Disclaimer: I spent the better part of a day driving down every street that borders Ben’s Branch. I saw damage clustered in three areas. It’s possible other areas were affected but the City had removed trash before I got there.
At least two schools, 7 homes, and one business flooded along Ben’s Branch in Kingwood during Imelda. All were located near choke points along the creek. And massive recent upstream development likely played a role in each case. That new development also played a role in eroding the margin of safety between floodwaters and foundations all along the creek – even for homes and businesses that did not flood. Total damages will likely exceed $3 million along Ben’s Branch in Kingwood.
Three circles represent choke points where virtually all structural flooding happened on Ben’s Branch during Imelda.See discussion below.
Ben’s Branch Now and 10 Years Ago: Influence of Upstream Development
Area in white box is roughly 800 acres. Three quarters of it was not developed ten years ago (see below). Red line marks the course of Ben’s Branch through a series of retention ponds and new ditches that now contribute more water faster during heavy rains.Same area in 2009, only ten years ago.. Neither Woodridge Forest, Woodridge Village, nor the Kroger Center at 59 had started development yet, though some areas had been cleared.
Imelda Tested Design Limits of Drainage Systems
Most drainage systems are designed to protect homes and businesses from a hundred-year flood. Imelda was a hundred year flood. The storm tested the design limits of flood infrastructure everywhere along Ben’s Branch in Kingwood.
Based on its peak intensity of 4.56 inches in one hour (as measured at the US59/West Fork gage), Imelda qualified as a 100-year storm. Streets, storm drains and ditches are designed to handle that much as an upper limit. And for the most part they did. Especially because builders usually elevate most structures at least two feet above the hundred-year flood plain.
Those extra two feet act as a margin of safety and as a hedge against future upstream development.
Limits Exceeded in Several Places During Imelda
In each case where homes, businesses or schools flooded along Ben’s Branch, unique circumstances eliminated that margin of error and resulted in flooded structures.
With the exception of one low-lying home I found in Hunter’s Ridge very close to the creek, all of the structural damage took place at three choke points along the creek.
Choke Point #1: Northpark and Ben’s Branch
Where Ben’s Branch crosses under Northpark Drive, two things happen. A ditch from the new Woodridge Forest subdivision joins it. And then all that water is forced into a culvert that crosses under Northpark Drive.
These two culverts constrained water flowing under Northpark Drive and backed it up past Hidden Pines at the stoplight in the background. When water started flowing over the road for approximately two blocks, this part of Kingwood was cut off.
To my knowledge, no one has ever upgraded that culvert despite significant upstream development. It backs water up for several blocks during heavy rains and forces water OVER Northpark Drive. This caused at least six homes near Aspen Glade west of Hidden Pines to flood.
When water backed up and flowed over Northpark, it cut off both inbound and outbound traffic. It also broke through the fences of homes that back up to Northpark.
East-West fences were pushed in from the north by water overflowing across Northpark Drive. This location is a block west of the culverts.Looking north toward Northpark Drive at Hidden Pines. North-South Fences were pushed out to the East by water trying to return to Ben’s Branch across Hidden Pines to the right.Note the new fence. It had just been replaced after the May 7th flood.The scene on Aspen Glade Drive in North Woodland Hills. These homes are west of Hidden Pines and back up to Northpark Drive. A resident of Aspen Glade shows how high the water got in front of his house during Imelda.A worried Lela Yorba wonders how her family will ever recover from the second flood in four months, and whether she should even try.Despite living on Aspen Glade for decades, her home had never flooded before May of this year.The interior of Yorba’s flooded home during Imelda.Image courtesy of Lela Yorba.Yorba’s garage during the peak of Imelda.Image courtesy of Lela Yorba.Floodwaters crept up to the foundations on the far side of the street but did not enter homes according to Yorba. Image courtesy of Lela Yorba.One week after Imelda, Yorba tries to turn wet walls back into dry walls.
Impact of New Development
Net: the flooding of homes on Aspen Glade was likely caused by an undersized culvert at North Park that could not convey all the water coming from hundreds of acres of new development. When the water backed up, it rushed over North Park for approximately two blocks. Eyewitness reports and FaceBook videos peg the height at a foot above the roadway.
In the last 10 years, more than 600 acres have been developed north of North Park between 59 and Woodland Hills. More new homes are being built every day.
Much of the drainage from the new development joined Ben’s Branch just before it reached the culverts.
This drainage ditch from many of those new homes in Woodridge Forest joins Ben’s Branch east of Hidden Pines in the background where multiple homes flooded.This is additional drainage coming into the creek at a point where part of it can not be siphoned off into the diversion ditch that runs down the west side of the villages of North and South Woodland Hills.
Choke Point #2: Woodland Hills Drive and Ben’s Branch
About two or three blocks east of the culverts under Northpark, between St. Martha Catholic School and Kids in Action, Ben’s Branch narrows down again. It quickly funnels from a wide, excavated ditch to a narrow stream cutting through dense forest. See photo below.
Hovering over Woodland Hills Drive in a helicopter looking east. Ben’s Branch narrows between Kids in Action on the left and St. Martha’s school (out of frame on the right). Both flooded. Note how the fence was pushed in by the force of the water.
At this choke point, both the school and Kids in Action, flooded. Repairing the school after the May flood cost St. Martha $900,000. Repairing Kids in Action cost $500,000. This time it will cost each even more.
Behind St. Martha’s, Ben’s Branch becomes a narrow creek filled with trees. This further slows water down and backs it up. It remains like this most of the way to Kingwood Drive.Image courtesy of Father TJ Dolce.
The natural creek also makes many tight turns. Here, it makes a 150 degree turn followed by a 90 degree turn.Image courtesy of Father TJ Dolce.
The results were costly. St. Martha’s lost two classroom buildings plus its playground.
One of the two St. Martha School buildings flooded by Imelda.Flooded corridor.Flooded classroom.
Until the school buildings can be dried, disinfected and rebuilt, classes are being held on upper floors and in other parish buildings. No children were ever endangered by the flood. Parish personnel started evacuations to higher buildings as soon was water started coming into the parking lot, the lowest point on the campus.
Across the creek, Kids in Action, one of Kingwood’s most popular day care and after school facilities, had its own problems.
A distraught Diane Havens, owner of Kids in Action, tries to keep a brave face after she loses the use of her beautiful facilities for the second time in four months.Hand sanitizer is the second thing you see in the reception area now.Havens is bringing in four of these mobile units to hold classes until the first floor of Kids in Action can be restored again.
Haven’s spent $500,000 repairing her facilities after the May 7th flood. That’s a lot for a small business. She’s determined to weather this storm, too. But she worries that some of her clients may grow impatient in the inconvenience during repairs.
Choke Point #3: Kingwood Drive and Ben’s Branch
As Ben’s Branch approaches Kingwood Drive from the northwest, it spreads out into a 100+ acre forested area that includes the Creekwood Nature Center. But just before it crosses under Kingwood Drive, Ben’s Branch’s flood plain funnels down between Kingwood High School and the old H-E-B shopping center. At that point, a second branch of the stream joins it from the north. After crossing under Kingwood Drive, it is further constricted on the east side by commercial development. This represents another choke point.
The Kingwood High School Gym and Natatorium (bottom left) took on floodwater during Imelda.
The Kingwood High School gym and natatorium took on several inches of water during Imelda when drains and/or Ben’s Branch backed up. Merchants in the old H-E-B shopping center also report being stranded in their stores for two hours at the peak of Imelda as water from Ben’s Branch raced through the parking lot. Merchants said the water was inches from coming in their stores.
While many of the businesses south of Kingwood Drive in Town Center and Kings Harbor reported having water lapping at their foundations, I found none that reported flood damage.
No Simple Fix
I can’t think of a simple fix to all of three of these problems. Fixing one could compound the others. For instance, it would be simple to replace the culverts under Northpark with a bridge when the street is widened. However, that would just increase the volume of water backing up where the creek narrows between St. Martha’s School and Kids in Action. That would likely flood them even worse.
Channelizing the creek all the way to Kingwood Drive would likely be unpalatable from a political point of view. Four reasons: Few people in that area were affected. They all love their greenbelts. And the costs would be high. That would make the Benefit/Cost ratio of the project a non-starter.
One Possible Solution
One possible solution: convert the unused land around St. Martha’s new church north of Northpark Drive to additional detention. That’s valuable land and detention is expensive, but it may be a better alternative than losing the school which was just expanded in 2008. Father TJ Dolce is pitching that idea and hopes the Archdiocese would approve the use of their vacant land for detention. The big question: Would it be enough to make a difference.
Drainage Study Already Under Way
Thankfully, Harris County Flood Control is conducting a Kingwood-wide drainage study right now. They are studying Ben’s Branch. Hopefully, their talented engineers will be able to find the optimum solution that protects everyone. I sure hope they find it soon because these people are every bit as desperate as the people who flooded twice in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest.
Ben’s Branch may affect fewer structures. But it probably affects more people when you add up enrolled students and their families.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/1/2019with help from Father TJ Dolce, Diane Havens, Lela Yorba, Daryl Palmer and National Helicopter Service.
763 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 12 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Flooded-Building.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=17681024adminadmin2019-09-30 22:48:212019-10-01 22:33:30Imelda Floods Ben’s Branch Schools, Homes at Three Choke Points
Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County Flood Control, has issued a 29-page report packed with statistics that puts Imelda in a historical context.
Contents of Imelda Report
The report starts out by summarizing what happened when and where during Imelda. It discusses far more than rainfall; it covers high water rescues, fatalities and more.
“Imelda demonstrated the susceptibility of the area to intense short duration rainfall rates,” says Lindner. That pretty much sums up the storm, but not the report.
Imelda Inch by Inch
“Lake Houston and 20.0-30.0 inches from Crosby to Huffman. 12-hr storm totals averaged 6.0-10.0 inches from the Spring Branch area to Lake Houston and 13.0-18.0 inches from Crosby to Huffman. 3-hr storm totals averaged 6.0-10.0 inches from northwest Houston to Huffman. 1-hr storm totals averaged 4.0-6.0 inches from Humble to northwest Houston including a maximum 1-hr total of 6.4 inches at Greens Bayou and US 59 and a 2-hr total of 9.2 inches. While just outside of Harris County, a 48-hr rainfall of 30.4 inches was recorded on the East Fork of the San Jacinto River at FM 2090 in the Plum Grove area,” says Lindner.
Comparing Imelda to Allison and Harvey
Many people have asked how Imelda compared to Harvey and Allison. It’s all in there. With max rainfall totals for each storm ranging from 5-minutes to four days. That was particularly illuminating in terms of explaining why some people flooded during one storm and not the other.
The report also includes:
A comparison of recent extreme rainfalls in Harris County for all those who worry we are on the verge of the apocalypse.
An analysis of overbook flooding for East and West Forks of the San Jacinto, Lake Houston, and other bayous.
House flooding estimates
High water marks
Rainfall intensity reports for multiple locations across the region
Contour maps showing rainfall intensities around the county
762 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 11 Days since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Screen-Shot-2019-09-29-at-9.59.11-PM.png?fit=1456%2C1166&ssl=111661456adminadmin2019-09-29 22:12:082019-09-29 22:12:16Harris County Flood Control Issues First Report on Imelda
Of all the sand mines on the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto, the Triple PG Mine is unique. It alone sits inside the confluence of TWO floodways. The Prabhakar Guniganti family owns the mine. So far they have cleared, grubbed and mined about 700 of the 2000 acres they own in the area. But that hasn’t stopped them from receiving timber exemptions from the Montgomery County Appraisal District on the land being mined (that has no timber).
After Harvey, when I found 30 acres of sand up to 15 feet deep covering East End Park (just downstream from the mine), I rented a helicopter to see where the sand came from. That’s when I discovered this horrific mine for the first time.
Last week, Charlie Fahrmeier, a Lake Houston Area resident and an expert in sediment control, observed the same breach open AGAIN. Right above East End Park, which was destroyed by sand AGAIN.
So Friday, I rented another helicopter to see what I could see. What I saw turned my stomach. There was more than one breach. There were at least two and possibly three.
It appeared that Caney Creek (from the north) and White Oak Bayou from the west “captured the pit.” The streams then apparently crossed the mine sweeping out through the breach on the southeast side back into Caney Creek and then down the East Fork of the San Jacinto River.
White Oak Creek approaches the mine from the west and Caney Creek runs along its north and east sides. From the images below, taken a week after Imelda, it appears that the both creeks captured the mine and cut across it.From FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer.
Where Breaches Occurred
The TCEQ fined Triple PG $16,875 for breaches one and two that were first reported after the May 7th storm. TCEQ has opened another investigation into the most recent breaches. Fines could be more substantial this time.
Three Breaches from the Air
Looking north from over the pit toward Caney Creek out of frame on the top. Water likely entered the mine from the north as Caney Creek reached flood stage and cut across the point bar above the mine. Taken 9/27/19.
A reverse shot shows how water tore through the mine.
Looking south from over Caney Creek, you can see how current ripped through the mine. The road across the mine in the middle of the frame had been recently repaired when I took this shot on 9/27/19.At the far end of the shot above on the west (right) side of the mine, I found this breach near White Oak Creek.Taken 9/27/19.Looking east, directly across the mine, I saw this breach in the same location as the May breach. That’s Caney Creek in the background.Taken 9/27/19.This close up shot of the same breach looking west from over Caney Creek shows how flimsy the repair was from earlier in the year. It was nothing but some sand dumped into a hole.Taken 9/27/19.
Designed to Fail?
Two engineers told me that patch looked like it was “designed to fail.” Mine Safety and Health Administration regulation §56.20010 regarding retaining dams specifies that “If failure of a water or silt retaining dam will create a hazard, it shall be of substantial construction and inspected at regular intervals.” Clearly, sand is not substantial. “Built properly, that repair would not have reopened in this past flood,” said Fahrmeier.
TCEQ Requirements for Dike Construction and Repairs
Here are the TCEQ requirements for constructing dikes and levees. Note the paragraph on page 2 about structural integrity. “Construction must be based upon sound engineering principles. Structural integrity must withstand any waters which the levee or other improvement is intended to restrain or carry, considering all topographic features, including existing levees.”
These dikes had the structural integrity of a sand castle at a beach when the tide comes in.
Also interesting: Paragraph 4, Rights of Third Parties to be Protected. It’s a good read as far as regulations go.
Certainly, East End Park, just downstream was not protected.
KSA just finished cleaning up East End Park from Harvey. The organization spent close to $200,000 to restore trails covered in sand that reached to the treetops. Now the entire Kingwood community will have to sacrifice again. This area used to be a boardwalk over wetlands. The sign used to be shoulder high. Now it’s knee high.
Another trail covered in sand and silt. Not all of this came from the mine; some came from river erosion. But the serious problems first appeared after the mine.
How to Tell Mine from River Sedimentation
Charlie Fahrmeier who first discovered the most recent breach said that when he discovered it, water and sediment was streaming out of the mine. The water color was distinctly different from the color of water coming down Caney Creek. If the creek were responsible for all the sedimentation, the colors would have been reversed.
Caney Creek Now Averages 1.7 Feet Deep
In a future post, I will examine the growing mouth bar on the East Fork. That’s right. The East Fork and Caney Creek are barely navigable now. John Alberson took his jet boat up Caney Creek today and noted giant sand bars stretching across the river below the pit. He said the deepest part of the creek was 1.7 feet. The more sand there is in the creek and East Fork, the less room there is for water, so the higher the water rises during a flood.
How to File a Complaint With Mine Safety Authorities
Mine is in two zip codes but breaches appear to be in 77365.
Location of Breach #1: Long 30.102968°, Lat -95.171932°
Location of Breach #2: Long 30.055360°, Lat -95.104712°
Location of Breach #3: 30.065451°, Lat -95.102904°
Please help shut this mine down. It’s dumping its process water loaded with sediment and chlorides into your drinking water. Moreover, the City doesn’t have enough money to dredge the East Fork and its tributaries every time we get a big rain. Let’s stop this problem at the source. We need sand for concrete, but we don’t need it from this mine.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/29/2019
761 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in the post represent my opinions on matters of public interest 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/2019/09/TripePBreach.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-09-29 01:04:202019-09-29 08:44:35Triple PG Mine Dikes Breach in Multiple Places, Contributing to Giant East Fork Sand Buildups
Imelda Floods Ben’s Branch Schools, Homes at Three Choke Points
Disclaimer: I spent the better part of a day driving down every street that borders Ben’s Branch. I saw damage clustered in three areas. It’s possible other areas were affected but the City had removed trash before I got there.
At least two schools, 7 homes, and one business flooded along Ben’s Branch in Kingwood during Imelda. All were located near choke points along the creek. And massive recent upstream development likely played a role in each case. That new development also played a role in eroding the margin of safety between floodwaters and foundations all along the creek – even for homes and businesses that did not flood. Total damages will likely exceed $3 million along Ben’s Branch in Kingwood.
Ben’s Branch Now and 10 Years Ago: Influence of Upstream Development
Imelda Tested Design Limits of Drainage Systems
Most drainage systems are designed to protect homes and businesses from a hundred-year flood. Imelda was a hundred year flood. The storm tested the design limits of flood infrastructure everywhere along Ben’s Branch in Kingwood.
Based on its peak intensity of 4.56 inches in one hour (as measured at the US59/West Fork gage), Imelda qualified as a 100-year storm. Streets, storm drains and ditches are designed to handle that much as an upper limit. And for the most part they did. Especially because builders usually elevate most structures at least two feet above the hundred-year flood plain.
Limits Exceeded in Several Places During Imelda
In each case where homes, businesses or schools flooded along Ben’s Branch, unique circumstances eliminated that margin of error and resulted in flooded structures.
With the exception of one low-lying home I found in Hunter’s Ridge very close to the creek, all of the structural damage took place at three choke points along the creek.
Choke Point #1: Northpark and Ben’s Branch
Where Ben’s Branch crosses under Northpark Drive, two things happen. A ditch from the new Woodridge Forest subdivision joins it. And then all that water is forced into a culvert that crosses under Northpark Drive.
To my knowledge, no one has ever upgraded that culvert despite significant upstream development. It backs water up for several blocks during heavy rains and forces water OVER Northpark Drive. This caused at least six homes near Aspen Glade west of Hidden Pines to flood.
When water backed up and flowed over Northpark, it cut off both inbound and outbound traffic. It also broke through the fences of homes that back up to Northpark.
Impact of New Development
Net: the flooding of homes on Aspen Glade was likely caused by an undersized culvert at North Park that could not convey all the water coming from hundreds of acres of new development. When the water backed up, it rushed over North Park for approximately two blocks. Eyewitness reports and FaceBook videos peg the height at a foot above the roadway.
Much of the drainage from the new development joined Ben’s Branch just before it reached the culverts.
Choke Point #2: Woodland Hills Drive and Ben’s Branch
About two or three blocks east of the culverts under Northpark, between St. Martha Catholic School and Kids in Action, Ben’s Branch narrows down again. It quickly funnels from a wide, excavated ditch to a narrow stream cutting through dense forest. See photo below.
At this choke point, both the school and Kids in Action, flooded. Repairing the school after the May flood cost St. Martha $900,000. Repairing Kids in Action cost $500,000. This time it will cost each even more.
The results were costly. St. Martha’s lost two classroom buildings plus its playground.
Until the school buildings can be dried, disinfected and rebuilt, classes are being held on upper floors and in other parish buildings. No children were ever endangered by the flood. Parish personnel started evacuations to higher buildings as soon was water started coming into the parking lot, the lowest point on the campus.
Across the creek, Kids in Action, one of Kingwood’s most popular day care and after school facilities, had its own problems.
Haven’s spent $500,000 repairing her facilities after the May 7th flood. That’s a lot for a small business. She’s determined to weather this storm, too. But she worries that some of her clients may grow impatient in the inconvenience during repairs.
Choke Point #3: Kingwood Drive and Ben’s Branch
As Ben’s Branch approaches Kingwood Drive from the northwest, it spreads out into a 100+ acre forested area that includes the Creekwood Nature Center. But just before it crosses under Kingwood Drive, Ben’s Branch’s flood plain funnels down between Kingwood High School and the old H-E-B shopping center. At that point, a second branch of the stream joins it from the north. After crossing under Kingwood Drive, it is further constricted on the east side by commercial development. This represents another choke point.
The Kingwood High School gym and natatorium took on several inches of water during Imelda when drains and/or Ben’s Branch backed up. Merchants in the old H-E-B shopping center also report being stranded in their stores for two hours at the peak of Imelda as water from Ben’s Branch raced through the parking lot. Merchants said the water was inches from coming in their stores.
While many of the businesses south of Kingwood Drive in Town Center and Kings Harbor reported having water lapping at their foundations, I found none that reported flood damage.
No Simple Fix
I can’t think of a simple fix to all of three of these problems. Fixing one could compound the others. For instance, it would be simple to replace the culverts under Northpark with a bridge when the street is widened. However, that would just increase the volume of water backing up where the creek narrows between St. Martha’s School and Kids in Action. That would likely flood them even worse.
Channelizing the creek all the way to Kingwood Drive would likely be unpalatable from a political point of view. Four reasons: Few people in that area were affected. They all love their greenbelts. And the costs would be high. That would make the Benefit/Cost ratio of the project a non-starter.
One Possible Solution
One possible solution: convert the unused land around St. Martha’s new church north of Northpark Drive to additional detention. That’s valuable land and detention is expensive, but it may be a better alternative than losing the school which was just expanded in 2008. Father TJ Dolce is pitching that idea and hopes the Archdiocese would approve the use of their vacant land for detention. The big question: Would it be enough to make a difference.
Drainage Study Already Under Way
Thankfully, Harris County Flood Control is conducting a Kingwood-wide drainage study right now. They are studying Ben’s Branch. Hopefully, their talented engineers will be able to find the optimum solution that protects everyone. I sure hope they find it soon because these people are every bit as desperate as the people who flooded twice in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/1/2019 with help from Father TJ Dolce, Diane Havens, Lela Yorba, Daryl Palmer and National Helicopter Service.
763 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 12 since Imelda
Harris County Flood Control Issues First Report on Imelda
Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County Flood Control, has issued a 29-page report packed with statistics that puts Imelda in a historical context.
Contents of Imelda Report
The report starts out by summarizing what happened when and where during Imelda. It discusses far more than rainfall; it covers high water rescues, fatalities and more.
“Imelda demonstrated the susceptibility of the area to intense short duration rainfall rates,” says Lindner. That pretty much sums up the storm, but not the report.
Imelda Inch by Inch
“Lake Houston and 20.0-30.0 inches from Crosby to Huffman. 12-hr storm totals averaged 6.0-10.0 inches from the Spring Branch area to Lake Houston and 13.0-18.0 inches from Crosby to Huffman. 3-hr storm totals averaged 6.0-10.0 inches from northwest Houston to Huffman. 1-hr storm totals averaged 4.0-6.0 inches from Humble to northwest Houston including a maximum 1-hr total of 6.4 inches at Greens Bayou and US 59 and a 2-hr total of 9.2 inches. While just outside of Harris County, a 48-hr rainfall of 30.4 inches was recorded on the East Fork of the San Jacinto River at FM 2090 in the Plum Grove area,” says Lindner.
Comparing Imelda to Allison and Harvey
Many people have asked how Imelda compared to Harvey and Allison. It’s all in there. With max rainfall totals for each storm ranging from 5-minutes to four days. That was particularly illuminating in terms of explaining why some people flooded during one storm and not the other.
The report also includes:
To download the full report click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/30/2019
762 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 11 Days since Imelda
Triple PG Mine Dikes Breach in Multiple Places, Contributing to Giant East Fork Sand Buildups
Of all the sand mines on the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto, the Triple PG Mine is unique. It alone sits inside the confluence of TWO floodways. The Prabhakar Guniganti family owns the mine. So far they have cleared, grubbed and mined about 700 of the 2000 acres they own in the area. But that hasn’t stopped them from receiving timber exemptions from the Montgomery County Appraisal District on the land being mined (that has no timber).
After Harvey, when I found 30 acres of sand up to 15 feet deep covering East End Park (just downstream from the mine), I rented a helicopter to see where the sand came from. That’s when I discovered this horrific mine for the first time.
Owned by Cardiologist Turned Sand Miner
Prabhakar Guniganti is a cardiologist from Nacogdoches who has broadened his practice into mining and land development.
I hope he’s better at cardiology than mining. His mine has received 15 citations in the last two years from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (see the MSHA site for a key to the citations). The one highlighted in yellow had to do with a breach.
Fifteen in two years averages out to more than one every other month. And that does not even include notices of enforcement from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, for instance when Tony Buzbee, candidate for Mayor discovered a massive breach in the dike of the Triple PG mine back in May.
Will This Never Stop?
Last week, Charlie Fahrmeier, a Lake Houston Area resident and an expert in sediment control, observed the same breach open AGAIN. Right above East End Park, which was destroyed by sand AGAIN.
So Friday, I rented another helicopter to see what I could see. What I saw turned my stomach. There was more than one breach. There were at least two and possibly three.
Where Breaches Occurred
Three Breaches from the Air
Taken 9/27/19.
A reverse shot shows how water tore through the mine.
Designed to Fail?
Two engineers told me that patch looked like it was “designed to fail.” Mine Safety and Health Administration regulation §56.20010 regarding retaining dams specifies that “If failure of a water or silt retaining dam will create a hazard, it shall be of substantial construction and inspected at regular intervals.” Clearly, sand is not substantial. “Built properly, that repair would not have reopened in this past flood,” said Fahrmeier.
TCEQ Requirements for Dike Construction and Repairs
Here are the TCEQ requirements for constructing dikes and levees. Note the paragraph on page 2 about structural integrity. “Construction must be based upon sound engineering principles. Structural integrity must withstand any waters which the levee or other improvement is intended to restrain or carry, considering all topographic features, including existing levees.”
These dikes had the structural integrity of a sand castle at a beach when the tide comes in.
Also interesting: Paragraph 4, Rights of Third Parties to be Protected. It’s a good read as far as regulations go.
Certainly, East End Park, just downstream was not protected.
How to Tell Mine from River Sedimentation
Charlie Fahrmeier who first discovered the most recent breach said that when he discovered it, water and sediment was streaming out of the mine. The water color was distinctly different from the color of water coming down Caney Creek. If the creek were responsible for all the sedimentation, the colors would have been reversed.
Caney Creek Now Averages 1.7 Feet Deep
In a future post, I will examine the growing mouth bar on the East Fork. That’s right. The East Fork and Caney Creek are barely navigable now. John Alberson took his jet boat up Caney Creek today and noted giant sand bars stretching across the river below the pit. He said the deepest part of the creek was 1.7 feet. The more sand there is in the creek and East Fork, the less room there is for water, so the higher the water rises during a flood.
How to File a Complaint With Mine Safety Authorities
I encourage everyone to file a Hazardous Condition Complaint with MSHA. You can do it online at https://lakmshaegov01.msha.gov/HazardousConditionComplaint.aspx. If they get enough complaints it could elevate the review.
Here’s some information you’ll need to file:
Please help shut this mine down. It’s dumping its process water loaded with sediment and chlorides into your drinking water. Moreover, the City doesn’t have enough money to dredge the East Fork and its tributaries every time we get a big rain. Let’s stop this problem at the source. We need sand for concrete, but we don’t need it from this mine.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/29/2019
761 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in the post represent my opinions on matters of public interest and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great State of Texas.