At its Thursday board meeting, the SJRA will reconsider whether to seasonally lower Lake Conroe again this year. Last year, the board lowered the lake as a way to provide an additional buffer against flooding until flood mitigation projects could be put in place. As part of the motion it approved last year, the board said it would revisit the decision each year. That time is now.
Even though Lake Houston area dredging continues and additional gates for the Lake Houston Dam have not yet been funded, re-approval of the lowering this year is far from automatic. Rumor has it that the Lake Conroe Association may present a petition urging the board to keep the lake at its usual height.
Details of Original Plan
What exactly was the temporary, seasonal lake lowering proposal? SJRA General Manager Jace Houston spelled out the details for the public in Dockline Magazine last year. I pulled these figures from there.As a point of reference, the normal pool level of Lake Conroe is 201’ msl (mean feet above sea level).
During the Spring season – April 1 through May 31 – the SJRA voted to start lowering the lake gradually on April 1 until it reached a level of 200 msl, i.e., one foot below normal. This is the rainiest part of Spring.
Then starting on June 1, the SJRA would begin to capture flows to restore normal lake elevation for June and July.
For the Fall season – August 1 through September 30 – which includes the peak of hurricane season, the SJRA would again reduce the lake gradually. Their target: 200 msl by August 15. That’s when most local schools resume and the summer vacation season starts to tape off.
After August 15, SJRA would continue gradually lowering the level of Lake Conroe until it reached 199 feet msl or two feet below normal pool by August 31.
Starting October 1, SJRA would again begin to capture flows to restore normal lake elevation.
If the lake level has already dropped to the target elevation just due to evaporation, no additional releases would be made.
If a storm enters the forecast while seasonal releases are being made to lower the lake level, such releases would be stopped and the river allowed to drain out until rainfall is out of the forecast.
Purpose for Season Lowering
Jace Houston cited three reasons for seasonal lowering as opposed to pre-releasing water immediately before storms.
Release of water from Lake Conroe prior to a storm would put flows into the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston potentially exacerbating flooding.
Staff from the City of Houston, the Coastal Water Authority, and the Harris County Flood Control District have expressed their desire to not pre-fill the river and Lake Houston prior to a storm with water released from Lake Conroe.
Lake Conroe is located in the upper basin where it makes sense to retain flood waters to the extent possible.
Until dredging is complete, we still need the buffer that lowering Lake Conroe provides.
Speak at Board Meeting
Residents have an opportunity to speak out for and against the seasonal lowering this Thursday morning, Feb. 28, 2019. Speakers are limited to three minutes each. Business attire is recommended. To reserve time to speak you must sign in by 7:45. The meeting will be in the tall building at:
1577 Dam Site Road Conroe, Texas 77304 936.588.3111
Allow an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half to get there in rush hour traffic.
Hope to see lots of Humble and Kingwood people there. This is very important until we get mitigation measures in place.
If You Can’t Come, But Still Want to Help
Consider sending ReduceFlooding.com some of your most dramatic shots from the flood. See the Submissions page. We need to show the SJRA board how dramatic the flooding really was here. There are new faces on the board this year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SJRA-Logo-2016-250x250.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1250250adminadmin2019-02-26 19:30:022020-01-17 10:02:54SJRA to Reconsider Lowering of Lake Conroe This Thursday Morning
Odum previously served as the President of Shell Oil Company. He volunteered to work for the City as the Mayor’s “Flood Czar” for 15 months on a pro bono basis.
Stephen Costello, the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery Officer in charge of Harvey efforts and the Mayor’s Flood Czar.
So I emailed Costello and heard back this morning. He replied, “I am the Chief Recovery Officer focused on Harvey recovery. Still doing the flood czar stuff as well.”
Evidently, the title of one of Costello’s jobs changed and he’s still picking up where Odum left off. Hopefully, Aho’s appointment will allow Costello more time to focus on flood mitigation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Costelloo-e1551210507211.jpg?fit=907%2C1203&ssl=11203907adminadmin2019-02-26 13:38:022019-02-26 13:55:57Despite new Chief Resiliency Officer, Costello Still Heading Up Flood Recovery Efforts
The Houston Chronicle reported at noon today that Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed a new Chief Resilience Officer, a job formerly held by Stephen Costello. The story makes only a brief reference to Costello in the last paragraph. It says, “Stephen Costello, Houston’s former chief resilience officer, began overseeing the city’s Harvey recovery efforts in November 2018. He took over as “recovery czar” from Marvin Odum, the former president of Shell.”
Definition of Resilience Broadened to Include Economic Equity
The press release issued by City Hall mentions nothing of Costello and mentions flooding only once. It appears to broaden the scope of resilience and places major emphasis on “social and economic equity” in resilience planning.
Marissa Aho, City of Houston’s new Chief Resilience Officer. Photo Courtesy of Mayor’s office.
It says, “Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed Marissa Aho, AICP, as chief resilience officer for the City of Houston… The position will play an essential role in leading city-wide resilience-building efforts to help Houston prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the ‘’shocks’’ – catastrophic events like hurricanes, floods, and cyberattacks – and “stresses” – slow-moving disasters like aging infrastructure, homelessness, and economic inequality, which are increasingly part of 21st century life.”
As chief resilience officer, Aho will report directly to Mayor Turner. She will oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive Resilience Strategy for the city. Aho comes to Houston from the City of Los Angeles. There she served as Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the past four years.
“The CRO,” says the press release, “…will address the resilience vulnerabilities of all city residents, with a particular focus on low-income and vulnerable populations.”
Bringing LA Experience to Houston
“While serving as CRO in Los Angeles, Aho paved the way for Los Angeles to embed resilience as a value that guides municipal planning, culminating in the appointment of more than 30 departmental chief resilience officers (DCROs) who form an in-city network in each branch of city government.
“Other innovative initiatives in Resilient Los Angeles,” says the press release, “include developing an urban heat vulnerability index and mitigation plan, placing an equity lens over the city’s response to increasing extreme heat.”
According to the City, Houston remains vulnerable to less-familiar shocks and stresses, such as environmental degradation and access to economic opportunity.
It’s not clear from either the news release or the Chronicle story what role Costello will play vis-a-vis Aho, if any.
About New Houston CRO Marissa Aho, AICP
Prior to serving as the Los Angeles CRO, she held senior staff positions at two Los Angeles planning and land use consulting firms. Aho has 15 years of policy, planning, and project management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors where she has worked with interdisciplinary teams to find creative solutions to complex problems. She has a BA in political science from American University and a master of planning from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. She is the Region VI commissioner for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), section director of the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association (APA LA), and is a member of the USC Price Alumni Association board of directors.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Aho.jpg?fit=600%2C907&ssl=1907600adminadmin2019-02-25 19:38:542019-02-25 20:10:29Mayor Turner Appoints Aho as new Chief Resilience Officer for City of Houston
SJRA to Reconsider Lowering of Lake Conroe This Thursday Morning
At its Thursday board meeting, the SJRA will reconsider whether to seasonally lower Lake Conroe again this year. Last year, the board lowered the lake as a way to provide an additional buffer against flooding until flood mitigation projects could be put in place. As part of the motion it approved last year, the board said it would revisit the decision each year. That time is now.
Even though Lake Houston area dredging continues and additional gates for the Lake Houston Dam have not yet been funded, re-approval of the lowering this year is far from automatic. Rumor has it that the Lake Conroe Association may present a petition urging the board to keep the lake at its usual height.
Details of Original Plan
What exactly was the temporary, seasonal lake lowering proposal? SJRA General Manager Jace Houston spelled out the details for the public in Dockline Magazine last year. I pulled these figures from there.As a point of reference, the normal pool level of Lake Conroe is 201’ msl (mean feet above sea level).
During the Spring season – April 1 through May 31 – the SJRA voted to start lowering the lake gradually on April 1 until it reached a level of 200 msl, i.e., one foot below normal. This is the rainiest part of Spring.
Then starting on June 1, the SJRA would begin to capture flows to restore normal lake elevation for June and July.
For the Fall season – August 1 through September 30 – which includes the peak of hurricane season, the SJRA would again reduce the lake gradually. Their target: 200 msl by August 15. That’s when most local schools resume and the summer vacation season starts to tape off.
After August 15, SJRA would continue gradually lowering the level of Lake Conroe until it reached 199 feet msl or two feet below normal pool by August 31.
Starting October 1, SJRA would again begin to capture flows to restore normal lake elevation.
If the lake level has already dropped to the target elevation just due to evaporation, no additional releases would be made.
If a storm enters the forecast while seasonal releases are being made to lower the lake level, such releases would be stopped and the river allowed to drain out until rainfall is out of the forecast.
Purpose for Season Lowering
Jace Houston cited three reasons for seasonal lowering as opposed to pre-releasing water immediately before storms.
Success of Last Year’s Plan Needs to Be Repeated
The seasonal lowering started last Fall. While we didn’t have any repeats of the monster storms we experienced in 2015, 2016, and 2017, we were reminded by three back to back storms between December 7 last year and January 7 this year how vulnerable we still are to flooding. Minor rains produced out-of-bank floods that left low-lying Forest Cove and Kingwood areas underwater for a nearly a month.
Speak at Board Meeting
Residents have an opportunity to speak out for and against the seasonal lowering this Thursday morning, Feb. 28, 2019. Speakers are limited to three minutes each. Business attire is recommended. To reserve time to speak you must sign in by 7:45. The meeting will be in the tall building at:
1577 Dam Site Road
Conroe, Texas 77304
936.588.3111
Allow an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half to get there in rush hour traffic.
Hope to see lots of Humble and Kingwood people there. This is very important until we get mitigation measures in place.
If You Can’t Come, But Still Want to Help
Consider sending ReduceFlooding.com some of your most dramatic shots from the flood. See the Submissions page. We need to show the SJRA board how dramatic the flooding really was here. There are new faces on the board this year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Despite new Chief Resiliency Officer, Costello Still Heading Up Flood Recovery Efforts
Yesterday’s surprise announcement about Marissa Aho, the City of Houston’s new chief resilience officer, left me wondering about Stephen Costello. Costello formerly held that title. In November of last year, Costello also took on the responsibilities of Marvin Odum.
Odum previously served as the President of Shell Oil Company. He volunteered to work for the City as the Mayor’s “Flood Czar” for 15 months on a pro bono basis.
The press release announcing Aho’s appointment did not mention Costello. The Chronicle story mentioned Costello only in the past tense. That left me wondering about his fate. Was this a shake-up? Was he on the outs?
So I emailed Costello and heard back this morning. He replied, “I am the Chief Recovery Officer focused on Harvey recovery. Still doing the flood czar stuff as well.”
Evidently, the title of one of Costello’s jobs changed and he’s still picking up where Odum left off. Hopefully, Aho’s appointment will allow Costello more time to focus on flood mitigation.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey
Mayor Turner Appoints Aho as new Chief Resilience Officer for City of Houston
The Houston Chronicle reported at noon today that Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed a new Chief Resilience Officer, a job formerly held by Stephen Costello. The story makes only a brief reference to Costello in the last paragraph. It says, “Stephen Costello, Houston’s former chief resilience officer, began overseeing the city’s Harvey recovery efforts in November 2018. He took over as “recovery czar” from Marvin Odum, the former president of Shell.”
Definition of Resilience Broadened to Include Economic Equity
The press release issued by City Hall mentions nothing of Costello and mentions flooding only once. It appears to broaden the scope of resilience and places major emphasis on “social and economic equity” in resilience planning.
It says, “Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed Marissa Aho, AICP, as chief resilience officer for the City of Houston… The position will play an essential role in leading city-wide resilience-building efforts to help Houston prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the ‘’shocks’’ – catastrophic events like hurricanes, floods, and cyberattacks – and “stresses” – slow-moving disasters like aging infrastructure, homelessness, and economic inequality, which are increasingly part of 21st century life.”
As chief resilience officer, Aho will report directly to Mayor Turner. She will oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive Resilience Strategy for the city. Aho comes to Houston from the City of Los Angeles. There she served as Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the past four years.
Bringing LA Experience to Houston
“While serving as CRO in Los Angeles, Aho paved the way for Los Angeles to embed resilience as a value that guides municipal planning, culminating in the appointment of more than 30 departmental chief resilience officers (DCROs) who form an in-city network in each branch of city government.
“Other innovative initiatives in Resilient Los Angeles,” says the press release, “include developing an urban heat vulnerability index and mitigation plan, placing an equity lens over the city’s response to increasing extreme heat.”
According to the City, Houston remains vulnerable to less-familiar shocks and stresses, such as environmental degradation and access to economic opportunity.
It’s not clear from either the news release or the Chronicle story what role Costello will play vis-a-vis Aho, if any.
About New Houston CRO Marissa Aho, AICP
Prior to serving as the Los Angeles CRO, she held senior staff positions at two Los Angeles planning and land use consulting firms. Aho has 15 years of policy, planning, and project management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors where she has worked with interdisciplinary teams to find creative solutions to complex problems. She has a BA in political science from American University and a master of planning from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. She is the Region VI commissioner for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), section director of the Los Angeles Section of the American Planning Association (APA LA), and is a member of the USC Price Alumni Association board of directors.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019
546 Days after Hurricane Harvey