People believed the lie. They started putting up web sites and YouTube videos to spread the word. Soon, the lie took on a life of its own. And it became impossible for the LCA to stamp it out – even if they were so inclined, which they aren’t.
Residents started writing their state reps. And soon Will Metcalf who represents the Lake Conroe Area took up the cry. See the letter below dated Jan. 6.
State Senator Robert Nichols wound up with the same omelette on his face.
Whole Series of Lies, Half-Lies and Logical Fallacies Spread by LCA
The LCA fueled this whole sad, sorry food fight that embarrassed their own representatives with an entire a SERIES of lies, half-lies and logical fallacies that it fed to unknowing people.
For instance, in addition to “the dredging is done”, I see and hear these comments constantly:
Because the East Fork flooded during Imelda and Lake Conroe didn’t release water, that proves we don’t need to keep lowering Lake Conroe.
The Lake Conroe release during Harvey comprised only 5% of the water going through Lake Houston.
All of Kingwood was built in a flood plain. Kingwood people should just move to higher ground.
Kingwood’s flooding problems come from upstream developers.
No scientific study supports the lowering policy.
Lake Houston wants to make the lowering of Lake Conroe permanent.
They should lower Lake Houston.
For the Record…
To set the record straight:
West Fork dredging is NOT done. Just the portion FEMA paid for.
The East Fork and West Fork are in different watersheds. Imelda affected the East Fork, but not the West. Plum Grove got 33 inches of rain while Lake Conroe got two.
The Lake Conroe release during Harvey comprised ONE THIRD of the water coming down the West Fork where approximately 80-90% of all the damage occurred in the Humble/Kingwood area.
All of Kingwood was not built in a flood plain. For instance, 110 out of 250 of my neighbors in Kings Forest were not in a flood plain yet still flooded. We live more than TWO MILES from the river.
Some of Kingwood’s flooding problems come from upstream developers. But that’s a separate issue; they have nothing to do with West Fork flooding due to Lake Conroe releases.
The SJRA did commission an engineering study that supported lowering Lake Conroe.
Lake Houston IS and HAS BEEN lowered…longer than Lake Conroe.
No responsible/knowledgeable person that I know in the Lake Houston area is talking about making the lowering of Lake Conroe permanent.
To correct some of these misperceptions, I met the president of the LCA last year for a whole day. More recently, I spent an hour on the phone with him. I thought I had corrected these misperceptions. But they keep recurring. This is NO accident; this is intentional.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/8/2020
862 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 111 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/2020/01/image-1.png?fit=697%2C903&ssl=1903697adminadmin2020-01-08 18:43:272020-01-17 10:11:32Lake Conroe Association Misleads Area’s Own State Representative and Senator
The project to remove approximately 76,285 cubic yards of sediment from the lower reaches of Ben’s Branch in Kingwood is nearing its goal.
High-Priority Ben’s Branch Project Began Last August
This was a high priority project for Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) not just because of the sedimentation, but because of the destruction it helped cause during Hurricane Harvey.
12 seniors from Kingwood Village Estates died either as a result injuries sustained during evacuation, or the stress of losing everything they owned.
Every home in the Enclave flooded: 283 out of 283.
All homes in Kingwood Greens flooded: 225 out of 225.
More than half the homes in Fosters Mill flooded: 346 out of 549.
The Kingwood Country Club flooded.
The Deerwood Club flooded.
100% of the businesses in Kingwood Town Center flooded.
100% of the businesses in Kings Harbor flooded.
Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor.
Kingwood’s library flooded.
Scope of project starts at red line on Kingwood Drive and curls south to the YMCA, where oval intersects West Lake Houston Parkway and blue line. Construction crews today were working on both sides of the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge just above the Y.
The Ben’s Branch cleanup began last August, but suffered a setback during Tropical Storm Imelda. Much of the sediment that had been piled on the sides of the channel washed back into it during the storm.
Crews Making Up for Lost Time Since Imelda
Since then, however, Flood Control crews have been making up for lost time. Construction weather has been almost ideal. I took all the photos below on the afternoon of 1/7/2020.
Contractor pulls sediment from Ben’s Branch under the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge.Just west of the WLHP Bridge, adjacent to Kingwood Greens in the background, another excavator was pulling sediment from Ben’s Branch and pushing it closer to shore……where yet another excavator was loading dump trucks. Contractors will remove an estimated 7,000 loads from the stream.On the East side of the WLHP bridge, two more excavators tag-teamed more sediment. While one worked the shoreline…Another broke up clumps of sediment and pulled it from the stream.The current downstream extent of work is just north of the YMCA. That bend in Ben’s Branch behind the excavator is the final bend in the project.
For More Information
HCFCD expected the Ben’s Branch project to take 9 months. That would put completion in April. At the current rate, the contractor should make that date and perhaps beat it.
For more information about the project, consult the Kingwood pages of the HCFCD website. The project ID is # G103-33-00-X004 – Bens Branch Conveyance Restoration.
All Kingwood residents will breath easier when HCFCD finishes Ben’s Branch.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/7/2020
861 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 110 since Imelda
Overflow spillways in could have prevented many homes from flooding in May and again in September. Rain came down so fast in some neighborhoods that it couldn’t get through storm drains and into drainage ditches fast enough. Water backed up and flooded homes. I’m not talking about flooding like Elm Grove experienced from an external source. I’m talking about situations like we had in Mills Branch where approximately 25 homes flooded. They flooded, says the resident, when water backed up in the street, not because Taylor Gully overflowed.
Now Required in New Neighborhoods
Over the weekend, I corresponded with a Mills Branch resident who has anguished over what to do for months. In some cases, but not all, there may be a simple, relatively low-cost answer for the whole neighborhood. Overflow spillways. And Mills Branch might be a perfect candidate.
Matt Zeve, Deputy Executive Director of Harris County Flood Control, pointed out that regulations in newer neighborhoods now require, where applicable, overflow spillways.
How Overflow Spillways Work
These work for neighborhoods adjacent to drainage ditches, streams or bayous. The channel is built at an elevation that retains water in the street during heavy storms, but lets it flow out before it reaches the level of homes. Obviously, the street must slope toward the spillway. This wouldn’t work for homes in the middle of a block that formed a natural bowl. But assuming conditions are right…
Can Be Retrofitted to Older Neighborhoods
I asked Zeve if the Flood Control District could retrofit this concept to older neighborhoods. The answer: YES, if there’s a home between the neighborhood and the ditch that can be bought out to create space for the spillway AND if that home has flooded repeatedly.
Here are some pictures of the overflow relief spillways in place. The first goes into a retention pond.
The second goes into some woods that apparently contain a natural drainage channel.
Zeve says the Flood Control District has been buying homes and converting them to overflow spillways in key areas around the County. These homes are in the lowest points and have flooded repeatedly.
Posted by Bob Rehak 1/6/2020, with thanks to Harris County Flood Control
860 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 109 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Spillway-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C655&ssl=16551200adminadmin2020-01-06 23:35:042020-01-06 23:35:13Overflow Spillways: Simple Idea to Help Keep Street Flooding Out of Homes
Lake Conroe Association Misleads Area’s Own State Representative and Senator
The problem with incendiary lies: once you start them, they’re hard to stop. In its initial meetings with area residents, the Lake Conroe Association (LCA) told people that West Fork dredging was done. Therefore, said the LCA, the SJRA should stop the temporary seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe.
Lie Takes on Life of Its Own
People believed the lie. They started putting up web sites and YouTube videos to spread the word. Soon, the lie took on a life of its own. And it became impossible for the LCA to stamp it out – even if they were so inclined, which they aren’t.
Residents started writing their state reps. And soon Will Metcalf who represents the Lake Conroe Area took up the cry. See the letter below dated Jan. 6.
State Senator Robert Nichols wound up with the same omelette on his face.
Whole Series of Lies, Half-Lies and Logical Fallacies Spread by LCA
The LCA fueled this whole sad, sorry food fight that embarrassed their own representatives with an entire a SERIES of lies, half-lies and logical fallacies that it fed to unknowing people.
For instance, in addition to “the dredging is done”, I see and hear these comments constantly:
For the Record…
To set the record straight:
To correct some of these misperceptions, I met the president of the LCA last year for a whole day. More recently, I spent an hour on the phone with him. I thought I had corrected these misperceptions. But they keep recurring. This is NO accident; this is intentional.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/8/2020
862 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 111 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.
HCFCD Lower Ben’s Branch Clean-out Project Nears Final Stretch
The project to remove approximately 76,285 cubic yards of sediment from the lower reaches of Ben’s Branch in Kingwood is nearing its goal.
High-Priority Ben’s Branch Project Began Last August
This was a high priority project for Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) not just because of the sedimentation, but because of the destruction it helped cause during Hurricane Harvey.
Construction crews today were working on both sides of the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge just above the Y.
The Ben’s Branch cleanup began last August, but suffered a setback during Tropical Storm Imelda. Much of the sediment that had been piled on the sides of the channel washed back into it during the storm.
Crews Making Up for Lost Time Since Imelda
Since then, however, Flood Control crews have been making up for lost time. Construction weather has been almost ideal. I took all the photos below on the afternoon of 1/7/2020.
For More Information
HCFCD expected the Ben’s Branch project to take 9 months. That would put completion in April. At the current rate, the contractor should make that date and perhaps beat it.
For more information about the project, consult the Kingwood pages of the HCFCD website. The project ID is # G103-33-00-X004 – Bens Branch Conveyance Restoration.
All Kingwood residents will breath easier when HCFCD finishes Ben’s Branch.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/7/2020
861 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 110 since Imelda
Overflow Spillways: Simple Idea to Help Keep Street Flooding Out of Homes
Overflow spillways in could have prevented many homes from flooding in May and again in September. Rain came down so fast in some neighborhoods that it couldn’t get through storm drains and into drainage ditches fast enough. Water backed up and flooded homes. I’m not talking about flooding like Elm Grove experienced from an external source. I’m talking about situations like we had in Mills Branch where approximately 25 homes flooded. They flooded, says the resident, when water backed up in the street, not because Taylor Gully overflowed.
Now Required in New Neighborhoods
Over the weekend, I corresponded with a Mills Branch resident who has anguished over what to do for months. In some cases, but not all, there may be a simple, relatively low-cost answer for the whole neighborhood. Overflow spillways. And Mills Branch might be a perfect candidate.
Matt Zeve, Deputy Executive Director of Harris County Flood Control, pointed out that regulations in newer neighborhoods now require, where applicable, overflow spillways.
How Overflow Spillways Work
These work for neighborhoods adjacent to drainage ditches, streams or bayous. The channel is built at an elevation that retains water in the street during heavy storms, but lets it flow out before it reaches the level of homes. Obviously, the street must slope toward the spillway. This wouldn’t work for homes in the middle of a block that formed a natural bowl. But assuming conditions are right…
Can Be Retrofitted to Older Neighborhoods
I asked Zeve if the Flood Control District could retrofit this concept to older neighborhoods. The answer: YES, if there’s a home between the neighborhood and the ditch that can be bought out to create space for the spillway AND if that home has flooded repeatedly.
Here are some pictures of the overflow relief spillways in place. The first goes into a retention pond.
The second goes into some woods that apparently contain a natural drainage channel.
Zeve says the Flood Control District has been buying homes and converting them to overflow spillways in key areas around the County. These homes are in the lowest points and have flooded repeatedly.
Posted by Bob Rehak 1/6/2020, with thanks to Harris County Flood Control
860 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 109 since Imelda