Texas has a dubious distinction that not many people realize. We lead the nation in flood events and their impacts. Not one of Texas’ 254 counties has escaped flooding. Despite our prowess in engineering, engineering alone has not prevented flooding. As a growing number of leaders are now starting to recognize, success will require the marriage of engineering and conservation.
Historical flood impact since 1996, by county. Each of the state’s 254 counties has plenty of experience with flooding, and the state leads the nation in number of recorded flood events. Visualization by FEMA Historical Risk and Costs. Data from NOAA Storm Events Database.
In 2019, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Legislature set the stage for future flood-mitigation efforts. A diverse collection of stakeholders worked with legislators to include language for conservation-based projects in both the flood planning process and project funding framework overseen by the Texas Water Development Board.
Recently, Dr. Matthew Berg published a paper describing the roles that conservation projects are starting to play in flood planning.
Dr. Berg is the CEO & Principal Scientist or Simfero Consultants. He has given ReduceFlooding.com the right to review and reproduce his copyrighted paper which first appeared in the Texas Water Journal.
Wide Spectrum of Conservation Solutions
Berg begins by describing the wide spectrum of conservation projects related to flood mitigation. They include:
Preservation and restoration toward one end
Smaller-scale features like bioswales, green roofs, and rain gardens somewhere in the middle
Revegetating with native plant species after construction of otherwise traditional structural projects on the other end.
Berg sees a role for nature-based approaches as a component of virtually every flood mitigation project.
Programs Aligning to Promote Use of Natural Solutions
Berg also cites research that has found these strategies can return $7 in benefits for every $1 in project costs.
Benefits range from flood reduction and improved water quality to erosion control, heat moderation, wildlife habitat, property value increases, recreation, reduced maintenance costs, topping up groundwater storage and more.
As a result, Berg is able to cite dozens of nature-based solutions from all around Texas. The sheer volume, diversity and practicality of these examples is a real eye opener.
Even the Army Corps of Engineers is embracing the effort with its “Engineering with Nature Program.” The Corps designed it to bring conservationists and engineers together.
In addition, FEMA introduced a program last year called BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities). It emphasizes boosting resilience before a disaster strikes rather than reacting after the damage has already been done.
The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 ensures a meaningful evaluation of nature-based solutions and clarifies the eligibility of natural infrastructure for cost-sharing.
President Biden has joined the bandwagon, too. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order requiring federally funded buildings and facilities to be located away from flood corridors.
These are just a tiny sampling of the dozens of conservation efforts reviewed by Berg.
By the time Phases I and II are complete, the detention ponds will hold 1,600 acre-feet of of stormwater. That’s enough to hold a foot of rain falling across two and a half square miles.
According to HCFCD’s website, construction on Phase I should finish by the end of this year. Phase II should start next year. The two projects have a combined budget of $38.5 million.
If you don’t believe the Flood Control District website, check out Google Earth, or the satellite views in Google Maps and Apple Maps. This project is so big, you can see it from outer space.
Satellite image from Google Earth taken on 11/16/2000. Phase I construction has advanced considerably since then. See below.
The following photos were all taken on Sunday, 7/25/2021, around noon.
HCFCD Lauder Detention Basin Phase I. Looking north across Lauder towards Greens Bayou in background and Bush Intercontinental Airport in distance.NE corner of HCFCD Phase I Lauder Detention Basin, looking east towards JFK Blvd, just south of Greens Bayou.Looking south from over Greens Bayou toward Lauder and the Aldine ISD Mead Middle School in distance.HCFCD Lauder Detention Basin on Greens Bayou. Excavation is now focusing on the pond closest to Lauder in the distance.When I last photographed this basin in April, the area for that last pond was being cleared.Phase II will be built in the wooded area beyond the current Phase I construction.
Still Don’t Believe the Project Exists?
Think the photos are some kind of Photoshop trick? Visit the site yourself. Construction is bustling. On Sunday, around noon, I watched dozens of trucks coming and going while I took the photos above. Here’s how to get there.
Lauder Detention Basin location
Counterfeiting the Currency of Communication
The bizarre thing about this project is that the politicians who say it doesn’t exist are the ones who funded it. Go figure. Such is the sad, sorry state of politics in America today.
I’ve even talked to professors, professional engineers, MBAs, and PhDs in engineering who claim this and similar projects in Halls and Greens Watersheds don’t exist!
Worse yet, they refuse to look at the pictures, go to the construction site, review Flood Control’s website, or trust audited county spending data.
Language is the currency of communication. It’s how we cooperate. How we get things done. It’s one thing to disagree over project priorities. But another to claim projects don’t even exist when they do.
As a consequence, public policy has become divorced from reality. This is worse than being duped by misinformation. It’s the unwillingness of people, even including some journalists, to review available information that helps the public make informed decisions. And it doesn’t bode well for your region.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/28/2021
1427 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/20210724-DJI_0232.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2021-07-26 22:35:482021-07-26 23:42:17Lauder Basin: Another Flood-Mitigation Project that Doesn’t Exist According to Some
The Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative needs your help. The group’s four-year effort to establish best management practices (BMPs) for sand mines in the San Jacinto River basin is drawing to a close. But one of the rules needs strengthening. Leave a public comment to that effect on the TCEQ website. It should only take two minutes.
Background: Proposed Rule is No Rule At All
Here’s the concern:
311.103 General Requirements (c) Pre-mining, Mining, and Post-Mining states: “If a BMP is infeasible, the operator shall use an alternative equivalent BMP and maintain documentation of the reason onsite. The following considerations may be used to determine if a BMP is infeasible (financial considerations; health and safety concerns; local restrictions or codes; site soils; slope; available area; precipitation pattern; site geometry; site vegetation; infiltration capacity; geotechnical factors; depth to groundwater; and other similar considerations).
Allowing twelve (+ an infinite) number of reasons to avoid implementation of BMPs provides so much latitude as to make this rule useless for community protection.
Operators need only retain documentation of their “reason” onsite for not complying, without first getting approval for substituting BMPs.
The Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative recommends that this rule be changed to include mandatory approval by the TCEQ for any variance from standard BMPs. The group also recommends the TCEQ make approved changes available for public inspection on its website.
Leave Public Comment Before Midnight Tuesday
If you agree, please go to the following link: https://www6.tceq.texas.gov/rules/ecomments/ and register your concern. Use your own words or feel free to cut and paste the information in red below – before Tuesday, July 27th at midnight.
I am concerned about 311.103 General Requirements (c) Pre-Mining, Mining and Post-Mining. It gives sand mine operators free license to ignore BMPs for a virtually infinite number of reasons. No approval by the TCEQ is necessary. All operators need to do is keep a note in a file onsite.
There are always those who will bend the rules for their convenience or financial gain at the expense of protecting the community.
Therefore, I urge you to change the wording in this rule so that variation from the BMPs requires approval by the TCEQ. I also urge you to publish any variations on your website for public inspection.
Hurricane Harvey showed us the dangers of sediment blockages in the San Jacinto River. Federal, State and Local Governments are spending $222 million to remove them.
To reduce such blockages in the future – and their associated risk of flooding – the Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative has been working on your behalf since Harvey to get to this point. Please take two minutes to protect four years worth of effort. Take action now.
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/2018/03/Harvey-SanJac_217.jpg?fit=2000%2C1333&ssl=113332000adminadmin2021-07-25 13:38:492021-07-25 13:44:59Take Two Minutes To Help Reduce Flooding in San Jacinto Watershed
Conservation Flood Planning in Texas
Texas has a dubious distinction that not many people realize. We lead the nation in flood events and their impacts. Not one of Texas’ 254 counties has escaped flooding. Despite our prowess in engineering, engineering alone has not prevented flooding. As a growing number of leaders are now starting to recognize, success will require the marriage of engineering and conservation.
In 2019, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Legislature set the stage for future flood-mitigation efforts. A diverse collection of stakeholders worked with legislators to include language for conservation-based projects in both the flood planning process and project funding framework overseen by the Texas Water Development Board.
Recently, Dr. Matthew Berg published a paper describing the roles that conservation projects are starting to play in flood planning.
Dr. Berg is the CEO & Principal Scientist or Simfero Consultants. He has given ReduceFlooding.com the right to review and reproduce his copyrighted paper which first appeared in the Texas Water Journal.
Wide Spectrum of Conservation Solutions
Berg begins by describing the wide spectrum of conservation projects related to flood mitigation. They include:
Programs Aligning to Promote Use of Natural Solutions
Berg also cites research that has found these strategies can return $7 in benefits for every $1 in project costs.
Benefits range from flood reduction and improved water quality to erosion control, heat moderation, wildlife habitat, property value increases, recreation, reduced maintenance costs, topping up groundwater storage and more.
As a result, Berg is able to cite dozens of nature-based solutions from all around Texas. The sheer volume, diversity and practicality of these examples is a real eye opener.
Even the Army Corps of Engineers is embracing the effort with its “Engineering with Nature Program.” The Corps designed it to bring conservationists and engineers together.
In addition, FEMA introduced a program last year called BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities). It emphasizes boosting resilience before a disaster strikes rather than reacting after the damage has already been done.
The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 ensures a meaningful evaluation of nature-based solutions and clarifies the eligibility of natural infrastructure for cost-sharing.
President Biden has joined the bandwagon, too. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order requiring federally funded buildings and facilities to be located away from flood corridors.
These are just a tiny sampling of the dozens of conservation efforts reviewed by Berg.
To See Full Study
To see Dr. Berg’s entire publication, click here. It’s a catalog of solutions right under our feet. All we need to do is recognize the opportunities and seize them.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/28/2021 with thanks to Dr. Matthew Berg and the Texas Water Journal
1429 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Lauder Basin: Another Flood-Mitigation Project that Doesn’t Exist According to Some
On Lauder Road west of JFK, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has been building a detention basin next to Greens Bayou. This is another one of those detention basins that doesn’t exist, according to some politicians and community activists. Even though the politicians voted to fund the projects, and the projects are well underway, those same politicians claim that all of the flood-bond money is going to richer watersheds because of the higher home values.
Watershed with Second Most Funding Since Harvey Allegedly has None
In reality, the Greens Bayou watershed has received almost $300 million in funding since 2000. Half of that ($156.8 million) has come since Harvey.
$38.5 Million Going to Lauder Basin
By the time Phases I and II are complete, the detention ponds will hold 1,600 acre-feet of of stormwater. That’s enough to hold a foot of rain falling across two and a half square miles.
According to HCFCD’s website, construction on Phase I should finish by the end of this year. Phase II should start next year. The two projects have a combined budget of $38.5 million.
If you don’t believe the Flood Control District website, check out Google Earth, or the satellite views in Google Maps and Apple Maps. This project is so big, you can see it from outer space.
The following photos were all taken on Sunday, 7/25/2021, around noon.
Still Don’t Believe the Project Exists?
Think the photos are some kind of Photoshop trick? Visit the site yourself. Construction is bustling. On Sunday, around noon, I watched dozens of trucks coming and going while I took the photos above. Here’s how to get there.
Counterfeiting the Currency of Communication
The bizarre thing about this project is that the politicians who say it doesn’t exist are the ones who funded it. Go figure. Such is the sad, sorry state of politics in America today.
I’ve even talked to professors, professional engineers, MBAs, and PhDs in engineering who claim this and similar projects in Halls and Greens Watersheds don’t exist!
Worse yet, they refuse to look at the pictures, go to the construction site, review Flood Control’s website, or trust audited county spending data.
Language is the currency of communication. It’s how we cooperate. How we get things done. It’s one thing to disagree over project priorities. But another to claim projects don’t even exist when they do.
As a consequence, public policy has become divorced from reality. This is worse than being duped by misinformation. It’s the unwillingness of people, even including some journalists, to review available information that helps the public make informed decisions. And it doesn’t bode well for your region.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/28/2021
1427 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Take Two Minutes To Help Reduce Flooding in San Jacinto Watershed
The Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative needs your help. The group’s four-year effort to establish best management practices (BMPs) for sand mines in the San Jacinto River basin is drawing to a close. But one of the rules needs strengthening. Leave a public comment to that effect on the TCEQ website. It should only take two minutes.
Background: Proposed Rule is No Rule At All
Here’s the concern:
311.103 General Requirements (c) Pre-mining, Mining, and Post-Mining states: “If a BMP is infeasible, the operator shall use an alternative equivalent BMP and maintain documentation of the reason onsite. The following considerations may be used to determine if a BMP is infeasible (financial considerations; health and safety concerns; local restrictions or codes; site soils; slope; available area; precipitation pattern; site geometry; site vegetation; infiltration capacity; geotechnical factors; depth to groundwater; and other similar considerations).
Allowing twelve (+ an infinite) number of reasons to avoid implementation of BMPs provides so much latitude as to make this rule useless for community protection.
Operators need only retain documentation of their “reason” onsite for not complying, without first getting approval for substituting BMPs.
The Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative recommends that this rule be changed to include mandatory approval by the TCEQ for any variance from standard BMPs. The group also recommends the TCEQ make approved changes available for public inspection on its website.
Leave Public Comment Before Midnight Tuesday
If you agree, please go to the following link: https://www6.tceq.texas.gov/rules/ecomments/ and register your concern. Use your own words or feel free to cut and paste the information in red below – before Tuesday, July 27th at midnight.
I am concerned about 311.103 General Requirements (c) Pre-Mining, Mining and Post-Mining. It gives sand mine operators free license to ignore BMPs for a virtually infinite number of reasons. No approval by the TCEQ is necessary. All operators need to do is keep a note in a file onsite.
There are always those who will bend the rules for their convenience or financial gain at the expense of protecting the community.
Therefore, I urge you to change the wording in this rule so that variation from the BMPs requires approval by the TCEQ. I also urge you to publish any variations on your website for public inspection.
Hurricane Harvey showed us the dangers of sediment blockages in the San Jacinto River. Federal, State and Local Governments are spending $222 million to remove them.
To reduce such blockages in the future – and their associated risk of flooding – the Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative has been working on your behalf since Harvey to get to this point. Please take two minutes to protect four years worth of effort. Take action now.
You can read the complete text of proposed BMPs here.
And you can read all of the proposed rules governing their implementation here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/25/21
1426 Days after 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.