Thursday evening, I posted about a drainage ditch on the western edge of Woodridge Village in Montgomery County that Perry contractors had partially blocked off.
Encroachment on Adams Oaks drainage ditch by Perry Homes Contractors in Woodridge Village. Note how dirt spills past silt fence still visible in upper right.Picture taken on Monday, 5/11//2020.
With storms and possible flash flooding predicted for Friday and Saturday, nervous residents worried about possibly flooding a third time and expressed their concerns to the contractor. Luckily, the current batch of Perry Homes’ contractors proved far more responsive than the last.
Contractors Clean Out Ditch Friday Morning Before Storm
Friday morning, they started cleaning out and widening the ditch. The rains came that night and into Saturday morning. And the nervous residents breathed a sigh of relief. There was no visible flooding, according to Jeff Miller, who toured Adams Oaks Saturday morning as rain ended.
Miller sent in these pictures of work in progress on Friday morning before the rain.
Looking north. Adams Oaks resident inspects widening in progress on Friday morning. Photo by Jeff Miller taken 5/15/2020.Reverse angle looking south toward N2 detention pond and Kingwood.Photo by Jeff Miller taken 5/15/2020.
Miller’s pictures make it apparent that the ditch which emptied Adams Oaks is becoming part of a much bigger ditch that extends south from Detention Pond N2. In fact, the old ditch looks as though it will become the backslope interceptor swale for the new, bigger ditch, which is really the tail of the N1 detention pond that helps connect it to N2 and Taylor Gully. See map and photo below.
The newly “rehabilitated” ditch ran along the western (left) edge of Woodridge Village between N1 and N2.
Photo by Jeff Miller taken Saturday morning, shows that the old ditch, left, became the backslope interceptor swale for a much bigger new ditch (right.) This should improve Adams Oaks drainage. Photo take Saturday, 5/16/2020 after about 2 inches of rain.
Regardless, the contractors responded to concerns and scrambled to connect Adams Oaks with their drainage system before the storm.
Standing at the end of Flower Ridge in Adams Oaks and looking west toward Woodridge Village.Photo by Jeff Miller taken Saturday, 5/16/2020.
Further south, you can see east/west drainage from Mace and Joseph reaching north/south drainage on Woodridge.Photo by Jeff Miller taken 5/16/2020.
As additional detention ponds take shape, they will help hold water back from S1 and S2. That may help them prevent overflowing which flooded Elm Grove twice last year.
Status of Sale to County/City
That’s important. By Houston law, any financial transaction greater than $50,000 must be approved by a vote of City Council. And the Council did not consider the donation of land to Harris County Flood Control this week for a Perry deal this week.
You may remember that that was one of two conditions Harris County put on a purchase deal with Perry Homes. And Friday was Perry Homes’ deadline for consummating a deal. However, if the City and County can work something out before Perry finds a private buyer, I assume the land would still be for sale.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/16/2020 with photos and reporting by Jeff Miller.
991 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/2020/05/IMG_1424.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1480640adminadmin2020-05-16 15:47:172020-05-16 16:02:27Perry Contractors Opened Up Woodridge Ditch Hours Before Rain Struck
Aerial photos taken on 5/11/2020 show wastewater on neighboring properties outside the Triple PG mine in Porter are higher than in the mine’s settling pond. If heavy rains materialize this weekend as predicted, that wastewater could be flushed downstream into the drinking water for 2 million people.
Mine Has History of Dumping and Pumping
Earlier this year, I photographed the mine pumping wastewater from its settling pond toward the neighboring properties. A TCEQ investigation confirmed that wastewater had exited the mine for the fourth time in a year. Investigators found that the wastewater had levels of suspended solids 676% higher than water from nearby White Oak Creek. But they also found that elevation differences had confined the wastewater and kept it from entering the wetlands near White Oak Creek.
Heavy Rains, Flash Flooding Could Flush Water Downstream
However, heavy rains predicted for later today and Saturday could change that. Jeff Lindner, Harris County Flood Control meteorologist says rainfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour will be possible and there is a slight (10-20%) risk of flash flooding, both days. Isolated totals could reach 6 inches on Saturday, he predicts.
How High Is Water On Neighboring Properties
So how high is the water outside the mine compared to inside?
In the photo below, note the two sets of arrows on either side of the road. The strip of trees under the upper right arrow does not belong to the mine. However, the land under the lower right arrow does belong to the mine. I included the second set of arrows because they are closer to the camera and that makes it easier to see the elevation difference in the water. Notice how much higher the water is on the right than on the left relative to the road.
Looking south at Triple PG mine in Porter. Photo taken 5/11/2020.Looking east over flooded properties (inside tree-line) that neighbor mine.Photo taken 5/11/2020.Terms of a temporary injunction restrict the mine from using its dredge. So the mine has started dry (or semi-dry) excavation. That meant removing wastewater from this pit.Photo taken 5/11/2020.
On January 20, 2020, I photographed the mine pumping water out of its settling pond toward adjoining properties. See below. The pit above can be seen in the upper left of the photo below.
See the pipe cutting diagonally from the middle of the frame to the lower right. Also note, the pond in the upper left of this image corresponds to the pond in the foreground of the image below.Note water level on January 20, 2020By February 13, three weeks later, that pond was largely empty. It is common for mines to pump water from one pond to another.But illegal to pump water outside the mine.
Why Mines Should Not Flaunt Rules
If approaching storms flush sediment- and chloride-laden wastewater downstream, it will end up in the San Jacinto East Fork and Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.
This underscores the need for the state legislature to pass laws that move mines out of the floodway. The Triple PG mine actually sits at the confluence of two floodways. That makes it vulnerable and dangerous…especially when an operator apparently flaunts rules designed to protect the safety of the public.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/15/2020
990 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 239 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/2020/05/20200511-RJR_2662.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-05-15 09:49:002020-05-15 11:02:10As Heavy Rains Approach, Triple PG Wastewater Higher on Neighboring Properties Than In Its Settling Pond
Aerial photos taken Monday this week (5/11/2020) show that Perry Homes’ contractors appear to be partially blocking drainage that serves dozens of homes on the western side of Woodridge Village in Porter. With heavy rain expected this weekend, residents like Gretchen Dunlap Smith are nervous.
Homes Flooded Twice Last Year by Water that Could Not Get Out of Neighborhood
Many of those homes flooded twice last year, in May and September, just as homes in Elm Grove did.
Looking south toward Kingwood along the western edge of Woodridge Village in Montgomery County.
The issue with these homes, however, was that water could not get out of the neighborhood because of altered drainage.
Water drains to the east (left) into the drainage ditch along the perimeter of Woodridge, and then south toward the top of the photo to Taylor Gully.
This enlargement, cropped from the photo above, shows how the perimeter road is pushing into the drainage ditch for homes in the older Adams Oaks subdivision to the right.
Hovering over Flower Ridge in Porter and looking southeast. Note how workers have pushed past Perry’s own silt fence (upper right) that marked the old edge of the ditch and how dirt from construction is now collapsing into the ditch.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist said this afternoon, “Expect a line or complex of slow-moving thunderstorms to move across SE TX Saturday starting out west in the morning and spreading across the area throughout the day. There will be a low severe threat with this activity, but the main threat will be heavy rainfall.
As of Thursday, NOAA and the National Weather Service predict heavy rains and possible flash flooding across all of SE Texas.
That gives contractors one day, Friday, to clean out that ditch to avoid another possible flood and more possible lawsuits.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/14/2020
989 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 238 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/2020/05/20200511-RJR_2893.jpg?fit=1200%2C1036&ssl=110361200adminadmin2020-05-14 21:14:322020-05-14 21:14:44Perry Contractors Encroaching on Porter Drainage Ditch West of Woodridge Village
Perry Contractors Opened Up Woodridge Ditch Hours Before Rain Struck
Thursday evening, I posted about a drainage ditch on the western edge of Woodridge Village in Montgomery County that Perry contractors had partially blocked off.
Last year, residents of Adams Oaks, a Porter subdivision that borders Woodridge Village, say that alterations to that same drainage ditch contributed to flooding dozens of homes twice. Recently, the encroachments on the ditch became more pronounced as construction on the Perry site kicked into high gear.
With storms and possible flash flooding predicted for Friday and Saturday, nervous residents worried about possibly flooding a third time and expressed their concerns to the contractor. Luckily, the current batch of Perry Homes’ contractors proved far more responsive than the last.
Contractors Clean Out Ditch Friday Morning Before Storm
Friday morning, they started cleaning out and widening the ditch. The rains came that night and into Saturday morning. And the nervous residents breathed a sigh of relief. There was no visible flooding, according to Jeff Miller, who toured Adams Oaks Saturday morning as rain ended.
Miller sent in these pictures of work in progress on Friday morning before the rain.
Miller’s pictures make it apparent that the ditch which emptied Adams Oaks is becoming part of a much bigger ditch that extends south from Detention Pond N2. In fact, the old ditch looks as though it will become the backslope interceptor swale for the new, bigger ditch, which is really the tail of the N1 detention pond that helps connect it to N2 and Taylor Gully. See map and photo below.
As additional detention ponds take shape, they will help hold water back from S1 and S2. That may help them prevent overflowing which flooded Elm Grove twice last year.
Status of Sale to County/City
That’s important. By Houston law, any financial transaction greater than $50,000 must be approved by a vote of City Council. And the Council did not consider the donation of land to Harris County Flood Control this week for a Perry deal this week.
You may remember that that was one of two conditions Harris County put on a purchase deal with Perry Homes. And Friday was Perry Homes’ deadline for consummating a deal. However, if the City and County can work something out before Perry finds a private buyer, I assume the land would still be for sale.
The purchase is not on the Harris County Commissioners’ Court agenda for next week.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/16/2020 with photos and reporting by Jeff Miller.
991 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.
As Heavy Rains Approach, Triple PG Wastewater Higher on Neighboring Properties Than In Its Settling Pond
Aerial photos taken on 5/11/2020 show wastewater on neighboring properties outside the Triple PG mine in Porter are higher than in the mine’s settling pond. If heavy rains materialize this weekend as predicted, that wastewater could be flushed downstream into the drinking water for 2 million people.
Mine Has History of Dumping and Pumping
Earlier this year, I photographed the mine pumping wastewater from its settling pond toward the neighboring properties. A TCEQ investigation confirmed that wastewater had exited the mine for the fourth time in a year. Investigators found that the wastewater had levels of suspended solids 676% higher than water from nearby White Oak Creek. But they also found that elevation differences had confined the wastewater and kept it from entering the wetlands near White Oak Creek.
Heavy Rains, Flash Flooding Could Flush Water Downstream
However, heavy rains predicted for later today and Saturday could change that. Jeff Lindner, Harris County Flood Control meteorologist says rainfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour will be possible and there is a slight (10-20%) risk of flash flooding, both days. Isolated totals could reach 6 inches on Saturday, he predicts.
How High Is Water On Neighboring Properties
So how high is the water outside the mine compared to inside?
In the photo below, note the two sets of arrows on either side of the road. The strip of trees under the upper right arrow does not belong to the mine. However, the land under the lower right arrow does belong to the mine. I included the second set of arrows because they are closer to the camera and that makes it easier to see the elevation difference in the water. Notice how much higher the water is on the right than on the left relative to the road.
On January 20, 2020, I photographed the mine pumping water out of its settling pond toward adjoining properties. See below. The pit above can be seen in the upper left of the photo below.
Why Mines Should Not Flaunt Rules
If approaching storms flush sediment- and chloride-laden wastewater downstream, it will end up in the San Jacinto East Fork and Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.
This underscores the need for the state legislature to pass laws that move mines out of the floodway. The Triple PG mine actually sits at the confluence of two floodways. That makes it vulnerable and dangerous…especially when an operator apparently flaunts rules designed to protect the safety of the public.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/15/2020
990 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 239 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.
Perry Contractors Encroaching on Porter Drainage Ditch West of Woodridge Village
Aerial photos taken Monday this week (5/11/2020) show that Perry Homes’ contractors appear to be partially blocking drainage that serves dozens of homes on the western side of Woodridge Village in Porter. With heavy rain expected this weekend, residents like Gretchen Dunlap Smith are nervous.
Homes Flooded Twice Last Year by Water that Could Not Get Out of Neighborhood
Many of those homes flooded twice last year, in May and September, just as homes in Elm Grove did.
Water drains to the east (left) into the drainage ditch along the perimeter of Woodridge, and then south toward the top of the photo to Taylor Gully.
Heavy Rainfall Forecast for Saturday
After months of inactivity, it’s gratifying to see workers hustling again. But as the old saying goes, “Haste makes waste.” Forecasters are predicting widespread heavy rains this weekend. Predictions range from 2 to 4 inches, with pockets up to 6 inches.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist said this afternoon, “Expect a line or complex of slow-moving thunderstorms to move across SE TX Saturday starting out west in the morning and spreading across the area throughout the day. There will be a low severe threat with this activity, but the main threat will be heavy rainfall.
That gives contractors one day, Friday, to clean out that ditch to avoid another possible flood and more possible lawsuits.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/14/2020
989 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 238 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.