During Imelda, most of the new Kingwood Docks development in Town Center went underwater and stayed that way for days. Much of it is still underwater. Many people have expressed concerns about the development of this area in recent months. It frequently floods. They worry about the potential for the development to increase flood risk for surrounding homes and businesses.
Let’s look at this property, its history, and the plans for it.
Repetitive Flooding
When the site was apartments for the first 30 years of Kingwood, it had a history of flooding repeatedly. It still does. It went underwater during Harvey, May 7th, and Imelda – three times in the last two years.
Here’s what the site looked like before redevelopment into commercial space. Note the triangular area at the far right.Here’s what it looked like a couple years ago. Lovett started clearing the land on the end.
Entire Property in Flood Plain
FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer shows the entire development is in the 100 year flood plain (aqua). Brown areas represent the 500 year flood plain. Unshaded areas (top right) are not in a known flood hazard zone.
Restaurants with a River View
Since 1998, this site went through a series of five owners. All chose not to develop it once they discovered the site’s problems … until now.
Lovett Commercial bought this property in 2014 under the name Kingwood Retail Partners LTD. They intend to develop this area into a strip of restaurants. During heavy rains, those restaurants will have a river view. Except no one will be able to park by them.
Here’s what the area looked like from Kingwood Drive on 9/19 as rains for Imelda receded. Photo courtesy of Josh Alberson.
How High the Water Got
The debris on this sign shows how high the water got in what will become the parking lot/entry area. Docks! A prophetic name if ever there was one.Perhaps someone was trying to turn a negative into a positive.What the parking area looked like the day after the storm. Water stayed like this for days.Part of it is still under water a week after Imelda. Photo taken 9/21/19 shows erosion to pad site.The restaurants themselves will be built up 6-7 feet.Get out your climbing gear. That’s going to be one hell of an ADA ramp.
More Restaurants Planned
Lovett will build twin 14,000 sf structures on that elevated portion (right). They hope to squeeze five restaurants into them. Each structure will measure 200 ft x 70 ft according to their plans.
This shows part of what will become a detention pond around the eastern perimeter of the site.Note how it’s much lower than the creek next to it.Another view of the “mitigation” area.Photo taken Saturday 9/21/2019. Two days after Imelda, it still had not drained.
The parking will be underwater when it rains. So think seafood restaurants. (Sorry.) Crawfish anyone?
Lessons of History
The current owners bought this property in 2014, about the time that the adjacent apartments were cleared to make way for the HEB center. Lovett began clearing its land in 2016, as HEB and Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center began construction. By Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, they knew something was terribly wrong.
Lovett knew that its land was lower than the adjacent shopping center as you can clearly see from this Google Earth photo dated 8/30/2017, one of the last days of Harvey. Look where all the water ponds!
Lovett clearly saw the catastrophic flooding during Harvey. Torchy’s, adjacent to them, flooded to the rafters during Harvey. So did every other building in the center.
Despite all that, Lovett started developing the property in earnest this year. Their sign promised that retail space would be available by Fall of 2019. It’s now Fall, and from the photos above, I doubt the owners will have it ready in the next three months.
Ain’t No Arguing with Mother Nature
I spent the last two years writing about flooding. One thing has become perfectly clear to me. We have flooding because people don’t respect the power of water. They think they can win arguments with Mother Nature. So in the name of science, engineering, free enterprise and private property rights, they build in areas where they should not. Confident that they will have the National Flood Insurance Program to bail them out when Mother Nature puts her foot down.
The Simple Solution to Flooding
If we want to stop flooding, we have to stop pushing the envelope into questionable areas. We pay lip service to that idea, but, here we go again. It’s death by a thousand cuts. One parcel at a time.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/26/2019
758 Days after Hurricane Harvey
All thoughts 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Docks_003-2.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-09-25 23:09:412019-09-25 23:17:10Kingwood Docks Development Submerged
Time-lapse, security-camera footage supplied by Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident, shows dramatically how quickly Imelda piled up in the streets of Elm Grove. This video covers from 8 a.m to 11 a.m. – compressed into twenty seconds. Note how the water starts out clear. Then, at 10:10 a.m., it turns muddy brown, starts swirling, and quickly fills up the street, his driveway, and some neighbor’s homes across the street.
The Instant the Water Changed Color
This video clearly shows a sudden influx of water from somewhere other than the sky. It fixes the time at which Woodridge Village’s S2 detention pond overflowed into the streets of Elm Grove. Miller lives one block south and three blocks west of S2. That means the water probably overtopped the banks of S2 around 10 a.m., allowing about 10 minutes for travel time.
At 10:54 that morning, Nancy Vera who lives immediately south of the Woodridge Village S2 detention pond and whose house backs up to Taylor Gully, says that:
She had a foot of muddy water in her house
Her back yard was dry
Taylor Gully was still within its banks.
About this time, Allyssa Harris was shooting video of water streaming directly out of Woodridge Forest and streaming down Village Springs.
Video courtesy of Allyssa Harris. Shot from north end of Village Springs in Elm Grove looking north at the S2 detention pond in Woodridge Village overflowing.
Perry Homes Et. Al. Drag Own Reputations Through Mud
Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors dragged their own reputations through the mud. They have been stonewalling discovery in the case against them by more than 200 plaintiffs. In fact, they have sued the plaintiffs.
The District Clerks office does not show that Judge Lauren Reeder has yet ruled on the motion to compel discovery brought by hundreds of plaintiffs in lawsuits filed by Spurlock and Webster.
Harris County Attorney Now Authorized to File Suit Against Bad Actors
I think they just sent a shot over the bow of Perry Homes. Call the County Attorney tomorrow or send him links to related posts on this site.
These are my thoughts on matters of public opinion and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great State of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/25/2019 with video from Jeff Miller and Allyssa Harris
757 Days since Hurricane Harvey and six days since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Security-Video-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C1013&ssl=110131500adminadmin2019-09-24 23:05:042019-09-25 15:14:08Time-Lapse Footage of Elm Grove Flood: Three Hours Boiled Down to 20 Seconds
Correction: The head of Enforcement for the TCEQ notified me that there was a “proposed” fine of $16,875 issued to the Triple-P Mine for the May breach, but that they have not “settled” yet.
The East Fork of the San Jacinto River and the Triple-P sand mine took a terrible toll on Kingwood’s East End Park for the second time in two years during Imelda. Sand several feet thick blanketed about 30 acres of this beautiful ecological gem and the peaceful trails that wind through it. The devastation matched and in some cases surpassed Harvey’s. These pictures tell the story. After Harvey, it took hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the trails and boardwalks in the park. It will cost at least that much again.
Carried Away
This bench on the Pelican Overlook Trail used to have about 50 feet of trail, trees and river bank in front of it. Imelda eroded the bank and the river cut away the land under the trail. The trail will now have to be moved inland. It no longer exists.
Blanketed by Sand
This boardwalk to Eagle Point used to go over pristine wetlands. It will now require excavation.Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.
Scoured by Flood Waters
Trail scouring occurred in many places. Large parts of the North Loop trail will require replacement.Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.
Taking Destruction to New Levels
This sign used to be chest high. Now it’s knee high.Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.
Giant Trees Uprooted
Trees are down in multiple places and block the main boardwalk. Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.
Covered Up
The main boardwalk is covered with a layer of ultra-slippery silt 1-2 inches thick. Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.
Under Water
In many places, trails have gone underwater.At this location, we found quicksand. See below.
Quick Sand
Rika, the safety pup, says, “Hmmmm. Lucky I don’t have to buy shoes.”
For your own safety and the safety of your shoes, do not venture into the park near the river. It’s dangerous as you can see. Quicksand even exists in some places.
Now for The Bad News
Much of this sand may have come from the Triple-P sand mine on Caney Creek, just upstream from East End Park.
Image courtesy of Charlie Fahrmeier, an expert in turbidity control. Photo taken on 9/22/2019.Image of same breach on May 17th.Location of Breach
Once again the mine breached its dike, underscoring the danger of locating mines in floodways. This particular mine sits at the confluence of two floodways: Caney Creek and White Oak Creek. During Harvey, it lost a major portion of its stockpile to floodwaters. Then it happened again.
It appears that Triple P dumped some sand in the breach in a feeble attempt to stop the hemorrhage. But it obviously did not hold for long. Fahrmeier, who discovered this latest breach on his Waverunner, is an expert in turbidity and environmental pollution control. He said that sand is the wrong type of material for repairing dikes and that the repeat blowout was predictable.
Fahrmeier said that as he was coming up Caney Creek, the stream of sediment coming from the mine made it look as though there were two different streams. “There’s still quite a bit of sediment flowing into the river as evidenced by the discoloration. The pit is pretty large and no doubt contributed a significant volume of water and sediment flowing into Lake Houston since last week.”
KSA Repairs
KSA will begin initiating repairs on East End Park quickly. But many parts of the park are still not accessible. It may be months before all this damage can be repaired. In the meantime, please limit use of the park to the higher parts unaffected by Imelda and Triple P. No doubt some of this sand comes from river bed and bank erosion. But I believe a lot came from the mine, too. I hope KSA decides to sue the mine this time. It’s clear that they do not fear the TCEQ.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/23/2019 with images from John Knoezer and Charlier Fahrmeier
756 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 5 since 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Overlook-Washout.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=120001500adminadmin2019-09-23 21:00:282019-09-25 14:53:10Triple-P Sand Mine Breached Again; East End Park Destroyed for Second Time in Two Years
Kingwood Docks Development Submerged
During Imelda, most of the new Kingwood Docks development in Town Center went underwater and stayed that way for days. Much of it is still underwater. Many people have expressed concerns about the development of this area in recent months. It frequently floods. They worry about the potential for the development to increase flood risk for surrounding homes and businesses.
Let’s look at this property, its history, and the plans for it.
Repetitive Flooding
When the site was apartments for the first 30 years of Kingwood, it had a history of flooding repeatedly. It still does. It went underwater during Harvey, May 7th, and Imelda – three times in the last two years.
Entire Property in Flood Plain
Restaurants with a River View
Since 1998, this site went through a series of five owners. All chose not to develop it once they discovered the site’s problems … until now.
Lovett Commercial bought this property in 2014 under the name Kingwood Retail Partners LTD. They intend to develop this area into a strip of restaurants. During heavy rains, those restaurants will have a river view. Except no one will be able to park by them.
How High the Water Got
More Restaurants Planned
Lovett will build twin 14,000 sf structures on that elevated portion (right). They hope to squeeze five restaurants into them. Each structure will measure 200 ft x 70 ft according to their plans.
The parking will be underwater when it rains. So think seafood restaurants. (Sorry.) Crawfish anyone?
Lessons of History
The current owners bought this property in 2014, about the time that the adjacent apartments were cleared to make way for the HEB center. Lovett began clearing its land in 2016, as HEB and Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center began construction. By Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, they knew something was terribly wrong.
Lovett clearly saw the catastrophic flooding during Harvey. Torchy’s, adjacent to them, flooded to the rafters during Harvey. So did every other building in the center.
Despite all that, Lovett started developing the property in earnest this year. Their sign promised that retail space would be available by Fall of 2019. It’s now Fall, and from the photos above, I doubt the owners will have it ready in the next three months.
Ain’t No Arguing with Mother Nature
I spent the last two years writing about flooding. One thing has become perfectly clear to me. We have flooding because people don’t respect the power of water. They think they can win arguments with Mother Nature. So in the name of science, engineering, free enterprise and private property rights, they build in areas where they should not. Confident that they will have the National Flood Insurance Program to bail them out when Mother Nature puts her foot down.
The Simple Solution to Flooding
If we want to stop flooding, we have to stop pushing the envelope into questionable areas. We pay lip service to that idea, but, here we go again. It’s death by a thousand cuts. One parcel at a time.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/26/2019
758 Days after Hurricane Harvey
All thoughts 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.
Time-Lapse Footage of Elm Grove Flood: Three Hours Boiled Down to 20 Seconds
Time-lapse, security-camera footage supplied by Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident, shows dramatically how quickly Imelda piled up in the streets of Elm Grove. This video covers from 8 a.m to 11 a.m. – compressed into twenty seconds. Note how the water starts out clear. Then, at 10:10 a.m., it turns muddy brown, starts swirling, and quickly fills up the street, his driveway, and some neighbor’s homes across the street.
The Instant the Water Changed Color
This video clearly shows a sudden influx of water from somewhere other than the sky. It fixes the time at which Woodridge Village’s S2 detention pond overflowed into the streets of Elm Grove. Miller lives one block south and three blocks west of S2. That means the water probably overtopped the banks of S2 around 10 a.m., allowing about 10 minutes for travel time.
At 10:54 that morning, Nancy Vera who lives immediately south of the Woodridge Village S2 detention pond and whose house backs up to Taylor Gully, says that:
About this time, Allyssa Harris was shooting video of water streaming directly out of Woodridge Forest and streaming down Village Springs.
Perry Homes Et. Al. Drag Own Reputations Through Mud
Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors dragged their own reputations through the mud. They have been stonewalling discovery in the case against them by more than 200 plaintiffs. In fact, they have sued the plaintiffs.
The District Clerks office does not show that Judge Lauren Reeder has yet ruled on the motion to compel discovery brought by hundreds of plaintiffs in lawsuits filed by Spurlock and Webster.
Harris County Attorney Now Authorized to File Suit Against Bad Actors
One encouraging sign Tuesday: Harris County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a motion that authorized the County Attorney to file suit against bad actors who don’t comply with regulations and cause downstream flooding. Frankly, I find that encouraging.
I think they just sent a shot over the bow of Perry Homes. Call the County Attorney tomorrow or send him links to related posts on this site.
These are my thoughts on matters of public opinion and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great State of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/25/2019 with video from Jeff Miller and Allyssa Harris
757 Days since Hurricane Harvey and six days since Imelda
Triple-P Sand Mine Breached Again; East End Park Destroyed for Second Time in Two Years
Correction: The head of Enforcement for the TCEQ notified me that there was a “proposed” fine of $16,875 issued to the Triple-P Mine for the May breach, but that they have not “settled” yet.
The East Fork of the San Jacinto River and the Triple-P sand mine took a terrible toll on Kingwood’s East End Park for the second time in two years during Imelda. Sand several feet thick blanketed about 30 acres of this beautiful ecological gem and the peaceful trails that wind through it. The devastation matched and in some cases surpassed Harvey’s. These pictures tell the story. After Harvey, it took hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore the trails and boardwalks in the park. It will cost at least that much again.
Carried Away
Blanketed by Sand
Scoured by Flood Waters
Taking Destruction to New Levels
Giant Trees Uprooted
Covered Up
Under Water
Quick Sand
For your own safety and the safety of your shoes, do not venture into the park near the river. It’s dangerous as you can see. Quicksand even exists in some places.
Now for The Bad News
Much of this sand may have come from the Triple-P sand mine on Caney Creek, just upstream from East End Park.
Once again the mine breached its dike, underscoring the danger of locating mines in floodways. This particular mine sits at the confluence of two floodways: Caney Creek and White Oak Creek. During Harvey, it lost a major portion of its stockpile to floodwaters. Then it happened again.
In May 2019, Tony Buzbee, candidate for Mayor of Houston, witnessed another breach while on a tour on the San Jacinto to investigate sedimentation issues. I notified the TCEQ and they issued a Notice of Enforcement in August. But they did not fine the company. This makes the third documented breach in two years.
Wrong Type of Repair
It appears that Triple P dumped some sand in the breach in a feeble attempt to stop the hemorrhage. But it obviously did not hold for long. Fahrmeier, who discovered this latest breach on his Waverunner, is an expert in turbidity and environmental pollution control. He said that sand is the wrong type of material for repairing dikes and that the repeat blowout was predictable.
Fahrmeier said that as he was coming up Caney Creek, the stream of sediment coming from the mine made it look as though there were two different streams. “There’s still quite a bit of sediment flowing into the river as evidenced by the discoloration. The pit is pretty large and no doubt contributed a significant volume of water and sediment flowing into Lake Houston since last week.”
KSA Repairs
KSA will begin initiating repairs on East End Park quickly. But many parts of the park are still not accessible. It may be months before all this damage can be repaired. In the meantime, please limit use of the park to the higher parts unaffected by Imelda and Triple P. No doubt some of this sand comes from river bed and bank erosion. But I believe a lot came from the mine, too. I hope KSA decides to sue the mine this time. It’s clear that they do not fear the TCEQ.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/23/2019 with images from John Knoezer and Charlier Fahrmeier
756 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 5 since 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.