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
At its February 28th meeting, the San Jacinto River Authority voted to maintain its lake-lowering policy for another year. The policy calls for lowering Lake Conroe one foot below normal pool level (from 201 feet to 200) during the wettest months in Spring and two feet during the peak of hurricane season.
Extra Safety from Flooding
Until other mitigation measures can be put in place, the plan gives downstream residents an extra measure of safety from massive releases like those experienced during Hurricane Harvey. Those include dredging and additional flood gates for Lake Houston.
This is good news for the Lake Houston Area where Harvey made approximately 11,000 people homeless overnight.
Complaints from Lake Conroe Association in January Meeting
The Lake Conroe Association set the stage for conflict last month. The Association testified that last year’s lowering had a negative impact on business and home values in the area. They also maintained that the Board had acted unilaterally – without consultation – and that the project was only supposed to last through the end of dredging.
Having been at last year’s meeting where the proposal was discussed, I would disagree with these statements. The board considered dredging and gates for Lake Houston. The board also acted on the report of a consultant hired to review the proposal.
Mark Micheletti, a SJRA board member, said the board had received no complaints from businesses on the lake and that a check with realtors found no negative effect on home prices.
Reportedly, the Lake Conroe Association had also collected signatures on a petition asking for the policy to be reversed. At today’s meeting, the room was crowded with spectators, but I did not see the Association’s president, Mike Bleier. The association presented no petition.
The cataclysmic impacts on Lake Conroe’s economy did not materialize. Because of evaporation, the lowering really only amounted a little more than a foot in the fall.
Speaking for Kingwood
During the public comment section of the meeting, three Kingwood residents, Bill Fowler, Amy Slaughter and I, spoke FOR continuing to lower the lake. So did one Lake Conroe resident who flooded during Harvey.
I pointed out the fact that dredging was NOT yet complete and that the river still had an exaggerated flooding response to moderate rainfalls because of sediment dams. Fowler talked about normal evaporation levels in the lake and how the lowering was not as great as the targets would imply. Slaughter mentioned the impact of flooding on her family and recent Supreme Court rulings on inverse condemnation.
The Lake Conroe resident said he wished the Lake were lowered year round. He flooded during Harvey and thought that the lower levels would actually help Lake Conroe home values.
“But what if there’s a drought?”
When it came time to speak AGAINST the lowering, one man spoke up. He used water conservation as his main argument and posed the specter of drought.
When the board began debating the measure, Jace Houston, SJRA’s general manager, pointed out that many people misunderstood the measure. He said that the SJRA was not going to lower the lake beyond the 1- and 2-foot levels in the policy. If the lake was already down a foot due to evaporation, for instance, the SJRA would release no additional water.
Progress of the current West Fork dredging and Lake Houston Gates projects
Rainfall averages and historical lake levels by month
How the lowering and subsequent raising of the lake worked last fall
Staff recommendations
Graph presented by Chuck Gilman showed how gradual lowering and natural refilling of Lake Conroe worked last year. Gilman also showed a slide discussing the status of additional gates for Lake Houston.
To see all the slides in the original high-resolution PDF format, click here.
Brenda Cooper, a new SJRA Board Member, then mentioned that some Lake Conroe residents had approached her to voice their disapproval of the project.
Motion Passes Unanimously
Board President Lloyd Tisdale finally called for a voice vote. “All members present voted FOR the lowering,” said Mark Micheletti, one of the Lake Houston Area’s two members on the SJRA board. “The vote could not have gone better from the Lake Houston area’s perspective.”
The SJRA will continue to lower Lake Conroe seasonally. The measure will come up for discussion again next February.
Community Reaction
Bill Fowler, Vice Chair of the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiation, said, “I was impressed by the Board’s firm grasp of the importance of lowering Lake Conroe on a seasonal basis for downstream residents. Their willingness to help until permanent solutions can be implemented impressed me.”
Kaaren Cambio, another SJRA board director from the Lake Houston area, said, “I’m happy that the board is balancing the needs of both upstream and downstream communities.
Amy Slaughter, the Kingwood lawyer whose home flooded badly, said, “They did the right thing.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 28, 2019
548 Days After Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-Temporary-Seasonal-Lake-Lowering-002_Page_08.jpg?fit=1500%2C871&ssl=18711500adminadmin2019-02-28 18:57:542020-01-17 10:01:45SJRA Board Votes to Maintain Lake-Lowering Policy for Another Year
Eighteen months ago, approximately 11,000 Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita residents went to bed thinking they had escaped the worst of Harvey’s wrath. Hours later, they woke up to find water seeping through their windows, doors and walls in the dark of night. Without any warning. Thanks in part to the release of 80,000 cfs from the Lake Conroe dam.
However, rumor has it that one or more members of the board want to present a petition by Lake Conroe boaters to NOT lower the lake level this year. To everyone who signed that petition, I dedicate this photo essay.
Water Sculptures by Julie Yandell. Taken during evacuation. Yard decorations take on an ominous feeling in the flood.The flood cut off Woodland Hills Drive, a major escape route for people in Kingwood Lakes, the Barrington and Kings Cove.Trash Day in the Barrington after Harvey. Photo by Joy Dominique.Siding from home washed downstream during Harvey. Photo by Dan Monks.Water skiing, anyone? Photo by Sidney Nice of Atascocita Point after Harvey.Sidney Nice’s kitchen after Harvey flooded the house to a depth of 63″.Sidney Nice’s house in Atascocita Point during Harvey.Rebecca Johansen’s front door shows how deep flood waters got in her home … 40 inches.Townhomes on Marina Drive in Forest Cove. Concrete and steel were less effective at preventing erosion than blades of grass.Elderly residents of Kingwood Village Estates trying to escape as Harvey’s floodwaters rose. Twelve residents later died: six as a result of injuries sustained during evacuation and another rise as a result of stress from losing their homes.Marilyn Davenport: Home Damaged During HarveyFrom Ann Crane: “We had over 70 people helping to clear and clean our house. The Kingwood community coming together.”Jennifer Manning: “What 18 inches of floodwater can do to your home.” From Walden on Lake Houston.Jennifer Manning: “We lived in Kingwood from 1992-2012 before buying a house in Walden that was ‘built above the ’94 flood.’ We finished our rehab in June.” Ten months!The Kelsey Seybold Clinic has also been vacant since Harvey. 44% of all businesses in the Lake Houston Area Chamber were damaged. Some will never return.Picture by June Ledet of Harvey flooding in Kingwood. Corner of Kingwood Drive and Forest Garden. Flooding here cut off escape routes for thousands more.
Classroom building at Lone Star College/Kingwood flooded during Harvey after SJRA release. Six of nine buildings flooded causing more than $60 million in damage. The College just fully reopened this month.
Milan Saunders home in Kingwood LakesThat’s all, folks! Harvey flipped the baby grand piano and broke to legs off the heirloom.Repairs to IH-69 took about 10 months and $20 million, disrupting all traffic into and out of the City for hours each day.The mother of all walk in closets…Amy Slaughter’s garage.
Home of a single mother who had just lost her job.
When sewage treatment plants flooded, toilets began flowing in reverse.
So please, Lake Conroe boaters. Let’s keep this in perspective. We understand your inconvenience. Please try to understand ours. Help us recover our lives.
To see more examples of how Harvey affected the lives of Lake Houston Area residents, please see the Submissions Page of this web site. It contains images submitted by residents affected by Harvey. If you have images you would like to share, please send them in via the Submissions Page.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 28, 2019
548 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_0082.jpg?fit=1500%2C1125&ssl=111251500adminadmin2019-02-27 21:53:092020-01-17 10:14:23The Night that 11,000 Lake Houston Area People Became Homeless
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
SJRA Board Votes to Maintain Lake-Lowering Policy for Another Year
At its February 28th meeting, the San Jacinto River Authority voted to maintain its lake-lowering policy for another year. The policy calls for lowering Lake Conroe one foot below normal pool level (from 201 feet to 200) during the wettest months in Spring and two feet during the peak of hurricane season.
Extra Safety from Flooding
Until other mitigation measures can be put in place, the plan gives downstream residents an extra measure of safety from massive releases like those experienced during Hurricane Harvey. Those include dredging and additional flood gates for Lake Houston.
This is good news for the Lake Houston Area where Harvey made approximately 11,000 people homeless overnight.
Complaints from Lake Conroe Association in January Meeting
The Lake Conroe Association set the stage for conflict last month. The Association testified that last year’s lowering had a negative impact on business and home values in the area. They also maintained that the Board had acted unilaterally – without consultation – and that the project was only supposed to last through the end of dredging.
Having been at last year’s meeting where the proposal was discussed, I would disagree with these statements. The board considered dredging and gates for Lake Houston. The board also acted on the report of a consultant hired to review the proposal.
Mark Micheletti, a SJRA board member, said the board had received no complaints from businesses on the lake and that a check with realtors found no negative effect on home prices.
Reportedly, the Lake Conroe Association had also collected signatures on a petition asking for the policy to be reversed. At today’s meeting, the room was crowded with spectators, but I did not see the Association’s president, Mike Bleier. The association presented no petition.
The cataclysmic impacts on Lake Conroe’s economy did not materialize. Because of evaporation, the lowering really only amounted a little more than a foot in the fall.
Speaking for Kingwood
During the public comment section of the meeting, three Kingwood residents, Bill Fowler, Amy Slaughter and I, spoke FOR continuing to lower the lake. So did one Lake Conroe resident who flooded during Harvey.
I pointed out the fact that dredging was NOT yet complete and that the river still had an exaggerated flooding response to moderate rainfalls because of sediment dams. Fowler talked about normal evaporation levels in the lake and how the lowering was not as great as the targets would imply. Slaughter mentioned the impact of flooding on her family and recent Supreme Court rulings on inverse condemnation.
The Lake Conroe resident said he wished the Lake were lowered year round. He flooded during Harvey and thought that the lower levels would actually help Lake Conroe home values.
“But what if there’s a drought?”
When it came time to speak AGAINST the lowering, one man spoke up. He used water conservation as his main argument and posed the specter of drought.
When the board began debating the measure, Jace Houston, SJRA’s general manager, pointed out that many people misunderstood the measure. He said that the SJRA was not going to lower the lake beyond the 1- and 2-foot levels in the policy. If the lake was already down a foot due to evaporation, for instance, the SJRA would release no additional water.
Chuck Gilman, Director or Water Resources and Flood Management, thenshowed a series of slides that led to discussions about:
To see all the slides in the original high-resolution PDF format, click here.
Brenda Cooper, a new SJRA Board Member, then mentioned that some Lake Conroe residents had approached her to voice their disapproval of the project.
Motion Passes Unanimously
Board President Lloyd Tisdale finally called for a voice vote. “All members present voted FOR the lowering,” said Mark Micheletti, one of the Lake Houston Area’s two members on the SJRA board. “The vote could not have gone better from the Lake Houston area’s perspective.”
The SJRA will continue to lower Lake Conroe seasonally. The measure will come up for discussion again next February.
Community Reaction
Bill Fowler, Vice Chair of the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiation, said, “I was impressed by the Board’s firm grasp of the importance of lowering Lake Conroe on a seasonal basis for downstream residents. Their willingness to help until permanent solutions can be implemented impressed me.”
Kaaren Cambio, another SJRA board director from the Lake Houston area, said, “I’m happy that the board is balancing the needs of both upstream and downstream communities.
Amy Slaughter, the Kingwood lawyer whose home flooded badly, said, “They did the right thing.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 28, 2019
548 Days After Hurricane Harvey
The Night that 11,000 Lake Houston Area People Became Homeless
Eighteen months ago, approximately 11,000 Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita residents went to bed thinking they had escaped the worst of Harvey’s wrath. Hours later, they woke up to find water seeping through their windows, doors and walls in the dark of night. Without any warning. Thanks in part to the release of 80,000 cfs from the Lake Conroe dam.
The Harris County Flood Control Damage Map shows that on the West Fork:
Ironically, Thursday, February 28, the San Jacinto River Authority will vote on whether to continue lowering the level of Lake Conroe seasonally. The measure was designed to help reduce downstream flood risk until mitigation measures can be put in place.
However, rumor has it that one or more members of the board want to present a petition by Lake Conroe boaters to NOT lower the lake level this year. To everyone who signed that petition, I dedicate this photo essay.
So please, Lake Conroe boaters. Let’s keep this in perspective. We understand your inconvenience. Please try to understand ours. Help us recover our lives.
To see more examples of how Harvey affected the lives of Lake Houston Area residents, please see the Submissions Page of this web site. It contains images submitted by residents affected by Harvey. If you have images you would like to share, please send them in via the Submissions Page.
Posted by Bob Rehak on February 28, 2019
548 Days since Hurricane Harvey