Houston City Council Member Dave Martin issued an alert on Feb. 22, 2019, stating that the Coastal Water Authority will soon lower the level of Lake Houston for dam repairs. The City is warning all property and boat owners to take appropriate action.
Lake Houston has an extensive overflow spillway system.
First Step in 18 Month Process
The Coastal Water Authority plans to lower Lake Houston by 12 inches starting Monday, February 25, for scheduled maintenance on the dam. This is the first step in an 18-month project to improve the dam’s stability.
The Lake Houston Dam during Hurricane Harvey Flooding. According to Harris County Flood Control’s final report on Harvey, An estimated discharge of 425,000 cfs or 5.0 times the average flow of Niagara Falls occurred at the peak flow over the Lake Houston spillway. This amount of flow would fill NRG Stadium in 3.5 minutes.
Scope of Dam Repairs
Property owners should secure property along the shoreline before the lowering begins. The planned maintenance includes rehabilitation of two weir structures on the downstream portion of the dam.
This preliminary work includes performing inspections and measurements which is the purpose for lowering the level of the lake on Monday. Once preliminary work is completed, the lake will be allowed to refill naturally. The lower lake level is expected to last approximately one week.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/23/2019
543 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LakeHoustonDamDuringHarvey.jpg?fit=1500%2C968&ssl=19681500adminadmin2019-02-23 15:35:372019-02-23 15:35:43City to Lower Lake Houston for Dam Repairs
As we approach the 18 month anniversary of Harvey next week, I am struck by how little we have actually accomplished in terms of flood mitigation. And as the election season heats up, I am also forced to wonder whether changes at City Hall could accelerate the effort.
Looking Back at the Effort to Date
After Harvey, it took several months to analyze the causes of flooding, identify possible solutions, and build political consensus around them. We did that. As a community, we identified four major improvements that we needed: additional flood gates for Lake Houston, additional dredging (through the mouth bar), additional upstream detention, and ditch repairs.
We actually got Phase 1 of the dredging started. And then…nothing. We’ve had six months of virtually nothing. That leads me to wonder whether people were simply telling us what we wanted to hear. Worse, some of the hard won gains seem to be drifting away. For instance…
Change in Direction at County Level
Instead of attacking projects on a worst-first basis, the new county judge has asked the flood control district to reorder priorities for project implementation. Next week, the judge and commissioners will review a protocol that favors neighborhoods with low to moderate income and gives no weight whatsoever to massive infrastructure damage, such as Kingwood sustained. The loss of:
An interstate highway bridge for ten months.
A high school and three other school district facilities totaling $100,000,000
Two-thirds of the buildings at Kingwood College costing $60 million and taking 18 months to repair.
100% of the businesses in two major commercial centers (Kings Harbor and Town Center)
Most of a third commercial district (US 59) destroyed up to FM1960
Damage to 3,300 businesses that employed a large percentage of the local population – 44% of all the business in the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce
Memorial Hermann’s new hospital facility that was days away from opening
Disruption of northbound rail traffic out of the City of Houston for months
Nursing homes and senior assisted living devastated
…all that suddenly counts for nothing now…unless the prevailing political winds change.
Flooding is a public safety issue. We wouldn’t allow the county to say, “affluent neighborhoods don’t deserve police protection for the next 10-15 years.” When it comes to safety, neither rich, nor poor, should be disadvantaged. But that’s our next battle. I digress.
What have we gotten? Approval of a $2+ million study of the entire river basin that will take at least a year to complete. Astoundingly, approving the grant took almost a year in itself.
At what point do you say, “The system is no longer working for me. It’s time for officials to deliver. We need to hold them accountable”? When do you say, “It’s time to bet on someone new to get results”?
It’s Time to Deliver or Else
We may not be there yet. But inevitably, election season raises these questions. One thing is certain. If incumbents don’t show results between now and November, I’m voting for change. I’m not going to cut people slack for four more years. The risk is too high.
Kingwood Has the Power to Change the Outcome
In that regard, someone reminded me today about how close the last mayoral campaign actually was. And how Kingwood could have easily changed the outcome.
Only 4,000 votes City-wide determined the winner of the last election. 28,000 registered Kingwood voters did not vote.
I’m not saying Turner has ignored Kingwood. The cleanup was impressive. But we’ve had several opportunities to jumpstart mitigation projects such as additional gates and dredging that have sputtered since then. And the City is trying to turn over ditch maintenance to the County, whose marching orders suddenly favor low-to-moderate income.
Turner has several months to turn things around. If he can’t, I suspect a much higher percentage of Kingwood voters will turn out in November. And we clearly have the capacity to change the outcome if we choose.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/23/2019
543 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/I-votecd.jpg?fit=6016%2C4016&ssl=140166016adminadmin2019-02-22 21:57:172019-02-22 21:57:23Sometimes the Difference Between Winning and Losing is Showing Up
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just released a video that shows dredging equipment at work. Shot from the river, it gives viewers a rare glimpse into a world few will ever see first hand.
Where All the Sand is Going
As equipment moves downriver, the Corps is piping sand back upstream to two placement areas. Sand from Dredge #1 currently operating near Kings Harbor is piping sand back to an old sand pit on Townsend south of the river and east of US59. The second dredge, currently operating south of the Kingwood Country Club is piping sand to another old pit on Sorters Road just south of Kingwood College.
Make Sure Your Kids and Grandkids See This
If you have a child or grandchild who likes to play with earth-moving equipment, make sure you show them this video. Then take them down to Kings Harbor to see it in person. It really is very impressive. Who knows? It might encourage them to take up a career in engineering!
Some Mind-Boggling Statistics
The equipment currently deployed on the West Fork of the San Jacinto is moving enough sand and sediment to fill the Astrodome. And it’s moving it six miles upstream! The Corps originally estimated the volume of sediment at 1.8 million cubic yards. The video now estimates the volume at 1.9 million cubic yards.
Sand moves through the pipeline at 11 feet/second. That means it takes about 45 minutes to get to its destination. That’s much faster than a truck could be loaded and make the round trip.
These sections of pipe are welded into strings of pipe about a quarter of a mile long and FLOATED into place.
Each section has a steel-collar to help keep it submerged once it’s in the river and filled with slurry.
The strings are then welded together to form continuous pipelines more than 30,000 feet long that lead back to the placement areas. Those 30,000 feet of pipeline weigh about 3 million pounds when empty.
There are two pipelines working simultaneously. Total weight: about 6 million pounds.All of this, including the dredges themselves, had to be trucked in and assembled on site.
Mouth Bar Status Still a Question
These statistics help explain why mobilization was such a huge part of the cost of this job – about 25% or $18 million. It also helps explain why everyone is so eager to resolve the mouth bar issue before this job is finished. If we could keep the equipment working, taxpayers could save the cost of a second mobilization.
Alas, still no news on that front. At last report, the City was still trying to determine how much sand was deposited DURING Harvey. FEMA refuses to pay to remove sand that was there BEFORE Harvey. They say that was deferred maintenance and the City’s responsibility.
I hope we resolve that quickly. $18 million might actually pay for all the sand that needs to be removed. Said another way, if that’s true, we might be able to get the sand removed at no additional cost! More to follow on that point.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/22/2019
542 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Dredging-e1753753680332.jpg?fit=1100%2C608&ssl=16081100adminadmin2019-02-21 19:21:322019-02-21 19:35:42New Army Corps Video Shows Dredging Equipment At Work
City to Lower Lake Houston for Dam Repairs
Houston City Council Member Dave Martin issued an alert on Feb. 22, 2019, stating that the Coastal Water Authority will soon lower the level of Lake Houston for dam repairs. The City is warning all property and boat owners to take appropriate action.
First Step in 18 Month Process
The Coastal Water Authority plans to lower Lake Houston by 12 inches starting Monday, February 25, for scheduled maintenance on the dam. This is the first step in an 18-month project to improve the dam’s stability.
Scope of Dam Repairs
Property owners should secure property along the shoreline before the lowering begins. The planned maintenance includes rehabilitation of two weir structures on the downstream portion of the dam.
This preliminary work includes performing inspections and measurements which is the purpose for lowering the level of the lake on Monday. Once preliminary work is completed, the lake will be allowed to refill naturally. The lower lake level is expected to last approximately one week.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/23/2019
543 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Sometimes the Difference Between Winning and Losing is Showing Up
As we approach the 18 month anniversary of Harvey next week, I am struck by how little we have actually accomplished in terms of flood mitigation. And as the election season heats up, I am also forced to wonder whether changes at City Hall could accelerate the effort.
Looking Back at the Effort to Date
After Harvey, it took several months to analyze the causes of flooding, identify possible solutions, and build political consensus around them. We did that. As a community, we identified four major improvements that we needed: additional flood gates for Lake Houston, additional dredging (through the mouth bar), additional upstream detention, and ditch repairs.
We met with the Mayor who agreed and promised to deliver. We met met with the County Judge and the Flood Control District. They worked the community’s requests into the flood bond last August. Kingwood voters turned out in record numbers to support it. And we had five of the top eight precincts in the county in terms of turnout percentage.
…And Then Nothing
We actually got Phase 1 of the dredging started. And then…nothing. We’ve had six months of virtually nothing. That leads me to wonder whether people were simply telling us what we wanted to hear. Worse, some of the hard won gains seem to be drifting away. For instance…
Change in Direction at County Level
Instead of attacking projects on a worst-first basis, the new county judge has asked the flood control district to reorder priorities for project implementation. Next week, the judge and commissioners will review a protocol that favors neighborhoods with low to moderate income and gives no weight whatsoever to massive infrastructure damage, such as Kingwood sustained. The loss of:
…all that suddenly counts for nothing now…unless the prevailing political winds change.
Flooding is a public safety issue. We wouldn’t allow the county to say, “affluent neighborhoods don’t deserve police protection for the next 10-15 years.” When it comes to safety, neither rich, nor poor, should be disadvantaged. But that’s our next battle. I digress.
Meanwhile, Back at City Hall
Back to the City. Six months ago, after the “Everybody-but-Trump” meeting in Austin, we were told that we were close to a dredging solution to remove the mouth bar.
What have we gotten? Approval of a $2+ million study of the entire river basin that will take at least a year to complete. Astoundingly, approving the grant took almost a year in itself.
At what point do you say, “The system is no longer working for me. It’s time for officials to deliver. We need to hold them accountable”? When do you say, “It’s time to bet on someone new to get results”?
It’s Time to Deliver or Else
We may not be there yet. But inevitably, election season raises these questions. One thing is certain. If incumbents don’t show results between now and November, I’m voting for change. I’m not going to cut people slack for four more years. The risk is too high.
Kingwood Has the Power to Change the Outcome
In that regard, someone reminded me today about how close the last mayoral campaign actually was. And how Kingwood could have easily changed the outcome.
Turner beat King by about 4000 votes city wide in the runoff election of 2015. But 28,747 registered voters in Kingwood didn’t bother to vote – about three fourths of all those registered. That’s significant because King carried Kingwood by more than a 6 to 1 margin. Clearly, Kingwood could have swung the election to King had more people voted.
I’m not saying Turner has ignored Kingwood. The cleanup was impressive. But we’ve had several opportunities to jumpstart mitigation projects such as additional gates and dredging that have sputtered since then. And the City is trying to turn over ditch maintenance to the County, whose marching orders suddenly favor low-to-moderate income.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/23/2019
543 Days after Hurricane Harvey
New Army Corps Video Shows Dredging Equipment At Work
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just released a video that shows dredging equipment at work. Shot from the river, it gives viewers a rare glimpse into a world few will ever see first hand.
Where All the Sand is Going
As equipment moves downriver, the Corps is piping sand back upstream to two placement areas. Sand from Dredge #1 currently operating near Kings Harbor is piping sand back to an old sand pit on Townsend south of the river and east of US59. The second dredge, currently operating south of the Kingwood Country Club is piping sand to another old pit on Sorters Road just south of Kingwood College.
Make Sure Your Kids and Grandkids See This
If you have a child or grandchild who likes to play with earth-moving equipment, make sure you show them this video. Then take them down to Kings Harbor to see it in person. It really is very impressive. Who knows? It might encourage them to take up a career in engineering!
Some Mind-Boggling Statistics
The equipment currently deployed on the West Fork of the San Jacinto is moving enough sand and sediment to fill the Astrodome. And it’s moving it six miles upstream! The Corps originally estimated the volume of sediment at 1.8 million cubic yards. The video now estimates the volume at 1.9 million cubic yards.
Here are some more mind-boggling statistics.
Mouth Bar Status Still a Question
These statistics help explain why mobilization was such a huge part of the cost of this job – about 25% or $18 million. It also helps explain why everyone is so eager to resolve the mouth bar issue before this job is finished. If we could keep the equipment working, taxpayers could save the cost of a second mobilization.
Alas, still no news on that front. At last report, the City was still trying to determine how much sand was deposited DURING Harvey. FEMA refuses to pay to remove sand that was there BEFORE Harvey. They say that was deferred maintenance and the City’s responsibility.
I hope we resolve that quickly. $18 million might actually pay for all the sand that needs to be removed. Said another way, if that’s true, we might be able to get the sand removed at no additional cost! More to follow on that point.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/22/2019
542 Days after Hurricane Harvey