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
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
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.
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