During the 353 days since Hurricane Harvey, I’ve observed many ironies. Below are my favorites.
Irony #1
We need multi-million dollar studies to figure out stuff a five-year old in a bathtub knows – for instance, to let the water out, you open the drain.
One study suggested that adding more gates to the Lake Houston Dam could let water out faster. Another will tell us that putting sand in the drain causes water to back up. Yet another will tell us to take sand out of the drain.
Irony #2
The state allows sand mining in floodways so that we can have cheap concrete. That encourages upstream development, which causes more downstream flooding, which raises costs to government, which raises taxes on everyone.
Quick. Somebody call an accountant. We need a study on that.
Sometimes it feels that this is the standard Flood-Mitigation Decision Matrix. For a downloadable PDF of this graphic click here.
Irony #3
Disaster mitigation is a disaster.
Let me give you a parallel that illustrates the complexity of the process that we have engineered. Imagine that someone is breaking into your house. You call the police, but the 911 operator tells you to hang tight while the governor and president declare an emergency; Congress appropriates funds; Emergency Management devises a response plan; FEMA reviews your claim; three other agencies hire consultants who conduct an area-wide threat survey; TDEM prioritizes your needs; the Army Corps of Engineers studies bids; and the City works out an inter-local agreement with the County to raise matching funds, so that HUD can provide the money to buy out your house … when you’re dead and buried. Who would tolerate an emergency-response system that responds that way? 325 million Americans. That’s who.
Irony #4
The storm that brought us together is now dividing us.
During Harvey, there was an outpouring of human kindness that inspired the world. A year later, people who didn’t flood want to forget what happened and get back to their normal lives. People who did flood can’t.
Irony #5
The state’s “Rainy Day Fund” was never really for rain.
Even though Austin may soon loosen the purse strings on some of that money, the real intent seems to have been to save enough money to make the state’s balance sheet look better to Wall Street.
Irony #6
Our mothers taught us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We ignored that advice.
Decades ago, engineers urged us to dredge the San Jacinto to avoid flooding. We didn’t. Billions of dollars in damages later, Mama looks pretty smart. Ain’t no one smarter than Mama!
Irony #7
No one budgets for disasters in an area prone to natural disasters.
When a disaster strikes, everyone goes looking for matching funds. That delays flood mitigation measures, sometimes to the point where we lose our sense of urgency and spend the money on candy instead. What was that Mama said?
Irony #8
We’ll spend hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up a mess that could have been reduced with the stroke of a pen.
Had we only passed some common-sense legislation that prohibited sand mining in floodways!
Irony #9
Cooperation during a disaster turns into cutthroat competition after the disaster.
Fifty counties flooded in Harvey. Now, every county and city along the Gulf Coast is chasing the same matching funds.
Irony #10
Our disaster mitigation process requires groups to fill out an application to fill out an application.
It’s true. The city had to file an application with TDEM to file a FEMA application to fund additional flood gates on Lake Houston.
Irony #11
Some pretend that storms like Harvey are a statistical aberration when experience tells us they are not.
There often seems to be a conspiracy of willful blindness between developers, politicians and home buyers until the next big storm hits. Then developers call it a 100,000-year storm. Home owners look for buyouts. And politicians talk about creating green spaces from land that should have been green space all along. Since 1994 (24 years ago), we’ve had five so-called five-hundred year storms – 1994, Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, and Harvey. Who says grown-ups can’t live in a make-believe world?
Posted on August 17, 2018, by Bob Rehak
353 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-08-17 21:34:492018-08-18 05:34:48Ironies That Harvey Revealed
Section 404 of the U.S. Clean Water Act states that, “Any discharge of dredged or fill material … where the flow or circulation of navigable waters may be impaired or the reach of such waters be reduced, shall be required to have a permit under this section.”
Hmmmm. Impaired flow? Does that sound like what happened to the San Jacinto as a result of sand deposited downstream of mines during Harvey?
Penalties for Violation Under 404
The law also states that, “Any person who violates any condition or limitation in a permit … shall he subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per day of such violation.”
Findings of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The executive summary of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Value Engineering Study for its West Fork San Jacinto River Emergency Dredging Project states that, “On 25 August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas Coast as a Category 4 storm. Hurricane Harvey created extensive flooding along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River creating a record high flood of 69.22 feet as recorded by the West Fork San Jacinto River gauge on August 29, 2017. This record flooding increased the amount of deposition of sand and silt within the West Fork of the San Jacinto River from areas further upstream.” Below are two examples.
A giant sandbar almost completely blocks the west fork of the San Jacinto River just downstream from River Grove Park.
Yet another giant sand dune has formed at the mouth of the west fork of the San Jacinto. It is not being addressed by the Army Corps dredging project but should be. Thousands of homes upstream from the blockage flooded during Harvey.
Decreasing Amount of Water that Can Pass Through to Lake Houston
The executive summary continues, “This has now reduced the overall depth of the West Fork waterway and decreased the amount of water that can pass through and into Lake Houston. The epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey caused 4,139 structures along the West Fork to flood, including 1,621 homes with National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling over $407 million. In addition, during Hurricane Harvey a number of hospitals along the West Fork (e.g. Kingwood Medical Center, Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital) were cut-off due to the West Fork flooding which prevented residents from obtaining emergency aid.”
The summary concludes, “Recent heavy rainfall along the West Fork has caused, and may again result in, downstream water levels that present a threat to persons and properties in the Kingwood-Humble-Lake Houston areas due to the inability of the West Fork to carry sufficient water volume. … In the event of another heavy rainfall event there is a near certain likelihood that wide-spread flooding will occur impacting even more homes than before due to the river’s inability to pass heavy volumes of water.”
Cost of Cleanup to Taxpayers
The Corps is currently spending almost $70 million on dredging to restore the carrying capacity of the river in a 2.1 mile section of the West Fork (out of an 8 mile stretch between U.S. Highway 59 and Lake Houston). The cost for cleaning up the rest of the river has yet to be determined. The initial project will not even address the biggest blockage on the river – a sand bar at the mouth of the West Fork that forces water to flow approximately 40 feet uphill before it reaches the main body of the lake.
Need for Stricter Regulations on Sand Mining
One of the possibilities that the Corps examined to reduce such costs to taxpayers in the future was imposing stricter regulations on sand mining operations using 404 permitting. Although the Corps found this outside of the scope of their project, they address the possibility in section C-9 of their report on page 31.
The exact text reads:
“This comment refers to sand mining operations upstream of the US 59 highway bridge that are within the floodplain. During flood events where the boundaries of the sand pits are overrun, the river carries sediment from these pits downstream.
This is potentially a 404 issue/violation and it may be possible to get the mine operators to incorporate some abatement features to minimize the amount of sediment from their operations they discharge into the river.” [Emphasis Added]
This comment could apply equally to sand mining operations on the East Fork, but the East Fork was not within the scope of the Corps’ study.
As always, these are my opinions on a matter of public policy protected under the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great state of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/16/2018
352 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-08-16 18:44:062018-08-16 21:53:42Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Sand Mines
I just received an email from Jeff Lindner, Director of Hydrologic Operations Division/Meteorologist for Harris County Flood Control District about a potential tropical development.
Linder says, “There has been little mention of the Atlantic tropics thus far this hurricane season…even though we are already on our “E” storm. Most of the storms have been focused in the sub-tropical north Atlantic away from the generally hostile conditions in the deep tropics and far removed from any land interaction.”
National Hurricane Center Five Day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook gives this tropical disturbance a 20% chance of tropical formation over the next five days.
Conditions in Tropics Becoming More Favorable for Tropical Development
“However conditions are starting to slowly change and as is usual for mid-August, conditions are becoming more favorable for tropical development in the deep tropics or that region between Africa and the Caribbean Sea,” said Lindner.
Tropical Wave 99L
Lindner continued: “A tropical wave roughly 850 miles east of the southern Windward Islands has shown an increase in deep convection today. This convection (thunderstorms) remains fairly disorganized at this time. Significant amounts of Saharan Air (dusty air from the deserts of N Africa) have been generally keeping the formation of convection to a minimum for the last 2 months, but 99L has found itself far to the south (near 8N) and mainly south of the dusty air across the mid Atlantic. This system has also found itself near/under a building ridge of high pressure aloft and removed from the anomalous strong wind shear thus far this year across the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic.”
“Conditions appear at least marginally favorable for some slow development of this feature as it moves W to WNW over the next 48-72 hours.”
“There is little to no model support for this feature to develop, but we shall see what the 00Z and 12Z models suggest. At the 800pm this evening, the Hurricane Center is giving this system a 20% chance of tropical development over the next 5 days as it moves generally toward the eastern Caribbean Sea.”
Lindner Cautions Against Looking Too Far into Future
“Reminder: it is important as we move into the heart of hurricane season to get information from trusted sources – especially on social media. Posts showing where a storm could be 7-9 days from now and at some level of intensity should not be believed and it is important to refrain from sharing such posts without proper context,” cautioned Lindner.
Peak of Hurricane Season is September 10
The statistical peak of hurricane season for this area is September 10, so we are still almost a month away. Nevertheless, be prepared. Check your your hurricane kit now. Don’t leave important matters for the last minute.
SJRA Still Lowering Lake Conroe
The San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) has been steadily lowering Lake Conroe by 275 cubic feet per second to create extra capacity in the lake. From a normal level of 201 mean feet above sea level (MSL), the goal was to reduce the lake to 199 MSL by August 15 and maintain that level until the end of September. This is to create an additional buffer against downstream flooding until the Army Corps can restore the carrying capacity of the West Fork.
Ironies That Harvey Revealed
During the 353 days since Hurricane Harvey, I’ve observed many ironies. Below are my favorites.
Irony #1
We need multi-million dollar studies to figure out stuff a five-year old in a bathtub knows – for instance, to let the water out, you open the drain.
One study suggested that adding more gates to the Lake Houston Dam could let water out faster. Another will tell us that putting sand in the drain causes water to back up. Yet another will tell us to take sand out of the drain.
Irony #2
The state allows sand mining in floodways so that we can have cheap concrete. That encourages upstream development, which causes more downstream flooding, which raises costs to government, which raises taxes on everyone.
Quick. Somebody call an accountant. We need a study on that.
Sometimes it feels that this is the standard Flood-Mitigation Decision Matrix. For a downloadable PDF of this graphic click here.
Irony #3
Disaster mitigation is a disaster.
Let me give you a parallel that illustrates the complexity of the process that we have engineered. Imagine that someone is breaking into your house. You call the police, but the 911 operator tells you to hang tight while the governor and president declare an emergency; Congress appropriates funds; Emergency Management devises a response plan; FEMA reviews your claim; three other agencies hire consultants who conduct an area-wide threat survey; TDEM prioritizes your needs; the Army Corps of Engineers studies bids; and the City works out an inter-local agreement with the County to raise matching funds, so that HUD can provide the money to buy out your house … when you’re dead and buried. Who would tolerate an emergency-response system that responds that way? 325 million Americans. That’s who.
Irony #4
The storm that brought us together is now dividing us.
During Harvey, there was an outpouring of human kindness that inspired the world. A year later, people who didn’t flood want to forget what happened and get back to their normal lives. People who did flood can’t.
Irony #5
The state’s “Rainy Day Fund” was never really for rain.
Even though Austin may soon loosen the purse strings on some of that money, the real intent seems to have been to save enough money to make the state’s balance sheet look better to Wall Street.
Irony #6
Our mothers taught us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We ignored that advice.
Decades ago, engineers urged us to dredge the San Jacinto to avoid flooding. We didn’t. Billions of dollars in damages later, Mama looks pretty smart. Ain’t no one smarter than Mama!
Irony #7
No one budgets for disasters in an area prone to natural disasters.
When a disaster strikes, everyone goes looking for matching funds. That delays flood mitigation measures, sometimes to the point where we lose our sense of urgency and spend the money on candy instead. What was that Mama said?
Irony #8
We’ll spend hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up a mess that could have been reduced with the stroke of a pen.
Had we only passed some common-sense legislation that prohibited sand mining in floodways!
Irony #9
Cooperation during a disaster turns into cutthroat competition after the disaster.
Fifty counties flooded in Harvey. Now, every county and city along the Gulf Coast is chasing the same matching funds.
Irony #10
Our disaster mitigation process requires groups to fill out an application to fill out an application.
It’s true. The city had to file an application with TDEM to file a FEMA application to fund additional flood gates on Lake Houston.
Irony #11
Some pretend that storms like Harvey are a statistical aberration when experience tells us they are not.
There often seems to be a conspiracy of willful blindness between developers, politicians and home buyers until the next big storm hits. Then developers call it a 100,000-year storm. Home owners look for buyouts. And politicians talk about creating green spaces from land that should have been green space all along. Since 1994 (24 years ago), we’ve had five so-called five-hundred year storms – 1994, Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, and Harvey. Who says grown-ups can’t live in a make-believe world?
Posted on August 17, 2018, by Bob Rehak
353 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Sand Mines
Section 404 of the U.S. Clean Water Act states that, “Any discharge of dredged or fill material … where the flow or circulation of navigable waters may be impaired or the reach of such waters be reduced, shall be required to have a permit under this section.”
Hmmmm. Impaired flow? Does that sound like what happened to the San Jacinto as a result of sand deposited downstream of mines during Harvey?
Penalties for Violation Under 404
The law also states that, “Any person who violates any condition or limitation in a permit … shall he subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per day of such violation.”
Findings of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The executive summary of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Value Engineering Study for its West Fork San Jacinto River Emergency Dredging Project states that, “On 25 August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas Coast as a Category 4 storm. Hurricane Harvey created extensive flooding along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River creating a record high flood of 69.22 feet as recorded by the West Fork San Jacinto River gauge on August 29, 2017. This record flooding increased the amount of deposition of sand and silt within the West Fork of the San Jacinto River from areas further upstream.” Below are two examples.
A giant sandbar almost completely blocks the west fork of the San Jacinto River just downstream from River Grove Park.
Yet another giant sand dune has formed at the mouth of the west fork of the San Jacinto. It is not being addressed by the Army Corps dredging project but should be. Thousands of homes upstream from the blockage flooded during Harvey.
Decreasing Amount of Water that Can Pass Through to Lake Houston
The executive summary continues, “This has now reduced the overall depth of the West Fork waterway and decreased the amount of water that can pass through and into Lake Houston. The epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey caused 4,139 structures along the West Fork to flood, including 1,621 homes with National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling over $407 million. In addition, during Hurricane Harvey a number of hospitals along the West Fork (e.g. Kingwood Medical Center, Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital) were cut-off due to the West Fork flooding which prevented residents from obtaining emergency aid.”
The summary concludes, “Recent heavy rainfall along the West Fork has caused, and may again result in, downstream water levels that present a threat to persons and properties in the Kingwood-Humble-Lake Houston areas due to the inability of the West Fork to carry sufficient water volume. … In the event of another heavy rainfall event there is a near certain likelihood that wide-spread flooding will occur impacting even more homes than before due to the river’s inability to pass heavy volumes of water.”
Cost of Cleanup to Taxpayers
The Corps is currently spending almost $70 million on dredging to restore the carrying capacity of the river in a 2.1 mile section of the West Fork (out of an 8 mile stretch between U.S. Highway 59 and Lake Houston). The cost for cleaning up the rest of the river has yet to be determined. The initial project will not even address the biggest blockage on the river – a sand bar at the mouth of the West Fork that forces water to flow approximately 40 feet uphill before it reaches the main body of the lake.
Need for Stricter Regulations on Sand Mining
One of the possibilities that the Corps examined to reduce such costs to taxpayers in the future was imposing stricter regulations on sand mining operations using 404 permitting. Although the Corps found this outside of the scope of their project, they address the possibility in section C-9 of their report on page 31.
The exact text reads:
This comment could apply equally to sand mining operations on the East Fork, but the East Fork was not within the scope of the Corps’ study.
Clearly, not all the sand above came from mines, but satellite imagery shows that much of it did.
It seems to me that sand mining operations located in the floodway which flood repeatedly would be eager to incorporate “abatement features,” such as the best management practices found in other states and countries. This just might show good faith effort to reduce pollution, mitigate liability under the Clean Water Act, and avoid a revocation of operating permits.
As always, these are my opinions on a matter of public policy protected under the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great state of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/16/2018
352 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Conditions in Atlantic Becoming More Favorable for Tropical Development
I just received an email from Jeff Lindner, Director of Hydrologic Operations Division/Meteorologist for Harris County Flood Control District about a potential tropical development.
Linder says, “There has been little mention of the Atlantic tropics thus far this hurricane season…even though we are already on our “E” storm. Most of the storms have been focused in the sub-tropical north Atlantic away from the generally hostile conditions in the deep tropics and far removed from any land interaction.”
National Hurricane Center Five Day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook gives this tropical disturbance a 20% chance of tropical formation over the next five days.
Conditions in Tropics Becoming More Favorable for Tropical Development
“However conditions are starting to slowly change and as is usual for mid-August, conditions are becoming more favorable for tropical development in the deep tropics or that region between Africa and the Caribbean Sea,” said Lindner.
Tropical Wave 99L
Lindner continued: “A tropical wave roughly 850 miles east of the southern Windward Islands has shown an increase in deep convection today. This convection (thunderstorms) remains fairly disorganized at this time. Significant amounts of Saharan Air (dusty air from the deserts of N Africa) have been generally keeping the formation of convection to a minimum for the last 2 months, but 99L has found itself far to the south (near 8N) and mainly south of the dusty air across the mid Atlantic. This system has also found itself near/under a building ridge of high pressure aloft and removed from the anomalous strong wind shear thus far this year across the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic.”
“There is little to no model support for this feature to develop, but we shall see what the 00Z and 12Z models suggest. At the 800pm this evening, the Hurricane Center is giving this system a 20% chance of tropical development over the next 5 days as it moves generally toward the eastern Caribbean Sea.”
Lindner Cautions Against Looking Too Far into Future
“Reminder: it is important as we move into the heart of hurricane season to get information from trusted sources – especially on social media. Posts showing where a storm could be 7-9 days from now and at some level of intensity should not be believed and it is important to refrain from sharing such posts without proper context,” cautioned Lindner.
Peak of Hurricane Season is September 10
The statistical peak of hurricane season for this area is September 10, so we are still almost a month away. Nevertheless, be prepared. Check your your hurricane kit now. Don’t leave important matters for the last minute.
SJRA Still Lowering Lake Conroe
The San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) has been steadily lowering Lake Conroe by 275 cubic feet per second to create extra capacity in the lake. From a normal level of 201 mean feet above sea level (MSL), the goal was to reduce the lake to 199 MSL by August 15 and maintain that level until the end of September. This is to create an additional buffer against downstream flooding until the Army Corps can restore the carrying capacity of the West Fork.
However, recent rains have been refilling the lake almost as fast as the SJRA is lowering it. At the time of this post, the level was at 200.01 MSL. Visit SJRA.net to see the current level and release rate.
I am sure they will increase the discharge rate if this or any other storm approaches to get to their target of 199 MSL.
In short, nothing to worry about now. But keep your antenna up.
Posted by Bob Rehak on August 15, 2018
351 Days since Hurricane Harvey.