2/16/26 – Update – Mealer now endorsed by President Trump – Two local Republicans have announced their intention to run for Congress in the newly redrawn U.S. Congressional District 9. Alexandra Mealer, who ran for Harris County Judge in the 2022 election, will square off against State Representative Briscoe Cain in a primary. President Trump has endorsed Mealer.
I am also strongly endorsing Alex Mealer based on her distinguished background and her continued commitment to improving flood-mitigation infrastructure in our region.
Mealer by a reminder of the depth of flooding during Hurricane Harvey at Torchy’s Tacos in Kingwood Town Center
Alex Mealer’s Distinguished Background
Mealer graduated from West Point, then completed advanced training at the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) school. As a young lieutenant, the Army selected her ahead of her peers to form a new EOD company for a planned surge in Afghanistan. She prepared her team in half the time usually required by the Army then deployed to a forward operating base in Afghanistan.
While there, Mealer was again selected ahead of her peers to lead the EOD Headquarters Company, consisting of 600+ personnel deployed to 40+ locations throughout Afghanistan. For her 14-month deployment, Mealer was awarded the Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star Medal.
After honorably completing military service, Mealer obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School and a JD degree from Harvard Law School. She then went on to leverage her degrees as an oil & gas investment banker in Houston. She specialized in capital markets and merger/acquisition consulting in the oilfield services sector.
In 2021, Mealer began her campaign against incumbent Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She shocked political insiders by winning a nine-way primary in which opponents outspent her 3:1. She went on to win the Republican nomination in a landslide runoff victory.
In the general election, Mealer received approximately 45,000 more votes than any other Republican on the ballot. But the first-timer narrowly lost to Hidalgo. She secured more than 49% of the vote in the nation’s third largest county (the size of 6 Congressional Districts).
Currently, she works as a VP for a private financial institution and serves as a representative of 14 cities on the METRO board where she also chairs the public safety committee.
A Force of Nature
I first met Mealer when she ran for county judge in 2021. She spent days studying flood issues in the Lake Houston Area and meeting with area residents. She and I have stayed in touch ever since. We frequently discuss Harris County flood issues, many of which originate upstream.
Mealer has seemingly inexhaustible reserves of energy. Even after her razor-thin loss in the county judge race, she never gave up trying to help the people of Harris County.
Within one day after her narrow loss, she started working with a legal team and subject-matter experts to craft legislation that could have potentially expanded the geographic scope of the Harris County Flood Control District.
The idea? Create a regional Resiliency District that could someday grow as large as the entire San Jacinto River Basin. Then she pushed for it in Austin, where State Rep. Dennis Paul ultimately led the effort to reform and expand the Harris County Flood Control District.
Even though it didn’t pass this session, the idea still has legs. There is a growing recognition that people must work together across jurisdictional boundaries if they will ever truly address flooding problems.
A map of the new CD9 shows that the district stretches from Cleveland to the ship channel and Port of Houston. It includes refinery complexes in Pasadena, Deer Park, and Baytown. If CD9 were a country, it would have approximately the 20th largest economy in the world, according to Mealer.
The new CD9 also includes the East Fork San Jacinto, Luce Bayou, the Luce Bayou Inter-Basin Transfer Project, the Trinity River, the Lake Houston Dam, Colony Ridge, all of Liberty County and major parts of Harris County.
From north to south, water weaves through CD9 into CD2 and back into CD9.
Map of new Congressional District 9 (shown in blue)
Any flood-mitigation solution must recognize the interdependence of these areas for their collective safety. CD9 cannot be operated independently as a fiefdom. Cain’s vote on the Lake Houston Drainage District Bill would lead one to conclude he just doesn’t understand that. Or if he does, he doesn’t care.
CD9 is Houston’s economic gateway to the world. It needs world-class infrastructure.
Lake Houston Dam and Harris County Flood Projects
The inclusion of the Lake Houston Dam in the new CD9 will put major funding and leadership responsibilities on the new congressional representative. The City just started a major repair project on the dam. Houston has also been studying ways to add more floodgates for several years now.
A strong representative in CD9 could help with those projects. A strong representative could also help Harris County reach well beyond the 2018 flood bond.
Heavy vehicular traffic near refineries places exceptional stress on infrastructure. And in military fashion, Mealer has made infrastructure her mission.
She and I spent most of the day yesterday scouting drainage channels plus dredging and maintenance needs in the Lake Houston Area all the way down to Crosby and Barrett Station. At one point, the rain started coming down so hard, we got soaked.
Mealer caught in downpour at Bens Branch and Kingwood Drive.
Mealer smiled through it all and pushed our recon patrol forward for another four hours. That was on a Sunday. On a major holiday weekend.
I don’t know about you. But I feel this area needs that kind of committed leadership. And that’s why I’m endorsing her.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 216/26
3093 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/20250831-DSC_3263.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2025-09-01 10:47:262026-02-17 16:09:17Why I Endorse Alexandra Mealer in new Congressional District 9
8/30/25 – On the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, more than 400 residents crowded into the Kingwood Community Center to hear Congressman Dan Crenshaw talk. Unfortunately, a group of unruly agitators wouldn’t let the Congressman speak about flood mitigation to an audience whose lives had been upended by flooding.
They kept shouting questions about random, unrelated topics, such as lactation consulting. And before Crenshaw could answer one question, attackers would cut him off with another. Sometimes the attackers even stepped on each other.
It appeared as though the provocateurs were trying to get the police to eject them. That would have given them ammunition to slime Crenshaw further on social media.
The experience was an hour-long dystopian view of mob rule. Disruption, disturbance and disparagement replaced civilized discourse and debate. The volume of protesters’ voices drowned out Crenshaw’s attempts to illuminate issues.
That’s a real shame because he has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard. Crenshaw is smart. Plus…
He has a deep understanding of issues and a gift for explaining them in ways that help people find common ground.
Bob Rehak
Dan Crenshaw patiently addresses protesters at Kingwood town hall
Shouts Overpower Microphone
Even though Crenshaw had a microphone, I had trouble hearing him. So, for those who attended hoping to hear what Crenshaw has done for flood mitigation in the area, here is partial text of his remarks obtained later from his staff.
Crenshaw’s Remarks on Flood Mitigation
“Through my work in Washington, I’ve been able to pull down federal dollars to help our local communities here in Lake Houston.”
“As you probably know, earlier this year we finally wrapped up a project that I had advocated for since I took office. The complete restoration of Lake Houston to pre-Harvey conditions. To date, over $150 million of federal funds have been used to dredge Lake Houston. The last $30 plus million project was completed near the convergence of the East Fork, West Fork and the lake.”
“I look forward to seeing the City maintain the lake with the newly approved Lake Houston Dredging District. This project was a long-fought effort by Charles Cunningham, Fred Flickinger and Twila Carter. It was unfortunate that my opponent, Steve Toth, voted against helping this community.
“While the Lake Houston Dam is long overdue, I feel confident that we are on a good path and I am committed to expediting any federal permits required to get this project completed. For updates on the project, you should subscribe to Fred Flickinger’s newsletter.”
“Some other projects in the area that I secured Community Project Funding for are as follows:”
Purpose: The project aims to decrease flooding elevation within the San Jacinto watershed. It supplements funding obtained in previous years. [See below.]
Designed as a wet-bottom basin with a permanent pool of water and constructed with native wetland vegetation and features, this stormwater detention basin will function to treat and clean stormwater. The permanent pool of water will settle out solids, while the native vegetation will provide habitat for aquatic species that filter and clean stormwater.
FY24 Community Projects Signed into Law
Ford Road Improvement Project – $7 million
Purpose: This request will support Ford Road improvements from US 59 in Montgomery County to the Harris County line. The current road is undersized and serves as one of only three evacuation routes for the Kingwood area. Commissioner Gray is currently constructing this project.
Kingwood Diversion Channel – Walnut Lane Bridge Project- $4 million
Purpose: The project includesthe widening and reconstruction of Walnut Lane Bridge in Kingwood. This bridge, in its current configuration, will restrict flood flows unless widened to accommodate the future expansion of the Kingwood Diversion Channel currently being designed by the Harris County Flood Control District.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements Project-$1.75 million
Purpose: This project is designed to reduce flood risk in the Kingwood area. This project will create a detention basin and improve stormwater conveyance to minimize flood risks. Engineering studies show that completion of this project will result in substantial reductions in flooding along Taylor Gully. The studies show that this project will remove the 100-year floodplain from over 115 acres of flood area and from 276 structures.
FY23 Community Projects Signed into Law
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Project – $8 million
Purpose: This recently completed project reinforced the existing dam structure. The aging structure needed reinforcement and a project to replace this structure is underway. The dam gates will not be using this structure.
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $5 million
Purpose: The project involves creating a detention basin to alleviate flood risks in the Kingwood area. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district.
Harris County Municipal Utility District (HCMUD) 468 Stormwater Detention Basin Project-$2 million
Purpose: This project is for the excavation of a stormwater detention basin located in the Cypress Creek watershed. The Cypress Creek watershed is highly developed and has a lack of regional stormwater detention basins for flood mitigation. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district and provides upstream detention to Kingwood
FY22 Community Projects Signed Into Law
Kingwood Diversion Channel – $1.6 million
Purpose: The Kingwood Diversion Channel improvements are proposed to divert stormwater runoff from the Bens Branch channel to lower the risk of structural flooding along the portion of Bens Branch within the Kingwood area. This project will also provide capacity to allow for future local City of Houston neighborhood drainage improvements to outfall into the Kingwood Diversion Channel.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements – $1.6 million
This project will mitigate flooding on the north side of Kingwood.
TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $9.96 million
Purpose: This request is for TC Jester Detention Basin, which is a stormwater detention mitigation project within the Cypress Creek Watershed that is intended to address current flood damage reduction needs within the Cypress Creek Watershed. This project will provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Westador Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $8.85 million
Purpose: This project will also provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Each of these wins – border security funding, energy permitting, flood infrastructure – came from listening to our community and then acting decisively.
Crenshaw Deserves Even More Credit
Crenshaw didn’t say it, but the money he helped obtain for the Woodridge and Taylor Gully Projects also helped those projects qualify for $33 million dollars in CDBG-MIT grants. Harris County Flood Control District obtained those through the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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/2025/08/20250828-DSC_3186-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2025-08-30 18:16:032025-08-31 05:34:04Protesters Disrupt Crenshaw Town Hall in Kingwood on Harvey’s 8th Anniversary
8/29/25 – Eight years ago today, the Lake Houston Area woke up to the dawn of a disaster. During the previous day and night, the San Jacinto River rose 22 feet above flood stage at US59.
Looking S toward Humble at the US59 bridge under swollen West Fork San Jacinto
It swept several townhomes in Forest Cove off their foundations. And destroyed all the rest for blocks around.
Forest Cove Townhome destroyed by Harvey.
Rising floodwaters eventually claimed the lives of 15 people in the Kingwood area – 12 of them in a senior center more than a mile from the river.
Residents trying to escape Kingwood Village Estates as Harvey’s floodwaters rose
Harvey was not a single day event. It lasted the better part of a week. Different areas fell to its driving rains and howling winds at different times.
The Lake Houston Area bore the brunt of not only the storm, but water funneled downstream from an area 50% larger than Harris County itself.
Watershed Map of the San Jacinto River Basin
That included a massive 79,000 cubic feet per second from Lake Conroe, the largest release ever by the SJRA.
Where more than 400,000 Cubic Feet Per Second came from.
Before It Was All Over…
16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses in the Lake Houston Area flooded.
Multiply this times 16,000
Damage included 44% of all businesses in the Lake Houston Chamber and 100% of all businesses in Kingwood’s Town Center.
Harvey Flood in Kings Harbor. Photo by Sally Geis.
Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor. Thousands of students would be bussed to another high school for a year.
Kingwood High School during Harvey.
The flood also destroyed thousands of cars. The owners parked many of them on higher ground that they thought was safe.
Flood damaged cars hauled to a holding facility near Bush Intercontinental Airport
Displaced families shuffled from one safe haven to another as the floodwaters spread.
Sally Geis Harvey Rescue. From a condo near the river, she evacuated up West Lake Houston Parkway. Kingwood Town Center in background.
Neighborhoods turned into islands, like lily pads, as rising water cut off evacuation routes for those who waited too long.
Two and a quarter miles north of the West Fork, Carolanne Norris took this shot as she and her family hiked to safety on Valley Manor. Shot is looking back down Woods Estates.
Raging currents damaged the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge. They also wiped out the UnionPacific bridge which they had to completely rebuild.
Repair work underway on the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge that parallels US59.
Rushing floodwaters also destroyed the southbound US59 bridge.
US59 during Harvey. Photo by Melinda Ray.
TXDoT spent almost a year repairing the southbound lanes. Their supports were weakened by scouring.
Southbound lanes of I-69 bridge took almost a year to rebuild.
Grocery stores? Restaurants? Gone. People lived on Igloo cooler cuisine, potato chips and granola bars.
Whataburger in the new HEB shopping center during flooding from Hurricane Harvey.Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.Humble shopping area near US59 and Townsen
Communications? Knocked out.
Electricity? Gone. For days or weeks in some cases. Gas stations couldn’t pump gas. Forget about air conditioning. People gutted homes in sweltering heat.
Photo by Kendall Taft: “Two feet of sheetrock removal, with floors covered in drywall muck.” Atascocita Shores.
Mountains of discarded family treasures littered streets for weeks as looters pillaged the community.
Families lived in campers and RVs or with friends for months while restoring homes.
Home, Home on the Driveway! The Slaughter family lived in a trailer for almost 9 months as they gutted and restored their home.Slaughter’s House. Gutted to the studs.
Troubles Just Beginning
But the hardest part was still to come: understanding why all this destruction happened and determining what could be done to prevent it from happening again. And finally, organizing politically to build the solutions.
We would soon discover that as much as we were united by disaster, we were also divided by recovery. That would become the dawn of a another disaster. But more on that in a future post.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/29/25with thanks to the hundreds of people who have contributed pictures
2922 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Harvey-at-59-Bridge-IMG_3686-e1741129570215.jpeg?fit=1100%2C685&ssl=16851100adminadmin2025-08-29 15:36:232025-08-29 22:13:08Dawn of a Disaster: Harvey Remembered
Why I Endorse Alexandra Mealer in new Congressional District 9
2/16/26 – Update – Mealer now endorsed by President Trump – Two local Republicans have announced their intention to run for Congress in the newly redrawn U.S. Congressional District 9. Alexandra Mealer, who ran for Harris County Judge in the 2022 election, will square off against State Representative Briscoe Cain in a primary. President Trump has endorsed Mealer.
I am also strongly endorsing Alex Mealer based on her distinguished background and her continued commitment to improving flood-mitigation infrastructure in our region.
In making this decision, I also considered Cain’s voting record in the legislature. He voted against a Lake Houston Area Dredging District this year (HB 1532), even though it wouldn’t have raised taxes. He also did not vote for the so-called “Ike Dike” bill (HB 1089), which created a Gulf Coast Protection Account in the state’s general fund.
Alex Mealer’s Distinguished Background
Mealer graduated from West Point, then completed advanced training at the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) school. As a young lieutenant, the Army selected her ahead of her peers to form a new EOD company for a planned surge in Afghanistan. She prepared her team in half the time usually required by the Army then deployed to a forward operating base in Afghanistan.
While there, Mealer was again selected ahead of her peers to lead the EOD Headquarters Company, consisting of 600+ personnel deployed to 40+ locations throughout Afghanistan. For her 14-month deployment, Mealer was awarded the Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star Medal.
After honorably completing military service, Mealer obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School and a JD degree from Harvard Law School. She then went on to leverage her degrees as an oil & gas investment banker in Houston. She specialized in capital markets and merger/acquisition consulting in the oilfield services sector.
In 2021, Mealer began her campaign against incumbent Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She shocked political insiders by winning a nine-way primary in which opponents outspent her 3:1. She went on to win the Republican nomination in a landslide runoff victory.
In the general election, Mealer received approximately 45,000 more votes than any other Republican on the ballot. But the first-timer narrowly lost to Hidalgo. She secured more than 49% of the vote in the nation’s third largest county (the size of 6 Congressional Districts).
Currently, she works as a VP for a private financial institution and serves as a representative of 14 cities on the METRO board where she also chairs the public safety committee.
A Force of Nature
I first met Mealer when she ran for county judge in 2021. She spent days studying flood issues in the Lake Houston Area and meeting with area residents. She and I have stayed in touch ever since. We frequently discuss Harris County flood issues, many of which originate upstream.
Mealer has seemingly inexhaustible reserves of energy. Even after her razor-thin loss in the county judge race, she never gave up trying to help the people of Harris County.
Within one day after her narrow loss, she started working with a legal team and subject-matter experts to craft legislation that could have potentially expanded the geographic scope of the Harris County Flood Control District.
The idea? Create a regional Resiliency District that could someday grow as large as the entire San Jacinto River Basin. Then she pushed for it in Austin, where State Rep. Dennis Paul ultimately led the effort to reform and expand the Harris County Flood Control District.
Even though it didn’t pass this session, the idea still has legs. There is a growing recognition that people must work together across jurisdictional boundaries if they will ever truly address flooding problems.
Here is a white paper that Mealer wrote on the subject immediately following her race for County Judge.
Rest of Region and World Depend on CD9
A map of the new CD9 shows that the district stretches from Cleveland to the ship channel and Port of Houston. It includes refinery complexes in Pasadena, Deer Park, and Baytown. If CD9 were a country, it would have approximately the 20th largest economy in the world, according to Mealer.
The new CD9 also includes the East Fork San Jacinto, Luce Bayou, the Luce Bayou Inter-Basin Transfer Project, the Trinity River, the Lake Houston Dam, Colony Ridge, all of Liberty County and major parts of Harris County.
From north to south, water weaves through CD9 into CD2 and back into CD9.
Any flood-mitigation solution must recognize the interdependence of these areas for their collective safety. CD9 cannot be operated independently as a fiefdom. Cain’s vote on the Lake Houston Drainage District Bill would lead one to conclude he just doesn’t understand that. Or if he does, he doesn’t care.
CD9 is Houston’s economic gateway to the world. It needs world-class infrastructure.
Lake Houston Dam and Harris County Flood Projects
The inclusion of the Lake Houston Dam in the new CD9 will put major funding and leadership responsibilities on the new congressional representative. The City just started a major repair project on the dam. Houston has also been studying ways to add more floodgates for several years now.
A strong representative in CD9 could help with those projects. A strong representative could also help Harris County reach well beyond the 2018 flood bond.
Heavy vehicular traffic near refineries places exceptional stress on infrastructure. And in military fashion, Mealer has made infrastructure her mission.
She and I spent most of the day yesterday scouting drainage channels plus dredging and maintenance needs in the Lake Houston Area all the way down to Crosby and Barrett Station. At one point, the rain started coming down so hard, we got soaked.
Mealer smiled through it all and pushed our recon patrol forward for another four hours. That was on a Sunday. On a major holiday weekend.
I don’t know about you. But I feel this area needs that kind of committed leadership. And that’s why I’m endorsing her.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 216/26
3093 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Protesters Disrupt Crenshaw Town Hall in Kingwood on Harvey’s 8th Anniversary
8/30/25 – On the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, more than 400 residents crowded into the Kingwood Community Center to hear Congressman Dan Crenshaw talk. Unfortunately, a group of unruly agitators wouldn’t let the Congressman speak about flood mitigation to an audience whose lives had been upended by flooding.
They kept shouting questions about random, unrelated topics, such as lactation consulting. And before Crenshaw could answer one question, attackers would cut him off with another. Sometimes the attackers even stepped on each other.
Check out this representative 50-second clip of the hour-long audio recording I made…from the FRONT row. Transcription was hopeless.
It appeared as though the provocateurs were trying to get the police to eject them. That would have given them ammunition to slime Crenshaw further on social media.
The experience was an hour-long dystopian view of mob rule. Disruption, disturbance and disparagement replaced civilized discourse and debate. The volume of protesters’ voices drowned out Crenshaw’s attempts to illuminate issues.
That’s a real shame because he has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard. Crenshaw is smart. Plus…
Shouts Overpower Microphone
Even though Crenshaw had a microphone, I had trouble hearing him. So, for those who attended hoping to hear what Crenshaw has done for flood mitigation in the area, here is partial text of his remarks obtained later from his staff.
Crenshaw’s Remarks on Flood Mitigation
“Through my work in Washington, I’ve been able to pull down federal dollars to help our local communities here in Lake Houston.”
“As you probably know, earlier this year we finally wrapped up a project that I had advocated for since I took office. The complete restoration of Lake Houston to pre-Harvey conditions. To date, over $150 million of federal funds have been used to dredge Lake Houston. The last $30 plus million project was completed near the convergence of the East Fork, West Fork and the lake.”
“I look forward to seeing the City maintain the lake with the newly approved Lake Houston Dredging District. This project was a long-fought effort by Charles Cunningham, Fred Flickinger and Twila Carter. It was unfortunate that my opponent, Steve Toth, voted against helping this community.
“While the Lake Houston Dam is long overdue, I feel confident that we are on a good path and I am committed to expediting any federal permits required to get this project completed. For updates on the project, you should subscribe to Fred Flickinger’s newsletter.”
“Some other projects in the area that I secured Community Project Funding for are as follows:”
FY26 Projects -Submitted but Not Yet Approved
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin – $ 1M (We asked for $3 million.)
Purpose: The project aims to decrease flooding elevation within the San Jacinto watershed. It supplements funding obtained in previous years. [See below.]
Designed as a wet-bottom basin with a permanent pool of water and constructed with native wetland vegetation and features, this stormwater detention basin will function to treat and clean stormwater. The permanent pool of water will settle out solids, while the native vegetation will provide habitat for aquatic species that filter and clean stormwater.
FY24 Community Projects Signed into Law
Ford Road Improvement Project – $7 million
Purpose: This request will support Ford Road improvements from US 59 in Montgomery County to the Harris County line. The current road is undersized and serves as one of only three evacuation routes for the Kingwood area. Commissioner Gray is currently constructing this project.
Kingwood Diversion Channel – Walnut Lane Bridge Project- $4 million
Purpose: The project includes the widening and reconstruction of Walnut Lane Bridge in Kingwood. This bridge, in its current configuration, will restrict flood flows unless widened to accommodate the future expansion of the Kingwood Diversion Channel currently being designed by the Harris County Flood Control District.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements Project-$1.75 million
Purpose: This project is designed to reduce flood risk in the Kingwood area. This project will create a detention basin and improve stormwater conveyance to minimize flood risks. Engineering studies show that completion of this project will result in substantial reductions in flooding along Taylor Gully. The studies show that this project will remove the 100-year floodplain from over 115 acres of flood area and from 276 structures.
FY23 Community Projects Signed into Law
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Project – $8 million
Purpose: This recently completed project reinforced the existing dam structure. The aging structure needed reinforcement and a project to replace this structure is underway. The dam gates will not be using this structure.
Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $5 million
Purpose: The project involves creating a detention basin to alleviate flood risks in the Kingwood area. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district.
Harris County Municipal Utility District (HCMUD) 468 Stormwater Detention Basin Project-$2 million
Purpose: This project is for the excavation of a stormwater detention basin located in the Cypress Creek watershed. The Cypress Creek watershed is highly developed and has a lack of regional stormwater detention basins for flood mitigation. This project is critical for flood mitigation efforts in the district and provides upstream detention to Kingwood
FY22 Community Projects Signed Into Law
Kingwood Diversion Channel – $1.6 million
Purpose: The Kingwood Diversion Channel improvements are proposed to divert stormwater runoff from the Bens Branch channel to lower the risk of structural flooding along the portion of Bens Branch within the Kingwood area. This project will also provide capacity to allow for future local City of Houston neighborhood drainage improvements to outfall into the Kingwood Diversion Channel.
Taylor Gully Channel Conveyance Improvements – $1.6 million
This project will mitigate flooding on the north side of Kingwood.
TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $9.96 million
Purpose: This request is for TC Jester Detention Basin, which is a stormwater detention mitigation project within the Cypress Creek Watershed that is intended to address current flood damage reduction needs within the Cypress Creek Watershed. This project will provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Westador Stormwater Detention Basin Project – $8.85 million
Purpose: This project will also provide upstream detention to Kingwood.
Each of these wins – border security funding, energy permitting, flood infrastructure – came from listening to our community and then acting decisively.
Crenshaw Deserves Even More Credit
Crenshaw didn’t say it, but the money he helped obtain for the Woodridge and Taylor Gully Projects also helped those projects qualify for $33 million dollars in CDBG-MIT grants. Harris County Flood Control District obtained those through the Texas General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In contrast, Crenshaw’s primary opponent, State Representative Steve Toth, voted against the bill to create a Lake Houston Dredging District, even though it would not have raised taxes.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/30/2025
2923 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.
Dawn of a Disaster: Harvey Remembered
8/29/25 – Eight years ago today, the Lake Houston Area woke up to the dawn of a disaster. During the previous day and night, the San Jacinto River rose 22 feet above flood stage at US59.
It swept several townhomes in Forest Cove off their foundations. And destroyed all the rest for blocks around.
Rising floodwaters eventually claimed the lives of 15 people in the Kingwood area – 12 of them in a senior center more than a mile from the river.
Harvey was not a single day event. It lasted the better part of a week. Different areas fell to its driving rains and howling winds at different times.
The Lake Houston Area bore the brunt of not only the storm, but water funneled downstream from an area 50% larger than Harris County itself.
That included a massive 79,000 cubic feet per second from Lake Conroe, the largest release ever by the SJRA.
Before It Was All Over…
16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses in the Lake Houston Area flooded.
Damage included 44% of all businesses in the Lake Houston Chamber and 100% of all businesses in Kingwood’s Town Center.
Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor. Thousands of students would be bussed to another high school for a year.
The flood also destroyed thousands of cars. The owners parked many of them on higher ground that they thought was safe.
Displaced families shuffled from one safe haven to another as the floodwaters spread.
Neighborhoods turned into islands, like lily pads, as rising water cut off evacuation routes for those who waited too long.
Raging currents damaged the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge. They also wiped out the UnionPacific bridge which they had to completely rebuild.
Rushing floodwaters also destroyed the southbound US59 bridge.
TXDoT spent almost a year repairing the southbound lanes. Their supports were weakened by scouring.
Grocery stores? Restaurants? Gone. People lived on Igloo cooler cuisine, potato chips and granola bars.
Communications? Knocked out.
Electricity? Gone. For days or weeks in some cases. Gas stations couldn’t pump gas. Forget about air conditioning. People gutted homes in sweltering heat.
Mountains of discarded family treasures littered streets for weeks as looters pillaged the community.
Families lived in campers and RVs or with friends for months while restoring homes.
Troubles Just Beginning
But the hardest part was still to come: understanding why all this destruction happened and determining what could be done to prevent it from happening again. And finally, organizing politically to build the solutions.
We would soon discover that as much as we were united by disaster, we were also divided by recovery. That would become the dawn of a another disaster. But more on that in a future post.
For more on Harvey, see the Flood Control District’s full 32-page report on the storm.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/29/25 with thanks to the hundreds of people who have contributed pictures
2922 Days since Hurricane Harvey