On August 25th, voters overwhelmingly approved the Harris County flood bond. The bond didn’t just pass, it passed overwhelmingly. 85.64 percent of the votes were FOR and only 14.36% were against. That made the margin of victory almost 6:1. Near midnight, the county clerk posted these results for the Bond
Breakdown of Vote
Not many people voted. Only 152,305 of 2,285,881 registered voters cast ballots. That’s 6.66%.
Approximately 94,000 people voted by mail or during early voting. Another 57,000 people voted on Election Day, August 25th, the semi-official anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.*
The total number of voters equaled the number of homes in Harris county that were destroyed – about 150,000 – but only half the number of cars that were destroyed – about 300,000. Perhaps everyone just assumed passage and stayed home.
Local Tallies Not Yet Available
Officials have not yet posted results by precinct. Therefore it’s not immediately clear how the Lake Houston Area voted compared to the rest of the county.
Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests the Lake Houston area had higher percentages of voters and positive voters than the rest of the county. One precinct in Kingwood had ten times more voters than an Aldine precinct and only 3% who voted against the bond. We’ll have to wait for the official results to tell more.
Everything Approved for Lake Houston
The turnout may have been disappointing, but the results were not. This will mean critical funding for projects that the Lake Houston Area needs for flood mitigation: more detention, dredging and gates. The bond also includes money to improve long neglected ditches and money to buy out homes that flood repeatedly.
Implementing Priorities
In the year since Harvey, we defined the problems, developed consensus around solutions, and secured funding.
Now starts the hard work. We actually have to implement the plans.
On Friday, August 24, the first of two dredges entered the river for the completion of assembly, The dredge is 27 feet wide, 90 feet long and weighs 270 tons.
Additional Dredging Approved
I’m hoping that additional dredging will be one of the first items on the agenda for the Lake Houston Area. Currently, the Army Corps is about to start dredging 2.1 miles worth of “hot spots” in the river. Twenty-five percent of the cost of that project or about $17.9 million is for mobilization and demobilization. If we can launch a follow-on project to address the mouth bar before that project is completed next April, we may be able to redeploy all the equipment and dredge pipe without incurring all of those mobilization charges again.
Additional Gates Approved
The additional flood gates for Lake Houston will most likely be the next highest priority. Reportedly, the project received a very high score from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and FEMA. Engineering is already underway. However, this is a massive capital project that could easily take several years.
Additional Detention Approved
Adding more upstream detention will require a watershed survey (also in the flood bond budget) to determine the best place or places. Reportedly a vendor has already been selected and is standing by to start work the minute funding is assured.
To see the complete project list, click here and scroll down to the San Jacinto Watershed.
I contacted Matt Zeve tonight to congratulate him on the outcome of the vote. I think he was already hard at work on the projects. Within seconds, I received this response. “We are ready to deliver for everyone in Harris County.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/26/17
362 Days since Hurricane Harvey
*PS: You may note that my anniversary date is a little out of sync with what others are calling the anniversary of Harvey, My calendar started ticking when water started creeping in my neighbors homes, not when the storm first approached Corpus Christi.
00adminadmin2018-08-26 00:50:392018-08-26 00:50:39Harris County Flood Bond Approved by 6:1. What’s Next?
There’s still one more chance to vote for the flood bond. This Saturday. At your regular polling place.
Low Turnout So Far
At the end of early voting, turnout for the flood bond was about 4% of registered voters. That’s dismal considering that virtually everyone in the county was affected by the Harvey flood. Less than one out of three people who lost vehicles in Harvey had come out to vote. Only 40 percent of who lost homes bothered to vote.
And yet the turnout has been low. Perhaps “Fight Flooding,” the theme of the bond’s communication campaign, didn’t have much visceral impact. For those who forgot already what Harvey was like (if that’s possible), here are some alternative ads.
Vote and Get Your Friends and Neighbors to Vote
Please, everyone. Vote. You’ve spent a year cleaning up or helping your neighbors to clean up. Take a few minutes to vote. Walk around your block. Knock on doors and get neighbors to the polls. Only one thing is guaranteed, If this bond fails, our flood risk will remain high.
Posted August 25, 2018 by Bob Rehak
360 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-08-24 00:31:072018-08-24 00:45:57Saturday: Your Last Chance to Vote for the Flood Bond
FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Shows Humble-Kingwood-Atascocita-Corridor on West Fork of San Jacinto. Floodway (hatched), 100-year flood plain (aqua) and brown (500-year) flood plains are superimposed.
This Friday, from 7-9pm, Dr. William Dupre from the University of Houston Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences will conduct a free Informational Workshop on flooding and flood plains sponsored by the Houston Geological Society. The event is free and open for the public.
Flooding in the Houston area over the last three years has caused residents and professionals alike to reconsider how we evaluate and respond to flood hazards in the region.
Dr. Dupre will discuss:
How watersheds and floodplains are defined and mapped
How individuals can obtain (and understand) information on local watersheds and floodplain maps
Recent floods, including how floods are measured and how flood frequency is calculated
How and why floods and floodplains in Houston have changed in the past, and are likely to change in the future
Possible approaches to reducing flood risk in the future.
FREE FLOODPLAIN WORKSHOP: INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS!
Where: Kingwood Community Center, 4102 Rustic Woods Dr, Kingwood, TX 77345
When: Friday, August 24th, 7-9 PM
Speaker: Dr. William R. Dupre’, University of Houston, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
To reserve a seat: Please call the Houston Geological Society office (713) 463-9476 before 4 pm Thursday, August 23, or send your request to jajordan@hgs.org, and put “Kingwood Reservation” in the subject line.
This program is a community outreach effort by the Continuing Education Committee of the Houston Geological Society, the largest local geological society in the world. The event is posted on their website. Go to www.hgs.org; on the blue banner click on CALENDAR; on the Calendar page click on August 24.
Remember, the final day to vote for the flood bond is August 25, this Saturday, at your regular polling place. Please VOTE FOR it.
Posted by Bob Rehak on August 23, 2018
359 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-08-23 07:57:002018-08-23 07:57:00Flooding and Floodplains in the Houston Area: Past, Present and Future
Harris County Flood Bond Approved by 6:1. What’s Next?
On August 25th, voters overwhelmingly approved the Harris County flood bond. The bond didn’t just pass, it passed overwhelmingly. 85.64 percent of the votes were FOR and only 14.36% were against. That made the margin of victory almost 6:1. Near midnight, the county clerk posted these results for the Bond
Breakdown of Vote
Not many people voted. Only 152,305 of 2,285,881 registered voters cast ballots. That’s 6.66%.
Approximately 94,000 people voted by mail or during early voting. Another 57,000 people voted on Election Day, August 25th, the semi-official anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.*
The total number of voters equaled the number of homes in Harris county that were destroyed – about 150,000 – but only half the number of cars that were destroyed – about 300,000. Perhaps everyone just assumed passage and stayed home.
Local Tallies Not Yet Available
Officials have not yet posted results by precinct. Therefore it’s not immediately clear how the Lake Houston Area voted compared to the rest of the county.
Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests the Lake Houston area had higher percentages of voters and positive voters than the rest of the county. One precinct in Kingwood had ten times more voters than an Aldine precinct and only 3% who voted against the bond. We’ll have to wait for the official results to tell more.
Everything Approved for Lake Houston
The turnout may have been disappointing, but the results were not. This will mean critical funding for projects that the Lake Houston Area needs for flood mitigation: more detention, dredging and gates. The bond also includes money to improve long neglected ditches and money to buy out homes that flood repeatedly.
Implementing Priorities
In the year since Harvey, we defined the problems, developed consensus around solutions, and secured funding.
Now starts the hard work. We actually have to implement the plans.
On Friday, August 24, the first of two dredges entered the river for the completion of assembly, The dredge is 27 feet wide, 90 feet long and weighs 270 tons.
Additional Dredging Approved
I’m hoping that additional dredging will be one of the first items on the agenda for the Lake Houston Area. Currently, the Army Corps is about to start dredging 2.1 miles worth of “hot spots” in the river. Twenty-five percent of the cost of that project or about $17.9 million is for mobilization and demobilization. If we can launch a follow-on project to address the mouth bar before that project is completed next April, we may be able to redeploy all the equipment and dredge pipe without incurring all of those mobilization charges again.
Additional Gates Approved
The additional flood gates for Lake Houston will most likely be the next highest priority. Reportedly, the project received a very high score from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and FEMA. Engineering is already underway. However, this is a massive capital project that could easily take several years.
Additional Detention Approved
Adding more upstream detention will require a watershed survey (also in the flood bond budget) to determine the best place or places. Reportedly a vendor has already been selected and is standing by to start work the minute funding is assured.
To see the complete project list, click here and scroll down to the San Jacinto Watershed.
I contacted Matt Zeve tonight to congratulate him on the outcome of the vote. I think he was already hard at work on the projects. Within seconds, I received this response. “We are ready to deliver for everyone in Harris County.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/26/17
362 Days since Hurricane Harvey
*PS: You may note that my anniversary date is a little out of sync with what others are calling the anniversary of Harvey, My calendar started ticking when water started creeping in my neighbors homes, not when the storm first approached Corpus Christi.
Saturday: Your Last Chance to Vote for the Flood Bond
There’s still one more chance to vote for the flood bond. This Saturday. At your regular polling place.
Low Turnout So Far
At the end of early voting, turnout for the flood bond was about 4% of registered voters. That’s dismal considering that virtually everyone in the county was affected by the Harvey flood. Less than one out of three people who lost vehicles in Harvey had come out to vote. Only 40 percent of who lost homes bothered to vote.
Here are all the rational reasons to vote for the flood bond. Among other things, you’ll be protecting your investment in your biggest investment. It will cost a lot less than flood insurance, and it will actually do something to reduce your flood risk.
And yet the turnout has been low. Perhaps “Fight Flooding,” the theme of the bond’s communication campaign, didn’t have much visceral impact. For those who forgot already what Harvey was like (if that’s possible), here are some alternative ads.
Vote and Get Your Friends and Neighbors to Vote
Please, everyone. Vote. You’ve spent a year cleaning up or helping your neighbors to clean up. Take a few minutes to vote. Walk around your block. Knock on doors and get neighbors to the polls. Only one thing is guaranteed, If this bond fails, our flood risk will remain high.
Posted August 25, 2018 by Bob Rehak
360 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Flooding and Floodplains in the Houston Area: Past, Present and Future
FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Shows Humble-Kingwood-Atascocita-Corridor on West Fork of San Jacinto. Floodway (hatched), 100-year flood plain (aqua) and brown (500-year) flood plains are superimposed.
This Friday, from 7-9pm, Dr. William Dupre from the University of Houston Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences will conduct a free Informational Workshop on flooding and flood plains sponsored by the Houston Geological Society. The event is free and open for the public.
FREE FLOODPLAIN WORKSHOP: INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS!
Where: Kingwood Community Center, 4102 Rustic Woods Dr, Kingwood, TX 77345
When: Friday, August 24th, 7-9 PM
Speaker: Dr. William R. Dupre’, University of Houston, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
To reserve a seat: Please call the Houston Geological Society office (713) 463-9476 before 4 pm Thursday, August 23, or send your request to jajordan@hgs.org, and put “Kingwood Reservation” in the subject line.
Additional Information on Bond Proposal
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) Preliminary Draft of 2018 BOND PROPOSED PROJECTS is available at:the Harris County Flood Control District website.
The actual text of the Bond Proposal and Election can found at https://www.hcfcd.org/media/2855/bpl.pdf
This program is a community outreach effort by the Continuing Education Committee of the Houston Geological Society, the largest local geological society in the world. The event is posted on their website. Go to www.hgs.org; on the blue banner click on CALENDAR; on the Calendar page click on August 24.
Posted by Bob Rehak on August 23, 2018
359 Days since Hurricane Harvey