8/1/2025 – After a month of supposedly working to restore conveyance of blocked culverts under Kingwood Drive, the culverts remain blocked and crews seem in no hurry to remove the sediment. They may be disputing whether they were hired to do that.
City Met With Community Representatives in June
Five weeks ago, on 6/24/2025, representatives of the Houston City Council District E office, Houston Public Works, Kings Forest and the Bear Branch Trail Association met to discuss clearing a ditch that had not been cleaned out for more than 20 years.
The ditch cuts through Kings Forest between Valley Manor and Twin Grove, next to Kingwood High School. Then it crosses under Kingwood Drive and empties into Kingwood Lake.
Looking north up the ditch from over Kingwood Drive.
However, after a full month, the contractor has yet to address the ditch itself, especially the critical blocked culverts under Kingwood Drive. And crews appear to be on hold. Activity has virtually ceased.
Confusion Re: Scope of Work
In talking with the contractor and the City, it has become clear that there is a misunderstanding regarding the project scope. No one at the City will send me the scope document or a contract outlining responsibilities despite repeated requests – both in person and via email. And the contractor keeps saying, “Talk to the City.”
The best I’ve been able to get is a suggestion that the scope may have been “vague.” Meanwhile, equipment has been mostly idle for two weeks.
The contractor has seven work days left before school starts on August 13. At that point, the logistics of working around thousands of high school students will make the work infinitely more complicated because of the need to close down at least one lane of Kingwood Drive.
Blockages Under Kingwood Drive Remain
Restoring conveyance will require removing lots of muck from areas around the culverts and in the median itself.
North of the westbound lanes on Kingwood Drive, culverts are half blocked with sediment. See below.
Entry to culverts leading to median. Water drains toward top of frame.Exit from same culverts. Looking N across median toward westbound Kingwood Drive.Looking S again at opposite side of median. Eastbound lanesin distance.
Clearly, plenty of sediment must be removed before conveyance of the culverts is fully restored. Based on the photos above, I estimate conveyance has been reduced 50 percent.
Half of Outfall Blockage Remains
The first photo below shows what the outfall on the south side of Kingwood Drive looked like before the start of work at the end of June. The second shows what it looked like today.
Before start of project on 6/29/25. Today.
Comparing the pre- and post shots, it appears that the contractor removed half the sediment blocking the outfall. One of the workers told me they intended to finish this portion of the job. However, he didn’t know what they intend to do about the median and culverts. He also said they had finished removing brush.
Waiting On…?
For the past few days, I’ve seen unmarked contractor vehicles parked next to the job site. Periodically, someone leaves one and walks into the woods. One even sat in the excavator above while I photographed it.
But as of quitting time today, the excavator had not moved. I went back and checked it three hours later.
To my knowledge, it has not moved for several days. It’s hard to imagine why workers would go to work and not work.
City Council Member Fred Flickinger has vowed to find out next week whether the City is being billed for downtime.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/1/25
2894 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/2025/08/20250801-DSC_3064-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2025-08-01 18:38:402025-08-02 10:49:44After Five Weeks, Culverts under Kingwood Drive Still Clogged
7/31/2025 – According to the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website, contractors will soon move all eastbound traffic on Northpark Drive between Italiano’s and GS Tire & Auto to newly constructed lanes on the south side of the thoroughfare. This will eliminate two major swerves within 3,000 feet and straighten out inbound traffic east of Loop 494.
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website indicates the change will happen on the night of 8/5/2025. However, I have been unable to confirm that.
Photos of Lane-Change Areas Taken Today
All photos below were taken today starting from the east and moving west.
Looking West from G&S.Inbound traffic will move to the south (left).
The shift to the south will go past Russell Palmer … all the way to Italiano’s.
Looking west from Russell Palmer (lower left). From this point, traffic in BOTH directions will shift south and demo of old outbound lanes will begin.Still looking west. This detour will also straighten out. Italiano’s is out of frame in upper left. Through this stretch, traffic in both directions will shift left (south)
After contractors open up the new eastbound lanes, they will shift westbound traffic to the south from NextCare Urgent Care to Russel Palmer. They will then begin demolition of the old westbound lanes between those two points.
Use extra caution as people get used to the changes and as traffic increases with people returning from vacation.
Bore Under Railroad Tracks Still Stalled
For several weeks now, boring for the twin 60″ pipes underneath the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks has been stalled due to the discovery of utility conflicts. The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website simply says, “All work on UPRR ROW has been halted due to further unknown conditions found in the field on 7/25/2025.”
The originating pit for the bores east of the UnionPacific tracks.A few feet west of the tracks, the bores have not yet reached the receiving pit.
The project planners intended to convey excess stormwater west of the tracks under them to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch. But contractors must resolve the utility conflicts (shown above) and place junction boxes for the drainage in both pits before they can connect the drainage on each side of the tracks.
So close and yet so far. Only a few feet separate the two pits. But the utility conflicts are holding up a major part of the job.
Loop 494 Progress
Meanwhile contractors have made good progress on Loop 494 both north and south of Northpark.
Looking S across Northpark at new northbound lanes (left) one of which is mostly finished..
Looking north from the other side of Northpark…
Contractors have begun placing rebar to expand the roadbed.
After crews finish paving the northbound lanes of Loop 494, they will begin the eastbound lanes of Northpark west of Loop 494.
Between 59 and Loop 494
Between Loop 494 and 59, contractors are currently placing junction boxes for drainage underneath where the inbound surface lanes will go. Today, you could see them placing one of the boxes in front of Whataburger.
Drainage junction box in front of Whataburger on right.
According to the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, “They will then move into the center median of Northpark west of LP 494, to begin work on the storm laterals and structures, which include the detention-pond equalizer pipe.” See below.
Recently demolished center section of Northpark will be focus of next phase of drainage work.
To see progress since the last update, compare photos in this post from 7/21/2025.
In Other Northpark News
Crews have started preparing the base for what will become new inbound surface lanes just east of the UP Railroad Tracks.
Looking E across from Public Storage and Dunkin’ Donuts
It’s not easy to see how the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle come together when you’re driving. Keep your eyes on the road and check back here periodically for progress reports.
Yesterday, as I came in on Northpark from 59, it took almost a half hour to get the one block from 59 to Loop 494. Because of the construction near Whataburger, inbound traffic was down to one lane for a short while. But it was back open this morning.
Such closures can be hard to predict and frustrating. To the degree you can, I would try to avoid Northpark during construction hours. But also be sensitive to the hardships placed on local merchants. Go out of your way to patronize them when you can.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/31/2025
2893 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/20250731-DJI_20250731151522_0004_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-07-31 19:09:582025-07-31 19:22:34Major Northpark Traffic Change Coming Next Week
Chris Bloch, a local engineer and flood activist says he showed the detention opportunities to HCFCD. However, Neel-Schaffer did not consider them in its report for unknown reasons.
Detention South of River Will Not Help Flooding Along Diversion Ditch
The Neel-Schaffer PER recommended building 405 acre-feet of detention south of the San Jacinto West Fork.
The location south of the river may help people downstream, but it will do nothing to reduce the volume of water flowing down the Diversion Ditch during a major storm.
Detention south of the river will help people farther down the West Fork. But Bloch points out that locating detention along the Diversion Ditch would help both Kingwood residents and others downstream.
Overview: Three Stormwater Detention Opportunities Inside Kingwood
Bloch consulted with Stan Sarman before Sarman’s untimely death several years ago. Sarman was one of the consulting engineers who designed Kingwood’s original drainage for Friendswood. Bloch says that he and Sarman identified several recommendations to improve Kingwood drainage. From north to south, they include:
Adding detention between Northpark Drive and St. Martha Catholic Church
Removing a berm between Kings Manor and Kings Mill detention ditches, then increasing the width and depth of the combined ditches
Creating extra capacity near the proposed new San Jacinto River outfall of the Diversion Ditch.
According to Bloch, these alternatives could provide far more capacity than the 405-acre feet that Neel-Schaffer says it needs – especially if combined with some channel-widening opportunities. I will discuss channel widening in a future post. But first, let’s look closer at these three.
Opportunity #1
Neel-Schaffer evidently didn’t look at anything north of the Harris/Montgomery County line. Since Neel-Schaffer released its PER, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority announced plans to build 100 acre-feet of detention in the area where the Diversion Ditch splits off from Bens Branch just north of Northpark. That’s a quarter of the needed 405 acre-feet right there.
Opportunity #2
Removing the berm between the Kings Mill and Kings Manor ditches and increasing the width and depth of the combined ditches would provide another 100 acre-feet of detention capacity. Both ditches are owned by Montgomery County Municipal Utility Districts.
Kings Mill is under fire to reduce runoff due to the new high-density Northpark Enclave development. Construction plans show runoff entering the Northpark evacuation route during extreme high-water events.
Plus, additional Enclave runoff will further reduce Diversion-Ditch capacity. Parts of the Diversion Ditch have a 50% chance of flooding every year.
Opportunity #2 could help mitigate both Enclave and Diversion-Ditch capacity issues.
Looking East toward Russell Palmer Road. Eliminating the berm between Kings Mill and Kings Manor Drainage could provide an estimated 100 acre-feet of additional stormwater detention benefitting Kingwood residents.
Opportunity #3
Neel-Schaffer recommends extending the Diversion Ditch from below Deer Ridge Park to the West Fork – without forcing it to make an S-turn through River Grove Park.
New outfall for Diversion Ditch (red line) creates another opportunity for more detention (in red box).
That coincides with one of the recommendations originally made by Sarman and Bloch. But Sarman and Bloch also called for construction of a large pond at the outfall location. This pond would slow water velocities exiting the Diversion Ditch and provide a sediment-settling area before the water enters the River.
Depending on the configuration, such a pond could provide another 80 to 100 acre-feet of inline detention.
High Cost of Detention South of River
Those three alternatives alone could provide approximately three quarters of the needed detention and reduce flood risk for more than 500 residents who flooded near the Diversion Ditch during Harvey.
Bloch and Sarman identified other opportunities within the ditch to expand capacity. They could easily bring the total to far more than the 405 acre-feet needed.
Yet the projected cost of the basin they proposed is between a quarter and a third of total project costs – almost $15 million out of $55 million. In fairness, Neel-Schaffer says on the same page, “Due to limited effectiveness and significant cost, the recommended detention basin should be further examined during final design.”
Final Design Getting Underway
On May 8, 2025, Harris County Commissioners Court approved a motion to advertise final design and construction of the diversion ditch project for bids. However, an engineering design firm has not yet been selected.
When they are, I hope they evaluate some of these recommendations.
A transmittal from HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen shows that the EPA and Texas Water Development Board have apparently pledged $7 million to the project. That won’t cover much construction. So, Petersen says HCFCD will continue to look for more grants. Her timeline shows construction starting in mid-2028…if she can find the money.
These recommendations may help make the project more affordable.
Posted by Bob Rehak 7/30/25
2892 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250601-DJI_20250601115054_0643_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-07-30 11:01:112025-07-30 11:01:12Diversion Ditch Study Did Not Consider Obvious Opportunities that Might Have Reduced Costs, Flood Risk
After Five Weeks, Culverts under Kingwood Drive Still Clogged
8/1/2025 – After a month of supposedly working to restore conveyance of blocked culverts under Kingwood Drive, the culverts remain blocked and crews seem in no hurry to remove the sediment. They may be disputing whether they were hired to do that.
City Met With Community Representatives in June
Five weeks ago, on 6/24/2025, representatives of the Houston City Council District E office, Houston Public Works, Kings Forest and the Bear Branch Trail Association met to discuss clearing a ditch that had not been cleaned out for more than 20 years.
The ditch cuts through Kings Forest between Valley Manor and Twin Grove, next to Kingwood High School. Then it crosses under Kingwood Drive and empties into Kingwood Lake.
One week after City and community representatives met, a contractor started clearing trees around the ditch.
However, after a full month, the contractor has yet to address the ditch itself, especially the critical blocked culverts under Kingwood Drive. And crews appear to be on hold. Activity has virtually ceased.
Confusion Re: Scope of Work
In talking with the contractor and the City, it has become clear that there is a misunderstanding regarding the project scope. No one at the City will send me the scope document or a contract outlining responsibilities despite repeated requests – both in person and via email. And the contractor keeps saying, “Talk to the City.”
The best I’ve been able to get is a suggestion that the scope may have been “vague.” Meanwhile, equipment has been mostly idle for two weeks.
The contractor has seven work days left before school starts on August 13. At that point, the logistics of working around thousands of high school students will make the work infinitely more complicated because of the need to close down at least one lane of Kingwood Drive.
Blockages Under Kingwood Drive Remain
Restoring conveyance will require removing lots of muck from areas around the culverts and in the median itself.
North of the westbound lanes on Kingwood Drive, culverts are half blocked with sediment. See below.
Clearly, plenty of sediment must be removed before conveyance of the culverts is fully restored. Based on the photos above, I estimate conveyance has been reduced 50 percent.
Half of Outfall Blockage Remains
The first photo below shows what the outfall on the south side of Kingwood Drive looked like before the start of work at the end of June. The second shows what it looked like today.
Comparing the pre- and post shots, it appears that the contractor removed half the sediment blocking the outfall. One of the workers told me they intended to finish this portion of the job. However, he didn’t know what they intend to do about the median and culverts. He also said they had finished removing brush.
Waiting On…?
For the past few days, I’ve seen unmarked contractor vehicles parked next to the job site. Periodically, someone leaves one and walks into the woods. One even sat in the excavator above while I photographed it.
But as of quitting time today, the excavator had not moved. I went back and checked it three hours later.
To my knowledge, it has not moved for several days. It’s hard to imagine why workers would go to work and not work.
City Council Member Fred Flickinger has vowed to find out next week whether the City is being billed for downtime.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/1/25
2894 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.
Major Northpark Traffic Change Coming Next Week
7/31/2025 – According to the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website, contractors will soon move all eastbound traffic on Northpark Drive between Italiano’s and GS Tire & Auto to newly constructed lanes on the south side of the thoroughfare. This will eliminate two major swerves within 3,000 feet and straighten out inbound traffic east of Loop 494.
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website indicates the change will happen on the night of 8/5/2025. However, I have been unable to confirm that.
Photos of Lane-Change Areas Taken Today
All photos below were taken today starting from the east and moving west.
The shift to the south will go past Russell Palmer … all the way to Italiano’s.
After contractors open up the new eastbound lanes, they will shift westbound traffic to the south from NextCare Urgent Care to Russel Palmer. They will then begin demolition of the old westbound lanes between those two points.
Use extra caution as people get used to the changes and as traffic increases with people returning from vacation.
Bore Under Railroad Tracks Still Stalled
For several weeks now, boring for the twin 60″ pipes underneath the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks has been stalled due to the discovery of utility conflicts. The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website simply says, “All work on UPRR ROW has been halted due to further unknown conditions found in the field on 7/25/2025.”
The project planners intended to convey excess stormwater west of the tracks under them to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch. But contractors must resolve the utility conflicts (shown above) and place junction boxes for the drainage in both pits before they can connect the drainage on each side of the tracks.
Loop 494 Progress
Meanwhile contractors have made good progress on Loop 494 both north and south of Northpark.
Looking north from the other side of Northpark…
After crews finish paving the northbound lanes of Loop 494, they will begin the eastbound lanes of Northpark west of Loop 494.
Between 59 and Loop 494
Between Loop 494 and 59, contractors are currently placing junction boxes for drainage underneath where the inbound surface lanes will go. Today, you could see them placing one of the boxes in front of Whataburger.
According to the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, “They will then move into the center median of Northpark west of LP 494, to begin work on the storm laterals and structures, which include the detention-pond equalizer pipe.” See below.
To see progress since the last update, compare photos in this post from 7/21/2025.
In Other Northpark News
Crews have started preparing the base for what will become new inbound surface lanes just east of the UP Railroad Tracks.
It’s not easy to see how the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle come together when you’re driving. Keep your eyes on the road and check back here periodically for progress reports.
Yesterday, as I came in on Northpark from 59, it took almost a half hour to get the one block from 59 to Loop 494. Because of the construction near Whataburger, inbound traffic was down to one lane for a short while. But it was back open this morning.
Such closures can be hard to predict and frustrating. To the degree you can, I would try to avoid Northpark during construction hours. But also be sensitive to the hardships placed on local merchants. Go out of your way to patronize them when you can.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/31/2025
2893 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Diversion Ditch Study Did Not Consider Obvious Opportunities that Might Have Reduced Costs, Flood Risk
7/30/25 – The Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) of Kingwood Diversion Ditch Conveyance Improvements makes no reference to three obvious detention opportunities that could potentially reduce project costs and help protect people in Kingwood from flooding. Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) commissioned the PER in 2021 after the Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis identified fixing Diversion Ditch issues as one of the top priorities in Kingwood.
Chris Bloch, a local engineer and flood activist says he showed the detention opportunities to HCFCD. However, Neel-Schaffer did not consider them in its report for unknown reasons.
Detention South of River Will Not Help Flooding Along Diversion Ditch
The Neel-Schaffer PER recommended building 405 acre-feet of detention south of the San Jacinto West Fork.
The location south of the river may help people downstream, but it will do nothing to reduce the volume of water flowing down the Diversion Ditch during a major storm.
Detention south of the river will help people farther down the West Fork. But Bloch points out that locating detention along the Diversion Ditch would help both Kingwood residents and others downstream.
Overview: Three Stormwater Detention Opportunities Inside Kingwood
Bloch consulted with Stan Sarman before Sarman’s untimely death several years ago. Sarman was one of the consulting engineers who designed Kingwood’s original drainage for Friendswood. Bloch says that he and Sarman identified several recommendations to improve Kingwood drainage. From north to south, they include:
According to Bloch, these alternatives could provide far more capacity than the 405-acre feet that Neel-Schaffer says it needs – especially if combined with some channel-widening opportunities. I will discuss channel widening in a future post. But first, let’s look closer at these three.
Opportunity #1
Neel-Schaffer evidently didn’t look at anything north of the Harris/Montgomery County line. Since Neel-Schaffer released its PER, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority announced plans to build 100 acre-feet of detention in the area where the Diversion Ditch splits off from Bens Branch just north of Northpark. That’s a quarter of the needed 405 acre-feet right there.
Opportunity #2
Removing the berm between the Kings Mill and Kings Manor ditches and increasing the width and depth of the combined ditches would provide another 100 acre-feet of detention capacity. Both ditches are owned by Montgomery County Municipal Utility Districts.
Kings Mill is under fire to reduce runoff due to the new high-density Northpark Enclave development. Construction plans show runoff entering the Northpark evacuation route during extreme high-water events.
Plus, additional Enclave runoff will further reduce Diversion-Ditch capacity. Parts of the Diversion Ditch have a 50% chance of flooding every year.
Opportunity #2 could help mitigate both Enclave and Diversion-Ditch capacity issues.
Opportunity #3
Neel-Schaffer recommends extending the Diversion Ditch from below Deer Ridge Park to the West Fork – without forcing it to make an S-turn through River Grove Park.
That coincides with one of the recommendations originally made by Sarman and Bloch. But Sarman and Bloch also called for construction of a large pond at the outfall location. This pond would slow water velocities exiting the Diversion Ditch and provide a sediment-settling area before the water enters the River.
Depending on the configuration, such a pond could provide another 80 to 100 acre-feet of inline detention.
High Cost of Detention South of River
Those three alternatives alone could provide approximately three quarters of the needed detention and reduce flood risk for more than 500 residents who flooded near the Diversion Ditch during Harvey.
Bloch and Sarman identified other opportunities within the ditch to expand capacity. They could easily bring the total to far more than the 405 acre-feet needed.
Neel-Schaffer makes a frank confession about its detention recommendation south of the West Fork on page 38 of its Preliminary Engineering Review. It says that…
Yet the projected cost of the basin they proposed is between a quarter and a third of total project costs – almost $15 million out of $55 million. In fairness, Neel-Schaffer says on the same page, “Due to limited effectiveness and significant cost, the recommended detention basin should be further examined during final design.”
Final Design Getting Underway
On May 8, 2025, Harris County Commissioners Court approved a motion to advertise final design and construction of the diversion ditch project for bids. However, an engineering design firm has not yet been selected.
When they are, I hope they evaluate some of these recommendations.
A transmittal from HCFCD Executive Director Dr. Tina Petersen shows that the EPA and Texas Water Development Board have apparently pledged $7 million to the project. That won’t cover much construction. So, Petersen says HCFCD will continue to look for more grants. Her timeline shows construction starting in mid-2028…if she can find the money.
These recommendations may help make the project more affordable.
Posted by Bob Rehak 7/30/25
2892 Days since Hurricane Harvey