So what accounts for the gap between perception and reality?
Most projects are practically invisible from streets. They’re “hidden” behind fence lines, tree lines, gates, or often, under forest canopies.
They’re scattered over dozens to hundreds of square miles. Often, they happen outside of residents’ normal traffic patterns in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
Most people have only a sketchy idea of which watershed they live in.
People could drive by projects and not realize they were flood-control construction as opposed to some other kind.
The projects are often disguised as parks, wetlands or natural areas when finished.
I lunched last week with three people from Cypress Creek who swore that nothing was happening in their 205-square-mile watershed. But actually, within the watershed, HCFCD has spent:
$260 million since 2000, the fourth most of any watershed in Harris County.
$169 million since Harvey – more than any other watershed – period – since Harvey.
Simple, Three-Step Reality Check
So where did all the money go? Here’s an easy, three-step way to learn…that applies to any watershed in Harris County:
If you know your watershed, select it from the list. If not, type your address in the search bar just above the list.
You’ll be taken to a page that lists recent, current and planned projects in your watershed. Click through them and start digging down several levels to learn more about the status of each.
Want to verify the information? Make a list and get in your car. I did that this morning and checked out four Cypress Creek projects between the Katy Prairie and I-45.
It took an hour of planning, three hours of driving, and another 3 hours for drone photography. The hardest part was finding favorable drone launch sites near the projects. But sure enough, all the projects existed. Here’s what I found.
The property will remain protected under a conservation easement with the Katy Prairie Conservancy. The wetlands may be used in the future to offset unavoidable wetland impacts caused by other federally permitted projects.
T.C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin
South of Cypresswood Drive, HCFCD has 171.5 acres of land split by T.C. Jester. Eventually, this whole area could become one large detention pond. The east side of TC Jester is still undergoing a preliminary engineering review, but excavation has already started on the west side.
East of T.C. Jester at Cypress Creek (foreground).West side of T.C. Jester where excavation has already begun.Start of excavation on west side of T.C. Jester.
The purpose of these projects: to construct stormwater detention on the main stem of Cypress Creek, which will work to reduce flood risks and damages during heavy rains.
A regional drainage study for the watershed found that flooding along tributaries of Cypress Creek is predominately caused by stormwater from a rising Cypress Creek backing up into tributaries. Stormwater detention basins could reduce that backwater.
This ditch was down to a two-year level of service and had flooded neighborhoods on both sides on multiple occasions.
The project will also include the installation of approximately 1,200 linear feet of erosion control for the channel downstream nearer the confluence with Cypress Creek in the distance.
Ridge Top Channel Improvements
Another ditch (K129-00-00) farther east parallels Ridge Top Drive in the Ponderosa Forest area of northwest Harris County.
Here, HCFCD replaced the concrete lining in the entire channel. That included about 3,800 linear feet from Saddlecreek Drive to Cypress Creek. The project also repaired multiple sinkholes or voids that had developed in some areas as a result of stormwater undermining the original channel lining.
Major Maintenance by HCFCD on K129, a Cypress Creek TributaryEarly stages in the design of this project took place prior to the 2018 Bond Election. Construction began in October 2018 and was completed in January 2020.
More than Cypress Creek Projects in the Works
Altogether, I counted more than 20 projects in Cypress Creek at various stages of development. They included:
Swales for extreme rainfall events
Right-of-way acquisitions and floodplain preservation
Buyouts
Neighborhood projects
Stormwater detention basins in various stages of planning and construction
Channel conveyance restorations
Major maintenance projects
Knowing that improvements are happening sure beats living in fear that they aren’t. So do a reality check of the watershed around you.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/24/2021
1425 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/2021/07/20210724-DJI_0167.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2021-07-24 18:10:102021-07-24 18:33:34Reality Check: Easy Way to Learn About Flood-Mitigation Projects in Your Area
The SJRA and its partners can now officially start three studies:
An upper San Jacinto Watershed regional sedimentation study
A conceptual engineering feasibility study for flood-control dams in the Spring Creek Watershed
A joint reservoir operations study between Lake Conroe and Lake Houston
Lake Houston Gates can discharge only 10,000 CFS (left), while Lake Conroe’s can discharge 150,000 CFS. To help provide better watershed management, the Coastal Water Authority is studying the addition of 1000 crest gates to Lake Houston, necessitating the joint reservoir operations study.
Why Flood Mitigation Takes So Long
We are all learning together how long flood mitigation takes. It’s somewhat frustrating to see a conceptual engineering feasibility study being kicked off one month from the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.
I’m not pointing fingers at the SJRA, its partners, the TWDB, or the State. If you took the time to read all of the approximately 1500 posts on ReduceFlooding.com, you would see that:
Harvey happened right after the 2017 legislature finished its work.
Eighteen months elapsed before the legislature met again.
It took another nine months for the legislature and governor to approve flood mitigation funding.
Then, the TWDB needed to define rules for the distribution of funds, solicit public comment, refine the rules, solicit grant applications, and evaluate them in a competitive context.
Finally, add time for related preliminary studies such as the Lake Houston Spillway Improvement Project, the San Jacinto River Basin Master Drainage Study, a sand trap study, and a siting study for the flood-control dams.
And don’t forget the time to find partners and develop political consensus around solutions.
Still Years from Construction
The truly scary thing is that even when these studies are completed, we still could be years from construction and more years from completion of any of these projects.
For instance, we just started final engineering on the Lake Houston Spillway Improvement Project. Best-case projections show completion of the project in mid 2024 – 7 years after Harvey.
The system seems set up to protect money more than people. We certainly don’t want people rushing off, building half-baked projects that endanger people downstream, the environment, or the safety of a dam…especially if they produce no demonstrable benefit.
But we also don’t want people to flood multiple times waiting for flood-mitigation improvements. And some have. Remember Imelda? Just a thought as we head into the heart of hurricane season.
Studies Could Take 18 Months to 4 Years
The Spring Creek Flood-control Dam study will take 18 months. The Joint Reservoir Operations Study will take 3 years. And the Sediment Study is scheduled to take 4 years, though Matt Barrett, SJRA’s flood-mitigation director, is trying to compress that to 18 months.
If you missed the original post about these three studies, you can find more details here. SJRA partners in these projects include Harris County Flood Control, City of Houston, City of Humble, Montgomery County and five utility districts.
Posted by Bob Rehak on July 23, 2021
1424 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 673 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Gates-Side-by-Side.jpg?fit=1200%2C400&ssl=14001200adminadmin2021-07-23 14:37:542021-07-23 14:42:47SJRA Board Accepts Grant Funding for Three Studies
SJRA directors will consider accepting grant funding for three flood-mitigation studies at their board meeting on Thursday, 7/22/21. The studies include:
A joint reservoir operations study between Lake Conroe and Lake Houston
An upper San Jacinto Watershed regional sedimentation study
A conceptual engineering feasibility study for flood-control dams in the Spring Creek Watershed
The board will also consider executing escrow agreements related to each grant. TWDB grants work on a reimbursement basis. At the start of the project, TWDB puts the grant money into an escrow account. Then funds are drawn down as vendors submit invoices and TWDB approves them.
I posted previously about grant applications for these projects. Now that the grants have been approved, work can actually begin once the board agrees to accept the money. See details below about each project.
Joint Reservoir Operations Study
The addition of 1000-feet of crest gates to the Lake Houston Dam is a game changer for the way reservoirs on the San Jacinto work together. Right now, the gates on Lake Houston have a discharge capacity of only 10,000 cubic feet per second (CFS). The discharge capacity of the crest gates would increase that by more than 4X to 45,000 cfs. It’s still not the 150,000 CFS of Lake Conroe gates, but percentage-wise it’s much closer.
Thus, operators need to re-examine how best to synchronize their operations and plans. For instance, pre-releasing water in advance of a storm might be more viable now as a flood-mitigation strategy.
Another element of this study is a “flow forecasting tool.” It would predict rises in Lake Houston depending on the flow rates in tributaries during major storms. Matt Barrett, SJRA’s flood-mitigation director, says this tool could be useful for flood warnings and evacuations. If you knew that lake water would rise X feet in Y hours, and that your slab was a foot below X, you’d know exactly how much time you had to pack up your valuables and get out.
This study is being conducted with help from the Cities of Houston and Humble.
Upper San Jacinto Basin Sedimentation Study
The upper basin of the San Jacinto River includes everything above Lake Houston. This study has three goals:
Understand where the sediment is coming from
Learn where it ends up
Develop a management plan to handle it.
For the record, here is the scope of work. Note that stakeholder input and public meetings will be a big component of this project (Task 2). Tasks 3 and 6 include evaluation of sand mines. And Task 7 includes “Sand and Gravel Mining Best Management Practices.”
The San Jacinto West Fork has more than 20-square miles of sand mines in the 20-mile stretch between I-69 and I-45, exposing a swath of sediment averaging a mile wide.
The sedimentation study is being conducted with financial help from the Cities of Houston and Humble, and the Harris County Flood Control District.
A related sand-trap study is nearly complete. The SJRA should release it next month for public input.
Spring Creek Flood Control Dam Feasibility Study
About a year ago, SJRA applied for a TWDB grant to study the feasibility of building two flood control dams in the upper Spring Creek Watershed. The partners identified two preferred locations from a previous siting study that considered dozens. The two included Walnut and Birch Creek tributaries.
The objective now: to see whether the benefits justify the costs. Said another way, will the dams reduce flooding and protect enough structures to make the cost of building them worthwhile?
Together, they would have a combined capacity of 20,000 acre feet. That’s significant. But it would provide more benefit to people in the upper Spring Creek watershed than the Lake Houston Area.
The scope of work includes:
Environmental due diligence
Site investigations
Literature and mapping review
Permitting requirement investigations
Desktop surveys/assessments
Preliminary coordination with permitting agency
Conceptual design of dams to determine feasibility – geotechnical borings, alternative configurations development, H&H modeling analysis, etc.
Cost estimate development – dam construction costs, as well as costs related to land acquisition, utility conflicts and relocations, environmental mitigation, O&M, etc.
Update benefit/cost ratios (BCR) from SJRWMDP using data developed as part of this effort.
Partners in this effort include the SJRA, HCFCD, City of Humble, and five municipal utility districts. To learn more about these projects and others, consult pages 19 and 21 of this PDF.
To View or Participate in the Board Meeting
The SJRA board meeting starts at 8am.
If you choose to participate via webinar, register at this link and use webinar ID 950-202-179.
If you use the GoToWebinar App, you will have the opportunity to provide public comments.
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/2021/07/DJI_0724.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2021-07-21 21:13:052021-07-21 21:36:38SJRA to Consider Three Flood-Mitigation Studies Thursday
Reality Check: Easy Way to Learn About Flood-Mitigation Projects in Your Area
It’s time for a reality check, folks. I meet regularly with Harris County residents from almost every watershed. Virtually all of them have one thing in common. Rich and poor alike see NO Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) projects in their watersheds. Yet as of the end of the first quarter, out of 181 total 2018 Bond Projects, 19 were completed, 141 were active, and only 21 had not been initiated.
Gap Between Perception, Reality
So what accounts for the gap between perception and reality?
I lunched last week with three people from Cypress Creek who swore that nothing was happening in their 205-square-mile watershed. But actually, within the watershed, HCFCD has spent:
Simple, Three-Step Reality Check
So where did all the money go? Here’s an easy, three-step way to learn…that applies to any watershed in Harris County:
Want to verify the information? Make a list and get in your car. I did that this morning and checked out four Cypress Creek projects between the Katy Prairie and I-45.
It took an hour of planning, three hours of driving, and another 3 hours for drone photography. The hardest part was finding favorable drone launch sites near the projects. But sure enough, all the projects existed. Here’s what I found.
Katy-Hockley Wetlands Mitigation Bank
The property will remain protected under a conservation easement with the Katy Prairie Conservancy. The wetlands may be used in the future to offset unavoidable wetland impacts caused by other federally permitted projects.
T.C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin
South of Cypresswood Drive, HCFCD has 171.5 acres of land split by T.C. Jester. Eventually, this whole area could become one large detention pond. The east side of TC Jester is still undergoing a preliminary engineering review, but excavation has already started on the west side.
The purpose of these projects: to construct stormwater detention on the main stem of Cypress Creek, which will work to reduce flood risks and damages during heavy rains.
A regional drainage study for the watershed found that flooding along tributaries of Cypress Creek is predominately caused by stormwater from a rising Cypress Creek backing up into tributaries. Stormwater detention basins could reduce that backwater.
The study recommends nearly 25,000 acre-feet of additional stormwater detention in the watershed. This one area could go a long way toward meeting that goal.
Cypress Creek Tributary K-163 Conveyance Improvements
At Timberlake Drive and Cypress North Houston Road, HCFCD is replacing a shallow, silted-in ditch with 8’x6′ reinforced concrete box culverts. Depending on the location along Timberlake, there are either two or three such box culverts side by side.
This ditch was down to a two-year level of service and had flooded neighborhoods on both sides on multiple occasions.
Ridge Top Channel Improvements
Another ditch (K129-00-00) farther east parallels Ridge Top Drive in the Ponderosa Forest area of northwest Harris County.
Here, HCFCD replaced the concrete lining in the entire channel. That included about 3,800 linear feet from Saddlecreek Drive to Cypress Creek. The project also repaired multiple sinkholes or voids that had developed in some areas as a result of stormwater undermining the original channel lining.
More than Cypress Creek Projects in the Works
Altogether, I counted more than 20 projects in Cypress Creek at various stages of development. They included:
Knowing that improvements are happening sure beats living in fear that they aren’t. So do a reality check of the watershed around you.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/24/2021
1425 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.
SJRA Board Accepts Grant Funding for Three Studies
Yesterday, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) Board accepted three grants from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to conduct studies for various projects. This was expected. The SJRA had applied for each of the grants about a year ago. The vote, however, now obligates the SJRA. It’s somewhat like applying for a loan and then signing the contract after it is approved.
Three Studies Now Teed Up
The SJRA and its partners can now officially start three studies:
Why Flood Mitigation Takes So Long
We are all learning together how long flood mitigation takes. It’s somewhat frustrating to see a conceptual engineering feasibility study being kicked off one month from the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.
I’m not pointing fingers at the SJRA, its partners, the TWDB, or the State. If you took the time to read all of the approximately 1500 posts on ReduceFlooding.com, you would see that:
Still Years from Construction
The truly scary thing is that even when these studies are completed, we still could be years from construction and more years from completion of any of these projects.
For instance, we just started final engineering on the Lake Houston Spillway Improvement Project. Best-case projections show completion of the project in mid 2024 – 7 years after Harvey.
The system seems set up to protect money more than people. We certainly don’t want people rushing off, building half-baked projects that endanger people downstream, the environment, or the safety of a dam…especially if they produce no demonstrable benefit.
But we also don’t want people to flood multiple times waiting for flood-mitigation improvements. And some have. Remember Imelda? Just a thought as we head into the heart of hurricane season.
Studies Could Take 18 Months to 4 Years
The Spring Creek Flood-control Dam study will take 18 months. The Joint Reservoir Operations Study will take 3 years. And the Sediment Study is scheduled to take 4 years, though Matt Barrett, SJRA’s flood-mitigation director, is trying to compress that to 18 months.
If you missed the original post about these three studies, you can find more details here. SJRA partners in these projects include Harris County Flood Control, City of Houston, City of Humble, Montgomery County and five utility districts.
Posted by Bob Rehak on July 23, 2021
1424 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 673 since Imelda
SJRA to Consider Three Flood-Mitigation Studies Thursday
SJRA directors will consider accepting grant funding for three flood-mitigation studies at their board meeting on Thursday, 7/22/21. The studies include:
The board will also consider executing escrow agreements related to each grant. TWDB grants work on a reimbursement basis. At the start of the project, TWDB puts the grant money into an escrow account. Then funds are drawn down as vendors submit invoices and TWDB approves them.
I posted previously about grant applications for these projects. Now that the grants have been approved, work can actually begin once the board agrees to accept the money. See details below about each project.
Joint Reservoir Operations Study
The addition of 1000-feet of crest gates to the Lake Houston Dam is a game changer for the way reservoirs on the San Jacinto work together. Right now, the gates on Lake Houston have a discharge capacity of only 10,000 cubic feet per second (CFS). The discharge capacity of the crest gates would increase that by more than 4X to 45,000 cfs. It’s still not the 150,000 CFS of Lake Conroe gates, but percentage-wise it’s much closer.
Thus, operators need to re-examine how best to synchronize their operations and plans. For instance, pre-releasing water in advance of a storm might be more viable now as a flood-mitigation strategy.
Another element of this study is a “flow forecasting tool.” It would predict rises in Lake Houston depending on the flow rates in tributaries during major storms. Matt Barrett, SJRA’s flood-mitigation director, says this tool could be useful for flood warnings and evacuations. If you knew that lake water would rise X feet in Y hours, and that your slab was a foot below X, you’d know exactly how much time you had to pack up your valuables and get out.
This study is being conducted with help from the Cities of Houston and Humble.
Upper San Jacinto Basin Sedimentation Study
The upper basin of the San Jacinto River includes everything above Lake Houston. This study has three goals:
For the record, here is the scope of work. Note that stakeholder input and public meetings will be a big component of this project (Task 2). Tasks 3 and 6 include evaluation of sand mines. And Task 7 includes “Sand and Gravel Mining Best Management Practices.”
The sedimentation study is being conducted with financial help from the Cities of Houston and Humble, and the Harris County Flood Control District.
A related sand-trap study is nearly complete. The SJRA should release it next month for public input.
Spring Creek Flood Control Dam Feasibility Study
About a year ago, SJRA applied for a TWDB grant to study the feasibility of building two flood control dams in the upper Spring Creek Watershed. The partners identified two preferred locations from a previous siting study that considered dozens. The two included Walnut and Birch Creek tributaries.
The objective now: to see whether the benefits justify the costs. Said another way, will the dams reduce flooding and protect enough structures to make the cost of building them worthwhile?
Together, they would have a combined capacity of 20,000 acre feet. That’s significant. But it would provide more benefit to people in the upper Spring Creek watershed than the Lake Houston Area.
The scope of work includes:
Partners in this effort include the SJRA, HCFCD, City of Humble, and five municipal utility districts. To learn more about these projects and others, consult pages 19 and 21 of this PDF.
To View or Participate in the Board Meeting
The SJRA board meeting starts at 8am.
If you choose to participate via webinar, register at this link and use webinar ID 950-202-179.
If you use the GoToWebinar App, you will have the opportunity to provide public comments.
To view the Agenda, visit SJRA’s website at: 07-22-21 Agenda and Coversheets.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/22/21
1423 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.