Most people have heard about the Coastal Water Authority’s Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project. But few have seen it. Its size makes it impossible to see from the ground. It stretches from the Trinity River to the northeast corner of Lake Houston, where Luce Bayou enters the East Fork. The purpose of the project: to provide additional surface water supplies to end users that utilize water from Lake Houston, especially the new Northeast Water Purification Plant.
Surface Water Capacity to Manage Growth and Fight Subsidence
Studies have shown that Lake Houston and the new plant cannot meet future demand at their current capacity. Transfer of additional raw water supplies to Lake Houston will support future expansion of treatment capacity at the northeast plant and the mandatory conversion from groundwater to surface water to help reduce subsidence.
The City will eventually transport 500 million gallons per day from the Trinity river to Lake Houston through the pipelines and canals you see below.
Connecting Trinity and San Jacinto Watersheds
The Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer project includes the Capers Ridge Pump Station (CRPS) located on the Trinity River in Liberty County, 3 miles of Dual 96-inch Diameter Pipelines, and 23.5 miles of earthen Canal System. The pipeline will extend west southwest approximately 3 miles along a geological ridge (Capers Ridge). The pipeline will then outfall into the sedimentation basin at the start of the canal. The canal will outfall into the lower reaches of Luce Bayou, which flows into the northeastern corner of Lake Houston.
Originally, engineers considered using a large part of Luce Bayou itself to transport the water and minimize construction costs. However, environmental concerns nixed that idea. Today, they use only the last few hundred yards of Luce Bayou. But the name stuck.
Construction Photos Taken December 3, 2019
The pictures below start at Lake Houston and go about half way to the Trinity River.
The last part of the canal outfalls into Luce Bayou and then Lake Houston in the background. Looking southwest.A semicircle slows the water as it comes out of the canal. Note how sediment is already building up.Looking west toward FM2100. Note the drainage swales on either side of the canal.These “teeth” in the concrete outfall structure break up the water to reduce its erosive power.From the Trinity to Lake Houston, the entire system is gravity driven. The water is pumped up at the Trinity and then flows downhill all the way to lake Houston. The slope is incredibly precise and minute: only .015%. The route contains 22 inverted siphons below drainage features, roads, pipelines and 11 bridges.These are not the smallest pipes, but they’re still big enough to swallow pickups. Even larger pipelines near the Trinity contain welded-steel piping with cement mortar lining and polyurethane coating.Once past Huffman, the canals wind through farmland.The color of the water is partly a reflection of the sky and partly due to the fact that it has gone through a sedimentation basin to remove sediment before reaching this point.In several places, existing streams go OVER the IBTP.The further east you go, the more finished the canals appear.Another natural stream goes over the canal. The earth blocking the canal on either side of these inverted siphons will be removed before the system goes into service.Three million cubic yards of soil were removed to create these canals. That’s enough to fill up the Astrodome almost twice.
For More Information About Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/20191203-RJR_5899.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2019-12-17 21:36:162019-12-17 21:36:25Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project Construction Photos
The worst fate most brands suffer is indifference. But Perry Homes has managed to create a generation of child activists out to expose the indifference of the brand’s managers to flood victims.
Isabelle Fleenor, a student at Kingwood Middle School, created and stars in this YouTube video about how Perry Homes ruined Christmas for so many Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest residents. It’s called a “Very Un Merry Perry Christmas.”
According to Isabelle’s mother, Isabelle conceived the video, starred in it, edited it, created all the graphics and also made “Dam It Perry Homes” signs and T-shirts. They express the community’s anger and point to a constructive solution. She then took the money she raised from T-shirt and sign sales, and donated it to the Elm Grove fall festival for kids so that they might enjoy Halloween.
When I first saw this video, I said to myself, “This young lady has a future in film, television, or on the stage.” What a presenter! She has energy. She’s articulate. And she has heart! You see, Isabelle and her family did not flood. She did all this work for her neighbors who did flood.
Dam It Perry Homes T Shirt by Isabelle Fleenor from her video.Screen capture from Isabelle Fleenor’s video.
Merry Christmas, Perry Homes, from the Younger Generation
I highly recommended you take two minutes to watch this video. Especially if your name is Kathy Perry Britton. This is the future of your brand, Ms. Britton. Merry Christmas!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/16/2019 based on a video by Isabelle Fleenor
839 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 88 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent my opinions and the opinions of Isabelle Fleenor on matters of public policy 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/2019/12/Merry-Perry.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=16721200adminadmin2019-12-16 15:26:432019-12-16 22:22:17Perry Homes’ Brand Just Lost Another Generation
The pictures below show why you should never, ever buy a home built over wetlands.
Standing water after one month with only an inch of rain. Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village in Montgomery County, Texas.
Standing Water One Inch of Rain A Month Before
I took these shots while circling Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village construction site in Montgomery County, Texas, on 12/3/2019. At that point, the nearest USGS rain gage (at US59 and the San Jacinto West Fork) indicated we had only had one inch of rain in the previous month. The most recent rain at the time was a quarter inch three weeks prior!
That’s far below the normal 4.3 inches of rainfall for November in Houston. So it was less than one quarter of the normal rainfall. Still, the land held standing water in numerous places, despite having been cleared and graded for months.
Soupy soil on the northeast portion of Perry Homes Woodridge Village.
Standing water should have soaked in long before I took these shots. But when you build a development on wetlands, that’s not always true.
These pictures vividly illustrate how unstable wetlands soil can be.
Looking west over the northern portion of Perry Homes’ Woodridge VillageSouthwestern portion of Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village fronting Woodland Hills Drive.
They remind me of the famous saying the Bible.
Matthew 7:24-27: Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Area classified as wetlands in the USGS National Wetlands Inventory within Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village.Perry Homes’ contractors mired in more muck on the northern portion of Woodridge Village where wetlands once stood.
That sinking feeling you get when you try to build over wetlands
Environmental Survey Not on File with Montgomery County
Perry Homes claims to have done an environmental survey. But if they did, they did not file it with Montgomery County. A FOIA request with the county turned up no such document. A survey, performed by a private consultant, cleared the way for developing this property.
Normally, the Army Corps would investigate wetlands and determine whether they fell under their jurisdiction. If so, developing them would have required permitting and possible mitigation.
That process would have taken much longer and Perry Homes was trying to beat the clock. They were trying to start development before new, stricter Atlas-14 regulations took effect that would have required 40% more detention.
USGS National Wetlands Inventory showing Perry Homes Woodridge Village
Be a wise man or woman. Consult these databases before you buy a home to determine whether your property was once wetlands.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/15/2019
838 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 87 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/2019/12/20191203-RJR_5520.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2019-12-15 14:40:362019-12-15 14:40:48Why You Never Want to Buy a Home Built Over Wetlands
Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project Construction Photos
Most people have heard about the Coastal Water Authority’s Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project. But few have seen it. Its size makes it impossible to see from the ground. It stretches from the Trinity River to the northeast corner of Lake Houston, where Luce Bayou enters the East Fork. The purpose of the project: to provide additional surface water supplies to end users that utilize water from Lake Houston, especially the new Northeast Water Purification Plant.
Surface Water Capacity to Manage Growth and Fight Subsidence
The City will eventually transport 500 million gallons per day from the Trinity river to Lake Houston through the pipelines and canals you see below.
Connecting Trinity and San Jacinto Watersheds
The Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer project includes the Capers Ridge Pump Station (CRPS) located on the Trinity River in Liberty County, 3 miles of Dual 96-inch Diameter Pipelines, and 23.5 miles of earthen Canal System. The pipeline will extend west southwest approximately 3 miles along a geological ridge (Capers Ridge). The pipeline will then outfall into the sedimentation basin at the start of the canal. The canal will outfall into the lower reaches of Luce Bayou, which flows into the northeastern corner of Lake Houston.
Originally, engineers considered using a large part of Luce Bayou itself to transport the water and minimize construction costs. However, environmental concerns nixed that idea. Today, they use only the last few hundred yards of Luce Bayou. But the name stuck.
Construction Photos Taken December 3, 2019
The pictures below start at Lake Houston and go about half way to the Trinity River.
For More Information About Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project
To see a list of specs and fuller discussion of the project, click here.
To see a technical discussion of inverted siphons, click here.
For a less technical discussion, click here. They’re not all THAT complicated. Hint: you have several inverted siphons in your home, usually under sinks.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/17/2019
840 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Perry Homes’ Brand Just Lost Another Generation
Perry Homes once had a stellar brand image. At least according to Perry Homes. Now that image is lower than whale poop on the bottom of the ocean. Perry Homes managed not only to alienate adult homebuyers, they’ve alienated the next generation, too. Ignoring regulations. Contributing to flooding hundreds of homes – twice. Denying all responsibility. Suing victims. Ignoring commitments. Dragging feet on mitigation. Exposing twice-flooded residents to even more risk! This could go down in the annals of business history as the perfect way to kill a brand.
Two Generations Down the Drain
The worst fate most brands suffer is indifference. But Perry Homes has managed to create a generation of child activists out to expose the indifference of the brand’s managers to flood victims.
Isabelle Fleenor, a student at Kingwood Middle School, created and stars in this YouTube video about how Perry Homes ruined Christmas for so many Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest residents. It’s called a “Very Un Merry Perry Christmas.”
According to Isabelle’s mother, Isabelle conceived the video, starred in it, edited it, created all the graphics and also made “Dam It Perry Homes” signs and T-shirts. They express the community’s anger and point to a constructive solution. She then took the money she raised from T-shirt and sign sales, and donated it to the Elm Grove fall festival for kids so that they might enjoy Halloween.
When I first saw this video, I said to myself, “This young lady has a future in film, television, or on the stage.” What a presenter! She has energy. She’s articulate. And she has heart! You see, Isabelle and her family did not flood. She did all this work for her neighbors who did flood.
Merry Christmas, Perry Homes, from the Younger Generation
I highly recommended you take two minutes to watch this video. Especially if your name is Kathy Perry Britton. This is the future of your brand, Ms. Britton. Merry Christmas!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/16/2019 based on a video by Isabelle Fleenor
839 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 88 since Imelda
The thoughts expressed in this post represent my opinions and the opinions of Isabelle Fleenor on matters of public policy and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Why You Never Want to Buy a Home Built Over Wetlands
The pictures below show why you should never, ever buy a home built over wetlands.
Standing Water One Inch of Rain A Month Before
I took these shots while circling Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village construction site in Montgomery County, Texas, on 12/3/2019. At that point, the nearest USGS rain gage (at US59 and the San Jacinto West Fork) indicated we had only had one inch of rain in the previous month. The most recent rain at the time was a quarter inch three weeks prior!
That’s far below the normal 4.3 inches of rainfall for November in Houston. So it was less than one quarter of the normal rainfall. Still, the land held standing water in numerous places, despite having been cleared and graded for months.
Standing water should have soaked in long before I took these shots. But when you build a development on wetlands, that’s not always true.
These pictures vividly illustrate how unstable wetlands soil can be.
They remind me of the famous saying the Bible.
Matthew 7:24-27: Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Five Previous Developers Passed on This Property
When Perry Homes bought this property, five other developers had previously bought and sold it without developing anything. Perhaps they realized the dangers once they investigated it more thoroughly. Regardless, one of Perry Homes’ subsidiaries bought the land and the company wound up in a literal quagmire.
Environmental Survey Not on File with Montgomery County
Perry Homes claims to have done an environmental survey. But if they did, they did not file it with Montgomery County. A FOIA request with the county turned up no such document. A survey, performed by a private consultant, cleared the way for developing this property.
Normally, the Army Corps would investigate wetlands and determine whether they fell under their jurisdiction. If so, developing them would have required permitting and possible mitigation.
That process would have taken much longer and Perry Homes was trying to beat the clock. They were trying to start development before new, stricter Atlas-14 regulations took effect that would have required 40% more detention.
The Corps is currently investigating this case but has not yet issued a decision as to whether Perry Homes’ consultant erred.
Beware of Dry-Season Sales
Wetlands do not necessarily remain wet year around. Unscrupulous developers often sell homes in the dry season without revealing the presence of former wetlands. But water naturally drains to these low-lying areas. Buying a home in one could turn into a perpetual headache.
If you are concerned about investing your life savings in such an area, both the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service keep national databases of wetlands.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/15/2019
838 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 87 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.