Six months have passed since the passage of the Harris County Flood Bond last August. Several projects have been approved so far that could benefit the San Jacinto watershed.
Tributary Map Showing Where the Water Fell During Harvey
This watershed map shows the volume of water carried by each tributary during Harvey.
Map of upper San Jacinto watershed basin shows streamflows during Harvey in cubic feet per second (CFS). Source: San Jacinto River Authority.
Flood Bond Projects Approved to Date
Projects approved so far:
Z-10 will resurvey and remap floodplains country wide. Contractors will factor in new rainfall data and use advanced modeling technologies to provide more accurate information on flooding risks.
CI-012 provides major maintenance for Cypress Creek, an upstream tributary.
CI-035 will update the 2003 Texas Water Development Board Regional Drainage Plan for Major Tributaries of Cypress Creek.
F-20 approved right-of-way acquisition and floodplain preservation, also for Cypress Creek.
Project C-58, final design of Drainage Improvements Along HCFCD Unit F101-06-00 (San Jacinto and Galveston Bay).
C-17, the San Jacinto River Watershed Study in cooperation with the SJRA, Montgomery County, and the City of Houston.
F-14, drainage improvements near Kingwood
F-110, drainage improvements in the Huffman area that drain to the San Jacinto, Luce, and Cedar Bayou watersheds.
F-19, right-of-way acquisition and floodplain preservation along Spring Creek.
Voluntary Home Buyout programs are also in progress county wide and will affect many Forest Cove residents south of Hamblen Road as well as in Humble.
To see the full list of projects approved for the bond fund, click here. They are arranged in alphabetical order by watershed. San Jacinto River Projects start on page 9. However, don’t overlook related tributary projects, such as additional upstream detention on Spring and Cypress Creeks.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 2, 2019
550 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Hurricane-Harvey-Peak-Inflows-1500-px.jpg?fit=1500%2C996&ssl=19961500adminadmin2019-03-02 08:55:502019-03-03 16:08:52Flood Bond Projects Approved to Date by Harris County Commissioners Court
A reminder. If you want to protest the high-rise development planned for Kingwood, today is the last day to email the Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The deadline: midnight tonight.
The proposed high-rise development would wrap around the Barrington and border the soccer fields at River Grove Park. It includes 5000 condos, and multiple high rises from 25 to 50 stories tall. Developers, who are being sued for fraud by investors, are attempting to finance the project with EB-5 visas for foreigners.
High Rises in Area Apparently Deed-Restricted to Single-Family Residential
The development would take place in an area apparently deed restricted to single-family residential. Developers have refused to meet with the public to answer questions concerning the development or how they plan to get around the deed restrictions.
Sample letters that people and groups have written already.
Causes for Concern
Many of reasons exist to protest this development. Besides the 8,800 cars it would add to Kingwood Drive, the lack of evacuation routes, apparent deed restriction violations, impacts on wildlife including bald eagles, loss of wetlands and streams, flooding, adequacy of the market survey, safety issues (building high rises so near a floodway), water pollution from a giant marina operation, school over-crowding, and the experience of the developers.
How and Where to Protest
The Corps states explicitly that if they don’t hear from you, they assume you have no objections.
So please take ten minutes to email your objections to:
Feel free to copy from the letters of others. Make sure you include the project number in the subject line of your email: SWG-2016-00384
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 1, 2019
549 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statutes of the great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Woodland-hills-map.png?fit=1061%2C1024&ssl=110241061adminadmin2019-03-01 10:36:012019-03-01 11:08:21Last Day to Protest High-Rise Development in Kingwood
Harris County Flood Control has developed a new way to prioritize bond projects after a trial ballon turned into a lead balloon. Initially the county ranked projects based, in part, on readily available income statistics to achieve its equity goal in ranking projects.
However, giving low-to-moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods higher priority than affluent neighborhoods facing greater flood threats hardly seemed fair. It sparked a tsunami of criticism.
When flood control shared its initial formula for ranking projects with small groups of community leaders, they pushed back immediately. They argued that the worst flooding problems should be tackled first. As a result, the county developed an alternative formula that didn’t rely on income.
Homes in Barrington in 500-year flood plain during Harvey. Photo courtesy of Julie Yandell. She was forced to flee with her husband and 81-year-old neighbor when waters rose without warning.
Factors in Initial Proposal
Version 1.0 of the prioritization attempted to rank-order projects based on seven factors, each given different weights.
Existing Conditions – Drainage Level of Service (How Bad Things Currently Are) – 20%
Equity (LMI) – 20%
Flood Risk Reduction (Looking only at # of Structures, not their Value) – 20%
Project Efficiency (Cost of project/# of Structures Benefitted) – 15%
Problems with Version 1.0
Scoring projects using these criteria pushed Kingwood – one of the hardest hit areas in the city – farther down the list in most cases. Therefore the leaders of the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiative sent a letter to the new County Judge listing these concerns.
Failure to appropriately recognize benefits from multi-million dollar partnership matching grants
Failure to capture full flooding impacts and full project benefits by not considering commercial property, schools, hospitals, and senior-care facilities
Not recognizing benefits to LMI areas received from projects executed in non-LMI areas
Not considering Costs/benefits of pre-Harvey Capital Improvement Projects
Lack of inclusion of URGENT NEED criteria in the matrix
Based on initial feedback, Harris County Flood Control has already posted version 2.0 of the ranking formula. The goal: to provide a defensible methodology for determining when one project will start versus another.
Differences in Version 2.0
Version 2.0 of the formula:
Takes LMI consideration out
Adds an eighth criteria, “Do we have a funding partner for a project? Yes/No?”
Changes weighting to give more urgency to parts of town that historically have had a lower level of service.
Looks at some old criteria in new ways.
Here are the new weights and criteria:
Flood Risk Reduction – 25%
Existing Conditions Drainage Level of Service – 20%
Lack of Service – 15%
Project Efficiency Weighting Factor – 15%
Partnership Funding – 10%
Long Term Maintenance Costs – 5%
Minimizes Environmental Impacts – 5%
Potential for Multiple Benefits – 5%
“You Have to Start Somewhere”
“You have to start somewhere,” said Zeve. “We’re trying to be as transparent as possible so people understand the order in which we attack projects.”
The revised project-priority list has not yet been posted. That should happen tonight or this weekend according to Zeve. They need to score and calculate many factors for hundreds of projects. I can’t wait to see the outcome. More news to follow tomorrow.
How to Be Heard
If you would like to participate in this process, or send written comments, please email Gabe Baker at gabe.baker@cjo.hctx.net.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/1/2019
549 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_0048-1-e1646428414628.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=11200900adminadmin2019-03-01 07:34:272019-03-01 09:41:17County Suggesting New Way to Prioritize Flood-Bond Projects
Flood Bond Projects Approved to Date by Harris County Commissioners Court
Six months have passed since the passage of the Harris County Flood Bond last August. Several projects have been approved so far that could benefit the San Jacinto watershed.
Tributary Map Showing Where the Water Fell During Harvey
This watershed map shows the volume of water carried by each tributary during Harvey.
Flood Bond Projects Approved to Date
Projects approved so far:
Current Principles Guiding Prioritization
After the equity flap, version 2.0 of the principles that guide project prioritization has been posted online, but a re-prioritized project list has not as of 8:30 am Saturday morning.
How to Track Flood Bond Project Status
To track the progress of projects near you, Harris County Flood Control updates this interactive map constantly. Click on the icon to see a description and the project status.
To see the full list of projects approved for the bond fund, click here. They are arranged in alphabetical order by watershed. San Jacinto River Projects start on page 9. However, don’t overlook related tributary projects, such as additional upstream detention on Spring and Cypress Creeks.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 2, 2019
550 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Last Day to Protest High-Rise Development in Kingwood
A reminder. If you want to protest the high-rise development planned for Kingwood, today is the last day to email the Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The deadline: midnight tonight.
High Rises in Area Apparently Deed-Restricted to Single-Family Residential
The development would take place in an area apparently deed restricted to single-family residential. Developers have refused to meet with the public to answer questions concerning the development or how they plan to get around the deed restrictions.
Where to Find More Info
To learn more about the controversy, visit the high-rise page of this website. There, you will find:
Causes for Concern
Many of reasons exist to protest this development. Besides the 8,800 cars it would add to Kingwood Drive, the lack of evacuation routes, apparent deed restriction violations, impacts on wildlife including bald eagles, loss of wetlands and streams, flooding, adequacy of the market survey, safety issues (building high rises so near a floodway), water pollution from a giant marina operation, school over-crowding, and the experience of the developers.
How and Where to Protest
The Corps states explicitly that if they don’t hear from you, they assume you have no objections.
So please take ten minutes to email your objections to:
Army Corps of Engineers: swg_public_notice@usace.army.mil
TCEQ: 401certs@tceq.texas.gov. (Water-quality issues only)
Feel free to copy from the letters of others. Make sure you include the project number in the subject line of your email: SWG-2016-00384
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 1, 2019
549 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statutes of the great State of Texas.
County Suggesting New Way to Prioritize Flood-Bond Projects
Harris County Flood Control has developed a new way to prioritize bond projects after a trial ballon turned into a lead balloon. Initially the county ranked projects based, in part, on readily available income statistics to achieve its equity goal in ranking projects.
However, giving low-to-moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods higher priority than affluent neighborhoods facing greater flood threats hardly seemed fair. It sparked a tsunami of criticism.
Factors in Initial Proposal
Version 1.0 of the prioritization attempted to rank-order projects based on seven factors, each given different weights.
Problems with Version 1.0
Scoring projects using these criteria pushed Kingwood – one of the hardest hit areas in the city – farther down the list in most cases. Therefore the leaders of the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiative sent a letter to the new County Judge listing these concerns.
To see the entire letter, click here.
Version 2.0 Already Published
Based on initial feedback, Harris County Flood Control has already posted version 2.0 of the ranking formula. The goal: to provide a defensible methodology for determining when one project will start versus another.
Differences in Version 2.0
Version 2.0 of the formula:
Here are the new weights and criteria:
“You Have to Start Somewhere”
“You have to start somewhere,” said Zeve. “We’re trying to be as transparent as possible so people understand the order in which we attack projects.”
Harris County Flood Control posted a new web page to address misconceptions surrounding the prioritization process.
To see the thinking process behind how the new formula works, click here.
Revised Project List To Be Posted Soon
The revised project-priority list has not yet been posted. That should happen tonight or this weekend according to Zeve. They need to score and calculate many factors for hundreds of projects. I can’t wait to see the outcome. More news to follow tomorrow.
How to Be Heard
If you would like to participate in this process, or send written comments, please email Gabe Baker at gabe.baker@cjo.hctx.net.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/1/2019
549 Days since Hurricane Harvey