Ever wonder how high your slab is compared to the elevation of your street? Or where water is likely to collect in a neighborhood? The US Geological Survey (USGS) has given us a quick and easy way to lean more about elevation.
While the site says the elevations are not as good as a survey’s, I found the elevation for my house to be within inches. This is not something to take to the bank, but if you’re trying to:
Screen several properties for purchase
Figure out why some people in a neighborhood flooded and others didn’t
Enter an address or just zoom into the area of interest.
Select a base map by clicking on the icon with the four squares that form another square. Different base maps allow different degrees of zooming and show various features such as streets, water features, topography, etc., so experiment.
Above the map area, click on the icon that shows an XY.
A box will pop up on the right side of the screen. Within it, click “Activate.”
Click on the map location or locations that interest you.
An info box will pop up that shows the location and elevation at the blue dot(s) where you clicked.
To erase the points you selected, click “Deactivate.”
Elevations for Riverwood and East End Park Parking Lot
You can click as many different points as you want. A list of ALL the places you clicked with their elevations will show up in the right hand box.
In the example shown above, you can see that Riverwood Middle School at the intersection of High Valley and Kingwood Drive is at 65.03 feet. You can also see that the entry for East End Park is at 53.68 feet – more than 11 feet lower just a couple blocks away.
How High Is A Home Above Street Level?
This question is crucial if you want to avoid street flooding during high intensity rainfalls that overwhelm the capacity of storm drains and force water to back up in the streets.
Switch to the base map called Streets (if you were in something else)
Zoom in on the area of interest or enter an address.
Again select the XY tool.
Click on the home that interests you to see the elevation of the slab.
Click on the street in front of it.
Note 3 foot elevation difference between slab and house in Streets Basemap.
Three feet is a pretty good difference. But another home in the same neighborhood has a 4.5 foot difference!
This home sits 4.5 feet above the street.
Click around in different neighborhoods, especially those that flooded. On a block that flooded badly in Elm Grove, one home escaped. It was also 4.5 feet above street level. Others around it ranged from 1 to 3 feet above street level.
When buying a home, elevation above street level can be a valuable consideration.
Streets are usually considered part of the flood retention system. Developers size storm drains to hold a 1- or 2-year rain. Everything beyond that up to a 100-year rain backs up into the street until it can be safely released into drainage ditches. If you aren’t high enough…
Slope Within Neighborhoods
USGS offers another useful tool called elevation profiling. To the left of the XY tool, click the tool called Profile.
A box will pop up on the right of the screen. To activate this tool, click on the ruler icon in the box.
Define a path with two or more points.
In the example below, I followed the curves of a street by clicking multiple times.
When you get to the end of the area of interest, DOUBLE click.
Double clicking changes the tab in the right hand box and starts compiling an elevation profile result.
Give the site a few seconds to compile and display the profile.
When this profile popped up, I saw that this street had six feet of slope from the west end of the block to a low point in the middle and then rose back up three feet to the school on the right.
Example of Elevation Profile Tool.Note the U-shaped profile in blue and brown on the right.
It’s common practice to slope streets; developers must to ensure that water drains to storm sewers. But when the rain comes down so fast that the storm drains can’t handle it, guess where the rain will collect. I’m not sure I would want to buy the house at the bottom of the bowl. (At least not without a discount to compensate for the risk.)
Powerful Tools at Your Fingertips
USGS has given us a fascinating tool kit. I have just begun to explore the power of this site.
Several people in Kingwood’s Woodstream Village approached me about some flooding on their street. Using the tools on this site, I quickly developed a theory that accounted for all the eyewitness stories.
Have fun exploring this fascinating tool.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/1/2020 with thanks to Laura Norton
1068 Days since Hurricane Harveyand 316 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Slope-in-Neighhborhood.jpg?fit=1500%2C695&ssl=16951500adminadmin2020-08-01 17:09:142023-10-21 11:40:38Easy Way to Find the Elevation of a Home and the Slopes Around It
This morning, a For-Sale sign went up in Kings Harbor on vacant land between Chimichurri’s and the construction I reported in July. Houston Area Realtors (HAR.com) shows this property listed for sale at $1,600,000.00. After Harvey, Harris County Appraisal District valued it at $650,000. Now that most Harvey damage in the area has been repaired and there are few visible reminders of the devastation, you’ll likely see more attempts to cash in like this before flood maps are revised.
Big Money for Flood-Prone Property
Below is the sign that went up this morning.
Sign erected on 2.21 riverfront acres in Kings Harbor on 7/31/2020
The Houston Area Realtors website shows that the owner wants $1.6 million for it.
USGS shows the elevation of the property at about 10 feet above the river, which it fronts on. Note the the drop in the elevation profile below.
Source: https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/. Those two sharp dips in the elevation profile on the right are the streets that the green line crosses. Lai’s property is the big hump in the middle between 52 and 53 feet.
FEMA shows that the land is currently in the 100- and 500-year floodplains.
Mr. Lai, who reportedly bought the property in foreclosure, must be hoping that people won’t remember the flooding history of this property and that they will fall in love with the view. Since Harvey, the only major thing that has changed is that all visible signs of flooding have been repaired.
Value of Property Tied to Flooding
According to Harris County Appraisal District, Mr. Lai evidently bought the property in 2008. HCAD lists the last five years of appraised value at:
2016 $1,003,014
2017 $1,200,000
2018 $650,000 (Year after Harvey)
2019 $697,580
2020 $700,319
Note how the appraised value dropped almost 50% after Harvey. Now, Mr. Lai is trying to sell the property for about 2.5X the post-Harvey appraised value – less than three years later. Not enough has changed downstream to reduce flood risk by that much. But many people have forgotten how bad Harvey was by now. And most of the visible scars of the flood have been repaired. So here’s a refresher course for the Kings Harbor area.
In the last 25 years, floods have reached the street level of Mr. Lai’s property three times. Harvey was one of those. Harvey exceeded the height of his property by almost FIVE feet.
Flooding three times in 25 years is a far cry from any true 500-year flood plain.
Flood Maps Being Revised
FEMA last updated flood maps in this area in 2007. Mr. Lai benefited from a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) for his property in 2008, the year he bought it. (See blue notation in floodway map above.) This means the property was likely raised out of the floodway by bringing in fill or moving it from a nearby location.
However, the County and FEMA are in the process of revising flood maps AGAIN in the wake of Harvey. Revisions have not yet been made public and probably won’t be for a year or two. But reportedly, both the 100- and 500-year floodplains are expanding – rumors say by about 50%. That means Mr. Lai’s property could soon be back in the 100-year flood plain. And that may be part of the reason for the sudden desire to sell the property.
Implications for Construction
If reclassified into a different flood zone, different regulations would apply for construction that could raise a buyer’s costs.
After flood map revisions, any buyer of this property would likely be forced to elevate buildings on a pier-and-beam foundation so that water could flow underneath them.
Condos built on adjacent property by Wan Bridge were permitted by the City of Houston because the ground floors were used only for garages. But those permits were issued before flood-map revisions.
Lai’s Kings Harbor property is also on the cut-bank (eroding) side of a large meandering river. If water gets behind the retaining wall, much of his property could wash downstream in the next big flood. (See comparable situation below.)
Bulkhead and Forest Cove townhome destroyed by Harvey upstream from Kings Harbor.
Several people in the townhomes above narrowly escaped with their lives during Harvey. The flood swept several buildings off their foundations.
Erecting condo or townhome units on Mr. Lai’s property, as has been rumored for several years, would be dangerous. Doing so would likely risk the lives of unsuspecting buyers or renters as well as the principle of investors.
Lives and More Lost in Last Flood
Every apartment building, townhome and business for two miles north of Mr. Lai’s property flooded during Harvey. Twelve seniors died at nearby Kingwood Village Estates as a result of injuries sustained during Harvey evacuations or the heartbreak of losing their homes.
I discussed Mr. Lai’s property with a flood expert. The expert almost came out of his shoes. He said, “Who’s going to evacuate all the families in a flood like Harvey? It would be impossible. Those people would be out of luck.”
People love water views so much that they sometimes forget how dangerous floodwaters can be. Buyer beware.
US59 during Harvey. Photo by Melinda Ray.
Posted by Bob Rehak on July 31, 2020
1037 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Real-Estate-Sign.jpg?fit=800%2C1067&ssl=11067800adminadmin2020-07-31 18:33:592020-07-31 21:27:212.21 Riverfront Acres in Kings Harbor Listed for $1.6 million
County Judge Lina Hidalgo has asked for your opinion on the composition and by-laws of a new Community Resilience Task Force. The purpose of the task force is to make recommendations on how to allocate flood-bond spending to help minorities, low income households, and other socially vulnerable groups … even more.
Argument for Social Vulnerability
The Judge argues that low income households have a harder time recovering from floods. For instance, the inability to repair a flood-damaged home can create health consequences as mold multiplies. The loss of a vehicle can mean the loss of a job and subsequent eviction.
Data Shows Spending Favors Vulnerable Segments 4:1 So Far
Active HCFCD projects in neighborhoods that rank above and below .5 on the CDC’s social vulnerability index. The blue segment represents less affluent, minority neighborhoods, which current have 79% of the active bond projects.HCFCD buyouts in neighborhoods that rank above and below .5 on the CDC’s social vulnerability index. The blue segment represents less affluent, minority neighborhoods.They have 80% of all the buyouts.
Whether you are looking at mitigation projects or buyouts, the most socially vulnerable neighborhoods tend to get FOUR TIMES more than less socially vulnerable neighborhoods.
Yet Judge Hidalgo, Commissioner Ellis and Commissioner Garcia want to increase that percentage even more … for the next 30 years … with their Community Resilience Task Force.
Questions Posed by Lopsided Emphasis
The questions are:
What happens to everyone ELSE who floods?
Will they get NO help?
What is a FAIR and EQUITABLE distribution?
Does the NUMBER of damaged structures not merit consideration?
Will the DISPARITY in spending discourage middle class flood victims and motivate them to leave the county if they flood again?
Why are certain commissioners using the word “equity” to describe “disparity”?
Today is the end of the month and the last day to submit comments to the Judge if you want them to be considered.
Below is a poignant letter written by Jennifer Coulter, a mother with two young children. She and her husband had just started a company before Harvey. So they didn’t have the credit history to qualify for an SBA loan. And their income from the previous year threw them into the lowest category for a Homeowner Assistance Grant. Two years after applying, they’re still waiting for a call-back.
And because they lived outside the 500-year flood plain, they didn’t have flood insurance. Nevertheless, they managed to restore their home by cashing in retirement accounts. They worry now about whether they can afford college for their kids.
Jennifer Coulter’s Letter to Judge
Dear Judge Hidalgo and members of the CRTF,
Please find my public comments and questions below as they relate to the proposed draft bylaws for the Community Resiliency Task Force and the inclusion of social vulnerability guidelines in flood mitigation project considerations.
My family lives in Kingwood. We flooded in Kingwood following Hurricane Harvey, and chose to reinvest in our community by rebuilding our home. We did not have flood insurance at the time of the flood. We also did not quality for an SBA loan. We used retirement savings to fund the rebuild. As a result, our personal financial security has changed dramatically.
The Kingwood and Lake Houston area has historically received a disproportionate amount of flood mitigation project investment related to the greater Houston and Harris County area. Meaning, we have received far less. The proposed social vulnerability guidelines would continue that trend, perhaps even worsening it for this area.
As a family, we have made the difficult decision that if flooded again, we will not rebuild and again reinvest in this community. Without a fair investment in flood mitigation projects based upon flood vulnerability rather than social vulnerability, we are almost certain to flood again.
We are not alone. There are many homeowners, who if able, will relocate out of Harris County if flooded again. My questions to the task force are:
How do you intend to fund this 30-year plan if your tax base leaves?
Is making this vital tax base expendable a wise long-term solution to improve flood mitigation in ANY community within Harris County?
If you are not choosing project allocation based upon engineering and likeliness to flood, how do you intend to redirect flood waters to areas chosen to receive flood mitigation improvements? Do you have a means to tell rising flood waters to only go to those areas that received improvements and not to those that didn’t qualify for improvements because they weren’t socially vulnerable enough?
Thank you for your time, Jennifer Coulter
I know many people like the Coulters. The prospect of more flooding with no mitigation has them at the end of their tethers. Especially after they voted for the flood bond and its promise of equity. One has already moved to Montgomery County.
Contact the Judge NOW
Please email the Judge and tell her that we need more balance in flood bond spending. Do it now! Tomorrow is too late.
Email CRTF@cjo.hctx.net to submit comments. Please be polite and succinct.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SVI-Projects-July-2020.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-07-30 15:20:232020-07-30 15:20:35Your Last Chance to Register Your Opinion on Disparity in Flood-Bond Spending
Easy Way to Find the Elevation of a Home and the Slopes Around It
Ever wonder how high your slab is compared to the elevation of your street? Or where water is likely to collect in a neighborhood? The US Geological Survey (USGS) has given us a quick and easy way to lean more about elevation.
While the site says the elevations are not as good as a survey’s, I found the elevation for my house to be within inches. This is not something to take to the bank, but if you’re trying to:
…this is a good place to start.
To Find Elevation
You can click as many different points as you want. A list of ALL the places you clicked with their elevations will show up in the right hand box.
In the example shown above, you can see that Riverwood Middle School at the intersection of High Valley and Kingwood Drive is at 65.03 feet. You can also see that the entry for East End Park is at 53.68 feet – more than 11 feet lower just a couple blocks away.
How High Is A Home Above Street Level?
This question is crucial if you want to avoid street flooding during high intensity rainfalls that overwhelm the capacity of storm drains and force water to back up in the streets.
Three feet is a pretty good difference. But another home in the same neighborhood has a 4.5 foot difference!
Click around in different neighborhoods, especially those that flooded. On a block that flooded badly in Elm Grove, one home escaped. It was also 4.5 feet above street level. Others around it ranged from 1 to 3 feet above street level.
Streets are usually considered part of the flood retention system. Developers size storm drains to hold a 1- or 2-year rain. Everything beyond that up to a 100-year rain backs up into the street until it can be safely released into drainage ditches. If you aren’t high enough…
Slope Within Neighborhoods
USGS offers another useful tool called elevation profiling. To the left of the XY tool, click the tool called Profile.
When this profile popped up, I saw that this street had six feet of slope from the west end of the block to a low point in the middle and then rose back up three feet to the school on the right.
It’s common practice to slope streets; developers must to ensure that water drains to storm sewers. But when the rain comes down so fast that the storm drains can’t handle it, guess where the rain will collect. I’m not sure I would want to buy the house at the bottom of the bowl. (At least not without a discount to compensate for the risk.)
Powerful Tools at Your Fingertips
USGS has given us a fascinating tool kit. I have just begun to explore the power of this site.
Several people in Kingwood’s Woodstream Village approached me about some flooding on their street. Using the tools on this site, I quickly developed a theory that accounted for all the eyewitness stories.
Have fun exploring this fascinating tool.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/1/2020 with thanks to Laura Norton
1068 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 316 since Imelda
2.21 Riverfront Acres in Kings Harbor Listed for $1.6 million
This morning, a For-Sale sign went up in Kings Harbor on vacant land between Chimichurri’s and the construction I reported in July. Houston Area Realtors (HAR.com) shows this property listed for sale at $1,600,000.00. After Harvey, Harris County Appraisal District valued it at $650,000. Now that most Harvey damage in the area has been repaired and there are few visible reminders of the devastation, you’ll likely see more attempts to cash in like this before flood maps are revised.
Big Money for Flood-Prone Property
Below is the sign that went up this morning.
The Houston Area Realtors website shows that the owner wants $1.6 million for it.
That’s $724,000 per acre! Harris County Appraisal District shows its total value listed at only $700,000.
Rocky Lai and Associates own Sunrise Kings Harbor.
Flooding Potential
USGS shows the elevation of the property at about 10 feet above the river, which it fronts on. Note the the drop in the elevation profile below.
FEMA shows that the land is currently in the 100- and 500-year floodplains.
Mr. Lai, who reportedly bought the property in foreclosure, must be hoping that people won’t remember the flooding history of this property and that they will fall in love with the view. Since Harvey, the only major thing that has changed is that all visible signs of flooding have been repaired.
Value of Property Tied to Flooding
According to Harris County Appraisal District, Mr. Lai evidently bought the property in 2008. HCAD lists the last five years of appraised value at:
Note how the appraised value dropped almost 50% after Harvey. Now, Mr. Lai is trying to sell the property for about 2.5X the post-Harvey appraised value – less than three years later. Not enough has changed downstream to reduce flood risk by that much. But many people have forgotten how bad Harvey was by now. And most of the visible scars of the flood have been repaired. So here’s a refresher course for the Kings Harbor area.
In the last 25 years, floods have reached the street level of Mr. Lai’s property three times. Harvey was one of those. Harvey exceeded the height of his property by almost FIVE feet.
Flood Maps Being Revised
FEMA last updated flood maps in this area in 2007. Mr. Lai benefited from a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) for his property in 2008, the year he bought it. (See blue notation in floodway map above.) This means the property was likely raised out of the floodway by bringing in fill or moving it from a nearby location.
However, the County and FEMA are in the process of revising flood maps AGAIN in the wake of Harvey. Revisions have not yet been made public and probably won’t be for a year or two. But reportedly, both the 100- and 500-year floodplains are expanding – rumors say by about 50%. That means Mr. Lai’s property could soon be back in the 100-year flood plain. And that may be part of the reason for the sudden desire to sell the property.
Implications for Construction
If reclassified into a different flood zone, different regulations would apply for construction that could raise a buyer’s costs.
After flood map revisions, any buyer of this property would likely be forced to elevate buildings on a pier-and-beam foundation so that water could flow underneath them.
Condos built on adjacent property by Wan Bridge were permitted by the City of Houston because the ground floors were used only for garages. But those permits were issued before flood-map revisions.
Lai’s Kings Harbor property is also on the cut-bank (eroding) side of a large meandering river. If water gets behind the retaining wall, much of his property could wash downstream in the next big flood. (See comparable situation below.)
Several people in the townhomes above narrowly escaped with their lives during Harvey. The flood swept several buildings off their foundations.
Erecting condo or townhome units on Mr. Lai’s property, as has been rumored for several years, would be dangerous. Doing so would likely risk the lives of unsuspecting buyers or renters as well as the principle of investors.
Lives and More Lost in Last Flood
Every apartment building, townhome and business for two miles north of Mr. Lai’s property flooded during Harvey. Twelve seniors died at nearby Kingwood Village Estates as a result of injuries sustained during Harvey evacuations or the heartbreak of losing their homes.
I discussed Mr. Lai’s property with a flood expert. The expert almost came out of his shoes. He said, “Who’s going to evacuate all the families in a flood like Harvey? It would be impossible. Those people would be out of luck.”
People love water views so much that they sometimes forget how dangerous floodwaters can be. Buyer beware.
Posted by Bob Rehak on July 31, 2020
1037 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.
Your Last Chance to Register Your Opinion on Disparity in Flood-Bond Spending
County Judge Lina Hidalgo has asked for your opinion on the composition and by-laws of a new Community Resilience Task Force. The purpose of the task force is to make recommendations on how to allocate flood-bond spending to help minorities, low income households, and other socially vulnerable groups … even more.
Argument for Social Vulnerability
The Judge argues that low income households have a harder time recovering from floods. For instance, the inability to repair a flood-damaged home can create health consequences as mold multiplies. The loss of a vehicle can mean the loss of a job and subsequent eviction.
Data Shows Spending Favors Vulnerable Segments 4:1 So Far
Yet Judge Hidalgo, Commissioner Ellis and Commissioner Garcia want to increase that percentage even more … for the next 30 years … with their Community Resilience Task Force.
Questions Posed by Lopsided Emphasis
The questions are:
The language in the flood bond promised an equitable distribution of projects, not a lopsided one.
Speak Now or Live with Consequences of Silence
Today is the end of the month and the last day to submit comments to the Judge if you want them to be considered.
Below is a poignant letter written by Jennifer Coulter, a mother with two young children. She and her husband had just started a company before Harvey. So they didn’t have the credit history to qualify for an SBA loan. And their income from the previous year threw them into the lowest category for a Homeowner Assistance Grant. Two years after applying, they’re still waiting for a call-back.
And because they lived outside the 500-year flood plain, they didn’t have flood insurance. Nevertheless, they managed to restore their home by cashing in retirement accounts. They worry now about whether they can afford college for their kids.
Jennifer Coulter’s Letter to Judge
Dear Judge Hidalgo and members of the CRTF,
Please find my public comments and questions below as they relate to the proposed draft bylaws for the Community Resiliency Task Force and the inclusion of social vulnerability guidelines in flood mitigation project considerations.
My family lives in Kingwood. We flooded in Kingwood following Hurricane Harvey, and chose to reinvest in our community by rebuilding our home. We did not have flood insurance at the time of the flood. We also did not quality for an SBA loan. We used retirement savings to fund the rebuild. As a result, our personal financial security has changed dramatically.
The Kingwood and Lake Houston area has historically received a disproportionate amount of flood mitigation project investment related to the greater Houston and Harris County area. Meaning, we have received far less. The proposed social vulnerability guidelines would continue that trend, perhaps even worsening it for this area.
As a family, we have made the difficult decision that if flooded again, we will not rebuild and again reinvest in this community. Without a fair investment in flood mitigation projects based upon flood vulnerability rather than social vulnerability, we are almost certain to flood again.
We are not alone. There are many homeowners, who if able, will relocate out of Harris County if flooded again. My questions to the task force are:
Thank you for your time,
Jennifer Coulter
I know many people like the Coulters. The prospect of more flooding with no mitigation has them at the end of their tethers. Especially after they voted for the flood bond and its promise of equity. One has already moved to Montgomery County.
Contact the Judge NOW
Please email the Judge and tell her that we need more balance in flood bond spending. Do it now! Tomorrow is too late.
Email CRTF@cjo.hctx.net to submit comments. Please be polite and succinct.
For Additional Information
Here are links to:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/30/2020
1066 Days after Hurricane Harvey