Wetlands are a natural solution to a natural problem: flooding. Problem is, their name sounds like it’s the opposite – more of a problem than a solution.
Wetlands? Get out the mop.
Wetlands? Will I need galoshes?
Wetlands? Just pave it.
Wetlands? We can’t have that.
See what I mean? If we named them something else, something that had a benefit, maybe they would stand a fighting chance against bulldozers. For example:
Flood-Prevention Lands? I’ll fight for that.
Flood Buffer? Give me an extra one of those.
Safety Shield? Don’t lose that.
Guardlands? Better than free insurance!
Wetlands detain water during heavy rains. They let it flow away gradually at a rate that streams and bayous can handle naturally.
Visual Comparison
Here’s a visual example. We had heavy rains the night before I took this shot – almost four inches. When I went to East End Park the next morning, I saw the wetlands at the end of the main entry trail filled with water. There’s a natural, little bowl in the landscape there that covers a couple acres. After a very heavy rain, it usually takes a week or two for the water to drain away.
After heavy rains, the bowl fills up. Then the water trickles away, evaporates, gets sucked up by trees, or percolates through the ground to the river.OK, so sometimes it moves faster than a trickle. But this is still much slower than if two-acre feet suddenly hit concrete and a storm drain.
Contrast that with runoff coming out of the clearcut Woodridge Village below.
Developer filled in natural creeks and wetlands on this property without constructing required detention ponds first. Elm Grove is behind the trees to the left, where hundreds of homes flooded on May 7.
Abel Vera, who lives next to this recently denuded area, told me how his kids used to play in the woods and creeks that covered the wetlands to his north.
Sadly, it will be a few decades, if ever, before more kids have that opportunity again. If only we had named the wetlands on this property something else. Protector Ponds? Storm Shields? Heck, even Gator Haven would have worked. Developers could have sold tickets.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/7/2019
647 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Wetlands.jpg?fit=1500%2C1125&ssl=111251500adminadmin2019-06-07 12:25:562019-06-07 12:30:16If They Called Wetlands Something Else, We’d Have a Lot More of Them
Houston Public Media yesterday reported that City Council approved a new floodplain development upstream from the Addicks Reservoir. This is what happens when you pit one person’s property rights against another’s. Engineers and developers say they take precautions to prevent downstream flooding. But still, people downstream flood.
Hmmmm. Wonder why that happens? Here’s a pretty balanced report that explains why, and why politicians approve such developments.
Impact of Land-Use Changes
It’s filled with examples of people who said, “I lived here for 30 years and never flooded before. What happened?”
The experts say it’s usually due to some kind of land-use change upstream from them.
I had a similar experience years ago when I lived on Spring Creek in the Dallas area. I bought a house guaranteed to be two feet above the hundred year flood plain. But after they built the Collin Creek Mall in Plano upstream from me, I found I was almost flooding on tiny rains. The Army Corps came back out and resurveyed the creek.
They determined I was now 10 feet BELOW the hundred-year floodplain.
That was the last house I will ever own near water. Highly recommended listening (or reading).
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/6/2019
646 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/KVE-2017-Flood.jpg?fit=1500%2C968&ssl=19681500adminadmin2019-06-06 22:40:532019-06-06 23:10:07Houston Public Media Reports Houston City Council Not Attempting to Curb Floodplain Development
Bens Branch cuts diagonally through the heart of Kingwood. Project area circled.
Current Conditions on Ben’s Branch
During Harvey, hundreds of homes and businesses flooded near the creek. It contributed to flooding in Kings Forest, Town Center, The Enclave, Kings Harbor, and Kingwood Greens. The project area affects all of those subdivisions, plus Kingwood Village Estates where 12 seniors died, either as a result of injuries sustained during evacuation or the subsequent stress of losing their homes.
Harris County Surveying Crew in Ben’s Branch just west of West Lake Houston Parkway and south of the Kingwood Library. More sediment buildups just east of West Lake Houston Parkway on Ben’s Branch, south of the Enclave and north of the YMCA.
Next Steps for Ben’s Branch
Since the announcement of the project to restore conveyance on Ben’s Branch, HCFCD has been busy negotiating access rights to the stream. The District has also finalized construction plans and bidding specs. According to Beth Walters, a flood control district employee who lives in Kingwood, here’s what to expect next and when.
“We plan to advertise the project five times,” says Walters, “to attract bidders. Ads will appear through June 15.” She also said HCFCD held a mandatory pre-bid meeting for all interested parties.
Eleven potential bidders attended. “Hopefully, we’ll get some good unit prices,” said Jason Brock, the manager of HCFCD’s maintenance engineering department.
Project Award by July 9, Construction to Start Immediately
HCFCD expects to open bids on June 17th and award the project at the commissioner’s court meeting on July 9. Mark your calendars!
The winning bidder will have 250 calendar days, per the contract, to finish the job. That means the project should be finished by next February or March.
Status of Other Kingwood Projects
Yesterday, Commissioners Court approved a Kingwood Area Drainage Assessment Plan. The objectives of the plan are to:
Dermine the current conveyance of all creeks and ditches in the Kingwood area
Measure that against current and projected needs
Make recommendations for improvements.
But first, HCFCD must select a consultant. The project should kick off this summer after consultant selection.
In the meantime, HCFCD is repairing damage due to Harvey at several locations.
1. Project ID G103-38-00-X020 consists of repairs at three (3) locations along G103-38-00:
a. Site 5416 consists of slope failure repair, including excavation of sloughed materials, disposal of unsuitable materials, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1900 feet north of Walnut Ln.
b. Site 5680 consists of erosion repair and pipe replacement including reestablishing channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 250 feet south of Walnut Ln.
c. Site 5682 consists of erosion repair including excavation of sloughed material, reestablishing channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 500 feet northwest of Deer Ridge Estates Blvd.
2. Project ID G103-38-01-X010 consists of repairs at one (1) location along G103-38-01:
a. Site 3228 consists of slope erosion repair including rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 70 feet west of Chestnut Ridge Rd.
3. Project ID G103-41-00-X008 consists of repairs at two (2) locations along G103-41-00:
a. Site 5622 consists of slope erosion repair including lishing channel toelines, excavation of soils to reestablish channel width, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1350 feet south of Kingwood Dr.
b. Site 5622A consists of channel scour and slope repair including filling scouring with a well graded mix, reestablishment of channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1600 feet south of Kingwood Dr.
For more specific information about Flood Control projects in the Kingwood area, including vegetation management, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on June 5, 2019
645 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/KingsCrossing_3_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C663&ssl=16631500adminadmin2019-06-05 10:22:582019-06-05 13:36:30Update on Ben’s Branch and Other Drainage Repair Projects from Flood Control District
If They Called Wetlands Something Else, We’d Have a Lot More of Them
Wetlands are a natural solution to a natural problem: flooding. Problem is, their name sounds like it’s the opposite – more of a problem than a solution.
See what I mean? If we named them something else, something that had a benefit, maybe they would stand a fighting chance against bulldozers. For example:
Wetlands detain water during heavy rains. They let it flow away gradually at a rate that streams and bayous can handle naturally.
Visual Comparison
Here’s a visual example. We had heavy rains the night before I took this shot – almost four inches. When I went to East End Park the next morning, I saw the wetlands at the end of the main entry trail filled with water. There’s a natural, little bowl in the landscape there that covers a couple acres. After a very heavy rain, it usually takes a week or two for the water to drain away.
Contrast that with runoff coming out of the clearcut Woodridge Village below.
Why Wetlands are So Important
Watch this video taken from the porch of a house out of frame on the left of this shot. The home had never flooded before this area was clearcut and the natural drainage features were filled in. Notice a difference in the volume, clarity, and runoff rates of the water? Shortly after the rain started Tuesday, May 7, a lot of the water that hit this property filled the living rooms of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest residents.
Abel Vera, who lives next to this recently denuded area, told me how his kids used to play in the woods and creeks that covered the wetlands to his north.
Sadly, it will be a few decades, if ever, before more kids have that opportunity again. If only we had named the wetlands on this property something else. Protector Ponds? Storm Shields? Heck, even Gator Haven would have worked. Developers could have sold tickets.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/7/2019
647 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Houston Public Media Reports Houston City Council Not Attempting to Curb Floodplain Development
Houston Public Media yesterday reported that City Council approved a new floodplain development upstream from the Addicks Reservoir. This is what happens when you pit one person’s property rights against another’s. Engineers and developers say they take precautions to prevent downstream flooding. But still, people downstream flood.
Hmmmm. Wonder why that happens? Here’s a pretty balanced report that explains why, and why politicians approve such developments.
Impact of Land-Use Changes
It’s filled with examples of people who said, “I lived here for 30 years and never flooded before. What happened?”
The experts say it’s usually due to some kind of land-use change upstream from them.
My Personal Experience
I had a similar experience years ago when I lived on Spring Creek in the Dallas area. I bought a house guaranteed to be two feet above the hundred year flood plain. But after they built the Collin Creek Mall in Plano upstream from me, I found I was almost flooding on tiny rains. The Army Corps came back out and resurveyed the creek.
That was the last house I will ever own near water. Highly recommended listening (or reading).
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/6/2019
646 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Update on Ben’s Branch and Other Drainage Repair Projects from Flood Control District
In March of this year, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) announced a project to excavate more than a mile of Ben’s Branch in Kingwood. HCFCD expects to remove approximately 8,600 dump-truck loads of sediment that clog the creek between Kingwood Drive and the San Jacinto River.
Current Conditions on Ben’s Branch
During Harvey, hundreds of homes and businesses flooded near the creek. It contributed to flooding in Kings Forest, Town Center, The Enclave, Kings Harbor, and Kingwood Greens. The project area affects all of those subdivisions, plus Kingwood Village Estates where 12 seniors died, either as a result of injuries sustained during evacuation or the subsequent stress of losing their homes.
Next Steps for Ben’s Branch
Since the announcement of the project to restore conveyance on Ben’s Branch, HCFCD has been busy negotiating access rights to the stream. The District has also finalized construction plans and bidding specs. According to Beth Walters, a flood control district employee who lives in Kingwood, here’s what to expect next and when.
“We plan to advertise the project five times,” says Walters, “to attract bidders. Ads will appear through June 15.” She also said HCFCD held a mandatory pre-bid meeting for all interested parties.
Eleven potential bidders attended. “Hopefully, we’ll get some good unit prices,” said Jason Brock, the manager of HCFCD’s maintenance engineering department.
Project Award by July 9, Construction to Start Immediately
HCFCD expects to open bids on June 17th and award the project at the commissioner’s court meeting on July 9. Mark your calendars!
The winning bidder will have 250 calendar days, per the contract, to finish the job. That means the project should be finished by next February or March.
Status of Other Kingwood Projects
Yesterday, Commissioners Court approved a Kingwood Area Drainage Assessment Plan. The objectives of the plan are to:
But first, HCFCD must select a consultant. The project should kick off this summer after consultant selection.
In the meantime, HCFCD is repairing damage due to Harvey at several locations.
1. Project ID G103-38-00-X020 consists of repairs at three (3) locations along G103-38-00:
a. Site 5416 consists of slope failure repair, including excavation of sloughed materials, disposal of unsuitable materials, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1900 feet north of Walnut Ln.
b. Site 5680 consists of erosion repair and pipe replacement including reestablishing channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 250 feet south of Walnut Ln.
c. Site 5682 consists of erosion repair including excavation of sloughed material, reestablishing channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 500 feet northwest of Deer Ridge Estates Blvd.
2. Project ID G103-38-01-X010 consists of repairs at one (1) location along G103-38-01:
a. Site 3228 consists of slope erosion repair including rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 70 feet west of Chestnut Ridge Rd.
3. Project ID G103-41-00-X008 consists of repairs at two (2) locations along G103-41-00:
a. Site 5622 consists of slope erosion repair including lishing channel toelines, excavation of soils to reestablish channel width, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1350 feet south of Kingwood Dr.
b. Site 5622A consists of channel scour and slope repair including filling scouring with a well graded mix, reestablishment of channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1600 feet south of Kingwood Dr.
Helpful HCFCD Links
This page on the HCFCD web site explains their numbering system.
Some of these repairs may already be complete. This interactive map shows the status of active projects.
You can read more about the Harvey Repair Program here: https://www.hcfcd.org/press-room/current-news/2018/04/hcfcd-begins-drive-on-84-million-hurricane-repair-program/
For more specific information about Flood Control projects in the Kingwood area, including vegetation management, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on June 5, 2019
645 Days after Hurricane Harvey