The Harris County Flood Bond Meeting originally scheduled for July 10, 6pm at the Kingwood Community Center is changing location. The meeting will now be held at Kingwood Park High School on the same date and at the same time. The purpose for the change in venue is to provide additional seating and parking. The address is:
Kingwood Park High School
4015 Woodland Hills Drive
Kingwood, TX 77339
The purpose of the meeting itself is to solicit public input on things that people in this this area need to remediate flooding. Without your input, the risk is that we get generic solutions that don’t really address the root causes of flooding in the San Jacinto watershed. See my summary of what we need and why we need it below as well as my previous post on flooding causes and solutions in the Lake Houston area.
Meeting Format
According to Matt Zeve of Harris County Flood Control, the meeting will essentially consist of two parts: County officials explaining the bond process and citizens volunteering input about projects for their area. There will be no open microphone. County employees will be set up around the room for one-on-one discussions. Residents will also be able to submit ideas through workstations that will be set up around the room.
County Judge Ed Emmett, who used to live in Bear Branch and represented this area in the state legislature for many years, will personally attend the meeting.
All of Us are Smarter than Each of Us
Similar meetings are being held in each watershed throughout the county. Currently ten watersheds have completed their meetings. Thirteen meetings remain.
The idea is to involve residents to the maximum degree possible so that the County’s flood control professionals can listen and design solutions that best address the unique needs of each area.
This represents a great opportunity for all of the geotechnical professionals and others in the Humble/Kingwood/Huffman area, especially those who flooded, to volunteer their experience. The county is actively soliciting input.
I already volunteered my ideas online, but will also attend the meeting. If you have other ideas, of course, you should volunteer them.
Recommendations: More Dredging, Detention and Gates
My recommendations were a combination of three things. To restore our area to the original design assumptions, i.e., above the 100-year flood plain, we need:
Additional Dredging
Additional Detention
Additional Gates
More DREDGING to restore the original carrying capacity of the river, streams and ditches.
More DETENTION to reduce the amount of water and sand coming downstream during floods.
More FLOOD GATES on Lake Houston’s dam so it can discharge water faster during a flood.
More dredging, detention and gates will help reduce flood risk for EVERYONE who lives or works on or near Lake Houston.
Currently Under Consideration for Flood Bond
To see the CURRENTLY proposed flood reduction projects for the San Jacinto River Watershed, please follow this link. If you are unable to attend the meetings you may also submit your comments online to HCFCD. The meetings will conclude August 1, allowing time for county officials to finalize the bond package for voters.
Background on Flood Bond
On June 12, Harris County Commissioners Court approved placing the $2.5 billion flood bond issue on the August 25 ballot, asking voters to finance a 10 to 15 year program of flood mitigation projects that include drainage improvements, upgraded warning systems, infrastructure repairs, home buyouts, and construction of more detention basins.
For more information, please contact the Harris County Flood Control District Bond Program Hotline at 713-684-4107.This could be the most important referendum in the county’s history. It is a defining moment. How we respond to Harvey will determine our collective future. This will help far more than people who flooded. Harvey affected almost everyone in the county. Through friends, families, rescue efforts, rebuilding, employers, transportation, schools and more. Vote to restore your community to way it was.The money in the bond package could more than double through matching funds. So a no vote is like throwing away at least $2.5 billion.
Posted 6/27/2018 by Bob Rehak 302 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-06-27 20:27:402018-06-28 06:05:51Flood Bond Meeting Changes Location; Make Sure You Submit Your Recommendations
My goal for this website was to create a central repository of information related to flooding in the San Jacinto watershed, especially in the Lake Houston area. But as the volume of information grew, it took much longer to find things. Therefore, I’ve added a search function. Actually, my good friend Stephen McFarland did. He’s a programming wizard. You can thank him.
It’s at the right-hand side of the menu bar on each page. Just click on the magnifying glass to find something quickly.
00adminadmin2018-06-27 10:18:462018-06-27 10:20:27Find It Faster: Search Function Added to ReduceFlooding.com
On August 25, Harris County residents will vote on a historic flood bond proposal. Everyone asks, “Will the bond include projects that help this area?”
That of course, raises the question, “What does the Lake Houston Area need?”
We Must Address Root Causes of Flooding HERE
Several factors make flooding here different from other parts of the region. Since Harvey, I’ve corresponded almost daily with experts in geology, hydrology, sedimentation, meteorology, city planning, engineering, mining, and disaster relief. The goal: to identify root causes of flooding in THIS area. They fall into three main “buckets”:
Sedimentation. Sand and silt clog the San Jacinto everywhere. The Army Corps’ emergency dredging project will remove only part of the sand from a 2.1 mile stretch of the West Fork, and not even touch the East Fork. One of the largest blockages at the mouth of the West Fork will remain. And the Corps will only restore the areas it dredges to pre-Harvey conditions, not pre-1994 conditions.
Releases from the dam at Lake Conroe can increase the volume of water flowing between Humble and Kingwood by ONE-THIRD. Of the roughly 240,000 cubic feet per second flowing down the west fork, 80,000 cubic feet of water per second came from the Lake Conroe dam. Many Lake Houston area residents say the onset of flooding coincided with release from Lake Conroe.
We have a bottleneck at Lake Houston. In a flood, much more water converges on Lake Houston than Lake Conroe. At the peak of Harvey, Lake Houston took in 492,000 cubic feet per second whileLake Conroe took in only 130,000 CFS. Seven different watersheds converge on Lake Houston. Yet until water reaches the spillway of the dam, our floodgates have one-tenth the discharge capacity of Lake Conroe’s. This effectively eliminates pre-release as a mitigation strategy.
We Need Specific Solutions, Not Generic
True solutions to flooding in the Lake Houston area must address these unique challenges. Generic solutions, such as buyouts with bond money will help, but won’t affect many people. Pushing new development further away from rivers will help, but will not restore the carrying capacity of the San Jacinto, increase the discharge rate of the Lake Houston dam, or offset discharges from Lake Conroe.
We Need: Dredging, Detention, More Gates
The objective of the Lake Houston Area’s flood mitigation efforts should be, in my opinion and the opinion of many engineers, to restore our drainage systems to their original design capacity. Homes located outside of the 1% (100-year) risk area should not flood until we get a 1% flood. The same goes for the .02% level (500-year flood).
Experts generally focus on three categories of solutions that will help achieve those objectives: dredging, detention and greater discharge capacity for the dam, i.e., adding more gates. We need all three. No one solution will do the job by itself.
Additional DREDGING can remove sediment, restore carrying capacity, eliminate water backing up, and get us back to level of the original design assumptions.
Additional DETENTION on the West Fork will help offset discharges from the Lake Conroe dam, which affected the heavily populated area between Humble and Kingwood, where the worst and most damage took place.
Additional GATES on Lake Houston will help relieve the bottleneck created by the different discharge rates between Lake Conroe and Lake Houston.
Here’s a diagram that shows what we need in the flood bond, where we need it, and why.
Reduce flooding in the Lake Houston Area with additional dredging, detention and drainage.
Of the three types of projects, dredging is the easiest and fastest to implement. It can buy us time while we build additional dams and gates. That could take years.
More Explanation to Follow
I will elaborate on each of these in coming days.
Harris County Commissioners and executives from the Flood Control District will hold a meeting in Kingwood on July 10 to solicit input from the community on the flood bond.
Hopefully, this series of posts will help focus discussion on the things that will do the most good for the largest number of people at the lowest cost.
Mark Your Calendars for July 10
In the meantime, mark your calendars for July 10. The County wants your input. Get your friends and neighbors to do the same. If you want peace of mind, we need to restore our ditches, rivers, and drainage systems to their original design capacity.
The location of the bond meeting may change because of the expected turnout and need for parking. So check back often.
Posted June 26, 2018, by Bob Rehak, 14 days before the flood bond meeting and…
301 days since Hurricane Harvey.
00adminadmin2018-06-26 12:41:302018-06-26 20:28:59Lake Houston Area’s Most Pressing Needs for Flood Bond Referendum
Flood Bond Meeting Changes Location; Make Sure You Submit Your Recommendations
To learn more about the bond program, go to: https://www.hcfcd.org/bond-program/community-engagement-meetings/
The Harris County Flood Bond Meeting originally scheduled for July 10, 6pm at the Kingwood Community Center is changing location. The meeting will now be held at Kingwood Park High School on the same date and at the same time. The purpose for the change in venue is to provide additional seating and parking. The address is:
Kingwood Park High School
4015 Woodland Hills Drive
Kingwood, TX 77339
Meeting Format
According to Matt Zeve of Harris County Flood Control, the meeting will essentially consist of two parts: County officials explaining the bond process and citizens volunteering input about projects for their area. There will be no open microphone. County employees will be set up around the room for one-on-one discussions. Residents will also be able to submit ideas through workstations that will be set up around the room.
County Judge Ed Emmett, who used to live in Bear Branch and represented this area in the state legislature for many years, will personally attend the meeting.
All of Us are Smarter than Each of Us
Similar meetings are being held in each watershed throughout the county. Currently ten watersheds have completed their meetings. Thirteen meetings remain.
The idea is to involve residents to the maximum degree possible so that the County’s flood control professionals can listen and design solutions that best address the unique needs of each area.
This represents a great opportunity for all of the geotechnical professionals and others in the Humble/Kingwood/Huffman area, especially those who flooded, to volunteer their experience. The county is actively soliciting input.
I already volunteered my ideas online, but will also attend the meeting. If you have other ideas, of course, you should volunteer them.
Recommendations: More Dredging, Detention and Gates
My recommendations were a combination of three things. To restore our area to the original design assumptions, i.e., above the 100-year flood plain, we need:
More dredging, detention and gates will help reduce flood risk for EVERYONE who lives or works on or near Lake Houston.
Currently Under Consideration for Flood Bond
To see the CURRENTLY proposed flood reduction projects for the San Jacinto River Watershed, please follow this link. If you are unable to attend the meetings you may also submit your comments online to HCFCD. The meetings will conclude August 1, allowing time for county officials to finalize the bond package for voters.
Background on Flood Bond
On June 12, Harris County Commissioners Court approved placing the $2.5 billion flood bond issue on the August 25 ballot, asking voters to finance a 10 to 15 year program of flood mitigation projects that include drainage improvements, upgraded warning systems, infrastructure repairs, home buyouts, and construction of more detention basins.
For more information, please contact the Harris County Flood Control District Bond Program Hotline at 713-684-4107.This could be the most important referendum in the county’s history. It is a defining moment. How we respond to Harvey will determine our collective future. This will help far more than people who flooded. Harvey affected almost everyone in the county. Through friends, families, rescue efforts, rebuilding, employers, transportation, schools and more. Vote to restore your community to way it was.The money in the bond package could more than double through matching funds. So a no vote is like throwing away at least $2.5 billion.
Posted 6/27/2018 by Bob Rehak
302 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Find It Faster: Search Function Added to ReduceFlooding.com
Now at right of menu.
My goal for this website was to create a central repository of information related to flooding in the San Jacinto watershed, especially in the Lake Houston area. But as the volume of information grew, it took much longer to find things. Therefore, I’ve added a search function. Actually, my good friend Stephen McFarland did. He’s a programming wizard. You can thank him.
It’s at the right-hand side of the menu bar on each page. Just click on the magnifying glass to find something quickly.
Lake Houston Area’s Most Pressing Needs for Flood Bond Referendum
On August 25, Harris County residents will vote on a historic flood bond proposal. Everyone asks, “Will the bond include projects that help this area?”
That of course, raises the question, “What does the Lake Houston Area need?”
We Must Address Root Causes of Flooding HERE
Several factors make flooding here different from other parts of the region. Since Harvey, I’ve corresponded almost daily with experts in geology, hydrology, sedimentation, meteorology, city planning, engineering, mining, and disaster relief. The goal: to identify root causes of flooding in THIS area. They fall into three main “buckets”:
We Need Specific Solutions, Not Generic
True solutions to flooding in the Lake Houston area must address these unique challenges. Generic solutions, such as buyouts with bond money will help, but won’t affect many people. Pushing new development further away from rivers will help, but will not restore the carrying capacity of the San Jacinto, increase the discharge rate of the Lake Houston dam, or offset discharges from Lake Conroe.
We Need: Dredging, Detention, More Gates
The objective of the Lake Houston Area’s flood mitigation efforts should be, in my opinion and the opinion of many engineers, to restore our drainage systems to their original design capacity. Homes located outside of the 1% (100-year) risk area should not flood until we get a 1% flood. The same goes for the .02% level (500-year flood).
Experts generally focus on three categories of solutions that will help achieve those objectives: dredging, detention and greater discharge capacity for the dam, i.e., adding more gates. We need all three. No one solution will do the job by itself.
Additional DREDGING can remove sediment, restore carrying capacity, eliminate water backing up, and get us back to level of the original design assumptions.
Additional DETENTION on the West Fork will help offset discharges from the Lake Conroe dam, which affected the heavily populated area between Humble and Kingwood, where the worst and most damage took place.
Additional GATES on Lake Houston will help relieve the bottleneck created by the different discharge rates between Lake Conroe and Lake Houston.
Here’s a diagram that shows what we need in the flood bond, where we need it, and why.
Reduce flooding in the Lake Houston Area with additional dredging, detention and drainage.
Of the three types of projects, dredging is the easiest and fastest to implement. It can buy us time while we build additional dams and gates. That could take years.
More Explanation to Follow
I will elaborate on each of these in coming days.
Hopefully, this series of posts will help focus discussion on the things that will do the most good for the largest number of people at the lowest cost.
Mark Your Calendars for July 10
In the meantime, mark your calendars for July 10. The County wants your input. Get your friends and neighbors to do the same. If you want peace of mind, we need to restore our ditches, rivers, and drainage systems to their original design capacity.
The location of the bond meeting may change because of the expected turnout and need for parking. So check back often.
Posted June 26, 2018, by Bob Rehak, 14 days before the flood bond meeting and…
301 days since Hurricane Harvey.