In April, Harris County Commissioners directed the County Engineer and Executive Director of the Flood Control District to recommend minimum drainage standards for all communities in Harris County. The idea: to protect the County’s $2.5 billion flood bond investment. Lax standards in one place could undermine mitigation projects in another.
High-Level Recommendations
In May, the two executives came back to Commissioners Court. Here is what they recommended. These ideas apply to all cities within Harris County as well as those outside the county, but which drain into Harris County.
The recommendations must be adopted within municipal boundaries AND extraterritorial jurisdictions by December 31, 2020, IF the municipalities in question wish to partner with the county on any flood bond projects. That’s a $2.5 billion stick the county wields and that’s a powerful incentive.
Here are the recommendations:
Use Atlas 14 rainfall rates for sizing storm water conveyance and detention systems.
Require a minimum detention rate of 0.55 acre feet per acre of detention for any new development on tracts one acre or larger in size. However a single family residential structure and accessory buildings proposed on an existing lot is except from providing detention.
Prohibit the use of hydrographic timing as a substitution for detention on any project, unless it directly outfalls into Galveston Bay.
Require no net fill in the current mapped 500-year flood plain, except in areas identified as coastal zones only.
Require the minimum Finished Floor Elevation (FFE) of new habitable structures be established at or waterproofed to the 500-year flood elevation as shown on the effective Flood Insurance Study.
County Has Hired Engineering Firm to Identify Specific Changes
The County has hired an engineering firm, EHRA Engineering, to assist communities in evaluating and updating their policies and ordinances at no cost to the community.
End-of-Year Deadline
To help ensure participation, no partnership projects, including flood control or county roadway projects, will be constructed after December 31, 2020, in communities that have failed to implement these minimum standards. Projects started before that date may be continued only if communities are actively working to update their criteria.
Fix Flooding First Initiative About to Be Unveiled
The letter, signed by John Blount, Harris County Engineer, and Russ Poppe, Executive Director of Harris County Flood Control, also hints at something called a “Fix Flooding First” Initiative scheduled for roll out later this month. A Google search for “Fix Flooding First” turned up an initiative in Charleston, SC, but nothing in Harris County yet. Stay tuned.
Exact Text of Language Approved by Commissioners
Below is the exact text of the language in the two page letter unanimously approved by Commissioners and the County Judge.
The reference to hydrograph timing in the letter above refers to the Beat-the-Peak exemptions that Montgomery County offers to developers as an alternative to detention ponds. If developers can prove that their runoff will reach a river or stream BEFORE the peak of a flood, they can avoid building detention. The theory is that they aren’t adding to the peak.
The Artavia Development near FM1314 and the West Fork covers 2200 acres without having one detention pond. Ditches are designed to get water to the river ASAP.
Of course, that only encourages developers to get water to a river faster in a flood. That reduces the time of accumulation and adds to flooding downstream. It’s the exact opposite of what should happen to reduce flooding.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200421-RJR_0841.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-06-07 18:31:372024-02-07 12:32:46Minimum Drainage Standard Recommendations for Communities In or Draining Into Harris County
Sunday morning at 8 a.m., Perry contractors we’re busy working on Woodridge Village detention ponds. This came after a Saturday when they stopped working after 6 p.m. Surprisingly, this came even as the threat from Tropical Storm Cristobal moved farther east.
After months of relative inactivity, construction has kicked into high gear. Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller took the two shots below from near Mace Street in Porter.
N2 Channel as of 6/4/2020 in afternoon around 5 p.m.Same channel on 6/6 around 10 a.m.
That’s a lot of dirt to move in a little more than a day! Below is how the same channel looked from the air on Sunday morning.
Looking north along western perimeter of Woodridge Village at channel that connects detention pond N1 with N2.
Below, you can see the general layout of Woodridge Village detention ponds.
Other Sunday Morning Photos
Since the last update, the focus of most construction activity seems to be on two detention ponds along the development’s western border – N1 and N2. As the photos below show, contractors have expanded both ponds as well as the ditches connecting them.
Expansion of the Woodridge Village N1 PondWorkers are also deepening and widening N2 toward the left above.Contractors use dirt from the ponds to raise the areas where homes may be built some day.
Dirt from N1 is moving east toward the new Ford Road entrance.
See new Ford Road Entrance through trees at upper right.Dirt excavated from N2 in the background is also moving east toward the foreground, which is the base of N3. Note also how the grass planted last winter in the souther section (upper left) has all turned brown. This could present an erosion problem in the future.Grass in the overflow spillway between the concrete-lined portion of Taylor Gully (left) and detention pond S2 has also died.Looking NE from over S2. Taylor Gully cuts diagonally through the frame from upper left to lower right. Note the vast expanse of treeless, grassless development on the southwest half of the northern section.
The City must also come up with cash (or land in lieu of cash) to cover half of the construction costs of developing the regional detention basin (not just half of the purchase price of the land). Russ Poppe, Director of Harris County Flood Control estimated the construction costs could total $20 to $30 million, although flood control has reportedly not yet started planning the project.
Regarding Option 2
A web search this morning turned up no new bidding documents for any construction beyond the detention ponds. Previously, Perry Homes and LJA have advertised bid opportunities.
Regarding Option 3
Perry still has a for-sale sign at the Woodland Hills entrance to the property. However, the chances of a third party purchase while lawsuits are pending is remote. Still, the completion of detention ponds makes the property more attractive to another developer with an appetite for risk.
The big problem with Options 2 and 3: Perry Homes rushed to get the plans permitted before Atlas-14. That means, even with detention ponds completed, the detention may not be adequate. Estimates of the shortfall range from 30% to 40%.
As a result, Option 1 provides, by far, the highest margin of safety for flood-weary residents.
Unfortunately, the wheels of government move slowly. Neither the County, nor the City has made a public comment about a possible purchase deal since the last commissioner’s court meeting on May 19. The purchase is not listed on the agenda for the June 9, 2020, meeting.
Posted by Bob Rehak with with thanks to Jeff Millerfor photos
1013 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 262 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200607-DJI_0055.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-06-07 14:08:292020-06-07 14:13:07Contractors Now Working Seven Days Per Week, Dawn to Dusk, on Woodridge Village Detention Ponds
I always associated the word “Riviera” with a coastal region in France and Italy on the Mediterranean. But being a student of language, I frequently look up words that I think I know. Much to my surprise, I learned that the word has a second meaning. It also applies to any coastal region with a subtropical climate and vegetation. The origin of the word stems from 18th century Italian. It literally meant “seashore.”
History and Meanings of Riviera
The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is really a history book of the language, indicates that railroad barons frequently used the word in the 1900s to lure vacationers to coastal areas around the world. OED’s last entry is from the October 19, 1943 edition of the Saturday Review, an influential magazine at the time. The OED quoted the Saturday Review as saying, “Every properly equipped nation must have a Riviera.”
Getting From There to Here
The term occurred to me when I saw the scene below while flying up the San Jacinto West Fork last Sunday near River Grove Park. So it is with tongue in cheek and humor in my heart that I apply the term to River Grove.
Looking NW. Partying on the sand dune outside Kingwood’s River Grove Park on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Looking northeast at the same sand bar two weeks after Harvey.At this point, the River Grove parking lot was still covered with 4-5 feet of sand.
No Burger Barns or Tatoo Parlors, But…
Now the sand bar seems to be a popular stopping off point for people running the river and trying to squeeze a little more sunshine out of the day.
It may not be the French/Italian Riviera. Nor is it the Redneck Riviera. You won’t find people here for spring breaks, water parks, tattoo parlors, beer joints, crab shacks, burger barns or t-shirts.
But the sunshine is warm, the water cool, and it doesn’t require a trans-Atlantic flight or a 14-hour drive.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200530-DJI_0128-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-06-06 19:22:032020-06-06 19:41:43River Grove Riviera: Park Adds New Feature
Minimum Drainage Standard Recommendations for Communities In or Draining Into Harris County
In April, Harris County Commissioners directed the County Engineer and Executive Director of the Flood Control District to recommend minimum drainage standards for all communities in Harris County. The idea: to protect the County’s $2.5 billion flood bond investment. Lax standards in one place could undermine mitigation projects in another.
High-Level Recommendations
In May, the two executives came back to Commissioners Court. Here is what they recommended. These ideas apply to all cities within Harris County as well as those outside the county, but which drain into Harris County.
The recommendations must be adopted within municipal boundaries AND extraterritorial jurisdictions by December 31, 2020, IF the municipalities in question wish to partner with the county on any flood bond projects. That’s a $2.5 billion stick the county wields and that’s a powerful incentive.
Here are the recommendations:
County Has Hired Engineering Firm to Identify Specific Changes
These are higher-level recommendations than those the County asked the City of Houston to make as a condition for the purchase of the Woodridge Village property in Montgomery County. The reason: The list provided to the City pertained to actual regulations that needed to change as a result of these high-level directives.
The County has hired an engineering firm, EHRA Engineering, to assist communities in evaluating and updating their policies and ordinances at no cost to the community.
End-of-Year Deadline
To help ensure participation, no partnership projects, including flood control or county roadway projects, will be constructed after December 31, 2020, in communities that have failed to implement these minimum standards. Projects started before that date may be continued only if communities are actively working to update their criteria.
Fix Flooding First Initiative About to Be Unveiled
The letter, signed by John Blount, Harris County Engineer, and Russ Poppe, Executive Director of Harris County Flood Control, also hints at something called a “Fix Flooding First” Initiative scheduled for roll out later this month. A Google search for “Fix Flooding First” turned up an initiative in Charleston, SC, but nothing in Harris County yet. Stay tuned.
Exact Text of Language Approved by Commissioners
Below is the exact text of the language in the two page letter unanimously approved by Commissioners and the County Judge.
For a printable PDF, click here.
Reference to Hydrograph Timing Explained
The reference to hydrograph timing in the letter above refers to the Beat-the-Peak exemptions that Montgomery County offers to developers as an alternative to detention ponds. If developers can prove that their runoff will reach a river or stream BEFORE the peak of a flood, they can avoid building detention. The theory is that they aren’t adding to the peak.
Of course, that only encourages developers to get water to a river faster in a flood. That reduces the time of accumulation and adds to flooding downstream. It’s the exact opposite of what should happen to reduce flooding.
Using Beat the Peak, the 2200-acre Artavia development near the West Fork San Jacinto got away without building any detention ponds. Look out below!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/8/2020
1014 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Contractors Now Working Seven Days Per Week, Dawn to Dusk, on Woodridge Village Detention Ponds
Sunday morning at 8 a.m., Perry contractors we’re busy working on Woodridge Village detention ponds. This came after a Saturday when they stopped working after 6 p.m. Surprisingly, this came even as the threat from Tropical Storm Cristobal moved farther east.
Woodridge Village was implicated in flooding Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest twice last year. Lack of functional detention ponds was one of the key contributors.
Before/After Shots of N2 Channel
After months of relative inactivity, construction has kicked into high gear. Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller took the two shots below from near Mace Street in Porter.
That’s a lot of dirt to move in a little more than a day! Below is how the same channel looked from the air on Sunday morning.
Below, you can see the general layout of Woodridge Village detention ponds.
Other Sunday Morning Photos
Since the last update, the focus of most construction activity seems to be on two detention ponds along the development’s western border – N1 and N2. As the photos below show, contractors have expanded both ponds as well as the ditches connecting them.
Dirt from N1 is moving east toward the new Ford Road entrance.
End Game Still Not Settled
The fate of Woodridge Village, which is still mired in lawsuits, has not been settled. Practically speaking, Perry Homes has said it could/would:
Regarding Option 1
At the last Harris County Commissioner’s Court meeting, commissioners heaped new demands on the City of Houston. They want the City to actually implement a series of changes related to Atlas-14 in its building codes and ETJ (extra territorial jurisdiction. A mere promise to implement them via an inter-local agreement seems insufficient for the commissioners.
The City must also come up with cash (or land in lieu of cash) to cover half of the construction costs of developing the regional detention basin (not just half of the purchase price of the land). Russ Poppe, Director of Harris County Flood Control estimated the construction costs could total $20 to $30 million, although flood control has reportedly not yet started planning the project.
Regarding Option 2
A web search this morning turned up no new bidding documents for any construction beyond the detention ponds. Previously, Perry Homes and LJA have advertised bid opportunities.
Regarding Option 3
Perry still has a for-sale sign at the Woodland Hills entrance to the property. However, the chances of a third party purchase while lawsuits are pending is remote. Still, the completion of detention ponds makes the property more attractive to another developer with an appetite for risk.
The big problem with Options 2 and 3: Perry Homes rushed to get the plans permitted before Atlas-14. That means, even with detention ponds completed, the detention may not be adequate. Estimates of the shortfall range from 30% to 40%.
Unfortunately, the wheels of government move slowly. Neither the County, nor the City has made a public comment about a possible purchase deal since the last commissioner’s court meeting on May 19. The purchase is not listed on the agenda for the June 9, 2020, meeting.
Posted by Bob Rehak with with thanks to Jeff Miller for photos
1013 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 262 since Imelda
River Grove Riviera: Park Adds New Feature
I always associated the word “Riviera” with a coastal region in France and Italy on the Mediterranean. But being a student of language, I frequently look up words that I think I know. Much to my surprise, I learned that the word has a second meaning. It also applies to any coastal region with a subtropical climate and vegetation. The origin of the word stems from 18th century Italian. It literally meant “seashore.”
History and Meanings of Riviera
The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is really a history book of the language, indicates that railroad barons frequently used the word in the 1900s to lure vacationers to coastal areas around the world. OED’s last entry is from the October 19, 1943 edition of the Saturday Review, an influential magazine at the time. The OED quoted the Saturday Review as saying, “Every properly equipped nation must have a Riviera.”
Getting From There to Here
The term occurred to me when I saw the scene below while flying up the San Jacinto West Fork last Sunday near River Grove Park. So it is with tongue in cheek and humor in my heart that I apply the term to River Grove.
This giant sand dune is the remnant of an even larger quarter-mile-long dune left by Hurricane Harvey. It took the Army Corps of Engineers to cut through it so that the Kingwood Diversion Ditch could empty into the San Jacinto West Fork. Then KSA still had dredge the area near the boat dock before the area became accessible.
No Burger Barns or Tatoo Parlors, But…
Now the sand bar seems to be a popular stopping off point for people running the river and trying to squeeze a little more sunshine out of the day.
It may not be the French/Italian Riviera. Nor is it the Redneck Riviera. You won’t find people here for spring breaks, water parks, tattoo parlors, beer joints, crab shacks, burger barns or t-shirts.
But the sunshine is warm, the water cool, and it doesn’t require a trans-Atlantic flight or a 14-hour drive.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/7/2020
1013 Days after Hurricane Harvey