When Humble ISD began clearing land for its new ag science and north transportation centers in Porter near Woodridge Village, flood-wary residents expressed concern. Woodridge Village had contributed to flooding Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest twice in 2019 and residents feared additional clearing of forests would add to their problems. However, the contractors successfully built detention ponds and installed drainage before any major storms hit. No one has flooded yet due to these projects. A flyover of both facilities on 3/3/2021 showed the state of construction progress on both sites.
Ag Science Center
Humble ISD broke ground for its new seven-acre northern ag science facility last November. The contractor quickly finished clearing the site and building a detention pond. Now, work has started on the underground portion of the project – utilities, plumbing and drainage. Aerial photos taken last week show large amounts of pipe stockpiled near Ford Road. Photos also show concrete forms being staked out for building foundations. Humble ISD says the target opening for the new ag science center is still 2021.
Photo looking west shows relationship between Humble ISD Ag Science Center (foreground), Ford Road, North Kingwood Forest (left) and Woodridge Village (background). Note pipe being stockpiled near road.Looking NNW, you can see trenches for pipe and forms for concrete.
When complete, this site will replace the ag barn facility at Deer Ridge Park in Kingwood. It flooded multiple times. Each time, students had to move their animals to safety. And one of the barns sustained structural damage. The purpose of this site: to improve safety.
Contractors have poured the most of the concrete for building pads and parking lots. A large retention pond has partially filled with standing water. Two buildings have gone up and roofs are being put on. But the contractors have not yet “dried in” the buildings. They still have to install windows and doors before interior finish-work can begin.
Looking NE at Humble ISD North Transportation Center Construction Progress as of 3/3/2021.Looking south at same site. Note the ag science center in the background at the top of the frame.Ford Road on right.
Target opening for this facility is also the 2021 school year. Humble ISD says the new transportation center will save $2 million per year in operating costs due to shorter routes. Currently, one transportation center in Humble serves the entire district. The center should also improve response times.
1286 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 535 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/20210303-RJR_6288.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2021-03-07 12:50:562021-03-07 13:16:43March Update on Humble ISD Ag Science, North Transportation Center Construction
“Backslope interceptors” help prevent erosion that can clog drainage ditches and contribute to flooding. Most people have probably seen them, but never paid much attention to them. Nor do they understand can reduce ditch maintenance costs by lengthening maintenance intervals. This photo essay shows what a difference they can make. All three counties in the Lake Houston Area require them, but Liberty County doesn’t enforce its own regulations. So the visual differences are dramatic.
What Are They? How Do They Work?
We’ve all observed water flowing through drainage ditches. But how does it get into the ditch? Broadly speaking, it can get into the ditch by a) flowing down the banks or b) through pipes. Option A increases erosion. Option B decreases it. B also reduces flood risk and the long-term cost of ditch maintenance.
What is a backslope interceptor? Imagine a small ditch (or swale) parallel to but offset from the main ditch. The swale captures runoff and overland sheet flow before it gets to the main ditch. The swale then funnels the flow into pipes that run under the banks of the main ditch. Keeping large volumes of water off those banks reduces erosion which could otherwise quickly fill the ditch with dirt and reduce its carrying capacity. If erosion reduces carrying capacity enough, water can flood nearby homes and businesses. The illustration below shows how backslope interceptors work.
Real-Life Examples
On 3/3/2021, I flew over three counties: Harris, Montgomery and Liberty. The “with/without” photos below illustrate the difference that properly constructed backslope interceptors can make. I shot the first one over the new Artavia development in southern Montgomery County. Note how the backslope interceptors let the developer establish grass on the banks of the ditch despite construction still in progress.
Ditches WITH Backslope Interceptors
Artavia ditch in Montgomery County. Note series of backslope interceptors behind the maintenance roads that flank the ditch.
Drainage ditch in Atascocita in Harris County. Again, backslope interceptors let grass establish on the sides of ditches, reducing erosion.
Wider shot along same ditch.
Ditches WITHOUT Backslope Interceptors
The rest of these examples came from Colony Ridge in Liberty County.
Lack of backslope interceptors has led to severe erosion. Runoff goes straight down the banks of ditch and into the East Fork San Jacinto.
Close up of same Colony Ridge ditch.
Role in Establishing Grass
The next two photos show the role of backslope interceptors in establishing grass. By preventing bank erosion from sheet flow, the interceptors give grass time to establish and grow, reducing erosion even more.
Ditch in Artavia, a still-developing area in Montgomery County, where developer has recently hydromulched to establish grass.
Liberty County ditch in newly developing part of Colony Ridge, also recently hydromulched. Without backslope interceptors, hydromulch has washed into bottom of ditch and will eventually wash away, leading to more severe erosion.
How Enforcing Regulations Can Reduce Costs, Flooding
Ironically, Liberty County drainage regulations updated in 2019 require developers to install backslope interceptors and plant grass on the banks of drainage ditches.
Page 100 states: “Erosion Control: All drainage facilities must be designed and maintained in a manner which minimizes the potential for damage due to erosion. No bare earthen slopes will be allowed. [Emphasis added] Various slope treatments, including turf establishment, concrete slope paving, and rip- rap, are accepted. Flow velocities should be kept below permissible values for each type of slope treatment. Interceptor structures and backslope swale systemsare required [Emphasis added] to prevent sheet flows from eroding the side slopes of open channels and detention facilities.”
Unfortunately, Liberty County does not enforce its own regulations.
When the developer eventually tries to turn Colony Ridge over to Liberty County, the county will inherit as massive maintenance burden because of non-compliance with these regulations. But even before then, the developer is creating rivers of mud that reduce the conveyance of ditches, and thus contribute to flooding nearby residents in Plum Grove.
This Colony Ridge drainage ditch in Liberty County is rapidly filling in. Residents use it for joy-riding in their ATVs, which further contributes to erosion.
The sediment also contributes to dredging and water purification costs for people downstream in Harris County.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/6/2021
1285 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 534 since Imelda
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.
Those who watched recent Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District (LSGCD) and Groundwater Management Area 14 (GMA-14) meetings were treated to some jaw-dropping, head-spinning doublespeak on the subject of subsidence. On January 20, 2021, at a GMA-14 meeting, LSGCD rejected any mention of subsidence in their Desired Future Conditions (DFCs). Then on 2/9/2021, three presenters told the Lone Star board that they were still considering subsidence. Then on 2/24/2021, the same three presenters told GMA-14 they still rejected subsidence.
Pardon My Whiplash!
As if that wasn’t enough, during the three-hour 2/24 GMA-14 meeting, they also:
Claimed that their groundwater withdrawal plan won’t create subsidence, but insisted on removing subsidence as a measure of their performance.
Believe they are entitled to their fair share of subsidence.
Insisted they should be measured on nine factors (which included subsidence), but then argued to take subsidence out of the mix.
Their main point? In essence, “We reject subsidence as a measure of our performance.”
Why? Samantha Reiter, LSGWCD General Manager, listed four reasons in a six-page, 3716-word letter which she read to GMA-14. I have summarized her arguments below for readability and to make concise responses possible.
Argument #1: Modeling
Modeling shows that projected water draw-downs won’t create subsidence in excess of one foot on average across Montgomery County, so why worry?
Response: Subsidence models have not yet been validated for the aquifer from which Montgomery County would predominantly pump – the Jasper. Moreover, while aquifers can rebound from overpumping, subsidence cannot. Without a subsidence metric as a check, private water utilities, such as Quadvest, could merrily pump as much water as they wanted for 40 years and claim they would make it up in the last ten. But the subsidence damage at that point would be permanent.
Much of the groundwater in Montgomery County used for human consumption is pumped from the Jasper aquifer which also affects Harris and Galveston Counties. However, models predicting subsidence from the Jasper have not been validated as they have for the Chicot and Evangeline Aquifers. Source Harris-Galveston Subsidence District.
Argument #2: Can’t Control Harris County
LSGCD can’t control Harris County pumping which affects subsidence in MoCo.
Response: True, but MoCo has already shown that surface water can dramatically reduce subsidence, even where subsidence is worst – in the heavily populated, southern part of the county. Moreover, SJRA’s surface water treatment plant has space to quadruple its capacity. While MoCo is arguing to increase its reliance on groundwater, Harris County is desperately trying to reduce its.
When The Woodlands began using more surface water in 2016 after completion of a surface water pipeline, the rate of subsidence dropped 75%.
See more below under “More on Argument #2.”
Argument #3: Unfairness
It’s unfair to limit subsidence in MoCo to an amount less than Harris County experienced.
Response: Is LSGCD really arguing to make the same mistakes Harris County did? Is it really worth damaging peoples’ foundations, walls, doors, cabinets, ceilings, roofs and driveways to make a philosophical point about fairness?
These front steps in The Woodlands dropped almost 10 inches due to subsidence before conversion to more surface water. Photo courtesy of Mark Meinwrath.
Argument #4: Measurable Goals
Goals must be measurable and LSGCD does not have enough monitoring sites or equipment to measure subsidence throughout Montgomery County.
Mike Turco, head of the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District answered this in the GMA-14 meeting. You can monitor subsidence with GPS, LIDAR and other readily available technologies for much less than the cost of a network of extensometers.
Of the four arguments posed above, #2 seems strongest. Excessive pumping in either Harris or Montgomery County can produce subsidence across the county line. So how do you determine who’s causing how much in each location?
This is a question for scientists to answer. However, it seems to me that if one county is reducing its reliance on groundwater and the other is increasing its, any increase in the rate of subsidence should be easy to trace.
And this is precisely the scenario we face. Harris is reducing its dependence on groundwater; Montgomery is arguing to increase its.
In my opinion, verbose, rambling, repetitive 3-hour meetings filled with doublespeak have been designed to cloud tradeoffs, not find the best balance. It shouldn’t take smart people three hours to articulate a problem. And until we can get at what the real problem is, we will never find a real solution.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/5/2021
1284 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/2018/11/6-Aquifers-e1541284612604.jpg?fit=1500%2C1130&ssl=111301500adminadmin2021-03-05 15:11:002021-03-06 08:35:41Doublespeak Continues to Cloud MoCo Subsidence Debate
March Update on Humble ISD Ag Science, North Transportation Center Construction
When Humble ISD began clearing land for its new ag science and north transportation centers in Porter near Woodridge Village, flood-wary residents expressed concern. Woodridge Village had contributed to flooding Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest twice in 2019 and residents feared additional clearing of forests would add to their problems. However, the contractors successfully built detention ponds and installed drainage before any major storms hit. No one has flooded yet due to these projects. A flyover of both facilities on 3/3/2021 showed the state of construction progress on both sites.
Ag Science Center
Humble ISD broke ground for its new seven-acre northern ag science facility last November. The contractor quickly finished clearing the site and building a detention pond. Now, work has started on the underground portion of the project – utilities, plumbing and drainage. Aerial photos taken last week show large amounts of pipe stockpiled near Ford Road. Photos also show concrete forms being staked out for building foundations. Humble ISD says the target opening for the new ag science center is still 2021.
When complete, this site will replace the ag barn facility at Deer Ridge Park in Kingwood. It flooded multiple times. Each time, students had to move their animals to safety. And one of the barns sustained structural damage. The purpose of this site: to improve safety.
North Transportation Center
Meanwhile, a quarter mile away, the North Transportation Center is taking its final shape. This project started several months before the new ag science center.
Contractors have poured the most of the concrete for building pads and parking lots. A large retention pond has partially filled with standing water. Two buildings have gone up and roofs are being put on. But the contractors have not yet “dried in” the buildings. They still have to install windows and doors before interior finish-work can begin.
Target opening for this facility is also the 2021 school year. Humble ISD says the new transportation center will save $2 million per year in operating costs due to shorter routes. Currently, one transportation center in Humble serves the entire district. The center should also improve response times.
Humble ISD financed both projects with its 2018 bond program.
Last week, Harris County purchased more than two thirds of Woodridge Village for a major flood reduction project. Work on that should start soon. With that and the completion of these Humble ISD projects, nearby residents should sleep easier.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/7/2020
1286 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 535 since Imelda
Photo Essay: How “Backslope Interceptors” Reduce Erosion, Ditch Maintenance, Flood Risk
“Backslope interceptors” help prevent erosion that can clog drainage ditches and contribute to flooding. Most people have probably seen them, but never paid much attention to them. Nor do they understand can reduce ditch maintenance costs by lengthening maintenance intervals. This photo essay shows what a difference they can make. All three counties in the Lake Houston Area require them, but Liberty County doesn’t enforce its own regulations. So the visual differences are dramatic.
What Are They? How Do They Work?
We’ve all observed water flowing through drainage ditches. But how does it get into the ditch? Broadly speaking, it can get into the ditch by a) flowing down the banks or b) through pipes. Option A increases erosion. Option B decreases it. B also reduces flood risk and the long-term cost of ditch maintenance.
What is a backslope interceptor? Imagine a small ditch (or swale) parallel to but offset from the main ditch. The swale captures runoff and overland sheet flow before it gets to the main ditch. The swale then funnels the flow into pipes that run under the banks of the main ditch. Keeping large volumes of water off those banks reduces erosion which could otherwise quickly fill the ditch with dirt and reduce its carrying capacity. If erosion reduces carrying capacity enough, water can flood nearby homes and businesses. The illustration below shows how backslope interceptors work.
Real-Life Examples
On 3/3/2021, I flew over three counties: Harris, Montgomery and Liberty. The “with/without” photos below illustrate the difference that properly constructed backslope interceptors can make. I shot the first one over the new Artavia development in southern Montgomery County. Note how the backslope interceptors let the developer establish grass on the banks of the ditch despite construction still in progress.
Ditches WITH Backslope Interceptors
Ditches WITHOUT Backslope Interceptors
The rest of these examples came from Colony Ridge in Liberty County.
Role in Establishing Grass
The next two photos show the role of backslope interceptors in establishing grass. By preventing bank erosion from sheet flow, the interceptors give grass time to establish and grow, reducing erosion even more.
How Enforcing Regulations Can Reduce Costs, Flooding
Ironically, Liberty County drainage regulations updated in 2019 require developers to install backslope interceptors and plant grass on the banks of drainage ditches.
Page 100 states: “Erosion Control: All drainage facilities must be designed and maintained in a manner which minimizes the potential for damage due to erosion. No bare earthen slopes will be allowed. [Emphasis added] Various slope treatments, including turf establishment, concrete slope paving, and rip- rap, are accepted. Flow velocities should be kept below permissible values for each type of slope treatment. Interceptor structures and backslope swale systems are required [Emphasis added] to prevent sheet flows from eroding the side slopes of open channels and detention facilities.”
When the developer eventually tries to turn Colony Ridge over to Liberty County, the county will inherit as massive maintenance burden because of non-compliance with these regulations. But even before then, the developer is creating rivers of mud that reduce the conveyance of ditches, and thus contribute to flooding nearby residents in Plum Grove.
The sediment also contributes to dredging and water purification costs for people downstream in Harris County.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/6/2021
1285 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 534 since Imelda
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.
Doublespeak Continues to Cloud MoCo Subsidence Debate
Those who watched recent Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District (LSGCD) and Groundwater Management Area 14 (GMA-14) meetings were treated to some jaw-dropping, head-spinning doublespeak on the subject of subsidence. On January 20, 2021, at a GMA-14 meeting, LSGCD rejected any mention of subsidence in their Desired Future Conditions (DFCs). Then on 2/9/2021, three presenters told the Lone Star board that they were still considering subsidence. Then on 2/24/2021, the same three presenters told GMA-14 they still rejected subsidence.
Pardon My Whiplash!
As if that wasn’t enough, during the three-hour 2/24 GMA-14 meeting, they also:
Why? Samantha Reiter, LSGWCD General Manager, listed four reasons in a six-page, 3716-word letter which she read to GMA-14. I have summarized her arguments below for readability and to make concise responses possible.
Argument #1: Modeling
Modeling shows that projected water draw-downs won’t create subsidence in excess of one foot on average across Montgomery County, so why worry?
Response: Subsidence models have not yet been validated for the aquifer from which Montgomery County would predominantly pump – the Jasper. Moreover, while aquifers can rebound from overpumping, subsidence cannot. Without a subsidence metric as a check, private water utilities, such as Quadvest, could merrily pump as much water as they wanted for 40 years and claim they would make it up in the last ten. But the subsidence damage at that point would be permanent.
Argument #2: Can’t Control Harris County
LSGCD can’t control Harris County pumping which affects subsidence in MoCo.
Response: True, but MoCo has already shown that surface water can dramatically reduce subsidence, even where subsidence is worst – in the heavily populated, southern part of the county. Moreover, SJRA’s surface water treatment plant has space to quadruple its capacity. While MoCo is arguing to increase its reliance on groundwater, Harris County is desperately trying to reduce its.
See more below under “More on Argument #2.”
Argument #3: Unfairness
It’s unfair to limit subsidence in MoCo to an amount less than Harris County experienced.
Response: Is LSGCD really arguing to make the same mistakes Harris County did? Is it really worth damaging peoples’ foundations, walls, doors, cabinets, ceilings, roofs and driveways to make a philosophical point about fairness?
Argument #4: Measurable Goals
Goals must be measurable and LSGCD does not have enough monitoring sites or equipment to measure subsidence throughout Montgomery County.
Mike Turco, head of the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District answered this in the GMA-14 meeting. You can monitor subsidence with GPS, LIDAR and other readily available technologies for much less than the cost of a network of extensometers.
To see Ms. Reiter’s full text, click here. Her subsidence discussion starts on page 4.
More On Argument #2
Of the four arguments posed above, #2 seems strongest. Excessive pumping in either Harris or Montgomery County can produce subsidence across the county line. So how do you determine who’s causing how much in each location?
This is a question for scientists to answer. However, it seems to me that if one county is reducing its reliance on groundwater and the other is increasing its, any increase in the rate of subsidence should be easy to trace.
And this is precisely the scenario we face. Harris is reducing its dependence on groundwater; Montgomery is arguing to increase its.
In Harris County, the City of Houston is investing heavily to move people off groundwater. The $351 million Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project will bring more water to Lake Houston. And the new $1.4 billion Northeast Water Purification Plant will supply that water to Houston as well as surrounding municipalities, counties and utility districts. Montgomery County already has a lake that’s 3-4X larger and a water treatment plant that can supply its growing population with enough water to reduce subsidence to a negligible rate. With the Montgomery County investment already made, why risk subsidence?
We Need Fewer Filibusters, Less Doublespeak, More Debate
I wish the LSGCD would engage in debates, not filibusters. By its own admission, LSGCD has tried to come up with a statement of Desired Future Conditions since 2016. That’s five years! How long does it take to study a problem and write a sentence!
In my opinion, verbose, rambling, repetitive 3-hour meetings filled with doublespeak have been designed to cloud tradeoffs, not find the best balance. It shouldn’t take smart people three hours to articulate a problem. And until we can get at what the real problem is, we will never find a real solution.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/5/2021
1284 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.