In some cases, mining companies may still be around to repair breaches. But what happens when the mine is played out and no one is there to repair the dike? Hundreds of acres of silt could suddenly be exposed to river currents and washed downstream. As more and more mines on the West Fork approach the end of their lives, this is becoming a huge concern.
Before Sand Mines
This series of satellite images from Google Earth starts in 1995, before there were any sand mines on either side of the river at this location. I created the red line in a separate layer above the satellite images. As we move forward in time, the location of the line will NOT change; but the location of the river WILL.
1/18/1995 before sand mining in this area of the West Fork
By 12/31/2001, the river had shifted slightly. We now have a sand mine on the east side of the river. Note the width of the dike and the road on top of it.
By 1/25/2004, the river had eaten away at the dike and threatened the road.
1/14/2006: The river has almost completely shifted from its original bed and wiped out a large part of the road
1/8/2008: The dike has become dangerously thin, and the road has completely disappeared.
3/14/2014: The mining company has shored up the road by adding fill to both sides of the dike, increasing sedimentation in the river.
On 5/31/2015, the Memorial Day Flood inundated the mine and wiped out the road again. Note the large body of water at the far left. This was a new pit started on the west side of the river that year. Notice how the dike on the left has been breached and silt from the mine is flowing directly into the river.
7/31/2015: The dike on the left remains open and erosion from the Memorial Day flood has eaten the road on the right dike. Twenty years after the start of this sequence, the river has now completely migrated from its original path.
Then along came the Tax Day Flood of 2016.
By 1/23/17, we see sediment building up at the south end of the both pits from the storm during the previous year. This shows that the current was strong enough to move sand within the pits, something the miners say is impossible.
By 8/30/17, the entire area was inundated. Peak flow during Harvey actually happened the day before this photo was taken. It was four times greater than what you see above.
On 10/28/17, two months after Harvey, the dike on the right has almost disappeared. It is now a mere 38 feet wide. The red line, which represents the original riverbed, no longer overlaps the current river bed. The pond next to the G in Google has almost completely filled in, more evidence of sediment migration within the pit.
At what point does the honorable pursuit of profit become reckless endangerment? At what point does hope that the dikes will hold become willful blindness? Since when does one man’s unfettered right to mine sand give him the right to damage others and imperil public safety? Why do legislators allow business practices that endanger neighboring communities? When will regulators see the partial truths spread by TACA for what they are – an deceptive attempt to escape liability for egregious business practices? And above all, what happens when miners walk away from the property but floods continue as they always have.
Property Rights Vs. Public Safety
Miners claim they have the right to do what they want on their property. But not at the expense of public safety. Should the owners of commercial buildings be allowed to operate without fire alarms, sprinkler systems and safety exits just because it’s their property?
Miners have choices. They don’t need to compromise safety. The meander belt of the San Jacinto stretches for miles. There’s plenty of sand out of the floodway to mine.
At the current rate, without human intervention, river migration should capture the mine on the right side of these photos in about three years. It won’t be the first time something like this has happened.
To prevent such disasters in the making and protect public water sources, other states and countries have established setback regulations from rivers. Texas should do the same.
Posted on August 29, 2018 by Bob Rehak
365 Days since Hurricane Harvey flooded the Lake Houston Area
As always this is my opinion on a matter of public policy and is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statutes of the Great State of Texas.
00adminadmin2018-08-29 20:28:422018-08-30 09:19:03River Migration: Another Reason for Greater Sand-Mine Setbacks
On August 25th, voters overwhelmingly approved the Harris County flood bond. The bond didn’t just pass, it passed overwhelmingly. 85.64 percent of the votes were FOR and only 14.36% were against. That made the margin of victory almost 6:1. Near midnight, the county clerk posted these results for the Bond
Breakdown of Vote
Not many people voted. Only 152,305 of 2,285,881 registered voters cast ballots. That’s 6.66%.
Approximately 94,000 people voted by mail or during early voting. Another 57,000 people voted on Election Day, August 25th, the semi-official anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.*
The total number of voters equaled the number of homes in Harris county that were destroyed – about 150,000 – but only half the number of cars that were destroyed – about 300,000. Perhaps everyone just assumed passage and stayed home.
Local Tallies Not Yet Available
Officials have not yet posted results by precinct. Therefore it’s not immediately clear how the Lake Houston Area voted compared to the rest of the county.
Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests the Lake Houston area had higher percentages of voters and positive voters than the rest of the county. One precinct in Kingwood had ten times more voters than an Aldine precinct and only 3% who voted against the bond. We’ll have to wait for the official results to tell more.
Everything Approved for Lake Houston
The turnout may have been disappointing, but the results were not. This will mean critical funding for projects that the Lake Houston Area needs for flood mitigation: more detention, dredging and gates. The bond also includes money to improve long neglected ditches and money to buy out homes that flood repeatedly.
Implementing Priorities
In the year since Harvey, we defined the problems, developed consensus around solutions, and secured funding.
Now starts the hard work. We actually have to implement the plans.
On Friday, August 24, the first of two dredges entered the river for the completion of assembly, The dredge is 27 feet wide, 90 feet long and weighs 270 tons.
Additional Dredging Approved
I’m hoping that additional dredging will be one of the first items on the agenda for the Lake Houston Area. Currently, the Army Corps is about to start dredging 2.1 miles worth of “hot spots” in the river. Twenty-five percent of the cost of that project or about $17.9 million is for mobilization and demobilization. If we can launch a follow-on project to address the mouth bar before that project is completed next April, we may be able to redeploy all the equipment and dredge pipe without incurring all of those mobilization charges again.
Additional Gates Approved
The additional flood gates for Lake Houston will most likely be the next highest priority. Reportedly, the project received a very high score from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and FEMA. Engineering is already underway. However, this is a massive capital project that could easily take several years.
Additional Detention Approved
Adding more upstream detention will require a watershed survey (also in the flood bond budget) to determine the best place or places. Reportedly a vendor has already been selected and is standing by to start work the minute funding is assured.
To see the complete project list, click here and scroll down to the San Jacinto Watershed.
I contacted Matt Zeve tonight to congratulate him on the outcome of the vote. I think he was already hard at work on the projects. Within seconds, I received this response. “We are ready to deliver for everyone in Harris County.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/26/17
362 Days since Hurricane Harvey
*PS: You may note that my anniversary date is a little out of sync with what others are calling the anniversary of Harvey, My calendar started ticking when water started creeping in my neighbors homes, not when the storm first approached Corpus Christi.
00adminadmin2018-08-26 00:50:392018-08-26 00:50:39Harris County Flood Bond Approved by 6:1. What’s Next?
There’s still one more chance to vote for the flood bond. This Saturday. At your regular polling place.
Low Turnout So Far
At the end of early voting, turnout for the flood bond was about 4% of registered voters. That’s dismal considering that virtually everyone in the county was affected by the Harvey flood. Less than one out of three people who lost vehicles in Harvey had come out to vote. Only 40 percent of who lost homes bothered to vote.
And yet the turnout has been low. Perhaps “Fight Flooding,” the theme of the bond’s communication campaign, didn’t have much visceral impact. For those who forgot already what Harvey was like (if that’s possible), here are some alternative ads.
Vote and Get Your Friends and Neighbors to Vote
Please, everyone. Vote. You’ve spent a year cleaning up or helping your neighbors to clean up. Take a few minutes to vote. Walk around your block. Knock on doors and get neighbors to the polls. Only one thing is guaranteed, If this bond fails, our flood risk will remain high.
Posted August 25, 2018 by Bob Rehak
360 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-08-24 00:31:072018-08-24 00:45:57Saturday: Your Last Chance to Vote for the Flood Bond
River Migration: Another Reason for Greater Sand-Mine Setbacks
River migration can imperil sand-mine dikes and that can imperil people downstream.
In the case presented below, the San Jacinto river migrated 258 feet toward a dike in only 23 years and now threatens it. The river has eaten away at a dike by migrating an average of 12.4 feet per year. The dike is now only 38 feet wide. This a textbook case for why we need greater separation between mines and the San Jacinto river. Another dike failure could exacerbate downstream sedimentation and flooding, as it has before.
River Migration Raises Questions about Setbacks and Abandonment
This example of river migration raises serious questions about the lack of setback requirements for Texas sand mines. As rivers migrate toward mines, they can breach dikes and increase the risk of future breaches. Sediment then sent downstream can block rivers and streams, and contribute to worse flooding.
Before Sand Mines
This series of satellite images from Google Earth starts in 1995, before there were any sand mines on either side of the river at this location. I created the red line in a separate layer above the satellite images. As we move forward in time, the location of the line will NOT change; but the location of the river WILL.
1/18/1995 before sand mining in this area of the West Fork
By 12/31/2001, the river had shifted slightly. We now have a sand mine on the east side of the river. Note the width of the dike and the road on top of it.
By 1/25/2004, the river had eaten away at the dike and threatened the road.
1/14/2006: The river has almost completely shifted from its original bed and wiped out a large part of the road
1/8/2008: The dike has become dangerously thin, and the road has completely disappeared.
3/14/2014: The mining company has shored up the road by adding fill to both sides of the dike, increasing sedimentation in the river.
On 5/31/2015, the Memorial Day Flood inundated the mine and wiped out the road again. Note the large body of water at the far left. This was a new pit started on the west side of the river that year. Notice how the dike on the left has been breached and silt from the mine is flowing directly into the river.
7/31/2015: The dike on the left remains open and erosion from the Memorial Day flood has eaten the road on the right dike. Twenty years after the start of this sequence, the river has now completely migrated from its original path.
Then along came the Tax Day Flood of 2016.
By 1/23/17, we see sediment building up at the south end of the both pits from the storm during the previous year. This shows that the current was strong enough to move sand within the pits, something the miners say is impossible.
By 8/30/17, the entire area was inundated. Peak flow during Harvey actually happened the day before this photo was taken. It was four times greater than what you see above.
On 10/28/17, two months after Harvey, the dike on the right has almost disappeared. It is now a mere 38 feet wide. The red line, which represents the original riverbed, no longer overlaps the current river bed. The pond next to the G in Google has almost completely filled in, more evidence of sediment migration within the pit.
Reckless Endangerment?
This series of river migration images shows the relentless forces of erosion. Mining in the floodway so close to the river increases sedimentation, and as a consequence, the risk of flooding.
At what point does the honorable pursuit of profit become reckless endangerment? At what point does hope that the dikes will hold become willful blindness? Since when does one man’s unfettered right to mine sand give him the right to damage others and imperil public safety? Why do legislators allow business practices that endanger neighboring communities? When will regulators see the partial truths spread by TACA for what they are – an deceptive attempt to escape liability for egregious business practices? And above all, what happens when miners walk away from the property but floods continue as they always have.
Property Rights Vs. Public Safety
Miners claim they have the right to do what they want on their property. But not at the expense of public safety. Should the owners of commercial buildings be allowed to operate without fire alarms, sprinkler systems and safety exits just because it’s their property?
Miners have choices. They don’t need to compromise safety. The meander belt of the San Jacinto stretches for miles. There’s plenty of sand out of the floodway to mine.
At the current rate, without human intervention, river migration should capture the mine on the right side of these photos in about three years. It won’t be the first time something like this has happened.
To prevent such disasters in the making and protect public water sources, other states and countries have established setback regulations from rivers. Texas should do the same.
Posted on August 29, 2018 by Bob Rehak
365 Days since Hurricane Harvey flooded the Lake Houston Area
As always this is my opinion on a matter of public policy and is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statutes of the Great State of Texas.
Harris County Flood Bond Approved by 6:1. What’s Next?
On August 25th, voters overwhelmingly approved the Harris County flood bond. The bond didn’t just pass, it passed overwhelmingly. 85.64 percent of the votes were FOR and only 14.36% were against. That made the margin of victory almost 6:1. Near midnight, the county clerk posted these results for the Bond
Breakdown of Vote
Not many people voted. Only 152,305 of 2,285,881 registered voters cast ballots. That’s 6.66%.
Approximately 94,000 people voted by mail or during early voting. Another 57,000 people voted on Election Day, August 25th, the semi-official anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.*
The total number of voters equaled the number of homes in Harris county that were destroyed – about 150,000 – but only half the number of cars that were destroyed – about 300,000. Perhaps everyone just assumed passage and stayed home.
Local Tallies Not Yet Available
Officials have not yet posted results by precinct. Therefore it’s not immediately clear how the Lake Houston Area voted compared to the rest of the county.
Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests the Lake Houston area had higher percentages of voters and positive voters than the rest of the county. One precinct in Kingwood had ten times more voters than an Aldine precinct and only 3% who voted against the bond. We’ll have to wait for the official results to tell more.
Everything Approved for Lake Houston
The turnout may have been disappointing, but the results were not. This will mean critical funding for projects that the Lake Houston Area needs for flood mitigation: more detention, dredging and gates. The bond also includes money to improve long neglected ditches and money to buy out homes that flood repeatedly.
Implementing Priorities
In the year since Harvey, we defined the problems, developed consensus around solutions, and secured funding.
Now starts the hard work. We actually have to implement the plans.
On Friday, August 24, the first of two dredges entered the river for the completion of assembly, The dredge is 27 feet wide, 90 feet long and weighs 270 tons.
Additional Dredging Approved
I’m hoping that additional dredging will be one of the first items on the agenda for the Lake Houston Area. Currently, the Army Corps is about to start dredging 2.1 miles worth of “hot spots” in the river. Twenty-five percent of the cost of that project or about $17.9 million is for mobilization and demobilization. If we can launch a follow-on project to address the mouth bar before that project is completed next April, we may be able to redeploy all the equipment and dredge pipe without incurring all of those mobilization charges again.
Additional Gates Approved
The additional flood gates for Lake Houston will most likely be the next highest priority. Reportedly, the project received a very high score from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and FEMA. Engineering is already underway. However, this is a massive capital project that could easily take several years.
Additional Detention Approved
Adding more upstream detention will require a watershed survey (also in the flood bond budget) to determine the best place or places. Reportedly a vendor has already been selected and is standing by to start work the minute funding is assured.
To see the complete project list, click here and scroll down to the San Jacinto Watershed.
I contacted Matt Zeve tonight to congratulate him on the outcome of the vote. I think he was already hard at work on the projects. Within seconds, I received this response. “We are ready to deliver for everyone in Harris County.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/26/17
362 Days since Hurricane Harvey
*PS: You may note that my anniversary date is a little out of sync with what others are calling the anniversary of Harvey, My calendar started ticking when water started creeping in my neighbors homes, not when the storm first approached Corpus Christi.
Saturday: Your Last Chance to Vote for the Flood Bond
There’s still one more chance to vote for the flood bond. This Saturday. At your regular polling place.
Low Turnout So Far
At the end of early voting, turnout for the flood bond was about 4% of registered voters. That’s dismal considering that virtually everyone in the county was affected by the Harvey flood. Less than one out of three people who lost vehicles in Harvey had come out to vote. Only 40 percent of who lost homes bothered to vote.
Here are all the rational reasons to vote for the flood bond. Among other things, you’ll be protecting your investment in your biggest investment. It will cost a lot less than flood insurance, and it will actually do something to reduce your flood risk.
And yet the turnout has been low. Perhaps “Fight Flooding,” the theme of the bond’s communication campaign, didn’t have much visceral impact. For those who forgot already what Harvey was like (if that’s possible), here are some alternative ads.
Vote and Get Your Friends and Neighbors to Vote
Please, everyone. Vote. You’ve spent a year cleaning up or helping your neighbors to clean up. Take a few minutes to vote. Walk around your block. Knock on doors and get neighbors to the polls. Only one thing is guaranteed, If this bond fails, our flood risk will remain high.
Posted August 25, 2018 by Bob Rehak
360 Days since Hurricane Harvey