Most people had given up on the bill and considered it effectively dead for this session. But when I checked this morning, there it was – on the agenda…for the holiday. So please help.
About the Bill
Rep. Charles Cunningham’s HB1532 would create a dredging and maintenance district for Lake Houston within Harris County. It would not have the power to impose taxes. But it could receive initial funding from the state legislature, and then raise additional money by selling the spoils from dredging operations for beneficial uses.
Such uses could include building the Ike Dike, raising homes out of floodplains, improving roads and more.
The Army Corps recommended forming such an entity for ongoing maintenance when it finished its Emergency West Fork Dredging Project after Harvey. It could finally become reality with your help.
How You Can Help
Given the holiday and late notice, it will be difficult for most people to testify in person at tomorrow’s hearing. But there’s another way to help.
Please thank Senator Bettencourt, the chair of the committee, and Senator Creighton, who sponsored a companion bill in the Senate.
Also email members of the committee NOW through their Senate web pages:
During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, 13,000 homes and almost half of all the businesses in the Lake Houston Area flooded. It didn’t have to be that bad. Sediment had built up for decades reducing the conveyance of tributaries.
After the Army Corps finished its Emergency Dredging project, they recommended permanent maintenance dredging.
HB1532 would enable that. It would reduce flood risk for thousands of homes and businesses – without raising taxes.
It would also increase storage in Lake Houston, which provides water to 2 million people. And that number is growing rapidly.
HB1532 is a strategic investment in the future growth of the Houston region. Please support it.
Thank you for taking the time! Please forward this post to everyone you know and ask for their help.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/26/2025
2827 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20250114-DJI_20250114091626_0721_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-05-25 17:55:582025-05-25 18:59:24Urgent Help Needed: Lake Houston Dredging District Bill Gets One Last Chance
5/25/25 – Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist, reminds us that today marks 10 years since the Memorial Day flood of 2015.
Slow Moving Line of Non-Tropical Thunderstorms
In 2015, we had weeks of on and off heavy rainfall over the region. Then a slow moving line of heavy thunderstorms during the evening hours of May 25th resulted in significant flash flooding over the central and southern portions of the Houston metro area.
Rainfall totals of 8.0-10.0 inches were recorded in a 3 to 6 hour period.
Eleven inches fell on Brays Bayou at Beltway 8 in just over 6 hours.
In northeast Fort Bend County the total reached 11.88 inches.
On average, across Harris County 5.3 inches of rain fell equaling 162 billion gallons of water in less than a 12 hour period.
The resulting flooding along Brays and Buffalo Bayous produced significant structural damage.
Brays Bayou water levels rose to their highest levels since September 1983.
An estimated 6,335 homes were flooded, 3,540 multi-family units, and 92 commercial buildings.
At the time, the Memorial Day flood had the second largest number of flooded structures in Harris County only behind Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 (73,000 flooded homes).
The map below shows where the heaviest rain fell. At the time, the area with the heaviest rainfall exceeded a 100-year event.
Even by Atlas 14 standards, which came in after Harvey, some of those totals would equal a hundred-year (1% annual chance) storm.
To see Lindner’s full report on the storm, click here.
Lake Houston Area Spared Worst of Storm
If those in the Lake Houston Area don’t remember the storm, that’s because we only got about 5.5″ of rainfall from it at US59 and the West Fork. 3.4 inches of that fell in the two-hour period between 9 and 11 PM. That’s intense, but not record setting.
Crosstown, it was twice as worse. Brays Bayou at Beltway 8 West received more than 11 inches. 6.4″ fell in a two hour period between 10 PM and Midnight.
And Buffalo Bayou at Beltway 8 West received 10.68 inches. Almost 7″ of that fell in the same two-hour period.
Lindner added, “Little did any of us know at the time, but the Memorial Day flooding would mark the start of an onslaught of catastrophic floods for southeast Texas and the metro Houston area.”
To learn more about those subsequent events. see the Reports page of this website and click the Major Storms tab. They include a Tax Day and second Memorial Day storm in 2016; Hurricane Harvey in 2017; Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019; and Tropical Storm Beta in 2020.
Prepare Now; Hurricane Season Starts in One Week
This should serve as a reminder that hurricane season starts one week from today. Often, one of the first things to go in a major storm is electricity because of trees falling on power lines. I remember losing power for 22 days during Hurricane Ike.
Subsequently, I purchased several power bricks to recharge cell phones during a prolonged outage. One even has solar panels to recharge it and has AC outlets to run lights for reading at night. I don’t use them often but consider them a great investment.
The last time I purchased a new vehicle, I made sure that it had satellite networking/communication capabilities built into the electronics – another great investment. It came in very handy when even cell towers lost power for more than a week after Beryl last year.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20250525-Peak-Rainfall-2015-Memorial-Day.jpg?fit=1100%2C808&ssl=18081100adminadmin2025-05-25 13:36:432025-05-25 13:40:14Tenth Anniversary of Memorial Day Flood
5/24/25 – Contractors for the Northpark expansion project have completed the first of two pits that will let them bore under the UnionPacific Railroad tracks. They call the first pit the “launching pit” and the second the “receiving pit.” Each pit is 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. They should start work on the receiving pit after Memorial Day.
A boring machine will be anchored in the launching pit and force 20-foot sections of 5-foot steel pipe through the dirt under the tracks toward the receiving pit. Welds between sections will take an estimated three hours each. Work will continue 24/7 until complete.
When complete, two parallel 6-foot sections of pipe will carry stormwater from west to east. Before the pits are sealed back up, contractors will place huge junction boxes in them to connect the rest of the drainage system.
Safety First
Throughout the operation, crews will aim a laser at the track surface that can detect minute movements as trains pass over.
Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority said, “If there is any shift, it will send a report back to the observers and they’ll be able to conduct another test 20 minutes later, half an hour later, an hour later, to see if it was just a fluctuation or if there’s really a problem inside the bore pit.”
He continued. “Every time a train goes over, work will stop anywhere from three to about 20 minutes. They will check everything all over again and then they’ll resume their work.”
Constant Checks
De Leon emphasized that, “every time they push in a piece of pipe, they take out the auger and they check the elevations and the flow lines to make sure that they’re still within the limits to get the slope they need for drainage.”
“If it looks like they’re doing nothing, it’s because they’re checking their work,” he said. The operation will continue 24/7 until complete, weather permitting.
Preparing the Pit
You can’t see into the pit from the road. But LHRA supplied these pictures of its construction. The steel frame, I-beams, and steel plates form the sides of the pit. The boring will take place where the wooden sections currently sit.
Contractors constructed a grid of steel rebar along the base of the pit. They will stand it up off the ground by placing the gray blocks at the intersections.Then they pour and spread concrete under, around and over the rebar. The red stakes indicate where they will later anchor the boring machine.Next, they spread and level the concrete.Finished bore pit. Red circles indicate where workers will anchor boring machine.Red box indicates approximate location for receiving pit.Construction of that starts next week.
A CenterPoint pole currently blocks the left bore. However, UnionPacific and CenterPoint have reached an agreement. The railroad has agreed to let CenterPoint enter its right of way and remove the pole. Until that happens, contractors will work on the right bore.
The dual bores should take approximately 4 weeks. Contractors will work under the supervision of both RailPros and UPRR inspectors until the work is completed.
New Development: Northpark Enclave
Lennar Homes of Texas is clearing land for a new subdivision called Northpark Enclave at Loop 494 and Northpark. It will contain 100 single family homes on approximately 11 acres. But one acre will go to stormwater detention. That means the homes will be built ten to an acre. That’s about as dense as the nearby Preserve at Woodridge.
Clearing for the Northpark Enclave is already underway south of Dunkin’ Donuts and Public Storage.
Looking east from over 494. Northpark Drive on left. Land for Northpark Enclave being cleared.
De Leon believes the drainage from the Enclave will go through Kings Mill into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.
Montgomery County has not yet updated its Drainage Criteria Manual. So, it appears this development will squeak through under the old regulations developed in the 1980s which had a minor update in 2019.
Traffic Changeover Coming
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority posted a new 3-week lookahead schedule. In addition to work on driveways, drainage and curbs, it shows a major traffic change coming next week.
The switch is scheduled for Wednesday night, June 4th. Westbound traffic will shift to new pavement from approximately Culver’s westward to I-69. Once traffic is switched, a subcontractor will begin demolition of the old westbound lanes through that same area.
The paving crew will also continue roadway construction on westbound Northpark from the Kolache Factory to Public Storage.
Paving crew will focus on the stretch on the left.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/24/2025
2825 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20250523-DJI_20250523074912_0537_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2025-05-23 15:30:032025-05-24 12:23:25Northpark Update: Drainage, New Subdivision, Traffic Changeover
Urgent Help Needed: Lake Houston Dredging District Bill Gets One Last Chance
5/26/25 – The Texas Senate Local Government Committee will hear testimony on HB1532, the Lake Houston Dredging District bill, on Monday, May 26, 2025 – Memorial Day beginning at 9 AM.
Most people had given up on the bill and considered it effectively dead for this session. But when I checked this morning, there it was – on the agenda…for the holiday. So please help.
About the Bill
Rep. Charles Cunningham’s HB1532 would create a dredging and maintenance district for Lake Houston within Harris County. It would not have the power to impose taxes. But it could receive initial funding from the state legislature, and then raise additional money by selling the spoils from dredging operations for beneficial uses.
Such uses could include building the Ike Dike, raising homes out of floodplains, improving roads and more.
The Army Corps recommended forming such an entity for ongoing maintenance when it finished its Emergency West Fork Dredging Project after Harvey. It could finally become reality with your help.
How You Can Help
Given the holiday and late notice, it will be difficult for most people to testify in person at tomorrow’s hearing. But there’s another way to help.
Please thank Senator Bettencourt, the chair of the committee, and Senator Creighton, who sponsored a companion bill in the Senate.
Also email members of the committee NOW through their Senate web pages:
Key Points to Make
Subject Line: Please Support HB1532
Message:
Thank you for taking the time! Please forward this post to everyone you know and ask for their help.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/26/2025
2827 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Tenth Anniversary of Memorial Day Flood
5/25/25 – Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist, reminds us that today marks 10 years since the Memorial Day flood of 2015.
Slow Moving Line of Non-Tropical Thunderstorms
In 2015, we had weeks of on and off heavy rainfall over the region. Then a slow moving line of heavy thunderstorms during the evening hours of May 25th resulted in significant flash flooding over the central and southern portions of the Houston metro area.
At the time, the Memorial Day flood had the second largest number of flooded structures in Harris County only behind Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 (73,000 flooded homes).
The map below shows where the heaviest rain fell. At the time, the area with the heaviest rainfall exceeded a 100-year event.
Even by Atlas 14 standards, which came in after Harvey, some of those totals would equal a hundred-year (1% annual chance) storm.
To see Lindner’s full report on the storm, click here.
Lake Houston Area Spared Worst of Storm
If those in the Lake Houston Area don’t remember the storm, that’s because we only got about 5.5″ of rainfall from it at US59 and the West Fork. 3.4 inches of that fell in the two-hour period between 9 and 11 PM. That’s intense, but not record setting.
Crosstown, it was twice as worse. Brays Bayou at Beltway 8 West received more than 11 inches. 6.4″ fell in a two hour period between 10 PM and Midnight.
And Buffalo Bayou at Beltway 8 West received 10.68 inches. Almost 7″ of that fell in the same two-hour period.
To see other totals, explore the Harris County Flood Warning System’s Historical Rainfall feature.
Start of Period of Catastrophic Flooding
Lindner added, “Little did any of us know at the time, but the Memorial Day flooding would mark the start of an onslaught of catastrophic floods for southeast Texas and the metro Houston area.”
To learn more about those subsequent events. see the Reports page of this website and click the Major Storms tab. They include a Tax Day and second Memorial Day storm in 2016; Hurricane Harvey in 2017; Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019; and Tropical Storm Beta in 2020.
Prepare Now; Hurricane Season Starts in One Week
This should serve as a reminder that hurricane season starts one week from today. Often, one of the first things to go in a major storm is electricity because of trees falling on power lines. I remember losing power for 22 days during Hurricane Ike.
Subsequently, I purchased several power bricks to recharge cell phones during a prolonged outage. One even has solar panels to recharge it and has AC outlets to run lights for reading at night. I don’t use them often but consider them a great investment.
The last time I purchased a new vehicle, I made sure that it had satellite networking/communication capabilities built into the electronics – another great investment. It came in very handy when even cell towers lost power for more than a week after Beryl last year.
See my Links page for more preparedness tips.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/25/25
2826 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Northpark Update: Drainage, New Subdivision, Traffic Changeover
5/24/25 – Contractors for the Northpark expansion project have completed the first of two pits that will let them bore under the UnionPacific Railroad tracks. They call the first pit the “launching pit” and the second the “receiving pit.” Each pit is 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. They should start work on the receiving pit after Memorial Day.
A boring machine will be anchored in the launching pit and force 20-foot sections of 5-foot steel pipe through the dirt under the tracks toward the receiving pit. Welds between sections will take an estimated three hours each. Work will continue 24/7 until complete.
When complete, two parallel 6-foot sections of pipe will carry stormwater from west to east. Before the pits are sealed back up, contractors will place huge junction boxes in them to connect the rest of the drainage system.
Safety First
Throughout the operation, crews will aim a laser at the track surface that can detect minute movements as trains pass over.
Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority said, “If there is any shift, it will send a report back to the observers and they’ll be able to conduct another test 20 minutes later, half an hour later, an hour later, to see if it was just a fluctuation or if there’s really a problem inside the bore pit.”
He continued. “Every time a train goes over, work will stop anywhere from three to about 20 minutes. They will check everything all over again and then they’ll resume their work.”
Constant Checks
De Leon emphasized that, “every time they push in a piece of pipe, they take out the auger and they check the elevations and the flow lines to make sure that they’re still within the limits to get the slope they need for drainage.”
“If it looks like they’re doing nothing, it’s because they’re checking their work,” he said. The operation will continue 24/7 until complete, weather permitting.
Preparing the Pit
You can’t see into the pit from the road. But LHRA supplied these pictures of its construction. The steel frame, I-beams, and steel plates form the sides of the pit. The boring will take place where the wooden sections currently sit.
A CenterPoint pole currently blocks the left bore. However, UnionPacific and CenterPoint have reached an agreement. The railroad has agreed to let CenterPoint enter its right of way and remove the pole. Until that happens, contractors will work on the right bore.
The dual bores should take approximately 4 weeks. Contractors will work under the supervision of both RailPros and UPRR inspectors until the work is completed.
New Development: Northpark Enclave
Lennar Homes of Texas is clearing land for a new subdivision called Northpark Enclave at Loop 494 and Northpark. It will contain 100 single family homes on approximately 11 acres. But one acre will go to stormwater detention. That means the homes will be built ten to an acre. That’s about as dense as the nearby Preserve at Woodridge.
Clearing for the Northpark Enclave is already underway south of Dunkin’ Donuts and Public Storage.
De Leon believes the drainage from the Enclave will go through Kings Mill into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.
Montgomery County has not yet updated its Drainage Criteria Manual. So, it appears this development will squeak through under the old regulations developed in the 1980s which had a minor update in 2019.
Traffic Changeover Coming
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority posted a new 3-week lookahead schedule. In addition to work on driveways, drainage and curbs, it shows a major traffic change coming next week.
The switch is scheduled for Wednesday night, June 4th. Westbound traffic will shift to new pavement from approximately Culver’s westward to I-69. Once traffic is switched, a subcontractor will begin demolition of the old westbound lanes through that same area.
The paving crew will also continue roadway construction on westbound Northpark from the Kolache Factory to Public Storage.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/24/2025
2825 Days since Hurricane Harvey