News - Reduce Flooding

Last Phase-1 Dredge Gone; Phase 2 Will Be Announced Next Week

The last dredge from the Army Corps’ Emergency West Fork Emergency Dredging Program has left the river. State Representative Dan Huberty says plans for Phase 2 of dredging will be announced next week.

Great Lakes Dismantles Dredge

The last remaining dredge, operated by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, finished dredging a 500,000 cubic yard contract extension in the area of the West Fork mouth bar around Labor Day. That brought the total amount of sand and sediment removed from the West Fork to about 2.3 million cubic yards.

The Great Lakes Dredge waited near the mouth bar for six more weeks, as the owners hoped for yet another contract extension that didn’t come. Finally, in mid-October, Great Lakes started removing its dredge, booster pumps, pipe and other support equipment. That was about the time the City applied for another FEMA grant to help with more dredging.

Now You See It

*On November 4th, the dock at the Army Corps Command Post opposite Forest Cove was bustling with activity, as workers dismantled the Great Lakes Dredge.* *Note all the pipe in the background. Each 40 food section weighs 4,000 pounds.*

Now You Don’t

*Photo taken on Tuesday, 11/12/19. Dredge is gone.*

With Great Lakes and Callan Marine gone, any additional dredging efforts will start from scratch. And we need a Phase 2.

Millions of cubic yards remain in the West Fork Mouth Bar alone. And Imelda deposited immense of amounts of sediment in a growing East Fork Mouth Bar. And let’s not forget upstream dredging near US59 and the County’s planned Edgewater Park , which will have a public boat launch.

Phase 2 Options Moving Forward

Long-Shot Option: On October 15 or thereabouts, City of Houston Flood Czar Stephen Costello submitted another grant request to FEMA for additional money to dredge the mouth bar. That request is still pending. But it isn’t our only hope.

Sure-Thing Option: Luckily, thanks to State Representative Dan Huberty’s Amendment to SB-500, earlier this year, the State Legislature earmarked $30 million for dredging Lake Houston. Let’s call that Phase 2.

The crucial text of the Huberty Amendment reads, “… $30 million is dedicated to the Texas Water Development Board to provide a grant to Harris County for the purchase and operation of equipment to remove accumulated siltation and sediment deposits located at the confluence of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston.”

According to Huberty, the County, City and State have been examining alternative plans and evaluating their cost-effectiveness. Huberty expects to hold a press conference next week to announce next steps. Stay tuned.

Please note that the two options are not mutually exclusive. The FEMA Grant could still come though and be used to extend Phase 2 dredging.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/15/2019

808 Days after Hurricane Harvey

Triple PG Sand Mine Denies Attorney General Claims

Surprise. Surprise. The Triple PG Sand Mine has denied all of the claims by the Texas Attorney General in the state’s lawsuit. The attorney general alleged that breaches in the mine’s dikes allowed wastewater to escape into tributaries of Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for two million people.

One Sentence Denial

When I first read the denial, its brevity shocked me – one sentence. It basically says to the attorney general “prove your case.”

I quote: “…Triple PG generally denies each and every allegation contained in Plaintiff’s Original Petition, and all amendments and supplements thereto, and demands strict proof thereof by a preponderance of the evidence.”

I called a lawyer to ask whether such brief denials were common. The answer: yes. My next question: Why?

Why the Brief Denial?

Basically, had the defendant made no reply to the claims within 20 days, it could have had a default judgement entered against it. So this blocks a default judgment. This also stops the clock, forces the Attorney General to reveal more of its case, and gives the defendant more time to develop an affirmative defense … if it has one. Triple PG can always amend its reply later.

AG Already Laid Out Evidence

The TCEQ has performed onsite inspections and overflights. The TCEQ report was made public with the AG filing. But the TCEQ isn’t the only entity investigating. So by delaying a settlement, the mine could be opening itself to additional fines. And the discovery of additional evidence.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the mine thanks to complaints from dozens of residents around the mine.

The AG could also amend its suit if new evidence becomes available.

In addition, numerous residents, including Tony Buzbee, candidate for the Mayor of Houston, have photographed the breaches in this mine’s dikes.

The longer they wait to settle this case, the higher per-day fines could go.

Hearing Delayed Again

The hearing scheduled for November 12 on a permanent injunction against the mine has now been rescheduled for November 25th.

Deny This

When I flew over the mine on November 4, 46 days after Imelda, Triple PG was only starting to fix the second of eight breaches. The TCEQ did not even find all of those breaches because many roads within the mine had washed out when they paid their surprise visit. So delays could add to Triple PG’s woes as they also run up legal fees.

Here’s what breach #2 looked like on 11/4/2019.

*Breach between Triple PG sand mine pit (upper left) and White Oak Creek lower right, photographed on 11/4/2019.*

*Same breach photographed from reverse angle over pit. Note the white scum floating out of the mine.*

*Third angle shows more scum and trees blown inward toward the mine during the breach.*

The Defendant’s response also included a one sentence prayer. They prayed that all charges would be dismissed and that they would be entitled to further relief, which they did not specify. The only other thing the AG sought was a permanent injunction barring the mine from discharging wastewater. But they might seek to recover court costs if found no guilty.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/14/2019

807 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 56 after Imelda

The thoughts expressed in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Aerial Photos of Lake Houston Dam Dramatize Need for More Gates

Before Harvey hit, we knew tremendous rains were coming. But we could do little to prepare Lake Houston for the onslaught. The small gates you see in the photo below release a combined 10,000 cubic feet per second (CFS). That’s nothing compared to the 150,000 from the gates at the Lake Conroe Dam.

*Lake Houston’s gates release a maximum of 10,000 CFS.*

*The gates at Lake Conroe can release water at up too 150,000 CFS.*..15X faster.

We Were Sunk

When Lake Conroe had to open its gates during Harvey, we were sunk. Literally. Had we had bigger, more modern gates on Lake Houston, we might have been able to lower the lake fast enough to avoid flooding thousands of homes.

11-Foot High Wall of Water Cascaded Over Spillway

Of course, Lake Houston also has a spillway. In fact, the spillway represents the primary way to shed water from the lake. The top of that spillway is at 42.38 feet.

*The primary overflow mechanism on the Lake Houston Dam: a 3,160-foot long spillway.*

But Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) final report on Hurricane Harvey stated that a record pool elevation of 53.1 ft was recorded at the Lake Houston Spillway.

Thus, at the peak of Harvey, a wall of water 11 feet high was flowing over that spillway.

HCFCD estimated that’s 5 times the average flow of Niagara Falls and that the flow rate would fill NRG Stadium in 3.5 minutes.

Ten More Gates Could Have Lowered Harvey Flood by 1.9 Feet

HCFCD commissioned a study by Frees & Nichols about what effect additional gates would have in the event of another Harvey. The study found that ten more gates could have lowered the level of the flood by up to 1.9 feet (about 23 inches). That would have saved thousands of homes from flooding in the Lake Houston Area.

Interestingly, the WAY more gates would prevent flooding was not through pre-release; Harvey would have refilled the lake in a matter of hours and the storm lasted days. Rather, additional gates would have widened the spillway area so more water could move over the dam every second. Think of it in these terms: twice the width, half the height. (That’s an over-simplified example of how the principle works; ten more gates would not actually double the width.)

Is Pre-Release Practical?

The Frees & Nichols study only considered one case – Harvey. For lesser floods, the gates could help make pre-release a viable strategy for the Lake Houston Area. At least in my opinion.

Here’s how.

More gate capacity could help offset the volume of water released from Lake Conroe, to reduce the risk of Conroe flooding Houston again.
More gate capacity could release more water in less time, thus reducing uncertainty when pre-releasing before a storm. That would allow officials to delay releasing water until they were sure they needed to. And that could save precious water in the event that a storm veers off in another direction at the last minute. We may know that a storm will cross the area. But it’s much harder to tell where the heaviest rainfall will occur. For instance, during Imelda, parts of the East Fork received more than 20 inches of rain while Lake Conroe received only two.

In the last year, the City prevented homes from flooding several times by pre-lowering the lake. But the small gate capacity meant that we had to start releasing water DAYS beforehand to make an appreciable difference in the lake level. That has to be nerve wracking for Public Works.

Where the Gate Project Stands

Earlier this year, the City of Houston secured a FEMA grant to design and construct more gates for the Lake Houston Dam. The two-phase grant covers design and construction. Each phase must be completed within 18 months, though extensions are possible. Currently, we are four months into the 18-month design phase. That means we should see more gates by mid-2022.

In the meantime, the photos below give you a feeling for the immensity of the project.

*The height of the trees on the San Jacinto River below the dam gives you a feeling for the height of the dam.*

*Looking SE.* *Repairs are underway to the structures below the Lake Houston dam.* *Note the trees caught on top of it.*

*Looking west over the Lake Houston Dam* which dates back to 1953.