On December 30, 2019, the City of Houston issued a Notice To Proceed (NTP) for debris removal services. Specifically, that means the large silt deposit at the confluence of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston. The area is commonly known as the “mouth bar.” See below.
Mouth Bar of the San Jacinto West Fork looking upstream. Picture from 12/3/2019.
Mechanical, Not Hydraulic Dredging
The City hired DRC Emergency Services, LLC (DRC) under an existing contract to begin mechanical dredging of the mouth bar “this week,” according to Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin.
Mechanical dredging differs from hydraulic dredging. With hydraulic dredging, contractors continuouslypump sediment from the river to a placement area onshore via long pipelines. With mechanical dredging, they scoop it out of the river and dump it on barges. Then they ferry the barges to the placement area where trucks transport the sediment to its final location.
Hydraulic dredging takes less time once started, but the prep can take months. Mechanical dredging takes longer, but can start immediately.
The City will begin the hydraulic dredging with $6 million of FEMA money left over from Hurricane Harvey debris removal funds. The Texas Division of Emergency Management and Governor Greg Abbott allocated that money specifically for Lake Houston and approved the remaining funds for mouth-bar dredging.
The grant application proposes removing sediment in two distinct phases:
Near and at the mouth bar on the West Fork of the San Jacinto River
In the East Fork of the San Jacinto River AND other locations in Lake Houston.
Mouth Bar on East Fork San Jacinto grew 4,000 feet since Harvey.
Phase-One Funding and Objectives
To complete Phase 1, Harris County proposed taking $10 million of the $30 million to provide a total $16 million for DRC dredging operations.
Phase 1 should remove a minimum of 400,000 cubic yards (CY) of material in eight to twelve months. The Army Corps of Engineers previously removed 500,000 cubic yards from the West Fork Mouth Bar for $17 million in about three months.
During Phase 1, the County will begin some activities for Phase 2. They include:
Hydrographic surveys of the West and East Forks, and Lake Houston
Development of plans and specifications
Identification and permitting of additional disposal sites
Competitive bidding
Since the TWDB grant money can only be used for dredging, Harris County will pay for the activities above out of the 2018 HCFCD Bond Program. The fund allocated $10 million for dredging in Lake Houston.
Phase-2 Funding and Objectives
The remaining $20 million from the $30 million TWDB grant will go toward Phase 2 dredging.
During Phase 2, Harris County, City of Houston (COH), HCFCD, SJRA, and Coastal Water Authority (CWA) will develop and execute a plan for the COH or CWA to assume all long-term dredging operations on Lake Houston.
The County does not intend to assume long-term responsibility for maintenance dredging of a City property, i.e., Lake Houston.
TWDB Meets Next Week to Approve Grant
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will meet on Thursday, January 16, 2020, to approve the $30 million grant. “We are in the final stages of agency approval to continue dredging the lake and river,” said State Representative Dan Huberty. His amendment to SB500 last year dedicated the money for dredging this area. “By approving this amount, the legislature as a whole made a clear and concise statement that Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River are vital resources for the entire region and must be maintained.”
“Due to the urgency of this issue, multiple entities worked together to craft a plan that could be executed immediately, allowing the first phase to begin as soon as possible,” said Huberty.
Kudos Go To…
“I would like to thank everyone who has worked to create the final grant program under the supplemental funds we received from the Legislature,” said Huberty. “It would have not been possible without Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, former Appropriations Chairman John Zerwas, Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, State Senator Brandon Creighton, Chief Nim Kidd, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello, Harris County Commissioner’s Court, Harris County Engineer John Blount, Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director Russell Poppe, Harris County Flood Control District Deputy Director Matt Zeve, Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin and many more.”
To View TWDB Board Meeting Live
Tune in to the live TWDB Board Meeting next Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 9:30 AM by visiting: http://texasadmin.com/tx/twdb/.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/8/2019
863 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 111 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/15.NewSandBarAtEntrytoLkHouston.jpg?fit=2000%2C1333&ssl=113332000adminadmin2020-01-09 22:37:222020-01-09 22:37:33West Fork Mouth Bar Dredging Set to Start As TWDB Considers Grant to Extend Program
Descartes positions itself as a data refinery for satellite imagery. They process images from the major NASA and ESA satellite constellations at scale, creating a digital data twin of the entire planet that monitors the whole earth, in near real-time. Their mission: to better understand the planet.
The red dots in the map below show land that is newly covered in concrete or rooftops. It is a form of “heat map” that shows the hottest areas for growth. Studying this map, we can learn several things:
Stories about the demise of suburbs and exurbs after the real estate crash in 2008 proved short-lived. From the numerous rings around major metropolitan centers, you can see that growth outside of major metropolitan areas continues.
Texas appears to have the greatest increase in density of any state.
Far more growth happened in the East than the West.
This next map, also courtesy of Descartes, zooms in on Texas and surrounding states. The yellow dots simply correspond to the names of metropolitan centers.
Growth around Houston seems fairly uniform, though my eye does detect slightly more weight to the north, west and south than the east. This will likely change in the next decade with the extension of the Grand Parkway toward the east.
Several factors contribute to Houston’s reputation for flooding:
Rapid population growth and corresponding growth of impervious cover, as Descarte showed. The impervious cover causes floodwaters to concentrate/accumulate faster.
Loss of wetlands And flood plain storage
Flat, poorly drained landscape
Gulf moisture that regularly brings hurricanes, tropical storms and torrential rains
Fierce dedication to individual freedom, property rights, and local authority (Hey, this IS TEXAS after all.)
Political fragmentation
Widely varying flood control regulations
Upstream development that overwhelms the capacity of downstream drainage channels
In the last century, Houston has exploded from a sleepy city of less than 200,000 to a 9-county metropolitan statistical area with a population of about 7 million covering more than 9 thousand square miles.
Nine counties comprise the Houston metropolitan statistical area, home to 7 million people. Source: Greater Houston Partnership.
Now, superimpose watersheds over those counties and you can see how difficult the flood control situation becomes.
Watersheds of the Houston MSA. The Upper San Jacinto River Basin (above Lake Houston) contains 13 major watersheds. But, there are many smaller watersheds within each larger one.Source: San Jacinto River Authority.
Solutions Will Require Cooperation
Rivers and streams cross political boundaries throughout this region. So solutions to flooding problems are, by definition, regional. Yet development regulations and guidelines are anything but.
Most regulations pay lip service to “no adverse impact” on downstream neighbors. But in many areas, the regulations may be based on ancient maps and antiquated data. Moreover, they may have little to no oversight or enforcement.
Retain Your Rain
The region’s growth depends on its reputation for quality of life. If we are to continue growing, we must work together to solve flooding problems.
If every developer did one simple thing, we could eliminate most of our flooding problems. Just be responsible for the rain that falls on your property. Detain it long enough to avoid adding to flood peaks.
It’s that simple and that difficult. Especially considering that Texans don’t like having other people tell them what to do.
Posted by Bob Rehak, with thanks to Descartes Labs
863 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 112 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DescartesLabsImperviousCvr-Tx.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=112001200adminadmin2020-01-09 17:44:252020-01-09 19:08:15Growth of Impervious Cover Across Political Boundaries, Watersheds Complicates Flooding
People believed the lie. They started putting up web sites and YouTube videos to spread the word. Soon, the lie took on a life of its own. And it became impossible for the LCA to stamp it out – even if they were so inclined, which they aren’t.
Residents started writing their state reps. And soon Will Metcalf who represents the Lake Conroe Area took up the cry. See the letter below dated Jan. 6.
State Senator Robert Nichols wound up with the same omelette on his face.
Whole Series of Lies, Half-Lies and Logical Fallacies Spread by LCA
The LCA fueled this whole sad, sorry food fight that embarrassed their own representatives with an entire a SERIES of lies, half-lies and logical fallacies that it fed to unknowing people.
For instance, in addition to “the dredging is done”, I see and hear these comments constantly:
Because the East Fork flooded during Imelda and Lake Conroe didn’t release water, that proves we don’t need to keep lowering Lake Conroe.
The Lake Conroe release during Harvey comprised only 5% of the water going through Lake Houston.
All of Kingwood was built in a flood plain. Kingwood people should just move to higher ground.
Kingwood’s flooding problems come from upstream developers.
No scientific study supports the lowering policy.
Lake Houston wants to make the lowering of Lake Conroe permanent.
They should lower Lake Houston.
For the Record…
To set the record straight:
West Fork dredging is NOT done. Just the portion FEMA paid for.
The East Fork and West Fork are in different watersheds. Imelda affected the East Fork, but not the West. Plum Grove got 33 inches of rain while Lake Conroe got two.
The Lake Conroe release during Harvey comprised ONE THIRD of the water coming down the West Fork where approximately 80-90% of all the damage occurred in the Humble/Kingwood area.
All of Kingwood was not built in a flood plain. For instance, 110 out of 250 of my neighbors in Kings Forest were not in a flood plain yet still flooded. We live more than TWO MILES from the river.
Some of Kingwood’s flooding problems come from upstream developers. But that’s a separate issue; they have nothing to do with West Fork flooding due to Lake Conroe releases.
The SJRA did commission an engineering study that supported lowering Lake Conroe.
Lake Houston IS and HAS BEEN lowered…longer than Lake Conroe.
No responsible/knowledgeable person that I know in the Lake Houston area is talking about making the lowering of Lake Conroe permanent.
To correct some of these misperceptions, I met the president of the LCA last year for a whole day. More recently, I spent an hour on the phone with him. I thought I had corrected these misperceptions. But they keep recurring. This is NO accident; this is intentional.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/8/2020
862 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 111 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/2020/01/image-1.png?fit=697%2C903&ssl=1903697adminadmin2020-01-08 18:43:272020-01-17 10:11:32Lake Conroe Association Misleads Area’s Own State Representative and Senator
West Fork Mouth Bar Dredging Set to Start As TWDB Considers Grant to Extend Program
On December 30, 2019, the City of Houston issued a Notice To Proceed (NTP) for debris removal services. Specifically, that means the large silt deposit at the confluence of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston. The area is commonly known as the “mouth bar.” See below.
Mechanical, Not Hydraulic Dredging
The City hired DRC Emergency Services, LLC (DRC) under an existing contract to begin mechanical dredging of the mouth bar “this week,” according to Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin.
Mechanical dredging differs from hydraulic dredging. With hydraulic dredging, contractors continuously pump sediment from the river to a placement area onshore via long pipelines. With mechanical dredging, they scoop it out of the river and dump it on barges. Then they ferry the barges to the placement area where trucks transport the sediment to its final location.
The City will begin the hydraulic dredging with $6 million of FEMA money left over from Hurricane Harvey debris removal funds. The Texas Division of Emergency Management and Governor Greg Abbott allocated that money specifically for Lake Houston and approved the remaining funds for mouth-bar dredging.
Two-Phase Grant
Next week, another $30 million should become available to extend the program. SB500 earmarked that money for dredging of the San Jacinto East and West Fork Mouth Bars. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will consider Harris County’s grant application. Approval is expected.
The grant application proposes removing sediment in two distinct phases:
Phase-One Funding and Objectives
To complete Phase 1, Harris County proposed taking $10 million of the $30 million to provide a total $16 million for DRC dredging operations.
During Phase 1, the County will begin some activities for Phase 2. They include:
Since the TWDB grant money can only be used for dredging, Harris County will pay for the activities above out of the 2018 HCFCD Bond Program. The fund allocated $10 million for dredging in Lake Houston.
Phase-2 Funding and Objectives
The remaining $20 million from the $30 million TWDB grant will go toward Phase 2 dredging.
During Phase 2, Harris County, City of Houston (COH), HCFCD, SJRA, and Coastal Water Authority (CWA) will develop and execute a plan for the COH or CWA to assume all long-term dredging operations on Lake Houston.
The County does not intend to assume long-term responsibility for maintenance dredging of a City property, i.e., Lake Houston.
TWDB Meets Next Week to Approve Grant
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will meet on Thursday, January 16, 2020, to approve the $30 million grant. “We are in the final stages of agency approval to continue dredging the lake and river,” said State Representative Dan Huberty. His amendment to SB500 last year dedicated the money for dredging this area. “By approving this amount, the legislature as a whole made a clear and concise statement that Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River are vital resources for the entire region and must be maintained.”
SB500 was a supplemental appropriations bill. The grant itself will technically come from the new Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund, created last year by SB7. Senator Brandon Creighton authored SB7.
Harris County Engineer John Blount submitted the grant application to TWDB in late December after receiving approval from County Commissioner’s Court.
“Due to the urgency of this issue, multiple entities worked together to craft a plan that could be executed immediately, allowing the first phase to begin as soon as possible,” said Huberty.
Kudos Go To…
“I would like to thank everyone who has worked to create the final grant program under the supplemental funds we received from the Legislature,” said Huberty. “It would have not been possible without Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen, former Appropriations Chairman John Zerwas, Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, State Senator Brandon Creighton, Chief Nim Kidd, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello, Harris County Commissioner’s Court, Harris County Engineer John Blount, Harris County Flood Control District Executive Director Russell Poppe, Harris County Flood Control District Deputy Director Matt Zeve, Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin and many more.”
To View TWDB Board Meeting Live
Tune in to the live TWDB Board Meeting next Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 9:30 AM by visiting: http://texasadmin.com/tx/twdb/.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/8/2019
863 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 111 since Imelda
Growth of Impervious Cover Across Political Boundaries, Watersheds Complicates Flooding
In December, the New York Times published a story about a company called Descartes Labs, which had trained computers to scan satellite images to detect changes in impervious cover. Descartes found that Texas had 9 of the top 20 counties in the US when ranked by the growth of impervious cover. So I contacted them to learn more.
A Better Understanding of the Planet
Descartes positions itself as a data refinery for satellite imagery. They process images from the major NASA and ESA satellite constellations at scale, creating a digital data twin of the entire planet that monitors the whole earth, in near real-time. Their mission: to better understand the planet.
The red dots in the map below show land that is newly covered in concrete or rooftops. It is a form of “heat map” that shows the hottest areas for growth. Studying this map, we can learn several things:
A Closer Look at Texas
This next map, also courtesy of Descartes, zooms in on Texas and surrounding states. The yellow dots simply correspond to the names of metropolitan centers.
Growth around Houston seems fairly uniform, though my eye does detect slightly more weight to the north, west and south than the east. This will likely change in the next decade with the extension of the Grand Parkway toward the east.
Factors Contributing to Flooding
Several factors contribute to Houston’s reputation for flooding:
In the last century, Houston has exploded from a sleepy city of less than 200,000 to a 9-county metropolitan statistical area with a population of about 7 million covering more than 9 thousand square miles.
Now, superimpose watersheds over those counties and you can see how difficult the flood control situation becomes.
Solutions Will Require Cooperation
Rivers and streams cross political boundaries throughout this region. So solutions to flooding problems are, by definition, regional. Yet development regulations and guidelines are anything but.
Most regulations pay lip service to “no adverse impact” on downstream neighbors. But in many areas, the regulations may be based on ancient maps and antiquated data. Moreover, they may have little to no oversight or enforcement.
Retain Your Rain
The region’s growth depends on its reputation for quality of life. If we are to continue growing, we must work together to solve flooding problems.
It’s that simple and that difficult. Especially considering that Texans don’t like having other people tell them what to do.
Posted by Bob Rehak, with thanks to Descartes Labs
863 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 112 since Imelda
Lake Conroe Association Misleads Area’s Own State Representative and Senator
The problem with incendiary lies: once you start them, they’re hard to stop. In its initial meetings with area residents, the Lake Conroe Association (LCA) told people that West Fork dredging was done. Therefore, said the LCA, the SJRA should stop the temporary seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe.
Lie Takes on Life of Its Own
People believed the lie. They started putting up web sites and YouTube videos to spread the word. Soon, the lie took on a life of its own. And it became impossible for the LCA to stamp it out – even if they were so inclined, which they aren’t.
Residents started writing their state reps. And soon Will Metcalf who represents the Lake Conroe Area took up the cry. See the letter below dated Jan. 6.
State Senator Robert Nichols wound up with the same omelette on his face.
Whole Series of Lies, Half-Lies and Logical Fallacies Spread by LCA
The LCA fueled this whole sad, sorry food fight that embarrassed their own representatives with an entire a SERIES of lies, half-lies and logical fallacies that it fed to unknowing people.
For instance, in addition to “the dredging is done”, I see and hear these comments constantly:
For the Record…
To set the record straight:
To correct some of these misperceptions, I met the president of the LCA last year for a whole day. More recently, I spent an hour on the phone with him. I thought I had corrected these misperceptions. But they keep recurring. This is NO accident; this is intentional.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/8/2020
862 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 111 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.