Probably not everyone will be called on to speak, but we want the committee to know that this affects vast numbers of people. It’s CRITICAL to communicate how many of us are negatively affected by existing and planned sand mines, quarries, concrete plants, and other APOs.
All of the House Interim Committee members will be present and this will be similar to speaking in front of the committee at the Capitol in Austin–but online.
Speakers will also come from the Hill County where APOs are severely impacting quality of life.
Examples of Problems in Lake Houston Area
Mouth bar on the West Fork San Jacinto that mostly formed during Hurricane Harvey. It backed up water and contributed to flooding thousands of homes and businesses. Much of the sediment came from 20 square miles of sand mines immediately upstream.Cleanup cost to state and federal governments so far: about $150 million.The day the West Fork (right) ran white after the LMI Mine upstream put 56 million gallons of process wastewater into the drinking water for 2 million people (Source: TCEQ).Breach at Triple PG mine one White Oak Creek emitted process wastewater into headwaters of Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.Attorney General is suing mine for approximately $1 million.Concentrated silt after sand is washed. Exposed in floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork.River mining without a permit at the Spring Wet Sand and Gravel Plant on the west fork.
Speak for Up to 3 Minutes
Be prepared to speak for up to three minutes about how YOU personally have been or will be impacted by quarries, concrete batch plants, or asphalt plants. Pick one or two of these key issues that most affect you personally:
???? Air particulate emissions ???? Water use and availability ???? Water pollution and flooding ???? Rapid development of APOs without adequate regulatory oversight, mine planning, or reclamation ???? Truck traffic ???? Nuisance issues: blasting, noise, odor, light trespass, visible blight ???? Economic impacts, devaluation of property
URGENT: DO TODAY BEFORE 5pm
Just send in an email requesting to speak. You’ll have a week to plan and prep. Thanks for helping protect our families and community!
If possible, it is VERY IMPORTANT to speak at this meeting. However, if you aren’t selected to speak, or you don’t get your request submitted in time, there will be an additional opportunity later this month to submit written testimonial. We’ll send more info on this in the upcoming days and weeks.
Two world-class geologists, Tim Garfield and R.D. Kissling, both of whom live in the Lake Houston Area, agreed (at ReduceFlooding.com’s request) to offer their opinions on what would be the best strategy for dredging near the San Jacinto West Fork Mouth Bar. Garfield and Kissling helped bring mouth bar issues to the attention of the public after Harvey. Both have followed various dredging programs in that area closely ever since.
Looking west across the mouth bar on 9/11/2020 while hovering over Kings Point. Suspended sediment shows that main current of river is between remainder of the above-water portion of the mouth bar and Atascocita Point on the upper left.Photo taken 9/11/2020.
However, none of the various parties involved has volunteered to share their thinking about objectives and strategies behind mouth bar dredging alternatives. That’s why I asked Garfield and Kissling to offer their thoughts on what constituted the best strategy. Both worked for one of the world’s largest oil companies at the very highest levels.
Old Bathymetric Maps No Longer Valid
The first thing they realized was that they didn’t have enough data to make informed recommendations. The last published bathymetric maps were based on surveys taken before Imelda and before the Corps’ mouth-bar dredging.
Gathering Own Data
So Garfield and Kissling gathered their own data – with sonic depth finders, GPS, and a 14-foot pole with depth markings. They started upstream of the mouth bar, where the Army Corps finished its Emergency West Fork Dredging program near Kings Harbor. And they worked their way downstream beyond FM1960 to the railroad bridge.
Scope of Garfield/Kissling survey
Found Underwater Plateau 20′ High and 3 Miles Long
They found an underwater wall approximately 20′ high where the Corps stopped its first dredging program near Kings Harbor. It extended downstream more than 3 miles.
Cross section of river channel shows a rise of almost 20 feet wall on the upstream side of the mouth bar near Kings Harbor and an even greater drop near FM1960. The result: a 3-mile long underwater plateau.
That wall, they say, “…constitutes a significant and abrupt hydraulic barrier that will likely exacerbate flooding and sedimentation.”
That wall is the leading edge of a 3-mile-long underwater plateau.
Garfield and Kissling recommend dredging along the deepest path (see below). They reason that would save money.
Recommended and alternate routes identified by Garfield and Kisslingthat take advantage of deeper water.
“This might not only be the most beneficial dredging plan, but could also be the most cost effective as it leverages the paleo-channel as much as possible,” they say. “It harnesses nature, rather than fighting it.”
The geologists also identified a second possible route farther to the east but still south of the above-water portion of the stream mouth bar (labeled SMB in diagram above).
They caution that hydraulic modeling should be used to decide the best dredging plan. Political considerations drove initial mouth bar dredging rather than data. The Corps was authorized only to dredge an amount that it believed Harvey deposited. “We should be past the politics at this point and looking to get the most bang for our bucks,” say the geologists.
Whichever strategy the City settles on, Garfield and Kissling recommend excavating a channel, not a broad area, to get the best results for the dollars invested.
Objective: Re-establish Full Channel From Kings Harbor to Lake Houston
“This new channel should be no shallower, nor narrower than the upstream dredged channel at its end dredge location (450’ wide x 26’ deep),” say the geologists.
As a minimum, the future dredging plan should re-establish a continuous and down-stream deepening channel volume from where the Corps channel dredging ended to the 1960 bridge.
Tim Garfield and RD Kissling
This will help reduce sediment build up upstream from the plateau. By accelerating water through the blockage, it will let the river carry sediment farther out into the deeper portion of the lake. It will also reduce water backup that contributes to flooding.
Recommendations Consistent With City’s Preliminary Findings
The City has been methodically surveying Lake Houston and is in the process of developing its own maps, objectives and strategies. Stephen Costello, the City’s flood czar said they are not finished with that effort yet. However, he also said that the preliminary information they obtained suggested that a route south of the mouth bar might be the most effective.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/25/2020 with thanks to Tim Garfield and RD Kissling
1123 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Slide6-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-09-25 12:33:102020-09-25 23:08:43Two Top Geologists Suggest Mouth Bar Dredging Strategy
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has advanced four of five San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) abridged grant applications to the next round for consideration. TWDB named them as priorities for the 2020 Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) cycle. That advances SJRA one step closer to funding for the projects.
SJRA Now Invited to Submit Full Applications
With these rankings, SJRA will now submit full grant applications for four projects for approval. In the two-stage process, applicants first submit an abridged application. TWDB then prioritizes them within the overall available funding capacity.
As with most Texas river authorities, SJRA is not a taxing entity, therefore these large-scale flood mitigation projects require regional and local partnerships as well as grant funding.
“Hundreds of abridged applications were submitted by entities—cities, counties, other political subdivisions—as part of this competitive process. We are very proud SJRA was selected to move ahead in the approval process on four of our five abridged grant applications,” said Chuck Gilman, SJRA Director of Water Resources and Flood Management. “The next step is to find local partners who, along with SJRA, will commit to the local-match funding and in-kind services. These large-scale, impactful projects come with a very high price tag. It will take a regional approach with various funding commitments to see these projects through to completion. The FIF funding is an essential piece of that process.”
Flood Infrastructure Fund Criteria
According to Flood Infrastructure Fund criteria, eligible projects must fall under one of four categories:
Flood Protection Planning for Watersheds
Planning, Acquisition, and Design, Construction/Rehabilitation
Federal Award Matching Funds
Measures Immediately Effective in Protecting Life and Property
TWDB will review the full grant applications and make final selections for grant and loan funding later this year.
Would identify and create a plan for implementing potential sedimentation solutions in the Upper San Jacinto River Basin (Lake Houston watershed). It would evaluate the input, output, and storage of sediment for the entire basin as well as for sub-watersheds.
LMI River Bend Sand Mine on San Jacinto West Fork exposes more than 500 acres of sand to floodwaters.Altogether, sand mines expose approximately 20 square miles of sand along the West Fork to floodwaters in a 20 mile stretch between I-45 and US59.
Would perform a conceptual engineering feasibility study of two potential dam/reservoir locations within the Spring Creek watershed. This is the next phase of the Spring Creek Siting Study, which is currently being completed as part of the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan. Harris County Flood Control District leads the Master Drainage Plan effort. SJRA and other regional partners support it.
Would develop a joint reservoir operations and communications strategy for Lake Conroe and Lake Houston. The City of Houston is currently studying new tainter gates for the Lake Houston dam. They could greatly increase the controlled release capacity.
The main goal of the plan: to determine the most efficient and safe operation of the two reservoirs in series. The study would evaluate multiple individual components of a joint operational strategy.
It will evaluate:
Operational synergy between the two reservoirs
Joint notification and communications protocols
Pre-release
Impacts on water supply
Use of forecasting tools.
This project will benefit both water supply and flood mitigation in the region.
Would provide for installation of rain and river/stream gages at three locations identified as critical by San Jacinto County to provide early warning information to the county during storm events.
Locations:
Winters Bayou at State Highway 150
East Fork San Jacinto River at FM 945
Peach Creek at FM 3081.
Rain and river/stream stage data obtained at the sites would be transmitted to SJRA’s ALERT2 network and displayed on SJRA’s Contrail system. The data could be viewed online via SJRA’s website. That lets San Jacinto County staff and residents view the data at any time.
Not Advancing to Next Round
The SJRA had also submitted a first-round grant application to develop preliminary designs for sand traps. The sand traps were supposed to reduce the amount of sediment moving downstream. SJRA confirmed that this grant application will not move forward.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/24/2020 based on input from SJRA
1122 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/20200911-RJR_0441.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-09-24 16:04:352020-09-24 16:16:18TWDB Advances 4 of 5 SJRA Grant Applications for Flood Infrastructure Funding
Action Alert: Aggregate Production Testimony Needed
Deadline 5pm today, Friday, 9/25: We need you!
Please sign up to speak at an ONLINE/VIRTUAL town hall meeting about sand mines and/or other aggregate production operations (APOs). The meeting will be Thursday, 10/1 for the House Interim Committee on Aggregate Production Operations. Please send an email to both jeff.frazier_hc@house.texas.gov and jeff.frazier@house.texas.gov stating your name, contact info, and your request to speak at the 10/1 town hall.
Probably not everyone will be called on to speak, but we want the committee to know that this affects vast numbers of people. It’s CRITICAL to communicate how many of us are negatively affected by existing and planned sand mines, quarries, concrete plants, and other APOs.
All of the House Interim Committee members will be present and this will be similar to speaking in front of the committee at the Capitol in Austin–but online.
Speakers will also come from the Hill County where APOs are severely impacting quality of life.
Examples of Problems in Lake Houston Area
Speak for Up to 3 Minutes
Be prepared to speak for up to three minutes about how YOU personally have been or will be impacted by quarries, concrete batch plants, or asphalt plants. Pick one or two of these key issues that most affect you personally:
???? Air particulate emissions
???? Water use and availability
???? Water pollution and flooding
???? Rapid development of APOs without adequate regulatory oversight, mine planning, or reclamation
???? Truck traffic
???? Nuisance issues: blasting, noise, odor, light trespass, visible blight
???? Economic impacts, devaluation of property
URGENT: DO TODAY BEFORE 5pm
Just send in an email requesting to speak. You’ll have a week to plan and prep. Thanks for helping protect our families and community!
If possible, it is VERY IMPORTANT to speak at this meeting. However, if you aren’t selected to speak, or you don’t get your request submitted in time, there will be an additional opportunity later this month to submit written testimonial. We’ll send more info on this in the upcoming days and weeks.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/25/2020
1123 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Two Top Geologists Suggest Mouth Bar Dredging Strategy
Two world-class geologists, Tim Garfield and R.D. Kissling, both of whom live in the Lake Houston Area, agreed (at ReduceFlooding.com’s request) to offer their opinions on what would be the best strategy for dredging near the San Jacinto West Fork Mouth Bar. Garfield and Kissling helped bring mouth bar issues to the attention of the public after Harvey. Both have followed various dredging programs in that area closely ever since.
History
The Army Corps of Engineers dredged from River Grove Park to Kings Harbor in 2018 and 2019, removing approximately 1.8 million cubic yards. After a contentious battle with the City, the Corps then agreed to remove another 500,000 cubic yards south of the Mouth Bar in the Spring and Summer of 2019. This year, the City of Houston started removing the portion of the mouth bar that remained above water; they are still working on it (see above). Recently, FEMA agreed to remove another million cubic yards. And waiting in the wings is another $30 million that can be applied to additional dredging. State Representative Dan Huberty secured that money in the last legislature.
However, none of the various parties involved has volunteered to share their thinking about objectives and strategies behind mouth bar dredging alternatives. That’s why I asked Garfield and Kissling to offer their thoughts on what constituted the best strategy. Both worked for one of the world’s largest oil companies at the very highest levels.
Old Bathymetric Maps No Longer Valid
The first thing they realized was that they didn’t have enough data to make informed recommendations. The last published bathymetric maps were based on surveys taken before Imelda and before the Corps’ mouth-bar dredging.
Gathering Own Data
So Garfield and Kissling gathered their own data – with sonic depth finders, GPS, and a 14-foot pole with depth markings. They started upstream of the mouth bar, where the Army Corps finished its Emergency West Fork Dredging program near Kings Harbor. And they worked their way downstream beyond FM1960 to the railroad bridge.
Found Underwater Plateau 20′ High and 3 Miles Long
They found an underwater wall approximately 20′ high where the Corps stopped its first dredging program near Kings Harbor. It extended downstream more than 3 miles.
That wall, they say, “…constitutes a significant and abrupt hydraulic barrier that will likely exacerbate flooding and sedimentation.”
Recommend Following Original Channel
The cross-section graph of the river bed above represents the deepest part of the river. On either side of that centerline, the riverbed rises to two or three feet below the surface of the water. The centerline closely follows the paleo (original) channel of the river before the Lake Houston dam was built.
Garfield and Kissling recommend dredging along the deepest path (see below). They reason that would save money.
“This might not only be the most beneficial dredging plan, but could also be the most cost effective as it leverages the paleo-channel as much as possible,” they say. “It harnesses nature, rather than fighting it.”
The geologists also identified a second possible route farther to the east but still south of the above-water portion of the stream mouth bar (labeled SMB in diagram above).
They caution that hydraulic modeling should be used to decide the best dredging plan. Political considerations drove initial mouth bar dredging rather than data. The Corps was authorized only to dredge an amount that it believed Harvey deposited. “We should be past the politics at this point and looking to get the most bang for our bucks,” say the geologists.
Whichever strategy the City settles on, Garfield and Kissling recommend excavating a channel, not a broad area, to get the best results for the dollars invested.
Objective: Re-establish Full Channel From Kings Harbor to Lake Houston
“This new channel should be no shallower, nor narrower than the upstream dredged channel at its end dredge location (450’ wide x 26’ deep),” say the geologists.
This will help reduce sediment build up upstream from the plateau. By accelerating water through the blockage, it will let the river carry sediment farther out into the deeper portion of the lake. It will also reduce water backup that contributes to flooding.
Read Garfield and Kissling’s full study, Evaluating West Lake Houston Bathymetry, Dredging Status and Recommendations.
Recommendations Consistent With City’s Preliminary Findings
The City has been methodically surveying Lake Houston and is in the process of developing its own maps, objectives and strategies. Stephen Costello, the City’s flood czar said they are not finished with that effort yet. However, he also said that the preliminary information they obtained suggested that a route south of the mouth bar might be the most effective.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/25/2020 with thanks to Tim Garfield and RD Kissling
1123 Days after Hurricane Harvey
TWDB Advances 4 of 5 SJRA Grant Applications for Flood Infrastructure Funding
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has advanced four of five San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) abridged grant applications to the next round for consideration. TWDB named them as priorities for the 2020 Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) cycle. That advances SJRA one step closer to funding for the projects.
SJRA Now Invited to Submit Full Applications
With these rankings, SJRA will now submit full grant applications for four projects for approval. In the two-stage process, applicants first submit an abridged application. TWDB then prioritizes them within the overall available funding capacity.
Senate Bill 7 last year made the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) possible. Senator Brandon Creighton sponsored it. The Legislature passed it and Texas voters approved it through a constitutional amendment. FIF provides financial assistance in the form of loans and grants for flood control, flood mitigation, and drainage projects.
Why SJRA Seeks Grants, Partnerships
As with most Texas river authorities, SJRA is not a taxing entity, therefore these large-scale flood mitigation projects require regional and local partnerships as well as grant funding.
“Hundreds of abridged applications were submitted by entities—cities, counties, other political subdivisions—as part of this competitive process. We are very proud SJRA was selected to move ahead in the approval process on four of our five abridged grant applications,” said Chuck Gilman, SJRA Director of Water Resources and Flood Management. “The next step is to find local partners who, along with SJRA, will commit to the local-match funding and in-kind services. These large-scale, impactful projects come with a very high price tag. It will take a regional approach with various funding commitments to see these projects through to completion. The FIF funding is an essential piece of that process.”
Flood Infrastructure Fund Criteria
According to Flood Infrastructure Fund criteria, eligible projects must fall under one of four categories:
Proposed Projects Advancing to Next Round
Upper San Jacinto River Basin Regional Sedimentation Study
Would identify and create a plan for implementing potential sedimentation solutions in the Upper San Jacinto River Basin (Lake Houston watershed). It would evaluate the input, output, and storage of sediment for the entire basin as well as for sub-watersheds.
Spring Creek Watershed Flood Control Dams Conceptual Engineering Feasibility Study
Would perform a conceptual engineering feasibility study of two potential dam/reservoir locations within the Spring Creek watershed. This is the next phase of the Spring Creek Siting Study, which is currently being completed as part of the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan. Harris County Flood Control District leads the Master Drainage Plan effort. SJRA and other regional partners support it.
Lake Conroe – Lake Houston Joint Reservoir Operations Study
Would develop a joint reservoir operations and communications strategy for Lake Conroe and Lake Houston.
The City of Houston is currently studying new tainter gates for the Lake Houston dam. They could greatly increase the controlled release capacity.
The main goal of the plan: to determine the most efficient and safe operation of the two reservoirs in series. The study would evaluate multiple individual components of a joint operational strategy.
It will evaluate:
This project will benefit both water supply and flood mitigation in the region.
Flood Early Warning System for San Jacinto County
Would provide for installation of rain and river/stream gages at three locations identified as critical by San Jacinto County to provide early warning information to the county during storm events.
Locations:
Rain and river/stream stage data obtained at the sites would be transmitted to SJRA’s ALERT2 network and displayed on SJRA’s Contrail system. The data could be viewed online via SJRA’s website. That lets San Jacinto County staff and residents view the data at any time.
Not Advancing to Next Round
The SJRA had also submitted a first-round grant application to develop preliminary designs for sand traps. The sand traps were supposed to reduce the amount of sediment moving downstream. SJRA confirmed that this grant application will not move forward.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/24/2020 based on input from SJRA
1122 Days since Hurricane Harvey