The official rain gage at West Lake Houston Parkway and the West Fork San Jacinto recorded 2.32 inches of rain between 7 and 9 a.m. this morning. That was officially a 1-year rain. (See Atlas-14 chart below.) As rains go, it was not a severe test; it was more like a pop quiz.
After the rain subsided, Taylor Gully in Elm Grove was less than half full.
The good news: Taylor Gully was well within its banks and no one in Elm Grove or North Kingwood Forest flooded. The bad news: Perry’s detention ponds experienced severe erosion, enough to warrant repairs and perhaps delay the schedule.
The even worse news: Harris County’s meteorologist, Jeff Lindner predicts another one to two inches of rain tonight with isolated totals of three to four.
West Lake Houston Pkwy. Gage Showed 2.32 Inches In 2 Hours
24 hour rain totals for WLHP gage showed bulk fell in 2 hours.
2.32 inches in two hours qualifies as a one-year rain according to the new Atlas-14 rainfall precipitation frequency estimates. Even if you considered the entire 3.12 inches in 24 hours, it would still only be a one year rain.
Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Table for the Kingwood Area.
Aerial Images Show How Perry Detention Ponds Performed
These aerial images taken shortly after noon today when the rain stopped show that:
The detention ponds are starting to do their work and hold back water.
That kept the level in Taylor Gully manageable
The overflow spillway between S2 and the concrete-lined channel was apparently not needed.
However, the images also show that:
Portions of the detention pond walls severely eroded and appear to have collapsed in places.
The water in the N1 pond overcame temporary dirt barricades sending water and silt down to N2.
The newly excavated N2 was entirely covered with water for the first time. It also received a significant amount of erosion.
N3 merges with Taylor Gully to form one large detention pond that holds water all the way from the northern end of the pond to the county line.
Rain has halted construction for the last two days and could delay it into next week.
Expanded, giant N2 detention pond was covered entirely with water for first time.Looking West toward western border of Woodridge Village.However, erosion re-deposited large amounts of soil within the pond. Looking North along Western Border of Woodridge Village.Rainwater entering the site from Joseph street in Porter (center left) shows by comparison how much silt the Perry water held. Looking north along western border of Woodridge Village.Still looking north, but farther up western border, you can see silt slumping into ditch.Looking SE toward Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest from the NW corner of site. Water coming in N1 pond from left exited right, down the western border. Water washed out a temporary dirt barrier that appeared designed to hold water in the pond.Looking east. Note erosion from former utility corridor on left that has turned into a new drainage ditch along northern edge of property. Looking at western wall of N3 which runs along eastern border of Woodridge Village.Another portion of the western wall of N3 shows severe erosion.Standing water from rest of property is slowly making its way into detention ponds.Looking South along eastern border toward Taylor Gully. At present, N3 (bottom left) simply merges with the concrete channel by S2 (top right). It appears to have nothing to control the outflow.Looking north along eastern border. Silt fences prove inadequate at stopping erosion. In fact, most of site has no silt fences.
More Rain Likely Tonight
Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist, says that today’s wet pattern should remain in place through the weekend, contrary to earlier predictions that saw rain chances ending by Friday.
Storms currently in the Gulf near Corpus Christi are tracking toward Houston late tonight and Friday morning. They will probably not be as severe as this morning’s storms. With that said…the air mass remains tropical over the region and excessive rainfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour will be possible, warns Lindner.
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service decided NOT to issue another flash flood watch for tonight, but stay alert to see if a more significant threat may develop.
Expect rainfall amounts of generally 1-2 inches tonight with isolated totals of 3-4 inches.
To Get Up-to-the-Minute Forecasts and Stream Alerts
1031 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 280 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200625-DJI_0004.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-06-25 18:39:552020-06-25 18:44:17Perry Detention Ponds Pass First Modest Test, But Eroded Badly
Fecal contamination of water can have many health consequences. It can also have consequences for your wallet in terms of hospital bills and water treatment costs. The expansion of Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant will cost $1.765 billion.
Persistent Sewage Leaks at Colony Ridge
Yesterday, I reported on 48,000 gallons of sewage documented by the TCEQ in ditches and streams near Colony Ridge in Liberty County just before Imelda struck last year. Stormwater from that area flushes into the San Jacinto East Fork and Lake Houston. Any sewage not cleaned up from that particular spill likely wound up in the main source of the City of Houston’s drinking water.
Had it been a one time affair, it could have been explained as an accident. But the problems recur. Neither the developer, sewage contractor, County, nor State have managed to eliminate the frequent leaks.
Sewage Coverup
In fact, yesterday’s post contained photographs of one incident where the leak remained. A bulldozer had simply covered up sewage that leaked into the ditch adjacent to a road. It was as if the people responsible were saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” The sewage leak remains, though, and without remediation, the pollution will eventually wash down toward Tarkington Bayou, which also enters the East Fork.
Putting Water Test Results in Context
Two recent tests of samples taken within Colony Ridge by Eastex Environmental Labs showed fecal contamination on the order of 3,000 to 5,000 “colonies” per 100 milliliters. Just what does that mean?
One-hundred milliliters equals a little more than six tablespoons.
The presence of fecal contamination is an indicator that a potential health risk exists for individuals exposed to this water. Diseases and illnesses that can be contracted in water with high fecal coliform counts include but are not limited to:
Typhoid fever
Hepatitis
Gastroenteritis
Dysentery,
Ear, nose, eye and cut infections.
Cost to Make Drinking Water Safe
On my last flight over Lake Houston, I flew over the expansion of the Northeast Water Purification Plant. Until you’ve seen this in person, it’s hard to believe how large it is.
The new plant will quintuple the amount of pure, fresh water available to customers in this area. The City is adding 320 million gallons per day (MGD) to the existing 80 MGD capacity for a total of 400 MGD.
In addition to conventional treatment processes, the new plant will include an advanced oxidation process called ozonation. Ozonation helps disinfect water to help ensure that harmful organisms such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium are eliminated. Ozonation also helps eliminate taste and odor causing compounds.
The intake facility shown below will finish next year, but the plant itself won’t finish until mid 2025.
All aerial images below were taken on 6/16/2020. While the plant expansion will make drinking water safe, it won’t make all the water in Lake Houston safe as long as people allow fecal contamination to leak into it.
The expanded plant lies more than a mile from the intake in the foreground.
The expansion will occupy approximately 150 acres of the City’s 252 acre site.
The new intake pump station will be located approximately 900 feet from the shore of Lake Houston to draw water from a deeper depth than the current intake.That, say the partners, will alleviate some water-quality challenges.Construction of the intake pump station should finish in about a year.The pipelines carrying water back to the treatment plant will measure 108″ in diameter.That’s nine feet tall. About the height of that cargo container used as a construction office!Photo cropped and enlarged from wider image above.
The City and its partners have produced an easy-to-understand, yet informative website that documents construction of this project.
This PowerPoint, posted as part of the latest update is packed with photos that may inspire your kids and grandkids to become engineers someday. It shows the meticulous planning and attention to detail that goes into such a project.
Objectives for Project
According to the web site, the project has two objectives:
To support the region’s growth
To reduce subsidence
But the partner’s sell themselves short. The fundamental reason is to provide safe, clean drinking water, despite the pollution from places like Colony Ridge.
For the record, lest you think I’m picking on Colony Ridge, there are many other sources of water pollution. They include livestock, leaky septic tanks, runoff from streets and more.
We can all help by reporting spills and leaks to City, County and State authorities when we see them.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/24/2020
1030 Days after Harvey and 279 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.
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Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist just issued an alert concerning increasingly heavy rainfall potential for this evening. And the National Weather Service has issued a FLASH FLOOD WATCH for all counties in the Houston region.
Conditions Right for Heavy Rainfall
“Short range model trends are starting to paint a concerning picture for this evening,” said Lindner, “as a slow-moving, low-level boundary moves into the area and helps to focus a west-to-east oriented line of thunderstorms. Recent trends and high-resolution models suggest potential training bands of heavy rainfall this evening into the overnight hours.”
“Given parameters in place including deep tropical moisture, slowing storm motions, and a good feed of low-level flow off the Gulf, excessive rainfall rates of 2-4 inches per hour will be possible and this will lead to rapid street flooding.”
“If storms anchor or slow over an area for a few hours, the rainfall total could quickly reach 4-6 inches with higher isolated amounts,” said Lindner.
All Houston Region Currently in Danger Zone
Lindner feels all areas within the region may feel the effects. “Everywhere should be ready. As of Noon, I suspect the main focus area will be Waller, Austin, NW Harris, SW Montgomery Counties. But we will have to see how things develop this afternoon.”
For the moment the main concern is street flooding.
The front will lift back northward on Thursday and will likely trigger another round of showers and thunderstorms.
NWS Issues Flash Flood Watch
The National Weather Service in League City has issued a * Flash Flood Watch for portions of south central Texas and southeast Texas, including the following areas, in south central Texas, Coastal Jackson and Inland Jackson. In southeast Texas, Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Coastal Brazoria, Coastal Galveston, Coastal Harris, Coastal Matagorda, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, Grimes, Houston, Inland Brazoria, Inland Galveston, Inland Harris, Inland Matagorda, Madison, Matagorda Islands, Montgomery, Northern Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto, Southern Liberty, Trinity, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton. *
From 7 PM CDT this evening through Wednesday morning
A line of strong thunderstorms will develop over southeast Texas this evening and slowly move eastward through Wednesday morning. A combination between the slow moving nature of the thunderstorms, back building/training of thunderstorms, and recent rainfall over the area has led to an increasing threat of flash flooding.
NWS predicts rainfall rates may reach one to three inches per hour or more at times.
The NWS also feels uncertainty remains in the timing and location of the line of strong thunderstorms.
On average, two to four inches of rain is expected through tomorrow morning with isolated areas of six to eight inches possible.
These storms with heavy rainfall may be capable of flooding roadways. Low water crossings may flood becoming impassable and dangerous. Small creeks and bayous may see minor rises.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS
A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may develop that lead to Flash Flooding. Flash Flooding is a very dangerous situation. You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/23/2020
1029 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 278 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Water-Vapor-Texas.jpg?fit=1220%2C1216&ssl=112161220adminadmin2020-06-23 13:36:002020-06-23 13:36:14Flash Flood Watch: Training Bands of Heavy Storms Could Quickly Drop 4-6 Inches Or More
Perry Detention Ponds Pass First Modest Test, But Eroded Badly
The official rain gage at West Lake Houston Parkway and the West Fork San Jacinto recorded 2.32 inches of rain between 7 and 9 a.m. this morning. That was officially a 1-year rain. (See Atlas-14 chart below.) As rains go, it was not a severe test; it was more like a pop quiz.
The good news: Taylor Gully was well within its banks and no one in Elm Grove or North Kingwood Forest flooded. The bad news: Perry’s detention ponds experienced severe erosion, enough to warrant repairs and perhaps delay the schedule.
The even worse news: Harris County’s meteorologist, Jeff Lindner predicts another one to two inches of rain tonight with isolated totals of three to four.
West Lake Houston Pkwy. Gage Showed 2.32 Inches In 2 Hours
2.32 inches in two hours qualifies as a one-year rain according to the new Atlas-14 rainfall precipitation frequency estimates. Even if you considered the entire 3.12 inches in 24 hours, it would still only be a one year rain.
Aerial Images Show How Perry Detention Ponds Performed
These aerial images taken shortly after noon today when the rain stopped show that:
However, the images also show that:
More Rain Likely Tonight
Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist, says that today’s wet pattern should remain in place through the weekend, contrary to earlier predictions that saw rain chances ending by Friday.
Storms currently in the Gulf near Corpus Christi are tracking toward Houston late tonight and Friday morning. They will probably not be as severe as this morning’s storms. With that said…the air mass remains tropical over the region and excessive rainfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour will be possible, warns Lindner.
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service decided NOT to issue another flash flood watch for tonight, but stay alert to see if a more significant threat may develop.
Expect rainfall amounts of generally 1-2 inches tonight with isolated totals of 3-4 inches.
To Get Up-to-the-Minute Forecasts and Stream Alerts
You can always find up to the minute weather forecasts at this National Weather Service page.
To check on rising rivers and major streams, visit the Harris County Flood Warning System, and click on channels and channel status simultaneously. To see further upstream, click on All Gages. That will show you the status of gages operated by the SJRA in Montgomery County.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/25/2020
1031 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 280 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.
Hidden Cost of Fecal Contamination: Removing It
Fecal contamination of water can have many health consequences. It can also have consequences for your wallet in terms of hospital bills and water treatment costs. The expansion of Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant will cost $1.765 billion.
Persistent Sewage Leaks at Colony Ridge
Yesterday, I reported on 48,000 gallons of sewage documented by the TCEQ in ditches and streams near Colony Ridge in Liberty County just before Imelda struck last year. Stormwater from that area flushes into the San Jacinto East Fork and Lake Houston. Any sewage not cleaned up from that particular spill likely wound up in the main source of the City of Houston’s drinking water.
Had it been a one time affair, it could have been explained as an accident. But the problems recur. Neither the developer, sewage contractor, County, nor State have managed to eliminate the frequent leaks.
Sewage Coverup
In fact, yesterday’s post contained photographs of one incident where the leak remained. A bulldozer had simply covered up sewage that leaked into the ditch adjacent to a road. It was as if the people responsible were saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” The sewage leak remains, though, and without remediation, the pollution will eventually wash down toward Tarkington Bayou, which also enters the East Fork.
Putting Water Test Results in Context
Two recent tests of samples taken within Colony Ridge by Eastex Environmental Labs showed fecal contamination on the order of 3,000 to 5,000 “colonies” per 100 milliliters. Just what does that mean?
A website called Water Research Center contained a very helpful article that explains what fecal contamination can do in those concentrations. In addition to concentrations, it also discusses sources of contamination, health/environmental consequences and more. It said that the current US EPA recommendations for:
The drinking water standard AFTER TREATMENT is less than 1 colony total coliform bacteria/100ml with E. coli ABSENT.
The presence of fecal contamination is an indicator that a potential health risk exists for individuals exposed to this water. Diseases and illnesses that can be contracted in water with high fecal coliform counts include but are not limited to:
Cost to Make Drinking Water Safe
On my last flight over Lake Houston, I flew over the expansion of the Northeast Water Purification Plant. Until you’ve seen this in person, it’s hard to believe how large it is.
The new plant will quintuple the amount of pure, fresh water available to customers in this area. The City is adding 320 million gallons per day (MGD) to the existing 80 MGD capacity for a total of 400 MGD.
In addition to conventional treatment processes, the new plant will include an advanced oxidation process called ozonation. Ozonation helps disinfect water to help ensure that harmful organisms such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium are eliminated. Ozonation also helps eliminate taste and odor causing compounds.
The intake facility shown below will finish next year, but the plant itself won’t finish until mid 2025.
Photos of New Intake for Plant
All aerial images below were taken on 6/16/2020. While the plant expansion will make drinking water safe, it won’t make all the water in Lake Houston safe as long as people allow fecal contamination to leak into it.
The City and its partners have produced an easy-to-understand, yet informative website that documents construction of this project.
This PowerPoint, posted as part of the latest update is packed with photos that may inspire your kids and grandkids to become engineers someday. It shows the meticulous planning and attention to detail that goes into such a project.
Objectives for Project
According to the web site, the project has two objectives:
But the partner’s sell themselves short. The fundamental reason is to provide safe, clean drinking water, despite the pollution from places like Colony Ridge.
For the record, lest you think I’m picking on Colony Ridge, there are many other sources of water pollution. They include livestock, leaky septic tanks, runoff from streets and more.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/24/2020
1030 Days after Harvey and 279 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.
Flash Flood Watch: Training Bands of Heavy Storms Could Quickly Drop 4-6 Inches Or More
Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist just issued an alert concerning increasingly heavy rainfall potential for this evening. And the National Weather Service has issued a FLASH FLOOD WATCH for all counties in the Houston region.
Conditions Right for Heavy Rainfall
“Short range model trends are starting to paint a concerning picture for this evening,” said Lindner, “as a slow-moving, low-level boundary moves into the area and helps to focus a west-to-east oriented line of thunderstorms. Recent trends and high-resolution models suggest potential training bands of heavy rainfall this evening into the overnight hours.”
“Given parameters in place including deep tropical moisture, slowing storm motions, and a good feed of low-level flow off the Gulf, excessive rainfall rates of 2-4 inches per hour will be possible and this will lead to rapid street flooding.”
All Houston Region Currently in Danger Zone
Lindner feels all areas within the region may feel the effects. “Everywhere should be ready. As of Noon, I suspect the main focus area will be Waller, Austin, NW Harris, SW Montgomery Counties. But we will have to see how things develop this afternoon.”
The front will lift back northward on Thursday and will likely trigger another round of showers and thunderstorms.
NWS Issues Flash Flood Watch
The National Weather Service in League City has issued a * Flash Flood Watch for portions of south central Texas and southeast Texas, including the following areas, in south central Texas, Coastal Jackson and Inland Jackson. In southeast Texas, Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Coastal Brazoria, Coastal Galveston, Coastal Harris, Coastal Matagorda, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, Grimes, Houston, Inland Brazoria, Inland Galveston, Inland Harris, Inland Matagorda, Madison, Matagorda Islands, Montgomery, Northern Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto, Southern Liberty, Trinity, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton. *
A line of strong thunderstorms will develop over southeast Texas this evening and slowly move eastward through Wednesday morning. A combination between the slow moving nature of the thunderstorms, back building/training of thunderstorms, and recent rainfall over the area has led to an increasing threat of flash flooding.
NWS predicts rainfall rates may reach one to three inches per hour or more at times.
The NWS also feels uncertainty remains in the timing and location of the line of strong thunderstorms.
These storms with heavy rainfall may be capable of flooding roadways. Low water crossings may flood becoming impassable and dangerous. Small creeks and bayous may see minor rises.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS
A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may develop that lead to Flash Flooding. Flash Flooding is a very dangerous situation. You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/23/2020
1029 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 278 since Imelda