David Seitzinger, a Kingwood professional engineer, has studied Harvey flooding since it happened. In this letter to the SJRA Board, Seitzinger urges the SJRA to continue its seasonal lake lowering strategy until other flood mitigation measures can be implemented. Here, Seitzinger addresses one of the main causes of misunderstanding about the policy. Many Lake Conroe residents believe the lake will be lowered 1 or 2 feet from its current level (whatever that may be). However, the policy states the lake will NOT be lower below 200 or 199 from its normal target of 201. The SJRA has NOT lowered the lake since last October. Seitzinger shows that evaporation and below-normal rainfalls have taken the lake lower and kept it down, not the SJRA.
Text of Seitzinger Letter
San Jacinto River Authority P.O. Box 329 Conroe, Texas 77305 Re: Lake Level Vote
Dear Board Members,
My message to the Board is to renew and maintain the terms of the SJRA/COH Temporary Flood Mitigation Strategy for Lake Houston and Lake Conroe for 2020.
The agreement is contingent upon the dredging operation in Lake Houston. Unfortunately, the “stream mouth bar”, the most significant river obstacle, has not been removed due to FEMA and Army Corps of Engineers limits that were applied to the first dredging contract, not agreed to by the City of Houston. A new dredging contract and associated funding were released, but contractor mobilization is just starting. This is expected to delay the complete removal by at least one year.
Impact of Drought
I have read about the complaints of the Montgomery County citizens at the recent Board meeting. I think that the lowering of the level as required by the contract is not the real problem. The real problem is the “moderate drought” conditions in the Lake Conroe watershed limiting the ability to refill the lake that successfully occurred in 2018. If we look at Huntsville for watershed drought conditions, its 2019 rainfall is 13″ behind normal. Conroe, on the other hand, is 8″ ahead of normal due to the effects of Imelda that were limited to East Texas.
Watershed drought conditions are not rare occurrences. Looking back over the past 20 years, two other drought periods (2001 and 2011-14) have created low lake levels well below the current level of 199 feet. There was also a period in 2005-06, where the lake level was reduced to 197 feet for six months to repair dam damage due to Rita. I am not sure how many bulkheads were replaced and if property values dropped as a result of those lake level conditions.
Steps Being Taken to Mitigate Flooding
City of Houston and Harris County are taking rapid steps to remove flood-causing obstacles in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River that will reduce flooding risk in the Kingwood/Humble/Atascocita area.
HCFCD and SJRA are leading a comprehensive study of the San Jacinta watershed to model flooding conditions and identify mitigation strategies, which are expected to look at Lake Conroe water releases.
COH completion of the “stream mouth bar” dredging at the juncture of the West Fork and Lake Houston.
COH and CWA design and construction of additional gales at Lake Houston.
I have attached reference materials below for the history of water levels at Lake Conroe to support my lake levels and rainfall statements.
Sincerely, David Seitzinger
Lake Conroe Operation Requirements and Compliance for 2018 to 2020 To-Date
Lake level requirements by “SJRA/COH Temporary Flood Mitigation Strategy”
Lake level 2018 with complete compliance
Lake level 2019 in compliance until October 2019. Lake level is not able to recover due to low rain fall in the lake watershed. Rainfall at Huntsville is is 13 inches below normal and classified as a Moderate Drought conditions. Conroe is ahead of annual by 8 inches due to Imelda in September. Imelda rain did not fall in Lake Conroe’s watershed.
Lake Conroe Last 20 Years of Lake Levels Highlighting Low Level Periods
Rainfall 2019 History Below the Dam
Lake Conroe Water Levels
Historical Variation in Reservoir Storage
Actual Specific Historical Lake Levels
Reservoir Description by USGS
Water level at Lake Conroe has been generally stable with a typical 1- to 2-foot drop in water level during the summer. The exceptions have been in 2001 when drought conditions caused summer water level to fall 3 feet below pool and in 2005-20-06 when damage to the dam caused by Hurricane Rita required the water level to be held at 4 feet below pool for about six months.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/31/2020
855 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Lake-Level-Compliance.png?fit=2140%2C1374&ssl=113742140adminadmin2020-01-31 14:59:512020-01-31 15:00:04David Seitzinger Letter to SJRA Focuses on Lake Levels and Drought
In 2018, Lake Houston area leaders identified a three-pronged strategy to help mitigate flooding. They dubbed it the “Plea for DDG.” Additional dredging, detention, and gates. Since then, dredging and gates have garnered the most media attention. Yesterday, however, we received some good news regarding additional upstream detention.
HCFCD Buys First Part of Raveneaux Club
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) closed on the purchase of the Raveneaux Country Club on January 30, 2020. The final purchase price for 27.63 acres of land was $11,496,427.20 which is also the current appraised value for the property.
Cypress Creek runs through the Raveneaux Club before joining Spring Creek and the West Fork of the San Jacinto upstream from Lake Houston.
The final deal includes a leaseback allowing the Country Club to continue operating for up to one year.
The Flood Control District will begin discussions with the Cypress Forest Public Utility District in February regarding an agreement to acquire the remaining 206 acres that primarily make up the golf course. HCFCD intends to use the land for a future flood risk reduction project in the Cypress Creek watershed.
Benefit to Cypress Creek AND Lake Houston Area
That project could help the Champion Forest area where hundreds of homes flooded during Harvey and other recent storms. It could also help the Lake Houston Area. By reducing and delaying floodwaters coming down Cypress and Spring Creeks, it could help offset releases from the Lake Conroe Dam.
The Flood Control District realizes that community interest in this matter is very high. At this time, project specifics have not been determined. The Flood Control District will have community engagement meetings to solicit input and ideas about the future project.
Some feel the loss of the Club could adversely impact surrounding home values. However, the Club had reportedly been losing close to a million dollars per year for several years and was no longer financially viable.
In a special web page devoted to the acquisition, HCFCD says it cannot predict how property values will change as a result of this proposed project. However, HCFCD “knows that properties with a lower risk of flooding have a higher value than properties with a high risk of flooding.”
First Part of a Larger Solution
It is unlikely that HCFCD will find one undeveloped tract of land large enough to reduce flooding in the Lake Houston Area by itself. Acquiring a combination of smaller tracts such as Raveneaux will likely be necessary. Yesterday, HCFCD took the first step toward a larger solution.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Raveneaux-Location.jpg?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=18171200adminadmin2020-01-30 22:44:502020-01-30 22:58:01HCFCD Closes on First Upstream Detention Property
In response to complaints filed on October 23, 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Houston Region Office issued a Notice of Violation to the developers of Woodridge Village. Figure Four Partners, LTD, a Perry Homes subsidiary, owns Woodridge Village, which contributed to the flooding of Elm Grove Village and North Kingwood Forest in May and September of 2019.
History of Uncorrected Violations by Perry Homes
The TCEQ originally investigated Woodridge Village in response to complaints filed after the May 7, 2019, flood. At that time, the Commission found that Perry Homes, et. al., had failed to implement and maintain effective Best Management Practices. They found that sediment-laden discharges had affected at least 2.5 miles of Taylor Gully. TCEQ sent that violation to its enforcement division.
Page 5 of the report states that pollution prevention measures implemented after the first investigation “did not appear sufficient to prevent sediment-laden discharge…”
The investigator observed tainted discharge 2.5 miles down Taylor Gully to the point where it disappears into woods and then joins White Oak Creek, Caney Creek, the East Fork, and Lake Houston. Said another way, the discharge appears to be polluting waters of the State of Texas and the drinking water for 2 million people.
Sediment laden water from Taylor Gulley where it joined the East Fork of the San Jacinto on January 11, 2020.
TCEQ is requiring Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors to install sediment controls on all areas under their operational control at Woodridge. “There must be adequate structural controls to minimize sediment discharges from the site,” says the TCEQ in “Recommended Corrective Action” on page 7 of the 77 page report.
Perry Contractors Also Investigated
The release of findings today indicates that four Perry contractors at this site were also investigated by the TCEQ: D&J Construction Inc., Rebel Contractors Inc, Texassite LLC, and Double Oak Construction Inc.
No New Structural Controls Appear To Be In Place Yet
No additional structural controls appear to have been installed since the last investigation on October 25th. Sediment-laden runoff from the area of wetlands on the northern section of property continues unabated, although grass planted in other areas may be helping slightly.
Looking SE toward Taylor Gully, Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest from the northwest corner of Woodridge Village. Everything slopes toward the detention pond in the upper left, but no structural controls to reduce runoff are in place.Photo taken 1/20/2020.
Unfortunately, grass planted last summer has been destroyed by new construction activity around the southern detention ponds – the area of highest concern, where water from the site enters Taylor Gully through the double culvert seen in the picture below.
Contractors have destroyed the grass and backslope interceptor swales previously constructed around the S2 detention pond. Erosion continues to etch the walls of the S2 detention pond which should be covered with grass by now.It was substantially complete in August of last year.Construction of the S2 pond continues months after Perry Homes promised the City of Houston construction would be complete. The pond should have been complete by the start of December.
What Next for Troubled Perry Homes and Woodridge Village?
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/2020/01/20200120-RJR_7283.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-01-30 19:36:142020-01-30 19:36:30TCEQ Issues Notice of Violation to Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village Development
David Seitzinger Letter to SJRA Focuses on Lake Levels and Drought
David Seitzinger, a Kingwood professional engineer, has studied Harvey flooding since it happened. In this letter to the SJRA Board, Seitzinger urges the SJRA to continue its seasonal lake lowering strategy until other flood mitigation measures can be implemented. Here, Seitzinger addresses one of the main causes of misunderstanding about the policy. Many Lake Conroe residents believe the lake will be lowered 1 or 2 feet from its current level (whatever that may be). However, the policy states the lake will NOT be lower below 200 or 199 from its normal target of 201. The SJRA has NOT lowered the lake since last October. Seitzinger shows that evaporation and below-normal rainfalls have taken the lake lower and kept it down, not the SJRA.
Text of Seitzinger Letter
San Jacinto River Authority
P.O. Box 329
Conroe, Texas 77305
Re: Lake Level Vote
Dear Board Members,
My message to the Board is to renew and maintain the terms of the SJRA/COH Temporary Flood Mitigation Strategy for Lake Houston and Lake Conroe for 2020.
The agreement is contingent upon the dredging operation in Lake Houston. Unfortunately, the “stream mouth bar”, the most significant river obstacle, has not been removed due to FEMA and Army Corps of Engineers limits that were applied to the first dredging contract, not agreed to by the City of Houston. A new dredging contract and associated funding were released, but contractor mobilization is just starting. This is expected to delay the complete removal by at least one year.
Impact of Drought
I have read about the complaints of the Montgomery County citizens at the recent Board meeting. I think that the lowering of the level as required by the contract is not the real problem. The real problem is the “moderate drought” conditions in the Lake Conroe watershed limiting the ability to refill the lake that successfully occurred in 2018. If we look at Huntsville for watershed drought conditions, its 2019 rainfall is 13″ behind normal. Conroe, on the other hand, is 8″ ahead of normal due to the effects of Imelda that were limited to East Texas.
Watershed drought conditions are not rare occurrences. Looking back over the past 20 years, two other drought periods (2001 and 2011-14) have created low lake levels well below the current level of 199 feet. There was also a period in 2005-06, where the lake level was reduced to 197 feet for six months to repair dam damage due to Rita. I am not sure how many bulkheads were replaced and if property values dropped as a result of those lake level conditions.
Steps Being Taken to Mitigate Flooding
City of Houston and Harris County are taking rapid steps to remove flood-causing obstacles in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River that will reduce flooding risk in the Kingwood/Humble/Atascocita area.
I have attached reference materials below for the history of water levels at Lake Conroe to support my lake levels and rainfall statements.
Sincerely,
David Seitzinger
Lake Conroe Operation Requirements and Compliance for 2018 to 2020 To-Date
Lake Conroe Last 20 Years of Lake Levels Highlighting Low Level Periods
Rainfall 2019 History Below the Dam
Lake Conroe Water Levels
Historical Variation in Reservoir Storage
Actual Specific Historical Lake Levels
Reservoir Description by USGS
Water level at Lake Conroe has been generally stable with a typical 1- to 2-foot drop in water level during the summer. The exceptions have been in 2001 when drought conditions caused summer water level to fall 3 feet below pool and in 2005-20-06 when damage to the dam caused by Hurricane Rita required the water level to be held at 4 feet below pool for about six months.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/31/2020
855 Days after Hurricane Harvey
HCFCD Closes on First Upstream Detention Property
In 2018, Lake Houston area leaders identified a three-pronged strategy to help mitigate flooding. They dubbed it the “Plea for DDG.” Additional dredging, detention, and gates. Since then, dredging and gates have garnered the most media attention. Yesterday, however, we received some good news regarding additional upstream detention.
HCFCD Buys First Part of Raveneaux Club
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) closed on the purchase of the Raveneaux Country Club on January 30, 2020. The final purchase price for 27.63 acres of land was $11,496,427.20 which is also the current appraised value for the property.
The final deal includes a leaseback allowing the Country Club to continue operating for up to one year.
The Flood Control District will begin discussions with the Cypress Forest Public Utility District in February regarding an agreement to acquire the remaining 206 acres that primarily make up the golf course. HCFCD intends to use the land for a future flood risk reduction project in the Cypress Creek watershed.
Benefit to Cypress Creek AND Lake Houston Area
That project could help the Champion Forest area where hundreds of homes flooded during Harvey and other recent storms. It could also help the Lake Houston Area. By reducing and delaying floodwaters coming down Cypress and Spring Creeks, it could help offset releases from the Lake Conroe Dam.
Funding for Acquisition
Funding for the Raveneaux acquisition will come from the 2018 HCFCD Bond. See Project F-20 Cypress Creek Right-of-Way Acquisition and Floodplain Preservation.
Community Input Sessions Planned
The Flood Control District realizes that community interest in this matter is very high. At this time, project specifics have not been determined. The Flood Control District will have community engagement meetings to solicit input and ideas about the future project.
Some feel the loss of the Club could adversely impact surrounding home values. However, the Club had reportedly been losing close to a million dollars per year for several years and was no longer financially viable.
In a special web page devoted to the acquisition, HCFCD says it cannot predict how property values will change as a result of this proposed project. However, HCFCD “knows that properties with a lower risk of flooding have a higher value than properties with a high risk of flooding.”
First Part of a Larger Solution
It is unlikely that HCFCD will find one undeveloped tract of land large enough to reduce flooding in the Lake Houston Area by itself. Acquiring a combination of smaller tracts such as Raveneaux will likely be necessary. Yesterday, HCFCD took the first step toward a larger solution.
For more details as they become available, see: https://www.hcfcd.org/Find-Your-Watershed/Cypress-Creek/Raveneaux-Acquisition-Information
Posted by Bob Rehak on January 31, 2020
885 Days since Hurricane Harvey
TCEQ Issues Notice of Violation to Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village Development
In response to complaints filed on October 23, 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Houston Region Office issued a Notice of Violation to the developers of Woodridge Village. Figure Four Partners, LTD, a Perry Homes subsidiary, owns Woodridge Village, which contributed to the flooding of Elm Grove Village and North Kingwood Forest in May and September of 2019.
History of Uncorrected Violations by Perry Homes
The TCEQ originally investigated Woodridge Village in response to complaints filed after the May 7, 2019, flood. At that time, the Commission found that Perry Homes, et. al., had failed to implement and maintain effective Best Management Practices. They found that sediment-laden discharges had affected at least 2.5 miles of Taylor Gully. TCEQ sent that violation to its enforcement division.
Findings of a second investigation released today indicate that the violations continued after the first investigation.
The investigator observed tainted discharge 2.5 miles down Taylor Gully to the point where it disappears into woods and then joins White Oak Creek, Caney Creek, the East Fork, and Lake Houston. Said another way, the discharge appears to be polluting waters of the State of Texas and the drinking water for 2 million people.
Investigations, such as the TCEQ’s, represent a snapshot in time. The investigator in this case visited the site on October 25, 2019. Unfortunately, observations by local residents indicate that the sediment-laden discharge continues.
TCEQ Requiring Structural Controls for Sediment
TCEQ is requiring Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors to install sediment controls on all areas under their operational control at Woodridge. “There must be adequate structural controls to minimize sediment discharges from the site,” says the TCEQ in “Recommended Corrective Action” on page 7 of the 77 page report.
Perry Contractors Also Investigated
The release of findings today indicates that four Perry contractors at this site were also investigated by the TCEQ: D&J Construction Inc., Rebel Contractors Inc, Texassite LLC, and Double Oak Construction Inc.
No New Structural Controls Appear To Be In Place Yet
No additional structural controls appear to have been installed since the last investigation on October 25th. Sediment-laden runoff from the area of wetlands on the northern section of property continues unabated, although grass planted in other areas may be helping slightly.
Unfortunately, grass planted last summer has been destroyed by new construction activity around the southern detention ponds – the area of highest concern, where water from the site enters Taylor Gully through the double culvert seen in the picture below.
What Next for Troubled Perry Homes and Woodridge Village?
A story in the Houston Chronicle earlier this week reported that Perry Homes was seeking a bailout for this “floodplain property” from Harris County, Montgomery County and the City of Houston. Harris County commissioners reportedly considered the proposition in executive session on Tuesday this week. However, no decision or action has yet been announced. It should also be noted that Perry Homes’ engineering company, LJA, denies a floodplain even exists on this property.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/30/2020
884 Days After Hurricane Harvey 133 After 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.