back in 2019, portions of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest Villages flooded twice. The first time occurred on May 7th. According to Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) report on the storm, “A 30-min rate of 2.9 inches was recorded at US 59 and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and a 1 hour rate of 4.0 inches.”
“380 structures were flooded in the Elm Grove Village subdivision and other nearby subdivisions in the northern portions of Kingwood.”
Escape. In Elm Grove on Shady Maple the night of the May 7, 2019 flood.
High water rescue
Rustling Elms Bridge in Elm Groveunderwater as school bus tries to cross it.
Water rising at night in Keith Stewart’s home on Shady Maple after May 7th flood in 2019.
Catalog of Flood Mitigation Efforts
Ever since the Elm Grove floods, Harris County, HCFCD, the City of Houston, Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s team and others have worked diligently to reduce future flood risk.
On this Mother’s Day weekend, it may bring flooded families comfort to understand how far we have come. Much remains to do, but much has already been done, or at least started.
HCFCD working to remove sediment buildup in Taylor Gully near the Maple Bend Bridge in January of 2021.The work began upstream near Rustling Elms in July 2019.
Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis and Taylor Gully Study
In 2019-20, HCFCD, Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (TIRZ 10), and City of Houston teamed up to conduct a drainage analysis for all streams in the Kingwood area. A recommendation to prioritize engineering of drainage improvements along Taylor Gully (including Woodridge) came out of that study.
The Flood Control District began preliminary engineering study on the Taylor Gully improvements in 2021. HCFCD anticipates presenting results during late summer or early fall this year.
Purchase of Woodridge Village By County and City
In early 2021, the Flood Control District and the City of Houston partnered to acquire the 267.35-acre Woodridge Village property for approximately $14 million.
Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin lobbied the City to purchase about 70 acres of the property.
HCFCD will use the remaining 194.35 acres of the Woodridge site for stormwater detention. That will help reduce flood risk.
Crenshaw Earmarks
Congressman Dan Crenshaw secured an earmark for $1.6 million for engineering of flood mitigation improvements along Taylor Gully. The engineering should shrink the floodplain. That will effectively remove 387 structures from the floodplain and has the potential to remove another 62.
Crenshaw also has another earmark pending for $10 million to actually construct the improvements recommended by the study.
Local groups must spend earmarks during the fiscal year in which Congress approves them. So funding can’t get too far ahead of the engineering.
Taylor Gully Preliminary Engineering Study
The Taylor Gully study will look at Woodridge in conjunction with other potential Taylor Gully improvements. However, HCFCD must perform additional preliminary engineering to further evaluate specific alternatives for Woodridge and determine the best.
During each study, HCFCD will hold Community Engagement Meetings to present alternatives and gather feedback.
Start of the new floodwater detention basin that could double the capacity on Woodridge Village.This pond should ultimately expand beyond the lone trees in the middle of the frame near the top.Photo taken 4/30/22.
E&R projects provide a head start on the excavation process and risk reduction. They can start before the design of a stormwater detention basin. Contractors excavate a set amount of material within an agreed-upon timeframe and general area.
The excavation can also potentially provide interim stormwater storage while awaiting the design and construction of the final stormwater detention basin.
As of April 30, 2022, 36,421 cubic yards of material has already been removed from the site. See photo above taken that day. The project will remove as much as 500,000 cubic yards of soil and other material.
Woodridge will remain an active construction zone for up to three years.
Have a Happy Mother’s Day this weekend.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/6/2022
1711 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 1096 Days since May 7, 2019
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/2019/05/Escape-e1588895116724.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2022-05-06 19:52:552022-05-09 20:21:03Mitigation Update: 3rd Anniversary of First Elm Grove Flood
TWDB grants HCFCD $2,208,906 to Expand Lauder Basin
Last month, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved a $2,208,906 grant from the State’s Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) to the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) for expansion of the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin.
The detention basin will eventually hold 1,260 acre-feet of stormwater in Aldine along Greens Bayou. The project will help reduce repetitive flooding in that area. It is one of dozens of such projects under construction in the watershed.
The 86th Texas Legislature created the Flood Infrastructure Fund with voter approval through a constitutional amendment in 2019. The fund helps develop drainage, flood mitigation, and flood control projects. State Senator Brandon Creighton sponsored the bill that created the fund.
About Phase 2 of Lauder Project
This particular TWDB grant will help enable Phase 2 of the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin project (Bond ID C-34).
“We are extremely thankful for this funding and for the support of the Texas Water Development Board to improve flood resilience for residents in the Greens Bayou Watershed,” said Tina Petersen, Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director.
HCFCD finished Phase 1 of the Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin project in the fall of 2021. Phase 2 will provide additional stormwater detention in the former Castlewood development. Homes built there have been bought out.
HCFCD estimates the total cost of Phase 2 will be approximately $20.5 million. The additional capacity in Phase 2 will hold excess stormwater during heavy rain events and then release it slowly back to the channel when the threat of flooding has passed.
Phase 2 will be broken into two compartments.
Photos of Areas Involved
Phase 1 included a wet-bottom stormwater detention basin, with a permanent pool and features designed to improve stormwater quality.
Phase 2 will be a dry-bottom stormwater detention basin with opportunities for recreational development by other entities. It will be in the wooded area (top center) of the photo below.
Garcia Lauds Lauder Progress
“Reducing chronic flooding has been my main priority since taking office. This Lauder Stormwater Detention Basin project represents the kind of progress residents expect and need to see, and we are grateful for the Texas Water Development Board’s support in making this critical project possible,” said Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.
“Making Harris County businesses and homeowners safer from flood events requires a commitment to make smart investments, like the TWDB’s. If we want to see our community thrive, we have to ensure families and companies can confidently grow in areas where their businesses and homes are free from flood fears,” he continued.
Relief from Repetitive Flooding
TWDB Chairwoman Brooke Paup said, “We’re proud to provide grant funding for this much-needed project, which has been a team effort, and to partner with our good friends at the Harris County Flood Control District. The TWDB works diligently to help communities across the state, but it’s especially fulfilling to be a partner in helping an area see some relief after experiencing repetitive flooding.”
Absorbs a Foot of Rain Falling Over 2 Square Miles
The two basin phases will hold at least 1,260 acre-feet, or 391 million gallons, of excess stormwater that might otherwise flood homes and businesses.
To visualize an acre foot, think of a football field with a foot of water on it. Now imagine that water extending upwards 1260 feet!
Another way to think about that is to visualize water spreading out horizontally. 1260 acre feet would would be a little less than two square miles. (A square mile comprises 640 acres.) So the two basins would hold a foot of rain falling over two square miles!
Looking at the Atlas 14 Rainfall Probability table below, the two phases would hold a 24-hour, 25-year rain falling over 2 square miles.
Flood-Risk Reduction Status
But the service area for the basins is bigger than 2 square miles. So the ponds won’t be enough by themselves to provide protection in a 25-year flood. That’s when other Greens Bayou projects will help. Together, the projects in the Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Program, when all are complete, should protect residents in a ten-year rain. See 10-year column in table above.
The two phases of the Lauder basin by themselves should reduce the risk of flooding for more than 4,500 structures in the 100-year floodplain. Learn more about the Lauder Basin at www.hcfcd.org/C34.
Overall, the flood bond allocated $280 million for Greens Bayou improvements. So far, HCFCD has spent $104 million in bond funds on those projects. So 63% the planned budget remains.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/10/22
1715 Days since Hurricane Harvey
United by Disaster, Divided by Recovery
Ironically, Hurricane Harvey united us in disaster and divided us during recovery. Perhaps that is the storm’s most lasting insult.
United by Disaster
1,714 days ago, Hurricane Harvey ravaged Harris and surrounding counties. The storm dropped the greatest rainfall in the history of the North American continent. It flooded 154,000 homes in Harris County and destroyed 300,000 vehicles.
In the months that followed, HCFCD organized meetings in each watershed to gather input from residents on what it would take to reduce flood risk in their neighborhoods. At the meetings, HCFCD also discussed what professionals thought it would take. Out of that dialog came a project list with a hefty $5 billion price tag.
Despite the price, exactly one year after Harvey, voters approved a historic flood bond by 86%! People came together and recognized the need to address flooding to ensure the future of their homes, businesses, and communities.
I contacted Matt Zeve, then the Deputy Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD), immediately after the vote tally to congratulate him on the outcome. He was already hard at work on projects. Within seconds, I received this response.
It was a rare moment of unity. Then the backbiting started as factions jockeying for a greater share of funding.
Soon, Russ Poppe, HCFCD’s executive director, and Zeve would be hounded from office, despite their contributions in architecting the bond.
Divided by Recovery
Since passage of the bond, a contentious recovery process – driven by partisan politics – has divided us.
Initially, questions centered around which projects HCFCD would implement first. After promising to fix the “worst first” (but never defining what “worst” meant). The three Democratic members of Commissioners Court pushed through an “Equity Prioritization Framework.”
The framework prioritized projects in watersheds with a high Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and high percentage of Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) residents. Said another way, they defined the “worst” flooding as flooding that affected LMI neighborhoods. This is not necessarily where the deepest flooding, the most frequent flooding or the most damaged homes are.
Since then, the three Democrats recommended changing the framework several times. For example:
Population and SVI now account for almost half of a project’s score regardless of other merits such as damage reduction.
Despite promises that all projects in the flood bond would eventually be completed, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia have also voted to cancel projects that voters approved. For instance, they tried to defund $191 million of flood-mitigation projects in Cedar Bayou and transfer the money to Garcia’s new Precinct 2.
Garcia has also suggested fixing 500-year flooding in LMI neighborhoods before more frequent flooding elsewhere. Together with other changes to the equity formula, that could mean certain projects in outlying neighborhoods never get built for lack of enough money.
Now the mostly Democrat-appointed Community Flood Resilience Task Force has recommended more changes to the formula. They include cherry-picking certain flood-risk reduction investments for a proposed Flood Mitigation Benefit Index. The apples-to-oranges comparison would make it look as though some watersheds were underfunded compared to others.
Who Would Favor Another Bond at this Point?
The new changes would apply to the flood resilience trust as well as any future flood bonds which do NOT have defined project lists approved by voters. Thus, a majority of commissioners could move dollars freely to the projects of their choice.
Throughout the constant changing of priorities, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia have sent signals that the amount of money in the bond isn’t enough to fix our flooding problems. Without mentioning any specific projects, defining costs, estimating benefits, or promising how the money would be spent, they have suggested they want another $50 to $60 billion from voters.
That’s a pretty big ask before we know what the first $5 billion has achieved – or even where the most frequent flooding occurs.
Democratic commissions say all the money to date has gone to affluent watersheds and LMI watersheds have received none. But people in neighborhoods like Kingwood can see the money going to LMI watersheds. This has created a “confusion” disaster that undermines trust in government – perhaps the biggest disaster of all.
Net: everyone believes they are getting nothing from the first flood bond. So, why would they vote for a second?
Ultimately, the partisan dialog now dividing us could make everyone in the county more vulnerable to the next big flood. This is part of the reason why disasters repeat themselves.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/9/22
1714 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Mitigation Update: 3rd Anniversary of First Elm Grove Flood
Back in 2019, portions of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest Villages flooded twice. The first time occurred on May 7th. According to Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) report on the storm, “A 30-min rate of 2.9 inches was recorded at US 59 and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and a 1 hour rate of 4.0 inches.”
“380 structures were flooded in the Elm Grove Village subdivision and other nearby subdivisions in the northern portions of Kingwood.”
Investigation by HCFCD the following day revealed that “… the flooding was potentially caused by development upstream in Montgomery County that sent large volumes of sheetflow into the subdivisions and Taylor Gully.” This video shows the sheetflow pouring out Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village property into homes along Village Springs Drive.
Perry contractors had clearcut 267 acres without installing the required detention ponds when the rain hit.
In the three years that followed, I posted 242 reports about every aspect of that flood and a second one during Imelda. The second flood affected two to three times more homes in the same areas.
The floods triggered multiple lawsuits which Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors finally settled late in 2021.
What It Looked Like
Catalog of Flood Mitigation Efforts
Ever since the Elm Grove floods, Harris County, HCFCD, the City of Houston, Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s team and others have worked diligently to reduce future flood risk.
On this Mother’s Day weekend, it may bring flooded families comfort to understand how far we have come. Much remains to do, but much has already been done, or at least started.
Major Maintenance on Taylor Gully
Even before the second flood, HCFCD undertook a major maintenance project on Taylor Gully to remove accumulated sediment and restore channel conveyance.
The project began in 2019. Work extended downstream to the natural portion of the channel. It finished in 2021.
Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis and Taylor Gully Study
In 2019-20, HCFCD, Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (TIRZ 10), and City of Houston teamed up to conduct a drainage analysis for all streams in the Kingwood area. A recommendation to prioritize engineering of drainage improvements along Taylor Gully (including Woodridge) came out of that study.
The Flood Control District began preliminary engineering study on the Taylor Gully improvements in 2021. HCFCD anticipates presenting results during late summer or early fall this year.
Purchase of Woodridge Village By County and City
In early 2021, the Flood Control District and the City of Houston partnered to acquire the 267.35-acre Woodridge Village property for approximately $14 million.
They closed on the purchase of Woodridge Village in March 2021.
Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin lobbied the City to purchase about 70 acres of the property.
HCFCD will use the remaining 194.35 acres of the Woodridge site for stormwater detention. That will help reduce flood risk.
Crenshaw Earmarks
Congressman Dan Crenshaw secured an earmark for $1.6 million for engineering of flood mitigation improvements along Taylor Gully. The engineering should shrink the floodplain. That will effectively remove 387 structures from the floodplain and has the potential to remove another 62.
Crenshaw also has another earmark pending for $10 million to actually construct the improvements recommended by the study.
Local groups must spend earmarks during the fiscal year in which Congress approves them. So funding can’t get too far ahead of the engineering.
Taylor Gully Preliminary Engineering Study
The Taylor Gully study will look at Woodridge in conjunction with other potential Taylor Gully improvements. However, HCFCD must perform additional preliminary engineering to further evaluate specific alternatives for Woodridge and determine the best.
During each study, HCFCD will hold Community Engagement Meetings to present alternatives and gather feedback.
Excavation & Removal Contract
In January 2022, HCFCD began work on a Woodridge Excavation and Removal (E&R) project.
E&R projects provide a head start on the excavation process and risk reduction. They can start before the design of a stormwater detention basin. Contractors excavate a set amount of material within an agreed-upon timeframe and general area.
As of April 30, 2022, 36,421 cubic yards of material has already been removed from the site. See photo above taken that day. The project will remove as much as 500,000 cubic yards of soil and other material.
Woodridge will remain an active construction zone for up to three years.
Have a Happy Mother’s Day this weekend.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/6/2022
1711 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 1096 Days since May 7, 2019
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.