TLDA Email Details Need to Exploit Immigrants

2/10/2025 – An email among a powerful association of real estate developers and mortgage lenders obtained by ReduceFlooding.com details why the group feels the need to exploit immigrants despite criticism of its businesses practices from both the left and the right. The email defends a business model knowingly based on a high percentage of unqualified buyers whose property is repossessed and resold.

Foreclosure Rate 50 Tines Higher than U.S. Average

Three days after the Daily Wire wrote an expose about the notorious Colony Ridge Development in Liberty County, Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of the Texas Land Development Association (TLDA), wrote an email to other TLDA board members.

The Daily Wire describes an owner-financing arrangement that “makes it possible for illegal aliens to buy land deep in the heart of Texas. While traditional financing methods require credit ratings and proof of income … buyers at Colony Ridge are able to circumvent the usual requirements, even dodging the need to provide a social security number.”

Traditional bank loans usually require a credit rating and proof of income. But owner financing obtained directly through Colony Ridge reportedly bypasses those traditional mortgage requirements. For a “few hundred dollars” as a down payment, buyers can own a piece of America.

The hitch: they might pay interest rates as high as 15%, according to the Daily Wire. And if they miss a payment, the owner may foreclose on their property and sell it again…with all the improvements that the previous buyer made. Some properties have been resold multiple times.

Merry Christmas from Colony Ridge
Merry Christmas from Colony Ridge, the world’s largest trailer park. Photographed on December 7, 2020. The developer reportedly foreclosed on 1900 properties that year.

Colony Ridge has also been criticized for marketing in Spanish but providing legal documents at closing in English to people who may not even speak the language.

A multi-count lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General alleged deceptive trade practices and cited a foreclosure rate 50 times higher than the national average.

“An Attack on Our Industry”

But in his email to other TLDA board members, Scot Campbell describes the Daily Wire expose as “an attack on our industry.” [Emphasis added]

The Campbell email states, “The right wing … wants to stop all development of this nature. The left wants to knock us out of the market because we make money on the poor.”

He continues, “We will not be able to sell our developments if each of our buyers have to have a SS# and we have to qualify each buyer as to the buyer’s ability to repay.” [Emphasis added again]

“It will kill our industry and make our future resale of foreclosed lots worth a lot less than [before] because we will all be fighting over a few qualified buyers…”

Scot Campbell, Chairman Emeritus of TLDA

The remainder of the email describes criticisms of owner-financing practices from the political right and left.

  • “The right does not like our subdivisions [emphasis added again] because they believe they are a blight on the community” and the people “cannot speak English.”
  • Campbell says people on the left “think its evil to make money on poor people” and “charge higher interest.”

See the email below which responds to the Daily Wire article.

Email from Scott Campbell
For a printable PDF, click here. Most of the addressees still serve as TLDA board members according to the TLDA website.

TLDA describes itself as a group that “works to prevent over-regulation by state and local governments by advocating for common-sense practices in land use and development.” Basically, it’s a lobbying organization.

Particularly worrisome in the email above is the plea to continue selling property to buyers, most of whom the association knows are unqualified. Scot Campbell apparently fears that might impact foreclosure mills in places like Liberty County and along the Mexican border. Developments like Colony Ridge operate throughout the state.

Source of Email

I obtained the email above from an ex-Colony Ridge land-owner-turned-activist named Maria Acevedo. Her property was foreclosed on after she complained about irregularities with the survey and the plat provided to her by the seller.

Investigative journalist Wayne Dolcefino exposed how properties in Colony Ridge are sold over and over again by the developer.

However, according to Acevedo, the legal documents for her foreclosure fail to comply with Texas law. This could affect thousands of foreclosures and resales in Liberty County. But more on that in a future story.

Ironically, the TLDA Chairman Emeritus concludes his memo saying that…

“Our industry does much to help the homeless problem.”

Scot Campbell, TLDA Chairman Emeritus

However, Campbell’s email does not describe how kicking people out of their homes would help the homeless problem.

For More Information about Colony Ridge

To learn more about the squalid living conditions in Colony Ridge, see History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 stories about substandard living conditions, infrastructure, and environmental issues in Colony Ridge.

Many of the latter impact downstream areas. For instance:

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/10/25

2722 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Northpark Drive Expansion Update: Life in the Slow Lane

2/9/25 – Northpark Drive expansion has become a bewildering maze of lane switches and traffic barriers where SUVs tango daily with excavators and dump trucks. All of that makes for life in the slow lane … which can actually be a good thing given the potential for accidents.

Since my last construction update, contractors have removed the old:

  • Eastbound pavement between Kings Mill and Russell Palmer Road
  • Loop 494 Northbound pavement on both sides of Northpark

They have also substantially completed the installation of storm sewers underneath the westbound surface turn lanes that will parallel the bridge over the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks and Loop 494. However, crews still need to install many laterals.

Pictures Taken 2/9/25

I took all pictures below on 2/9/25. They show the status of construction. If traffic looks light in these photos, it’s likely because I took them during the pregame show for the Super Bowl.

Looking east from in front of Italiano’s. The old eastbound pavement has been completely removed.

Before contractors pour new concrete, they will have to install drainage, compact the dirt, prepare the base, and place rebar. All of that could take another month or more.

As soon as they finish the drainage on eastbound Northpark between Italiano’s and Russell Palmer the same crew will rotate to the northeast side of the Loop 494/Northpark intersection then the southeast side. Again, once the drainage is complete, they will begin to prepare the sub-grade, then rebar, then concrete paving.

Looking W from in front of Kings Mill Entrance (bottom left). Crews have spent the last several months installing large culverts.
They have moved from E to W toward the railroad tracks. They still need to install some laterals.
The surface turn lanes that parallel the bridge over the railroad tracks and Loop 494 will go in the area between the existing lanes (left) and the new power lines (right).
Wider, longer turn lanes and thru lanes will also be installed on Loop 494, shown here looking south from over Northpark.

The southbound lanes of Loop 494 south of Northpark are complete! So are the driveways!

Ditto for the north side.
On the west side of 494, some power lines that need to be moved are still holding up construction (see lower right).
But farther west, two new lanes have been poured that now go all the way to US59 at the top of the frame.

The lookahead schedule posted on the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website shows major efforts for the next three weeks include installation of:

  • Fire lines, water lines, water meters
  • Box culverts and laterals
  • Sub grade and fine grade prep

In other words, no big concrete pours for a while.

For More Information

See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project web pages. For a history of the project, see these select posts on ReduceFlooding.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/30/25

2711 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review Released

2/8/2025 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has finally released the full text of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review and its supporting files. The report, which was originally due in 300 days took more than 1400 days. When asked why it took so long, a HCFCD representative replied, “Personnel turnover.”

The files transmitted to Commissioners Court on 2/6/25 include:

See links to all of them at the bottom of this post.

Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review – text of full study
Preliminary Engineering Study of Kingwood Diversion Ditch produced by Neel-Schaffer

Altogether, the 175 megabytes of materials include hundreds of pages. I could not even post some files because they exceeded the size limit of my website or because they were engineering files that required specialized software to open.

I have uploaded what I can. However, I have not studied them all thoroughly yet. Based on a preliminary scan, here are some of the highlights.

Three Alternatives Evaluated

Neel-Schaffer, the engineering company that produced the report, considered three alternatives. Each improves stormwater carrying capacity of the ditch and relieves some of the pressure on Bens Branch. The two are connected near the Northpark Drive Fireworks Stand. The three alternatives include the following features:

  • Alternative 1 – A widened Kingwood Diversion Ditch including grass-lined trapezoidal channel, one drop structure and a new outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to West Fork San Jacinto River.
  • Alternative 2 – A widened Kingwood Diversion Ditch including a benched channel section above Ordinary High-Water Mark, two drop structures and a new outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to West Fork San Jacinto River.
  • Alternative 3 – A widened Kingwood Diversion Ditch including a Natural Stable Channel Design Sections with riffle and pools and a new outfall of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to West Fork San Jacinto River.

Alternative #3 Recommended

For each alternative, Neel-Schaffer examined:

  • Hydraulic performance
  • Increased channel conveyance capacity
  • Costs and benefits in relation to the reduction in the area of inundation
  • Environmental impacts
  • Construction feasibility.

The engineers recommended Alternative 3 after comparing:

  • Capital cost estimates
  • Stormwater detention cost estimates
  • Maintenance costs per 10 years
  • Number of parcels, acres and structures removed from the 1% annual chance floodplain

The table below summarizes their benefits.

Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Review – table comparing benefits of alternatives considered

Even though alternative #3 was the most expensive to construct, lower maintenance costs would offset the increase within 28 years.

Features Included in Recommendation

The recommended project alternative includes:

  • A diversion structure at the intersection of the Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch to reduce the volume flowing into Bens Branch
  • Channel conveyance improvements to the Diversion Ditch
  • Bridge replacements at Kingwood Drive, Walnut Lane, Deer Ridge Estates Boulevard and the pedestrian bridge at Lake Village Drive
  • A new outfall to the West Fork San Jacinto River, just west of Woodland Hills Drive/River Grove Park
  • A stormwater detention basin on the south side of the San Jacinto West Fork.

The bridges at Northpark Drive will also be rebuilt, but as part of the Northpark Expansion Project.

Impacts on Bens Branch

In each alternative, stormwater flow to Bens Branch was restricted by pipes. That forces more stormwater into the expanded Diversion Ditch.

The Flood Control District’s guidelines allow for the use of a minimum pipe diameter of 24-inches. That would take enough stormwater flow out of Bens Branch to improve it from a 2-year level of service to a 100-year level.

Remember, the function of the Diversion Ditch is to take stormwater out of Bens Branch. Friendswood hoped to minimize flooding through the western half of Kingwood by using two channels instead of one to convey stormwater.

Detention Basin Also Recommended South of West Fork

Neel-Schaffer also evaluated the need for stormwater detention storage volume to mitigate adverse impacts of the proposed alternatives. They recommend one across the West Fork on high ground.

Neel-Schaffer recommended the green-colored basin south of the West Fork (#1). (Bottom Center)

Funding Not Identified Yet

Funding does not currently exist for any construction. HCFCD would have to apply for grants. The Preliminary Engineering Report outlines several possible sources of funding. However, Stephanie Zertuche, Flood Control’s Project Manager, says that pursuit will likely happen as part of the next phase – construction engineering – when costs are locked down.

However, that assumes that the project even gets that far. $55 million to remove 34 structures from the 100-year flood plain will be a difficult sell based on the Benefit/Cost Analysis alone.

But there are other factors to consider. We shouldn’t forget that:

  • 12 people died along Bens Branch during Harvey.
  • The entire Kingwood Town Center area was under water
  • Thousands of people got cut off from evacuation routes.
  • Kingwood High School flooded to the second floor and thousands of students had to be bussed to other schools for a year.

Social benefits go far beyond cost and are hard to quantify.

To Review the Original Docs…

Below are links to all the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Preliminary Engineering Report documents.

For ease of future reference, I’ve also linked them on the Reports Page under the Harris County Flood Control District tab.

If you are an engineer in the Humble/Kingwood Area, please help. Send me your opinions through the contact page of this website.

Even if you don’t read the entire study, you may be interested in seeing where your home stands in relation to the new expanded floodplains under Atlas 14. Those inundation maps at the bottom of the list are very interesting.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/8/25

2720 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Flood Bond, Subdivision Drainage Shortfalls Prompt Harsh Words From Commissioners

2/6/2025 – Fireworks erupted in Harris County Commissioners Court today over the 2018 Flood Bond and Subdivision Drainage shortfalls. It was a rare display of bipartisan outrage.

Commissioners Court

All four commissioners and the county judge expressed concerns about budget shortfalls. The County Engineer, the Head of the Flood Control District, the County Budget Manager and the County Administrator all took turns in the crosshairs when it became clear that the County didn’t have enough money to deliver flood-mitigation projects promised long ago.

Budget Shortfall and Contributing Factors

Subdivision drainage projects used to be a subset of projects within the flood bond. However, Commissioners formally transferred them to the Office of the County Engineer in April 2021 (Item 21-1833 in the 4/27/21 Commissioners Court meeting).

That said, the cost of subdivision drainage projects alone increased from $451 million to $590 million since 2018. Comparable figures were not provided for flood-bond projects although the July 2024 Flood Bond Update alluded to 33 projects that have “uncertainty about whether current funding levels are sufficient to take the associated projects through construction.”

Reasons cited for the subdivision drainage project budget shortfall included 30-35% inflation in the construction sector, scope creep, additional projects, and adoption of higher Atlas-14 rainfall standards after passage of the flood bond. Atlas 14 requires projects to handle larger rainfall events than the previous standards.

Reasons cited for the bond-project funding uncertainty included “inflationary pressures and the rising cost of property acquisition, as well as potential schedule impacts due to inclement weather, supply chain pressures, and regulatory changes.”

“An Abysmal Failure” and Loss of Trust

During the contentious 24-minute discussion, the County Judge said that the county needs another flood bond.

Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis said that he would campaign against it. Ellis also accused the County Engineer of ignoring the county’s equity plan.

“This is an abysmal failure to deliver on the bond issue.”

Rodney Ellis, Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner

Ellis also said, “It would be very challenging to go to voters in Precinct One [and ask them] to ever trust this county with money again … even to trust me. … This is an abomination.”

We haven’t heard the last of this. Ellis addressing the county engineer said, “So, you would have a $150 million hole before you discovered there was a problem. I’m just curious about all of the bureaucracy we put in place. I’m a person who voted to have a county administrator, our deputy county administrators … paying the best money, if not in the state, in the country for these folks.”

Ellis continued, “I’m curious to know, when did the county manager know about it? When did the deputy county administrator know about it, and when did the Budget Office know about it? When did you all discover it? Is it tracked by anybody?”

“Major Crisis” with No Sense of Urgency

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, PE, said, “This is a major crisis. I sense no urgency from flood control. I sense no urgency from the county engineer’s office. And I don’t sense any urgency from the county administrator.”

Ramsey also said, “We need to go back and take a look at it, but there needs to be an adult in room to be sure that we get honest answers back.”

“Utter Dismay. Frustration. Shock.”

Normally restrained Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said, “I share my colleague’s complete and utter dismay. Frustration. Shock.” She emphasized that the county needed to find solutions for both the subdivision drainage projects and the flood bond.

“This is not OK,” she said. “And we need to get it done with a sense of urgency.” Then in a thinly veiled threat, she added, “If we’re not being clear, I don’t want to go back to the policy about wages. But when we say something, we mean it.” Commissioners recently voted department heads large pay increases.  

Before finishing, Briones emphasized that Flood Bond Projects, not just subdivision drainage projects needed to be completed also.

However, no one could say exactly where all the projects stood. The Flood Control District’s Active Projects page stopped working long ago. The last “Completed Projects” Report on the District’s website is dated 12/14/2020. And the frequency of flood-bond updates has declined from monthly to annually.

Motion to Revisit Issue on March 27 Unanimously Approved

In the end, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia introduced a motion to direct the Office of Management and Budget “to work with flood control, county engineering, and any relevant departments to return to court on March 27 with proposed options and recommendations using any and all county resources for closing the shortfall on the Harris County Engineering Department Subdivision Drainage Program and ensuring the implementation of the flood bond framework adopted by Commissioners Court.”

Commissioner Ramsey offered a friendly amendment. “The financial analysis should include, at a minimum, the entire program showing all projects completed. Projects under construction with any potential changes in contract. Active projects awaiting funding. Remaining available funds for all projects now that the project budgets have been increased.”

The motion with the amendment carried unanimously.

Video of Meeting

You can view the entire discussion and vote on the motion at this link. Click on Departments (Part 2 of 3). Then scroll forward to 3:24:01. You’re looking for item 217.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/6/2025

2718 Days since Hurricane Harvey

 

Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District Provides Unified Voice for Watershed

2/5/2025 – The Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District (CCDID) just published its first “impact report.” The report comes about a year and a half after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 5334 – authored by State Rep. Sam Harless – which created the special purpose district to address flooding in the Cypress Creek Watershed. Below is a summary of several key accomplishments from the report. And what CCDID hopes to accomplish in the near future.

Mission and Vision

The group’s mission is to reduce future flooding and increase flood resilience in the Cypress Creek Watershed through a comprehensive mitigation and funding plan. They hope to do that by providing a unified voice for all the residents, businesses, organizations and elected officials of the watershed.

To put the need for a unified voice into perspective, the watershed comprises 154 local water districts. It has 8 representatives in the Texas House, 5 state senators, 5 county commissioners (in Harris and Waller), 5 U.S. Congressional representatives, and 2 U.S. Senators. It also works with Harris County Flood Control, the Texas Water Development Board, chambers of commerce and more.

Strategic Directives

The group’s 2024 Impact Report lists several strategic directives:

  • Becoming a trusted source of factual information
  • Unifying all the groups working to improve the watershed and providing a single voice for them
  • Expanding community outreach
  • Engaging the public with community meetings
  • Building support among elected officials, private businesses, school districts, cities and citizens
  • Developing an action plan to share with potential financial supporters
  • Meeting with supporters to provide updates and answer questions
  • Building a volunteer advisory group.

Accomplishments in Year One

To date the CCDID has:

  • Appointed temporary directors
  • Created a website
  • Held town hall meetings throughout the watershed
  • Conducted meetings with Harris County and the Harris County Flood Control District
  • Held organizational meetings
  • Started efforts to formalize district boundaries and create maps
  • Solicited financial support
  • Started developing an initial resiliency plan

Next Up

In 2025, it will:

  • Prepare a status report for the legislature
  • Complete the resiliency plan
  • Continue fund raising, workshops and townhall meetings
  • Develop outreach initiatives.
  • Plan for election of permanent directors.

CCDID has already identified strategies to reduce flooding and planned a state-of-the-art geographical information system (GIS). GIS would incorporate elements of the resiliency plan; demographics; analyses; current and future projects; watershed information; potential partners; officials; and contact information at the local, state and federal levels.

Altogether, the CCDID Impact Report for 2024 is well written, well art directed, and easy to understand at a glance.

Unified Voice Needed in Lake Houston Area

After Harvey, Dr. Guy Sconzo, then Humble ISD superintendent, formed a volunteer task force to bring together disparate interests in the Lake Houston Area. However, the task force dissipated after Sconzo’s untimely death. And with the loss of the task force, the many elements within the Lake Houston area lost their unified voice.

Certainly, there’s strength in numbers.

If nothing else, such a group makes it easier for organizations such as HCFCD to address the needs of a watershed.

The Lake Houston Area could certainly use something like the Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District. Since the formation of the CCDID a year and a half ago, funding for the watershed has soared. The District has established itself as a unified voice that speaks for all the interests in the watershed. If nothing else, it gave needs in the area a critical level of visibility.

The San Jacinto Watershed no longer has anything comparable. And funding has suffered as a consequence.

We could certainly use something like the Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/5/25

2717 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Climate-Related Risks Could Reduce Real Estate Values by $1.4 Trillion in Next 30 Years

2/4/25 – First Street Foundation released a new study today as part of its 12th National Risk Assessment. “Property Prices in Peril” estimates that real estate values could lose $1.4 trillion over the next 30 years due to climate-related risks. That number is unadjusted for inflation.

First Street specializes in climate risk financial modeling. Its clients include financial institutions, companies and governments. The organization announced the research in a webinar this morning. I will summarize it below.

Summary of Research

The basic premise: Homeownership has long been the primary pathway to wealth creation in the U.S. Prospective homeowners decide where to live by balancing quality of life and cost of living. That drives home value increases and decreases.

Crucial Role of Insurance Costs

But climate change is now causing many to recalibrate that value proposition as insurance costs now represent a higher proportion of mortgage costs than ever before. And First Street predicts premiums will continue to rise until they become actuarily sound.

Projected insurance increases

The First Street presentation began with several slides on insurance rates and factors affecting them (losses, predicted risk increases, government regs, etc.). In some areas, monthly insurance payments could soon comprise 25% of total home payments. First Street predicts that…

Huge increases in insurance premiums will drive up the cost of home ownership and make homes in risky areas less affordable for many.

In addition, money paid out to insurance companies does not appreciate like the home itself does. As a consequence, a lower percentage of a family’s total income will be available to build wealth from home ownership in the future.

Diagram showing main influences of flooding on property value
Diagram showing how climate change and insurance rates affect home values and demand
Secondary Impacts

Further, the authors found that “The implications for local economies extend far beyond direct housing market effects to regional GDP, household financial stability, and public services.”

“Communities facing declining property values due to climate risks confront multiple economic threats,” says First Street. “Falling home equity reduces household wealth and borrowing capacity, constraining consumer spending and local economic activity.”

“Lower property assessments significantly impact state and local government revenues, with property taxes accounting for over 30% of local government funding nationwide. This reduction in revenue can trigger a vicious cycle, where limited funds hinder investments in critical climate adaptation infrastructure just when it is most urgently needed— further exacerbating the decline in property values.”

“States like Texas and Florida, which rely heavily on property taxes due to their no-income-tax structure, are increasingly exposed to fiscal risks as climate change threatens their tax base by impacting property values.” 

Flooding Most Widespread Risk

“Flooding will emerge as the most geographically widespread driver of climate migration, leading 11.9 million Americans to relocate by 2055,” says the study.

“This migration pattern affects every region of the U.S., from coastal communities facing sea level rise and storm surge to inland areas facing fluvial flooding from rivers and streams to urban areas subject to pluvial flooding from heavy rainfall events,”

First Street projections indicate that “over one-third of U.S. counties and more than half the population are exposed to frequent, chronic flooding from precipitation alone.”

Effects of Climate Migration Most Apparent in Small Areas

Instead of looking at national and state trends, the First Street study looked at every census tract in the county. It found that housing choices at that micro-economic level are increasingly being driven by awareness of climate risks such as flooding.

Five Market Segments Illuminate Different Climate-Migration Patterns

Looking forward, First Street modeling segments neighborhoods into five categories:

  • Climate Abandonment – 26% of neighborhoods/census tracts, show sustained population loss due to climate change.
  • Risky Growth – 31% of neighborhoods continued to grow despite high risk, suggesting other strong economic or social drivers.
  • Tipping Point – 27% of neighborhoods show initial growth followed by decline as rising insurance premiums and climate impacts reach unsustainable levels.
  • Economic Decline – 11% of neighborhoods lose population despite low risk and stable insurance rates, suggesting economic factors, not climate, are driving decline.
  • Climate Resilient – 5% of neighborhoods attract population growth with low risk and stable insurance rates.

The study found five counties in Texas fell into the “risky growth” category: Fort Bend, Denton, Williamson, Travis and Montgomery.

For More Information

To learn more, visit the First Street Foundation website where you will find links to:

Rehak’s Take

All in all, the authors made an excellent case for “climate caution.” That in itself could affect migration and home prices.

But the study did not address many of the factors that have made Texas one of the fastest growing states in the country, despite the fact that more people live in Texas floodplains than live in 30 states.

For instance, the study did not take into account immigration or variation in tax rates compared to other states.

I’m also a bit skeptical of any study that tries to project current trends 30 years into the future. Fifty years dealing with market research taught me how quickly trends can change.

Despite those concerns, the study makes excellent reading. It also makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of flooding and how it could impact the future of the Houston region.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/4/25

2716 Days since Hurricane Harvey

CWA Beginning to Explore New Dam for Lake Houston

2/3/25 – Minutes from the November and December board meetings of the Coastal Water Authority (CWA) suggest that the group is beginning to explore a new dam for Lake Houston, even as it plans repairs and additional gates for the old dam. This post explores the projects and how they fit together.

Discussion in November Board Meeting

During a Board discussion on 11/13/24 about repairs to the old dam, David Miller, PE, the CWA’s Operations Manager, “noted that the Lake Houston Dam is near the end of its design life and CWA is planning for a dam replacement project,” say the minutes.

Don Ripley, PE, the CWA’s General Manager, subsequently noted that repairs to the old dam “would keep the Lake Houston Dam in compliance with State of Texas dam safety requirements.”

Mr. Miller noted that repairs to the Lake Livingston Dam after May floods last year could cost the Trinity River Authority as much as $40 million.

December Minutes Offer More Detail

Then, during the 12/13/24 board meeting, the subjects of repairs to the old dam, a new dam, and additional gates arose again.

Repairs to Old Dam

The December minutes state: “The Lake Houston Dam Repair Project is the $10 million Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Project that is being implemented for immediate repairs, including grouting voids below and around the dam structure and repairing the spalled concrete on spillway buttress walls.”

“CWA and CWA’s project engineer, Freese and Nichols, Inc., are currently working on the scope and fee for additional field investigations and design/ engineering work and expect to bring this item to the Board for consideration in January 2025.” (However, the January minutes have not yet been posted.)

“The engineering work will specify the repair locations and approach to be implemented during construction. It is estimated that investigation and engineering work will take approximately six to eight months and construction will take approximately six to nine months in duration.”

Potential Dam Replacement

December minutes also state that, “Planning is also underway for a larger project to replace the existing 75-year old Lake Houston Dam. CWA will have Black & Veatch begin a high-level Lake Houston Dam Replacement Study in 2025.”

Additional Gates

A third Lake Houston Dam project that Directors discussed was additional gates. CWA is planning to add eleven new tainter gates to the dam for an additional 79,000 cubic feet per second of controlled discharge capacity.

site of proposed gates for Lake Houston on east side of dam
New gates would go toward the far end of this earthen embankment, near the existing spillway.

“The design work is underway,” say the December minutes, “and will run through 2026. Current field activities underway include ground and bathymetric surveys. The geotechnical soil borings, environmental investigations including wetlands, endangered species and archeological sites will begin next week.”

“The design team is also scheduling meetings with all of the permitting agencies, including Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE-Galveston) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), regarding project details and schedules.”

“CWA met with the TCEQ last week and will meet with USACE-Galveston and TPWD in the coming weeks to inform them of the project details and to obtain an understanding of their respective review schedules and the possibilities of expediting those review schedules.”

“In response to questions from Director Sjolander and Director Huberty, Mr. Ripley stated that this project will increase discharge capacity during flood events which will provide upstream benefits.”

Putting Multiple Projects in Perspective

I reached out to the Coastal Water Authority for more information about the repairs, gate expansion and replacement. I wondered why they just didn’t move full steam ahead on the replacement?

Ripley responded, “CWA does not [currently] have a project to replace the existing dam. CWA is only preparing very preliminary information concerning the possible costs to replace the dam at some time in the future.  Replacement of the dam will involve years of planning and permitting before an actual project could be proposed.”

When you supply drinking water to two million people, you want to make sure you get the engineering right.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/3/25

2715 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Despite Drought in Second Half, 2024 Was 8th Wettest Year in the Last 25 at IAH

2/2/25 – National Weather Service statistics show that despite drought in the second half, 2024 ranked as the 8th wettest year in the last 25 at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

8th Wettest Year in Last 25

Bush received 59.17 inches in 2024 compared to:

  • 71.19 in 2001 (the year of TS Allison)
  • 59.71 in 2002
  • 65.06 in 2004
  • 65.52 in 2007
  • 70.03 in 2015 (Major Storms included May 25-27 [11″ in 3 hrs] and October 31 [up to 12″ in 12 hours])
  • 60.96 in 2016 (the year of Tax Day and Memorial Day Floods
  • 79.69 in 2017 (the year of Harvey)

2017 was the highest year in 25. And 2011 was the lowest at 24.57 inches.

Abnormal Rainfall Distribution

In 2024, more than half of the normal rain for the year (52.1 inches) fell in just three months. They totaled 30.71 inches.

  • January had 8.77″ (more than double the mean of 3.94″ for the month)
  • May had 11.05″ (almost double the mean of 5.83″ for the month)
  • July had 10.89″ (more than double the mean of 4.45″ for the month)

Hurricane Beryl struck Houston on July 8 and dropped a normal month’s worth of rain in one day (4.72″). Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record.

Graphics Tell the Story

The table below shows the official National Weather Service totals for each month since January 2000, plus the means, maximums and minimums.

In graphical form, here’s how 2024 compared to the high, low and normal years.

Note how slope of green line decreases after Beryl. That’s when drought struck SE Texas.

The distribution of heavy rainfalls throughout the year was unusual. January doesn’t normally have heavy rainfall. Neither does July. And while May ranks as one of our wetter months, last year we got almost twice the normal amount of rain in May.

At the other end of the spectrum, October usually ranks as our second wettest month.

But last October, it was our driest of the year by far…with less than a half inch of rain.

NWS provides a wealth of climate information for those willing to take the time to explore it. It doesn’t always fit popular narratives. If you want to teach critical thinking skills to your students, have them try to prove or disprove claims they see online by consulting data from trusted sources, such as NWS.

And make sure when they report their findings that they don’t just say “8th wettest year,” even though it may seem like that to them. Make sure they specify a date range, i.e., “2024 was 8th wettest year in last 25,” so no one assumes “ever.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/2/25

2714 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Proposal to Expand the Flood Control District Has Many Benefits

2/1/25 – State Representative Dennis Paul from the SE Houston area has introduced HB 2068, a bill that could eventually unite the counties within the San Jacinto River Basin into a regional flood control district. HB 2068, if approved, would modify the 1937 legislation that created the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD).

Here’s how the main modifications would work.

Two Big Changes: Leadership and Geographic Scope

The original legislation put control of HCFCD into the hands of the county judge and commissioners. Paul’s bill would let the governor appoint a board that controls District operations instead.

It could also expand the flood control district by letting surrounding counties join forces, but only after their leaders and residents approve. To join the district, a county’s judge and commissioners would first have to put the proposal on a ballot and voters would have to approve it.

Why Changes are Necessary

People both inside and outside of Harris County could all benefit. We need HB 2068 for several reasons.

Take Politics Out of District Operations

Since the election of Judge Lina Hidalgo in 2018, operations of HCFCD have become increasingly politicized. We now have politicians reportedly telling engineers how to do their jobs. That has driven off some highly talented professionals and slowed down operations.

Fairness for All

The politics have also skewed the focus of HCFCD efforts. HCFCD now directs flood-mitigation efforts primarily to areas with low incomes as opposed to areas with the worst flooding. During Harvey, Kingwood for instance:

The community was virtually cut off from Houston for 11 months when half of the I-69 bridge over the West Fork was destroyed.

I-69 damage and repairs
Harvey undermined the I-69 bridge over West Fork. TxDOT took 11 months to replace them.

In the wider Lake Houston Area:

  • 44% of all the businesses in the chamber of commerce were damaged.
  • More than 13,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Many never recovered.
  • The UnionPacific Railroad lost its bridge over the West Fork.
UP Rail Bridge Wash Out
Union Pacific railroad traffic was disrupted for months while a new bridge was built.

And yet since Harvey, HCFCD has spent $2.1 billion on flood control projects without constructing one in the Republican-dominated Lake Houston Area.

In fairness, HCFCD has done some maintenance here. It has also conducted several studies; it just hasn’t acted on any of them.

Need to Serve Entire River Basin

Ten of the 23 watersheds in Harris County originate outside the county. But Hidalgo, Ellis and Garcia have been reluctant to spend money outside of the county – even to help reduce flooding inside the county.

Watersheds of the San Jacinto River Basin
San Jacinto River tributaries affecting the Humble/Kingwood/Huffman area stretch into six surrounding counties.

An area 50% larger than Harris County drains through Lake Houston. Realistically, we can’t fix flooding here without the cooperation of the people upstream in Montgomery, Liberty, Waller, Grimes and other Counties.

Upper San Jacinto River Basin
Area draining into Lake Houston is far larger than Harris County.

Floodwaters don’t respect county or municipal boundaries. As development expands within surrounding counties, their residents will also experience flooding problems if they haven’t already.

Only One Chance to Do It Right

Ask the people of Plum Grove in Liberty County how the massive unincorporated Colony Ridge development affected flooding in their community. The first approximately 12,000 acres in Colony Ridge were developed with almost no stormwater detention basins. Fixing that now would require expensive buyouts. And that’s not likely to happen.

Drainage ditches have already eroded into people’s back yards. And FM1010, the major north/south artery through the area has been washed out for almost eight years.

FM 1010
FM1010 washed out at Rocky Branch during Harvey and has not been fixed since.

As development accelerates outside of Harris County, flood control in surrounding counties will become increasingly important.

Regardless of their impact downstream, residents of surrounding counties must do something to secure their futures for themselves before they too develop intractable flooding. Prevention is always less expensive than correction.

HB 2068 lets people in surrounding counties experience growth without the growing pains.

It could give them instant access to a highly knowledgeable, already developed, fully functional staff of flood control experts…without building their own.

For surrounding counties, that could mean faster solutions. Also, a lower percentage of their flood-control dollars would go to building staff and a higher percentage could go to building mitigation projects that actually reduce flooding.

Potential Benefits for All Texans

People of a region have more to gain by working together than by working in disconnected cells.

  • Because floodwaters don’t stop at jurisdictional boundaries, a regional approach to flood control is the only one that has a chance of success.
  • HB 2068 lets people make their own choices…when it’s right for them.
  • It’s fair to all.
  • We’ll have the best minds in the state working to solve our flooding problems without bumping into political boundaries.
  • Surrounding counties don’t have to spend years building organizations with the expertise to make a difference. They can start now.
  • The more people a project benefits, the easier it is to attract matching funds from Federal sources.

I see one other benefit for Texas, which finished its first statewide flood plan last year. If successful, this could become a model for other river basins throughout the state.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/1/25

2713 Days since Hurricane Harvey

HB 1532 Would Create Dredging and Maintenance District

1/31/25 – State Representative Charles Cunningham (District 127) has proposed HB 1532 in the 89th Texas Legislature. It would create a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District.

The bill has the potential to benefit all citizens of Harris County and from my perspective is one of the most important bills introduced in this legislature.

Essentially the Dredging and Maintenance District would be a conservation and reclamation district. Article 16, Section 9 of the Texas Constitution authorizes the creation of such districts.

The District’s main purpose: “restore, maintain, or expand the capacity of the lake and its tributaries to convey storm flows.” But the range of benefits could be much wider.

Keep in mind that the lake provides drinking water for more than 2 million people and sediment constantly shrinks its capacity.

dredging and maintenance district
The City of Houston is still dredging sand deposited by Hurricane Harvey more than seven years ago.

Maintenance needs to be constant. Imagine having to wait for an act of Congress to fill up your car with gasoline, then spending another two years applying for a grant and a year bidding the purchase. That’s the situation we have.

Potential Benefits

If approved, the bill has the potential to:

  • Increase Lake Houston’s capacity, which until now has constantly dwindled due to sediment deposited during periodic floods
  • Offset sediment swept downstream from upstream sand mines
  • Maintain the drinking water supply capacity for more than 2 million people
  • Reduce flooding in the Lake Houston Area by increasing the conveyance of tributaries and eliminating blockages at their mouths that back water up into homes and businesses.
  • Provide a source of material for beneficial uses such as:
    • Making concrete
    • Building roads
    • Elevating home foundations in new developments
    • Supporting public works projects, such as providing material to build the Ike Dike.

Governed by City- and County-Appointed Directors

Seven directors would govern the district. Harris County Commissioners Court and Houston City Council would each appoint three. The County and City would jointly appoint the seventh. They would have staggered 4-year terms.

Powers and Duties of District

“Dredging and maintenance” include the removal of debris that accumulates under and over the water of Lake Houston and its tributaries. That includes floating debris, such as trees that wash into the lake during floods.

The District may form inter-local agreements (ILAs) with other organizations within the boundaries of the District (Harris County).

The District would not have the power of eminent domain.

In performing its duties, the District may not negatively affect the water quality in Lake Houston. That includes the quality of water treated by the City’s Northeast Water Purification Plant.

Before performing any dredging or maintenance, the District must obtain the approval of the City’s Director of Public Works.

Financing

The District would not have to pay a fee to take the material it dredges, but could make money to finance operations by selling that material. It may not impose taxes or charge fees.

But the District could apply for grants from sources such as FEMA, HUD, and the Texas Water Development Board.

The State legislature could also appropriate up to $25 million per year to help jumpstart operations, but not after September 1, 2027.

As one of its first duties, the District would have to develop a plan of financing and make that plan available to the public for comment.

Start Date

If more than two-thirds of each house in the Legislature approve, the bill would take effect immediately. If approved with less than a two-thirds majority, the District would take effect on September 1, 2025.

Commissioners Court and City Council would have to name board members no later than September 1, 2026.

Similar to 2023 Bill

Cunningham proposed a similar bill in the previous legislature that died in committee. Cunningham was a freshman in the legislature back in 2023 and he introduced the bill late in the session. Now he has more friends and seniority which could get him on the committee reviewing the bill.

Also this bill was introduced much earlier, improving the chances it will be heard (It’s #1532 vs. #5341).

Other than changing the dates and numbers, the bills are virtually identical.

Let’s hope Mr. Cunningham has the pull to get on the committee reviewing the bill this year.

At this point, the bill has not been sent to any committee yet. Nor have any other additional sponsors signed on.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/31/25

2712 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.