7/27/25 – Callan Marine is done with its City of Houston West Fork dredging contract. The contract used the last of the FEMA money that U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw helped obtain for dredging the West Fork Mouth Bar and the surrounding area after Harvey.
The City hired Callan to dredge 800,000 cubic yards from the San Jacinto West Fork between Kings Point, Atascocita and FM1960. But even though that contract is now complete, the need for dredging is far from over. Let me explain.
Pictures Taken Today
The General Pershing, Callan’s dredge was docked today on the east side of Lake Houston, just south of FM1960.
Dredging DemobilizationMiles of massive dredge pipe used in the operation were pulled onshore, waiting for removal.The placement area next to the Luce Bayou Inter-Basin Transfer Canal was vacant. Callan had removed all of its equipment.The gates that let return-water out of the placement area had been removed (lower right).The return-water channel from the placement area was filled in. Straw had been placed across the filled channel to retard erosion.Callan filled the area inside the perimeter bermsalmost completely.
But just upstream from from where the dredging took place, the West Fork is already filling in again near the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge.
The area near Kings Harbor is only 1-2 feet deep.The Army Corps dredged this area just a few years ago.Not many people will be tying their boats up here near Raffa’s.Farther upstream, it’s the same story. Boaters told me today the outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch (shown above) is only about 6″ to a 1′ deep at River Grove Park.
Same area in 2018 before Army Corps dredging. An estimated 500+ homes above this point flooded during Harvey.
Sediment buildups like these reduced the conveyance of both the East and West Forks by 15 feet in places.
Another massive build up less than a half mile downstream from River Grove took the Corps months to dredge.
The Would-Be Congressman Who Denies Need for Dredging
Reducing flood risk in the Lake Houston Area requires reducing sediment build ups like these. Before the Corps left the West Fork, it recommended setting up a maintenance dredging program to help prevent such massive buildups in the future.
And yet a person upstream who wants to represent the Lake Houston Area in Congress, State Representative Steve Toth, voted against Cunningham’s Dredging District bill. And now he’s challenging Crenshaw.
I have yet to hear a credible explanation as to why Toth voted against the dredging district bill and the needs of the people he hopes to represent. Perhaps he would care to go on the record.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/27/25
2889 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern 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/2025/07/20250727-DJI_20250727113351_0613_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-07-27 18:28:202025-07-27 19:14:04West Fork Dredging Contract Complete, But Job Far from Over
7/25/2025 – The San Jacinto Flood Planning Group is fielding a brief regional flood survey that will be used to help judge public priorities for the next round in the development of the State’s Flood Plan. Your last chance to take the survey is August 1, 2025.
But don’t wait. Take it now while this post and the link are in front of you. It will only take a few minutes and your suggestions could help reduce your flood risk.
About the State Flood Plan
In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 directing the creation of the first-ever state flood plan for Texas. The state flood plan brings together the findings of the 15 river-basin-based regional flood plans and makes legislative and floodplain management recommendations to guide state, regional, and local flood control policy.
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) adopted Texas’ inaugural State Flood Plan on August 15th, 2024. Now we’re into the next cycle of the plan, which will be updated every five years.
So here’s your chance to sound off about everything you’ve learned in the last five years. The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group covers more than 5,000 square miles in 11 counties.
7/24/25 – Five pipelines carrying highly volatile liquids (HVLs) have become exposed and undermined by erosion associated with sand-mining activity near Caney Creek in Porter. Some of the pipelines have been shored up. Others hang suspended in mid-air. See below.
Exposed pipelines at northern end of Triple PG property near Caney CreekReverse angle shows proximity to Caney Creek in foreground.Side shot gives better view of utility-easement erosion at northern part of mine.
From Railroad Commission website in August 2021. Note how miners had started mining past Kinder Morgan pipeline on bottom. Compare this with photos above taken today that show pipelines exposed where clustered green lines are.
The exposed HVL pipelines observed today are part of a pattern at this mine. But it’s not the only dangerous pattern, in my opinion.
Attorney General Lawsuit on Behalf of TCEQ
Back in 2019, breaches of two dikes at the same mine were left open for months. The mines released process wastewater through those breaches into the headwaters of Lake Houston for months. They also let White Oak Creek flow through the Triple PG sand mine (now operated by Texas Frac Sand Materials, Inc.) directly into Caney Creek.
Both White Oak and Caney Creeks flow into the San Jacinto East Fork and the headwaters of Lake Houston, which supplies drinking water for 2.2 million people.
Looking N. from over Hueni Road. White Oak Creek (left) flows into and through Triple PG property.Still looking N but farther east, water flows out of the mine into Caney Creek(right of mine).Lake Houston is behind camera position.
Original Case Delayed Six Years
Legal maneuverings and a change in ownership of the mine through a series of shell companies and trust funds have delayed the original lawsuit for six years in Travis County courts. See Case No. D-1-GN-19-007086.
Texas Frac Sand Materials now operates the mine even though Dr. Prabhakar R. Guniganti and his family still own the property. See the Montgomery County Appraisal District record below for the part of the mine with the five exposed HVL pipelines.
MoCo Appraisal District record shows 1992 Guniganti Credit Shelter Trust owns the parcel outlined in blue where mining exposed pipelines.This one parcel is a small part of a much larger mine.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has already opened an investigation into both the pipeline and breach issues reported above.
Posted by Bob Rehak one 7/24/2025
2886 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern 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/2025/07/20250724-DJI_20250724140935_0601_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-07-24 20:13:272025-07-24 20:15:32Five Highly-Volatile-Liquid Pipelines Exposed at Triple PG Mine on Caney Creek
West Fork Dredging Contract Complete, But Job Far from Over
7/27/25 – Callan Marine is done with its City of Houston West Fork dredging contract. The contract used the last of the FEMA money that U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw helped obtain for dredging the West Fork Mouth Bar and the surrounding area after Harvey.
The City hired Callan to dredge 800,000 cubic yards from the San Jacinto West Fork between Kings Point, Atascocita and FM1960. But even though that contract is now complete, the need for dredging is far from over. Let me explain.
Pictures Taken Today
The General Pershing, Callan’s dredge was docked today on the east side of Lake Houston, just south of FM1960.
But just upstream from from where the dredging took place, the West Fork is already filling in again near the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge.
Ironically, the Army Corps liberated River Grove from a giant sand build up just a few years ago. Remember what this area looked like then? See below.
The Would-Be Congressman Who Denies Need for Dredging
Reducing flood risk in the Lake Houston Area requires reducing sediment build ups like these. Before the Corps left the West Fork, it recommended setting up a maintenance dredging program to help prevent such massive buildups in the future.
Following the Corps’ lead, former State Rep. Dan Huberty tried to set up such a program in 2021. So did State Rep. Charles Cunningham in 2023. Cunningham finally succeeded this year when HB1532 became law.
And yet a person upstream who wants to represent the Lake Houston Area in Congress, State Representative Steve Toth, voted against Cunningham’s Dredging District bill. And now he’s challenging Crenshaw.
I have yet to hear a credible explanation as to why Toth voted against the dredging district bill and the needs of the people he hopes to represent. Perhaps he would care to go on the record.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/27/25
2889 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
Take Regional Flood Survey Now, Deadline Fast Approaching
7/25/2025 – The San Jacinto Flood Planning Group is fielding a brief regional flood survey that will be used to help judge public priorities for the next round in the development of the State’s Flood Plan. Your last chance to take the survey is August 1, 2025.
But don’t wait. Take it now while this post and the link are in front of you. It will only take a few minutes and your suggestions could help reduce your flood risk.
About the State Flood Plan
In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 directing the creation of the first-ever state flood plan for Texas. The state flood plan brings together the findings of the 15 river-basin-based regional flood plans and makes legislative and floodplain management recommendations to guide state, regional, and local flood control policy.
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) adopted Texas’ inaugural State Flood Plan on August 15th, 2024. Now we’re into the next cycle of the plan, which will be updated every five years.
So here’s your chance to sound off about everything you’ve learned in the last five years. The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group covers more than 5,000 square miles in 11 counties.
Here’s the start page to take the survey.
After some location and contact questions, the survey will ask you some pretty high level questions, i.e., “What do we need?”
I said, “We need river-basin-wide flood control districts. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to solve flooding that originates across county lines.”
Others knowledgeable about flooding problems in Texas said we need:
Whatever your suggestions, make sure you submit your regional flood survey by August 1, 2025. Better yet, do it now so you don’t forget.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/25/2025
2887 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Five Highly-Volatile-Liquid Pipelines Exposed at Triple PG Mine on Caney Creek
7/24/25 – Five pipelines carrying highly volatile liquids (HVLs) have become exposed and undermined by erosion associated with sand-mining activity near Caney Creek in Porter. Some of the pipelines have been shored up. Others hang suspended in mid-air. See below.
This is not the miner’s first tangle with pipelines. In 2020, miners exposed a Kinder Morgan Natural Gas pipeline in the same general area. That forced Kinder Morgan to abandon its line and drill a new one 75 feet beneath the mine.
The Triple PG daredevils had been pushing the safety envelope by trying to mine sand between the pipelines.
From Railroad Commission website in August 2021. Note how miners had started mining past Kinder Morgan pipeline on bottom. Compare this with photos above taken today that show pipelines exposed where clustered green lines are.
The exposed HVL pipelines observed today are part of a pattern at this mine. But it’s not the only dangerous pattern, in my opinion.
Attorney General Lawsuit on Behalf of TCEQ
Back in 2019, breaches of two dikes at the same mine were left open for months. The mines released process wastewater through those breaches into the headwaters of Lake Houston for months. They also let White Oak Creek flow through the Triple PG sand mine (now operated by Texas Frac Sand Materials, Inc.) directly into Caney Creek.
Both White Oak and Caney Creeks flow into the San Jacinto East Fork and the headwaters of Lake Houston, which supplies drinking water for 2.2 million people.
The Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit on behalf of the TCEQ. An injunction forced the miners to close the breaches and reinforce the dikes.
The lawsuit sought $1,000,000 in penalties plus $25,000 for each day violations continued.
The dikes were originally repaired. But in August 2024, I photographed the same dikes…ruptured again in the same places. They still haven’t been fixed. Here’s how they looked today.
Original Case Delayed Six Years
Legal maneuverings and a change in ownership of the mine through a series of shell companies and trust funds have delayed the original lawsuit for six years in Travis County courts. See Case No. D-1-GN-19-007086.
Texas Frac Sand Materials now operates the mine even though Dr. Prabhakar R. Guniganti and his family still own the property. See the Montgomery County Appraisal District record below for the part of the mine with the five exposed HVL pipelines.
Guniganti, a cardiologist from Nacogdoches, is one of the PG’s in the original Triple PG Mine.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has already opened an investigation into both the pipeline and breach issues reported above.
Posted by Bob Rehak one 7/24/2025
2886 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.