This week, ReduceFlooding.com passed up a million total page views. I launched the site on 3/3/2018, about six months after Hurricane Harvey. In the early days, it averaged 10-20 page views a day. This month, views ranged from 1,000-5,000 a day. That’s not bad for a one-issue website focused a small geographic area. Especially one that doesn’t promote itself. Over half of local business websites receive less than 500 visits a month.
Objectives Have Never Changed
Since the beginning, I have posted 1,596 news stories and taken 26,211 photos. After all that, my objectives have never changed. They remain to:
Raise awareness of how sedimentation and other man-made factors contribute to flooding along the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston
Mouth Bar of the West Fork of the San Jacinto after Harvey.The same area today is virtually unrecognizable. The above-water portion of the mouth bar is gone. (Turbidity caused by recent rains.)
Reporting as a Learning/Sharing Process
Several things have become clear to me while researching, writing and photographing hundreds of stories about flooding and flood mitigation.
Flooding is not very high on most political agendas unless we make it so. People pay attention to flooding after major floods. Then they hear about big dollars for flood mitigation funding and assume the money is being put to work immediately. It’s not.
Growth is a bigger incentive to most politicians in outlying areas than flood avoidance. Flooding is rare. Once it’s out of the news, priorities turn elsewhere.
Flood Mitigation Is a Dog Fight
Unless communities stay on top of flood mitigation and people work together to ensure they get their fair share of funding, they won’t. It’s a dog fight. We collectively have more needs than dollars. Never assume the machinery of government is working for you.
As State Senator Brandon Creighton once said, “If you don’t get involved in government, you’ll get run over.”
That’s why I want to thank each and every reader of ReduceFlooding.com. Your continued interest creates a collective voice that is louder than any of us could have as individuals.
So thank you again for the ideas, photos, tips, and suggestions that hundreds of you send in each month. You help shine a light on the problems. Thanks a million for your support.
Thanks also to our local representatives: Dave Martin, Mayor Pro Tem and District E City Council Member, City of Houston; Ted Poe, former US District 2 Representative; Dan Crenshaw, current US District 2 Representative; US Senator Ted Cruz; US Senator John Cornyn; State Representative Dan Huberty; State Senator Brandon Crenshaw; Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle; and Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/29/2021
1369 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/2021/05/20210526-20210526-RJR_8220-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C588&ssl=15881200adminadmin2021-05-29 19:25:012021-05-29 21:21:08Thanks A Million
It was about a year ago that New Caney ISD cleared land for its third high school between Sorters-McClellan Road and US 59 south of Kingwood Drive. Today, the site is a beehive of activity. Construction crews have erected walls that will eventually define the shape of High School #3. I took the pictured below on 5/26/2021.
New Caney ISD Campus #3 on Sorters McClellan Road south of Kingwood Drive.
The New Caney ISD says that as of May 2021, “The site work at Comprehensive High School #3 includes storm drainage which is 95 percent complete. The sanitary sewer is 85 percent complete. The electrical is 98 percent complete and the water is 90 percent complete. The concrete slab on the building is 85 percent complete. The form and pour tilt-up panels are 95 percent complete. The erect panels are 80 percent complete and the structural steel is five percent complete.”
New Caney ISD’s enrollment grew 31 percent between 2011 and 2016. That ranked NCISD first in the greater Houston area and fourth in the state for percentage enrollment growth. Eventually, the high school will hold 2,250 students. However, the school will open with only 1,350 in August 2022.
FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer shows that the extent of the floodplain in this area roughly parallels Sorter’s McClellan Road. The high school property falls roughly within the red circle.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/29/2021
1369 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210526-RJR_8088.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2021-05-29 15:38:242021-05-29 15:43:16New Caney High School #3 Taking Shape
This week, the Railroad Commission of Texas finished plugging three abandoned oil wells in the Forest Cove townhome complex near Marina and Timberline Drives. The Commission cited the owner for leaks in the past. However, the owner, Noxxe Oil & Gas, went bankrupt in 2020. That put the responsibility for remediation on the Railroad Commission. The Commission began plugging earlier this month and finished in this location on Wednesday afternoon. See photos below.
About Plugging
The National Petroleum Council says that a well is plugged by setting mechanical or cement plugs in the wellbore at specific intervals to prevent fluid flow. The plugging process usually requires a workover rig and cement pumped into the wellbore. The plugging process can take two days to a week, depending on the number of plugs to be set in the well.
Oil and gas can not only seep up through the well’s pipe, but also through the annulus. The annulus is the area between the outside of the pipe and the surrounding earth. Therefore, plugging often involves perforating pipe and forcing cement into the annulus, too.
First of three wells being plugged. Photographed on Sunday May 9, 2021. The larger townhome complex in the background was torn down on Wednesday, May 26, 2021.Pump jack from second well ready to haul away. Photographed on May 26, 2021. Note West Fork bridge in background.Railroad Commission contractors plugging third of three wells near townhomes on Wednesday, 5/26/2021 at 8am.
Photo taken at noon on May 26, 2021. Contractors packing up. Note location of previously demolished townhomes to left of rig and top center. Water in foreground is the San Jacinto West Fork.
Plans For Rest of Wells Remain Unclear
The Railroad Commission has not returned multiple calls or emails regarding its plans for other Noxxe wells near the Forest Cove little league fields. Earlier this year, the Commission said that someone might buy those wells and try to produce oil from them, using the tanks already on the property.
Approximately 10 wells remain on the portion of the old Noxxe lease between the Forest Cove Little League fields and the San Jacinto West Fork at the top of the frame.Photo taken on 5/26/21 around noon.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/28/2021
1368 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/2021/05/20210509-DJI_0778.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2021-05-28 14:14:482021-05-28 14:23:24Railroad Commission Plugs Three Abandoned Wells Near Forest Cove Townhomes
Thanks A Million
This week, ReduceFlooding.com passed up a million total page views. I launched the site on 3/3/2018, about six months after Hurricane Harvey. In the early days, it averaged 10-20 page views a day. This month, views ranged from 1,000-5,000 a day. That’s not bad for a one-issue website focused a small geographic area. Especially one that doesn’t promote itself. Over half of local business websites receive less than 500 visits a month.
Objectives Have Never Changed
Since the beginning, I have posted 1,596 news stories and taken 26,211 photos. After all that, my objectives have never changed. They remain to:
Major Ongoing Stories
Through the years, several ongoing stories stand out:
Reporting as a Learning/Sharing Process
Several things have become clear to me while researching, writing and photographing hundreds of stories about flooding and flood mitigation.
Flooding is not very high on most political agendas unless we make it so. People pay attention to flooding after major floods. Then they hear about big dollars for flood mitigation funding and assume the money is being put to work immediately. It’s not.
Flood Mitigation Is a Dog Fight
Unless communities stay on top of flood mitigation and people work together to ensure they get their fair share of funding, they won’t. It’s a dog fight. We collectively have more needs than dollars. Never assume the machinery of government is working for you.
As State Senator Brandon Creighton once said, “If you don’t get involved in government, you’ll get run over.”
That’s why I want to thank each and every reader of ReduceFlooding.com. Your continued interest creates a collective voice that is louder than any of us could have as individuals.
So thank you again for the ideas, photos, tips, and suggestions that hundreds of you send in each month. You help shine a light on the problems. Thanks a million for your support.
Thanks also to our local representatives: Dave Martin, Mayor Pro Tem and District E City Council Member, City of Houston; Ted Poe, former US District 2 Representative; Dan Crenshaw, current US District 2 Representative; US Senator Ted Cruz; US Senator John Cornyn; State Representative Dan Huberty; State Senator Brandon Crenshaw; Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle; and Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/29/2021
1369 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
New Caney High School #3 Taking Shape
It was about a year ago that New Caney ISD cleared land for its third high school between Sorters-McClellan Road and US 59 south of Kingwood Drive. Today, the site is a beehive of activity. Construction crews have erected walls that will eventually define the shape of High School #3. I took the pictured below on 5/26/2021.
The New Caney ISD says that as of May 2021, “The site work at Comprehensive High School #3 includes storm drainage which is 95 percent complete. The sanitary sewer is 85 percent complete. The electrical is 98 percent complete and the water is 90 percent complete. The concrete slab on the building is 85 percent complete. The form and pour tilt-up panels are 95 percent complete. The erect panels are 80 percent complete and the structural steel is five percent complete.”
New Caney ISD’s enrollment grew 31 percent between 2011 and 2016. That ranked NCISD first in the greater Houston area and fourth in the state for percentage enrollment growth. Eventually, the high school will hold 2,250 students. However, the school will open with only 1,350 in August 2022.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/29/2021
1369 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Railroad Commission Plugs Three Abandoned Wells Near Forest Cove Townhomes
This week, the Railroad Commission of Texas finished plugging three abandoned oil wells in the Forest Cove townhome complex near Marina and Timberline Drives. The Commission cited the owner for leaks in the past. However, the owner, Noxxe Oil & Gas, went bankrupt in 2020. That put the responsibility for remediation on the Railroad Commission. The Commission began plugging earlier this month and finished in this location on Wednesday afternoon. See photos below.
About Plugging
The National Petroleum Council says that a well is plugged by setting mechanical or cement plugs in the wellbore at specific intervals to prevent fluid flow. The plugging process usually requires a workover rig and cement pumped into the wellbore. The plugging process can take two days to a week, depending on the number of plugs to be set in the well.
Oil and gas can not only seep up through the well’s pipe, but also through the annulus. The annulus is the area between the outside of the pipe and the surrounding earth. Therefore, plugging often involves perforating pipe and forcing cement into the annulus, too.
Pumpjacks like the one above represent a form of “artificial lift. They give nature a hand when pressure in the well cannot bring oil and gas to the surface by itself in produceable quantities.
Plans For Rest of Wells Remain Unclear
The Railroad Commission has not returned multiple calls or emails regarding its plans for other Noxxe wells near the Forest Cove little league fields. Earlier this year, the Commission said that someone might buy those wells and try to produce oil from them, using the tanks already on the property.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/28/2021
1368 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.