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Kingland West Clearing 1,123 Acres at FM1010 and Grand Parkway, Using Old Flood Maps

Contractors have begun clearing more than 1,100 acres owned by CH-B Kingland, LLC, north of the newly opened Grand Parkway. Construction plans obtained from Harris County Flood Control District via a FOIA request indicate the developer will build single-family residences. But the documents also indicate that engineers are using pre- not post-Harvey floodplain maps and data. That could be tragic news for unknowledgeable home buyers as well as homeowners already in the area. I have interviewed people near here whose homes flooded twice in the last five years.

While the current maps date back to Tropical Storm Allison, they are still official. But why?

Background on Land and Developer

To date, the plans include four sections of a subdivision called “The Trails.” According to a drainage impact analysis submitted to obtain permits, The Trails will be part of a larger development called Kingland West.

Kingland West clearing — *Land being cleared for The Trails, part of Kingland West.*

Kingland West was once part of 8,000 acres owned by CH-B Kingland along the then-undeveloped northeastern section of the Grand Parkway. But CH-B Kingland sold 4,000 acres to neighboring Colony Ridge in 2016.

The remaining 4,000 acres span three counties: Montgomery, Harris and Liberty. According to Appraisal District maps in the three counties, CH-B Kingland still owns acreage on both sides of the Grand Parkway. The opening of Segment H of the Grand Parkway will likely help the value of CH-B’s remaining land skyrocket – despite the fact that wetlands pockmark the land.

Looking east along the Grand Parkway at additional land owned by CH-B Kingland not yet being developed. This is immediately east of Kingland West in Liberty County and not part of Kingland West construction plans.

A group called Castle Hill Partners appears on construction plans. Castle Hill Partners (CHP) is a private investment firm specializing in commercial development. The company provides turnkey investment, construction, loan servicing and property management services.

Effect on Flooding

Of Montgomery, Harris, and Liberty counties, Harris has the most stringent flood regulations. And according to a source close to the engineering company (Jones & Carter), Harris refused to permit the plans unless the engineering company followed Harris’ standards in all three counties. That part is good. The summary of floodwater detention below shows that the developer meets Harris County standards.

*Screen capture from Kingland West construction plans.*

The bad news: based on the engineer’s assurances, HCFCD did not check and verify all the engineer’s calculations.

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan

Here is a summary of their Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. It declares, in writing, that all outfall structures will be constructed in accordance with Harris County standards. The Plan also describes measures contractors should use to prevent sediment from escaping the site.

Using Old Sand Pit for Detention Basin

The developer apparently plans to use an old sand pit for floodwater detention. Compare the location on the map in the previous link with the satellite image below.

*Location of sand pits matches location of detention pond in Kingland plans.* *Satellite photo from 12/21.*

When I last photographed these pits in June 2020, they had mostly dry bottoms. But the image above shows they now have wet bottoms. I hope there’s enough room in the ponds to hold the required amount of floodwater.

*Helicopter photo from 6/20, eighteen months ago.* *Note small ponds already holding water in pits. Water table is high because of proximity to San Jacinto East Fork.*

Contractors will make more room for floodwater with additional excavation adjacent to the ponds. Here’s where the engineers plan to move fill from and to in Phase 1. But there’s still a big problem – the size of floodplains on the maps being used.

Built to Pre-Harvey, Pre-Colony-Ridge Floodplain Standards

As regular readers know, NOAA developed new rainfall probability statistics after Harvey. In the northern part of Harris County, they’re about 40% higher than pre-Harvey.

Unfortunately, the developer is using old flood maps and data developed after Tropical Storm Allison, not after Harvey.

See the disclaimer in the screen capture below. It appears in small type on virtually every page of the construction plans.

*Screen capture from The Trails construction documents explains all calculations are based on old flood maps and pre-Harvey data.*

Rosemary Fain and her husband who live just blocks south and east of Kingland West might disagree with that statement about “rare occasions.” Despite being farther from the East Fork than every Kingland West home will be, the Fains flooded twice recently from the East Fork, once during Harvey and again during Imelda. Water rose so high that it bridged out of the East Fork Watershed and started flowing into Luce Bayou – miles to the east!

I saw no reference to current floodplains or recent floods in the plans.

However, more than outdated rainfall-probability statistics affect flooding in this area. Just ask the people of Plum Grove, many of whom never flooded before Colony Ridge.

The sad fact is that the massive 20,000-acre Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, immediately east and north of Kingland, has increased and accelerated drainage. Colony Ridge has ALSO made the 2007 flood maps woefully out of date; the development started after the the old maps’ release – around 2012. Their out-of-control drainage blew out FM1010 less than 2 miles north of Kingland.

So why hasn’t MAAPnext released the new maps yet? They’re reportedly complete. More on that in a future post.

Posted by Bob Rehak on July 29, 2022

1795 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.

Construction of Northeast Water Purification Plant Past Halfway Mark

The City of Houston’s new $2 billion Northeast Water Purification Plant between Lake Houston and Beltway 8 East is now more than 50% complete. The last monthly progress report posted on GreaterHoustonWater.com was from more than a year ago. At the time, it showed construction 55% complete. Since then, the City has continued to post detailed periodic construction updates. The latest was in March 2022. It featured 79 pages of photos that dramatize the complexity of such a huge project. A flyover of the plant on 7/22/22 showed even more progress.

The latest timetable shows completion of the first phase early next year and completion of the second in 2025.

Project Benefits

The plant will provide enough treated surface water to reduce subsidence, which causes much of our flooding problems according to the City of Houston and the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District.

The Harris-Galveston Subsidence District says that land subsidence is caused by the withdrawal of groundwater. For that reason, regulations have been put in place to limit the use of groundwater.

By 2025, surface water must supply at least 60 percent of our water. The plant should meet that objective. And, it will wean 80% of the region off groundwater by 2035.

The plant expansion will supply 320 million gallons per day of treated water capacity in addition to the current 80 million gallons per day. So, capacity will quintuple by completion.

Then and Now Pictures Show Progress

The last time I posted about this project, construction was kicking into high gear back in September of 2020. Below are five pairs of photos from then and now that show how far it has come.

The two pipelines leading to the Northeast Water Purification Plant are each 9 feet tall!

Northeast Water Treatment Plant — *September 2020. Looking west toward Beltway.*

Improved Techniques

According to the City, “The expansion will include conventional treatment processes like the existing plant that help coagulate, settle, filter, and then disinfect water.” Quality will exceed Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements.

In addition, says the City, an advanced oxidation process called ozonation will disinfect water to help ensure that harmful organisms such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium are eliminated. Ozonation also helps eliminate taste and odor causing compounds, which improves the aesthetic quality of the water supplied by the Northeast Water Purification Plant.

Posted by Bob Rehak on July 28, 2022

1794 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The Hand of Sand Miners on the San Jacinto

The hand of sand miners weighs heavily on the San Jacinto watershed. Not all miners. But many.

While exploring the river basin by helicopter last week, the contrast between two scenes struck me: 1) The natural blanket of green in Lake Houston Wilderness Park. 2) Sand mines that lined the banks of the East and West Forks for miles.

The trees and natural wetlands inhibit floods. They slow floodwaters down, hold them back during heavy rains, and reduce erosion. The sand mines do not. They may provide some floodwater detention, but the pits are often filled to the brim and their dikes often break.

How you treat the land determines how it treats you. Especially during floods. This aerial photo essay shows how the San Jacinto River Basin used to look and how it looks today.

Lake Houston Wilderness Park

Peach and Caney Creeks border Lake Houston Wilderness Park on the west. The San Jacinto East Fork borders it on the east. The shot below represents the way the whole Lake Houston area used to be.

Compare That With These Shots

This first provides a direct comparison.

*Sand mine on Caney Creek. Lake Houston Wilderness Park in upper right.*

Below, note the difference in water levels between the creek and mine. No doubt, you also noticed a difference in water color. That bright blue/green in the mine water likely comes from high chloride levels.

*Site of previous breach from mine into Caney Creek*, *the subject of a million-dollar lawsuit by the TCEQ and the Texas Attorney General.*

More Mine Photos from West Fork

I’ll provide five more shots here, all from the West Fork San Jacinto. They represent more than 500 similar shots I took on 7/22/22.

No Swimming

When I see all this environmental degradation, my mind starts swimming – despite the scary water.

How much sediment gets swept downstream in floods?
Can this land ever return to productive use?
Do other cities allow mining in urban environments upstream from their water sources?
What effect does mining have on the water quality in Lake Houston?
What percentage of our water bills goes to cleaning up this water?
Why doesn’t Texas have performance bonds that ensure sand miners leave the land in habitable shape?

The sand makes concrete. It supports growth. But is all growth good?

Is growth in one area at the expense of public safety in another worthwhile?
Should we limit the concentration of mines in an area?
Why do mines expect the public to pay their cleanup and reclamation costs?
Is it safe to build mines below a dam that releases enough water during floods to break the mines’ dikes?
Are there no alternatives?

Cycle Continues

*New Segment H of the Grand Parkway cutting east through forests will attract more subdivisions that require more sand for more concrete.*

I encourage rebuttals from any mine owner who wishes to address these questions.

Posted by Bob Rehak on July 27, 2022

1793 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.

Controversial Colony Ridge Development Doubles in Size

The Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, aka the world’s largest trailer park, has more than doubled in size in the last 3 years. Measurements in Google Earth show that Colony Ridge, which started clearing land in 2012, has expanded from approximately 8,000 acres in 2019 to almost 20,000 acres today. To put that in perspective, Kingwood comprises approximately 14,000 acres and took more than 40 years to build out.

*Colony Ridge started developing on the left (west). It is expanding east* *and north.*

Growing Pains

But the rapid growth of Colony Ridge has not come without pain:

The developer avoided building floodwater detention ponds by underestimating runoff.
Insufficiently mitigated drainage washed out FM1010.
The developer declared war on wetlands and drained them.
Neighboring Plum Grove sued the developer over flooding, sewage leaks, and street damage.
TCEQ launched more than a dozen investigations into construction practices and sewage leaks.
Wayne Dolcefino exposed the cozy relationship between the developer and elected officials.
A foreclosure scandal in the owner-financed development made headlines.
Surrounding volunteer fire departments battle blazes without the help of fire hydrants in most areas…or financial support.
Rivers of mud continue to flow out of drainage ditches with big rains because the developer flaunted construction regulations for them.

Consequences of Poor Construction Practices

As a result of such drainage issues and exposed soils, more sediment flows downstream than otherwise would. This contributed to sediment buildups on the San Jacinto East Fork (see below). Those, in turn, reduce conveyance and contribute to downstream flooding – unless the public continues to spend millions on dredging.

*East Fork Mouth Bar after Imelda but before recent dredging. Average river depth had been reduced to three feet.*

Still Not Following Best Practices

Aerial photos taken on 7/22/2022 with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari, two fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, show the current state of the development and construction practices in Colony Ridge. Sadly, not much has improved. For instance, the developer still piles dirt on the edge of ditches without protecting them with silt fences.

*Note long drainage ditch cutting diagonally through middle of frame. Developer has piled dirt next to it (middle left of frame) without protecting ditch with silt fencing*.

*Major ditch cutting through older section is sill not protected with back-slope interceptor swales or vegetation.* *Erosion is rampant.*

Water shooting down the ditch above created a major headache during Harvey. See below.

FM 1010 Still Washed Out

Floodwater from the ditch washed out FM 1010. This major N/S thoroughfare still needs repair…five years later!

*Break in FM 1010, aka Plum Grove Road* *forces residents to detour for miles.*

Photos Showing New Development

*Area developed last year is starting to fill in with new trailer homes already.* *Note absence of fire hydrants…still.*

*Looking east at area still under construction.*

*Looking E from NE corner of development.* *Another area semi-cleared but still unpaved.*

If there’s good news in these photos, it is that the developer appears to be leaving more natural ground cover in the newest areas. Still, without vegetation on the sides of ditches, without better construction practices, excess sediment could continue washing into the Lake Houston Area for years to come.

Ever Widening Circles

These images support the need to harmonize and enforce higher drainage standards throughout the region. Without change two things will happen:

Downstream residents will continue to pay the price for egregious development practices upstream.
Someday, the people who buy these lots will also become flood victims of similar new developments even farther upstream.

Will we continue to repeat mistakes of the past in ever widening circles? Will we continue to sow the seeds of future flooding? Or will we wake up to the fact that we are all part of one giant community?

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/23/2022

1792 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.

New Subdivisions Now Routing Drainage Through, Toward West Fork Sand Mines

Two new subdivisions are now routing their drainage through or toward San Jacinto West Fork sand mines.

The one already going through a mine is Artavia on the north/east side of the Westfork between FM 1314 and river.

The other is near Woodson’s Reserve on the south/west side of the river just inside the Grand Parkway (SH99). Their ditch currently stops just feet short of another sand mine.

Routing drainage through sand mines raises concerns about the potential for increasing sediment in the West Fork. Increased sediment can reduce conveyance and contribute to flooding.

Accident Waiting to Happen?

During a flyover of the West Fork on Friday 7/22/2022 with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari, two fellow members of the Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force, I photographed both drainage issues from the air. They gave me a queasy, “accident-waiting-to-happen” feeling.

So, I reached out to Texas A&M, the TCEQ, the Montgomery County Engineer’s office and two hydrologists to ask about about safety. I could not reach anyone at A&M, TCEQ, or the MoCo Engineer’s office. But this is vacation time.

However, the two hydrologists did express concerns. See them below the pictures.

Where Artavia Drainage Reaches Mine

The Artivia ditch approached the LMI Moorehead Mine in 2019. And reached the West Fork in the second half of 2021. Here’s how it looks today.

*Water from ditch goes into one pond and makes a right turn into another, then*…

*…spills out into the West Fork via a pipe or overflow swale.* *West Fork in foreground runs toward the right and Humble/Kingwood Area.*

Second Development’s Drainage

On the opposite side of the West Fork, upstream just south of the Grand Parkway, another new development is expanding near Woodson’s Reserve.

*Red dot represents location of helicopter when taking the two shots immediately below.*

*A small part of the clearing. Note drainage ditch on right (not fully completed).*

*Close up of the far end of the shot above.* *Looking east. West Fork is in trees on far side of mine.*

The developer could make the ditch go around the mine. But around would be an expensive proposition. Right now, the ditch ends a half mile from the river.

Going around would add another 2 miles. Plus, to reach the river, the ditch would have to make a sharp U-turn and cut across a series of properties owned by other entities. So, I’m fairly confident that’s NOT the plan.

*Looking north across mine. Red X marks current end of ditch. West Fork is on right.*

This mine stretches two miles north to south and a half mile east to west.

Concerns of Hydrologists

The two hydrologists who returned my calls both spoke on condition of anonymity. They expressed concerns about the potential for sedimentation and erosion created by routing subdivision drainage through sand mines.

The first acknowledged that the practice might have benefits during small rains. Sediment transported down ditches could get a chance to drop out of suspension before it reaches the river. And the ponds might provide some small floodwater retention benefit, too.

However, he also felt that in large floods the higher volume and speed of the water could churn up sediment in the pond and flush it downstream.

The second hydrologist worried about pressure on the mines’ dikes. He cited the potential for breaches and the risk of sediment escaping into the West Fork and onto neighboring properties.

He also worried about erosion of the loose, sandy soils. Already, he said, you can see significant erosion where they are trying to shore up roadways. He remembered the 56 million gallon spill from the LMI Moorehead mine that turned the West Fork white with sludge. He also remembered how LMI tried to blame it on Artavia at the time.

*Confluence of Spring Creek and West Fork. TCEQ alleged that Liberty Mines discharged 56 million gallons of white waste water into the West Fork.* *Liberty blamed Artavia for flooding the mine. Photo taken 11/04/2019.*

I couldn’t find any academic papers written about routing subdivision drainage through mines. Montgomery County may be breaking new ground, so to speak.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/25/22

1791 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.

Halls Bayou Has Come a Long Way, But Still Has Long Way to Go

A popular misperception says Halls Bayou has received no flood-mitigation funding. Yet it has received $175 million since 2000. $65 million of that happened since Harvey.

Channel widening, stormwater-detention basins and neighborhood drainage improvements have reduced flood risk somewhat, but several factors – including the need for more funding – make mitigation difficult. HCFCD has many projects still seeking federal assistance.

The Bond Program approved by voters in 2018 includes more than $110 million for the Halls Bayou watershed. That money could help attract another $236 million in federal matching grants for a total of $346 million. But many projects have yet to receive grants and start construction.

Halls cuts diagonally across the northern part of Harris County between Beltway 8 and Loop 610 North. It joins Greens Bayou before the Ship Channel.

*From HCFCD.org* on 7/24/2022. *Halls, a tributary of Greens Bayou, is the darker shaded area.*

Background: Halls Ahead

Halls received an extraordinary amount of damage during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Among all 23 Harris County watersheds, it ranked second only behind Greens Bayou during that storm. But Greens has four times the area and three times the population. (Greens had 15,590 damaged structures; Halls had 12,820.)

As a result, HCFCD launched many studies of Halls drainage after Allison. They culminated in the 2013 Halls Ahead Plan. But HCFCD lacked money to fully implement it and still does. All unfunded Halls Ahead projects carried forward into the 2018 Bond Program and many were able to start as you will see in the pictures below. Several have even finished. However…

A Phasing Study designated 58 flood risk reduction projects in 12 phases, with estimated costs between $100 million and $150 million per phase.

Flood Control executives recently traveled to Washington to plead for more help from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps now has a pilot program to help economically disadvantaged areas and Halls certainly qualifies. Halls has the highest percentage of vulnerable, Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) residents of any watershed in Harris County (71%).

Complicating Factors

*Blocked roadside ditches trap floodwater in *neighborhoods*. City of Houston and Harris County Precincts are responsible for roadside ditches, not HCFCD.*

Halls is plagued by a combination of factors that make flood mitigation difficult:

Silted-in roadside ditches
Aging stormwater infrastructure
Developments built to older standards
Homes frequently built at street level
Dense population that leaves little room for mitigation projects
Structures built in floodplains that have to be bought out before many mitigation can begin (see below).

Flood History in Halls Watershed

Much of the Halls Bayou watershed developed during or after the 1950s. Take this area immediately east of what became I-45. It was farmland before then.

*Floodplains today. Cross hatched = Floodway. Aqua = 100-year floodplain. Brown = 500-year.* *Based on data developed after Allison. Floodplains will expand even farther after new updates.*

Homes and businesses built in Halls Bayou floodplains created the flood risk. They also make widening channels or building detention basins difficult because of time-consuming, expensive buyouts.

Vital Stats

These statistics help put Halls Bayou flood problems in perspective. Here’s how Halls ranks among 23 Harris County watersheds on:

Watershed size – #16 (42.3 square miles)
Population – #10 (152,358 in 2020 census, down 5% from 2010)
Population density – #6 (3,602 people/square mile)
Dollars per capita in flood mitigation spending – #5 ($1151 per resident)
Dollars per square mile – #4 ($3.9 million dollars per square mile between 2000 and the end of last year).
Damaged structures – #4 (25,691 structures during five major storms since 2000 [Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey and Imelda])
Damage per square mile – #1 (607.4 structures/sq. mi.)

That last point makes recovery difficult for communities, especially less affluent ones. It may help explain the decrease in population.

Allison, Harvey Dramatize Need for Mitigation

HCFCD has documented flooding along Halls 14 times since 1989. But the two worst storms were Allison (2001) and Harvey (2017). Allison damaged 12,820 structures in the watershed. But Harvey damaged fewer – 11,831.

It’s fairly safe to say that without many mitigation improvements made prior to Harvey, Harvey damage would have been worse. However, rainfall distribution patterns make comparisons between the storms difficult.

The following table from HCFCD’s final Harvey report compares rainfall associated with severe, recent storms for various time periods. Tropical Storm Allison exceeds Harvey’s rainfall in the 6, 12 and 24-hr periods. But in the 2-day period, Harvey produced 6.0 inches more than Allison and 8.9 inches more over 4 days.

Photos of Stormwater Detention Projects from 7/19/22 Flyover

Last Tuesday, I flew most of the length of Halls Bayou with two fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force, Ken Williams and Bill Callegari. Let’s take a look at several Halls projects already completed or under construction – starting upstream and working east.

Helms Street Basins

East Helms runs between these two small basins just south of Aldine Mail Route Road. HCFCD completed these last year. They hold 119 acre-feet. That’s a little less than 3″ of stormwater falling over a square mile.

*Looking NE.* *Helms Street Stormwater Detention Basins, Phases 1 & 2*.

P518-11-00

I last reported on this project in March 2022. It’s still under construction.

The $6 million stormwater detention basin project will provide regional mitigation benefits.

The basin will hold 180 acre-feet of stormwater. That’s about 3.5 inches of rain falling across a square mile. It will be a wet-bottom basin with a vegetated shelf.

*Looking S at new detention basin. Between Halls Bayou at far end and Isom Street in foreground. Aldine Mail Route Road is under the camera position.*

This basin is part of a larger mitigation project that will also extend and enlarge a channel north to the Western Homes subdivision along Aldine Mail Route Road.

Keith Weiss Park

One of the hidden gems of Houston is Keith Weiss Park east of Aldine-Westfield Road. The area is really a series of large connected detention basins disguised as a nature park with hike and bike trails, soccer fields, piers and boardwalks. City of Houston owns the park.

The Keith Weiss project removed 1,770,000 cubic yards of soil to create detention basins that hold approximately 963 acre feet of stormwater storage. That’s enough to hold a foot of stormwater falling across 1.5 square miles.

Google Earth shows that excavation started around 2006 and was substantially completed by 2010.

*Wide shot looking east from over Aldine-Westfield Road*. *Halls Bayou flows away from camera.* *See close-ups of the three detention ponds below.*

*Western-most basin. Halls Bayou in bottom center.*

*Center pond. Still looking east toward US 59.*

Channel Improvements

HCFCD is making channel improvements along Halls in many locations. See project C-41. The area below lies between Keith Weiss Park and US59.

*Looking SE along Halls toward US59. According to the HCFCD website, channel conveyance improvements and an additional detention basin are still in preliminary engineering.*

Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin

The Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin on Halls Bayou added approximately 635 acre feet of additional stormwater storage upstream of Jensen Drive at US 59. It holds a foot of stormwater falling across one square mile.

A large part of a subdivision had to be bought out before construction of this basin could begin. HCFCD substantially completed this basin in 2015.

Hall Park Basin

HCFCD also had to buy out a large part of a subdivision to build the Hall Park basin on the opposite side of US 59. Flood Control substantially completed this project in 2018.

Hall Park holds 835 acre-feet. That’s enough to hold a foot of water falling across 1.3 square miles.

This project involved relocating a City of Houston sanitary sewer line and removing approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of soil.

*This project required many buyouts that took almost a decade to complete.* *Roads shown inside the basin have been removed*.

As part of its Bayou Greenways 2020 project, the nonprofit Houston Parks Board is designing and constructing the Halls Bayou Greenway – which includes a hike and bike trail, landscaping and neighborhood connections – along the southern edge of the stormwater detention basin. The full Halls Bayou Greenway will provide nine miles of publicly accessible open space from Brock Park to Keith Wiess Park.

In many cases, such stormwater detention basins are disguised as parks. So, many people don’t even recognize them as basins.

Hopper and Little York Basins

Slightly east of 59 at Hopper and Little York, HCFCD constructed two smaller basins in 2021 along a tributary of Halls. Together they hold approximately 200 acre feet. That’s about a foot of rain falling over a third of a square mile. Or four inches across a whole square mile.

*Looking west toward 59 at Hopper Basin. Halls tributary cuts diagonally through pond in foreground.*

*Looking S along the same tributary (in shade* at left) at Little York basin. Little York runs along the bottom of the frame.

Such projects hold water back during storms until it can be slowly and safely released later when water in the bayou has receded.

Holding Back A Foot of Rain Falling Across Almost 5 Square Miles

Altogether, the detention basins in this post will hold almost a foot of stormwater falling across 5-square miles.

Halls Bayou has many other projects in various stages. For a complete listing, see the HCFCD website. Or review this presentation.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/23/2022

1790 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Forest Cove Townhomes: One More Gone, One to Go

Earlier this week, I photographed the collapse of one of the two last townhome complexes in Forest Cove on Marina Drive. Today, I flew over the demolition site and photographed contractors removing the last of the debris and cleaning up the site.

The images also show the extent of buyouts in the area as well as the last remaining townhome complex opposite the Forest Cove pool. One down. One to go!

Photos Taken on 7/22/22

*Looking south toward San Jacinto West Fork. Site of recently demolished complex in foreground. Last complex at top of frame, left of pool.*

*The demolition contractor has removed everything, including foundations and driveways – down to the dirt.*

*This entire area was once filled with townhome complexes, owned or rented by people who loved the river lifestyle.*

*Now only one remains. Harris County Flood Control has bought out the last owner and is doing final inspections before scheduling demolition sometime in August.*

*From dust to dust. All that remains of this address is memories.* *The excavator is using an I-Beam to level the dirt.*

Vast Improvement

Compare the image below with the one above.

forest cove townhomes — *After Harvey. Before demolition.* *This picture was taken in April, 2022.*

Harvey was the final insult to these townhomes. These and neighboring properties became uninhabitable because of flooding. 240,000 cubic feet per second made them structurally unsound.

Since Harvey, all the derelict buildings drew drug dealers, graffiti artists and illegal dumpers. Now, the area will revert to nature and become, once again, a haven for eagles and other wildlife that still roam this area.

One down. One to go.

No More Insurable Structures

Many people have asked about the long range plans for this area. Harris County Flood Control now owns the property. It will never be developed. Under the terms of the FEMA grant used to finance the buyouts, “no insurable structures” can ever be placed on this land again. That severely limits possibilities.

So What Comes Next?

However, the land could still be used for parks and trails. Beth Walters, a spokesperson for HCFCD confirmed this afternoon that Harris County and the Houston Parks Board have been in talks about this property. However, she was not aware of any decisions that have been made at this point. Creating something beautiful on this property will likely take fund raising, long-term budgeting, and the cooperation of multiple entities.

The Value of Park Land

In my humble opinion, a long linear park stretching from here to US 59 might be the highest and best use for this land. It would turn a negative into a positive. If a deal can be worked out, it would help restore nearby property values in Forest Cove. These derelict townhomes certainly did not help them.

Many studies point to an increase in home values near parks. This one suggests an 8% to 20% bump. I hope the community can come together around the idea of turning this area into a park.

Meanwhile…a couple miles downstream, developers are busy building even more condos and apartments…even closer to the river. And they say that one of the hallmarks of human intelligence is that we can learn from each other’s mistakesI

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/22/2022

1788 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Hunting Flood-Mitigation Project Nearing Completion

When Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and the Army Corps began Project Hunting (the Hunting Bayou Federal Flood Risk Management Project) in 2014, they estimated it would cost $100 million and take until late this year.

A flyover of the construction along Hunting Bayou looks like it is nearing completion…right on schedule. It will soon be done, except for the backslapping. Compare the shots below to those I took last year.

Hunting Bayou runs just inside North Loop 610 most of the way from US59 to Wayside. However, starting at Wayside, it dips outside the Loop, then goes back inside again, and finally outside a second time. Eventually, the Bayou works its way to the Houston Ship Channel near the City of Galena Park.

Scope of Project

Project elements include:

Excavating a stormwater detention basin on a 75-acre site near the northeast corner of Homestead Road and Loop 610
Widening and deepening about 4 miles of Hunting Bayou
9 bridge replacements / 8 modifications and channel conveyance improvements under bridges

Project Benefits

HCFCD says that most neighborhoods near the bayou will see water surface elevation reductions of 3-4 feet for the 1 percent annual chance (100-year) flooding event. The number of homes and businesses subject to the 1 percent (100-year) flooding event would drop from 5,100 to 650. And all homes and businesses will benefit from the reduced frequency and depth of flooding.

Need for Project

The Hunting Bayou watershed has Harris County’s second highest percentage of Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) residents – 69%. That means more than two out of every three people earn less than the average income for the region.

Hunting is a small watershed. It comprises only 31 square miles. Its size ranks 19th out of 23 watersheds in the county.

Population grew only by 2,323 residents between 2010 and 2020. It went from 75,908 to 78,231. That now ranks it 14th in population among all watersheds, and 8th highest in people per square mile.

In five major storms between 2000 and today (Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey and Imelda), floods damaged 15,763 structures in the watershed. But virtually all of that damage came from Allison (8,270) and Harvey (7,419). The other three storms combined damaged only 74 structures, according to statistics compiled from HCFCD Federal Reports.

Thus, Hunting ranked 7th in total damage out of 23 watersheds, but because of its small size and high density, it had 508.5 structures per square mile damaged by floods since 2000. That means…

Hunting ranked #2 out of 23 watersheds in damage per square mile.
Data Obtained from HCFCD Via foia request

The watershed is highly urbanized with a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial developments. It’s home to one of the largest rail yards in the Houston area.

*Union Pacific Englewood Yard in NE Houston along Liberty Road (right). HCFCD had to replace three railroad bridges over Hunting Bayou as part of the project.*

Aerial Survey Shows Mitigation Construction Almost Complete

On Tuesday this week, I flew over Hunting Bayou with Ken Williams and Bill Callegari. Both are fellow members of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force. The pictures below show highlights of the construction.

*Looking west at Hunting Bayou while hovering over US59 North. The widening of Hunting stretches downstream for about 4 miles to where Loop 610 North (on the left) turns right and heads south*.

Same area. Looking SW toward 59 and downtown. Notice the rip rap (irregular chunks of broken concrete or rock) below storm sewer outlets. It disperses the force of rushing water and slows it down to reduce erosion.

*Work continues around two neighborhood bridges at Falls St. and Leffingwell St.*

*Likewise, widening continues at Hirsch Road.*

*Looking back upstream at all three bridges*, *plus a pedestrian bridge over a small tributary in the distance.*

*Wider shot, looking upstream over Wayne Street.*

*Previously finished section around Wipprecht bridge.*

*Note how bayou narrows under Lockwood Bridge due to commercial development on either side.*

*Looking back upstream (west) from over Kelly St. at linear park that parallels another large detention basin.* *Note the new pedestrian bridges.They have been widened to accommodate the wider bayou.*

*Rotating 180 degrees from shot above, we can see downstream to rest of park and where the Bayou threads its way under Loop 610N*. *Also note large detention basin in distance.*

*Looking back SW from over Kelley Street. Note concrete lining that now protects narrow section under 610 bridge.*

*Looking SW toward Homestead Road (with the bridge) across the new 75 acre stormwater detention basin.*

The Curtis M. Graves Detention Basin shown above provides approximately 1,000 acre-feet of stormwater storage capacity. That’s almost 10 inches of rain falling over a square mile. Construction of the basin began in 2020.

*Looking west along 610 N at the section of Hunting that briefly dips outside of the Loop.*

*Looking NW. Note again the new concrete lining where the channel narrows to go under the Loop 610 N bridge. Water flows toward the camera.*

Compare Bayou Downstream From Project

Where the bayou narrows to go under a bridge, the increased water pressure during a flood can cause a “jetting” phenomenon that rapidly erodes banks and undermines bridge supports. Hence, the need for concrete reinforcement.

Looking S along East Loop 610 beyond the eastern end of the project. The Bayou loops around storage tanks (lower right) and heads south toward Wallisville Road, before heading east again. This shows what the bayou looked like before widening. *Compare width to previous shots.*

The tank farm is the approximate eastern limit of Project Hunting.

Project History

This project began on December 16, 2014, long before Harris County’s Flood Bond in 2018. It was a key project of County Commissioner El Franco Lee (who lived in the area) and Congressman Gene Green. Despite a low benefit/cost ratio, they called in favors and got the project started.

The agreement between the Army Corps and HCFCD lets HCFCD qualify for reimbursement from the Federal government for work completed.

Between the channel widening and detention basin, HCFCD has removed almost a million cubic yards of soil to create more room for floodwaters. Width of the Bayou now varies from about 30 to more than 500 feet between the project limits.

According to data obtained via a FOIA Request, HCFCD and its partners spent $96 million on Hunting Bayou between 2000 and the end of last year. Some of that money has been spent on other projects. To see a complete list of HCFCD projects in Hunting Bayou, visit the District’s Hunting page.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/21/2022

1787 Days since Hurricane Harvey

White Oak Bayou: What A Half Billion Dollars Looks Like

Since 2000, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and its partners have spent more than a half billion dollars to reduce flooding in the White Oak Bayou watershed. And they aren’t done yet. Before the flood bond is complete, they will have spent at least $575 million to create detention basins, widen channels and make other improvements.

On 7/19/2022, I flew up White Oak Bayou in a helicopter with Bill Calligari and Ken Williams, two fellow members from the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force. Our goal: to learn what the money bought.

This is the second of four posts. The first covered Greens Bayou. The next two will cover Hunting and Halls Bayous.

White Oak Bayou by the Numbers

White Oak Bayou is Harris County’s sixth largest watershed but its third most populous. 51% of its residents qualify as Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI). It’s our fourth most densely populated watershed (people/square mile). Not surprisingly it had the third most damage in 5 major storms since 2000 (Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey, Imelda). The storms damaged 25,739 structures. Look at some of the photos below of structures crowding the bayou and you will understand why.

White Oak Bayou from the Air

White Oak Bayou flows southeast from its headwaters northwest of FM 1960 to its confluence with Buffalo Bayou near downtown Houston. The watershed comprises 111 square miles, with 146 miles of open streams. They include:

White Oak Bayou
Little White Oak Bayou
Brickhouse Gully
Cole Creek
Vogel Creek

Our helicopter started the White Oak leg of our flight near the Heights north of downtown. From there, we flew upstream. This is what the Heights looks like from the air – a study in population density which correlates highly with flood damage.

*White Oak drains most of the Heights. Note the density of development. In 2010, the watershed census was 433,250. But by 2020, it had increased to 464,933.*

The lower section of the bayou needs repairs according to HCFCD. The Army Corps straightened, widened and partially concreted lower White Oak upstream approximately to West Tidwell Road between 1964 and 1971. See below.

*Looking south toward downtown from over Ella and TC Jester. Most of this segment of the bayou was finished years ago and requires only repairs now.*

*Looking W, upstream from over West 34th and TC Jester*.

HCFCD now maintains White Oak and has observed a number of locations where concrete is approaching the end of its useful life.

*Looking upstream from over Garapan Street just north of Tidwell at bank and concrete repairs.* *(Arbor Oaks buyout area is in upper right. See end of post.)*

16 Other Projects in Works

HCFCD currently lists 16 other projects in the White Oak watershed.

Some projects are still being studied. Some are complete or nearly so. As of June 8, 2022, HCFCD was working out a contractor issue on the largest project, which will delay the originally scheduled completion this summer.

Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project

The largest project is the White Oak Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project. This $124 million project will substantially reduce flooding risks along White Oak Bayou. It started in 1998 in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with the Flood Control District designated as the lead. The two segments of the project are fully funded to completion.

Limits of downstream segment of Federal Project

They include:

Construction of approximately 15.4 miles of channel conveyance improvements along the bayou from FM 1960 to Cole Creek near West Tidwell in the two segments above.
Excavation of six stormwater detention basins to hold almost one billion gallons of stormwater. That’s enough to hold a foot of rain falling across almost 5 square miles.
Construction of the Jersey Village Bypass Channel

*Stretch of improvements upstream from Alabonson Road.*

Upon completion, HCFCD estimates that most parts of the project area will see water surface elevation reductions of 0.1 to 1.8 feet for a 1 percent annual chance (100-year) flooding event.
HCFCD

*Looking S.* *White Oak Bayou Detention Basin near West Little York and Hollister.*

*Looking S toward White Oak Bayou near Fairbanks North Houston Rd. Basin completed in 2021*

*A smaller detention basin opposite the one above skirts the south side of White Oak at Fairbanks North Houston (bottom right).*

*Channel improvements and greenbelt trail still under construction.*

*Looking west at White Oak where it crosses under Beltway 8. Note bridge improvements and vegetated detention ponds on left on both sides of bayou.*

Many smaller detention ponds like those above now line both sides of the bayou and its tributaries from upstream to down.

Arbor Oaks Subdivision Buyout

Since 2003, HCFCD has bought out more than 200 homes in the Arbor Oaks subdivision. It is still buying more on either side of Vogel Creek to build a 431 acre-foot stormwater detention basin and restore the floodplain. That would hold a foot of rain falling over 2/3rds of a square mile.

Acquisition costs in such densely populated neighborhoods can easily exceed construction costs.

This part of the White Oak story dramatizes how costly, difficult and time-consuming it can be to buy out and mitigate areas built in floodplains.

*Note the large areas with streets marked, but few or no homes on them. They were bought out and this area will become another large detention basin. Image courtesy of Apple Maps.*

Here’s what part of it looks like from a few hundred feet up.

*Lower part of Arbor Oaks area on bottom left.* *Bridge is on West Little York. Looking SE toward downtown.*

*Looking SE at floodplain south of Little York near Arbor Oaks. Note aging concrete along White Oak Bayou on right.*

Many Other Projects

There are so many other projects underway on White Oak that I scarcely have room to mention them. See my previous post that discusses conversion of the Inwood Golf Course to a series of 12 connected detention ponds. It will hold 1200 acre feet. That’s a foot of rain falling over 2 square miles.

Then there’s the Woodland Trails Detention project downstream from Fairbanks N. Houston Road. It’s budgeted at $63.5 million. But it’s still in right-of-way acquisition.

And then there’s the North Canal near downtown. HCFCD and the City of Houston are working to finalize an interlocal agreement. Grant funding calls for completion of the first phase of the project by May 2023.

Finally, don’t forget the detention basins and channel conveyance improvements on tributaries, such as Little White Oak Bayou and Brickhouse Gully.

They all add up to more than a half billion dollars…and counting! Water needs somewhere to go during a storm. If we don’t leave a floodplain for floodwaters to safely expand, they will wind up in peoples’ living rooms.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/20/2022

1786 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Greens Bayou Detention Basin Capacity Steadily Growing

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and its partners continue to add detention basin capacity along Greens Bayou to reduce the risk of flooding. I flew in a helicopter today with fellow Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force members Ken Willians and Bill Calligari. We flew over Greens, Halls, Hunting, and White Oak Bayous. In this post, let’s focus on what we found in Greens.

From west to east, we flew over the Cutten Basin at 249 and Beltway 8, then followed the bayou over the Antoine, Kuykendahl, Glen Forest, Aldine-Westfield, and Lauder Basins. Some have recently completed construction. Others are still under construction. Here’s a rundown of everything between US249 and US59 along Greens.

Cutten Basin

Scheduled for completion later this year, the Cutten Basin covers approximately 250 acres. It includes five compartments, four south of Greens Bayou and one north. When complete, it will hold 850 acre feet of stormwater. That’s enough to hold a foot of rain falling across approximately 1.3 square miles. It will lower the water surface elevation along Greens by a third of a foot in a hundred-year flood.

*Looking S toward Beltway 8. Greens Bayou flows from right to left through the center of the frame.*

*Looking East. Greens cuts through the upper left portion of the frame. Beltway 8 cuts through the upper right.*

*Looking West across Hollister which cuts through the middle of the frame.*

Antoine Basin

HCFCD and the Army Corps started the $80 million Antoine Basin in 2015. The Army Corps designed and built it. Satellite photos in Google Earth first show it holding water in November 2020.

*Looking SW. West Greens Road arcs through center of frame. Greens flows from upper right to lower left. Beltway 8 near top of frame.*

The completed basin holds approximately 1,650 acre-feet, or 538 million gallons of stormwater. To put that in perspective, it holds a foot of rain falling over a 2.5 square mile area, or half a foot falling across 5 square miles!

Kuykendahl Basin

Kuykendahl Stormwater Detention Basin sits on a 288-acre property near Kuykendahl Road and Ella Boulevard along an unnamed tributary of Greens Bayou. In floods, it holds water back from entering the bayou and then releases it safely and slowly after the storm has passed.

*Kuykendahl in foreground. Note how densely populated the area is with apartments.*

Contractors removed 3.61 million cubic yards of soil from the site. It holds 2,325 acre-feet, or 757.6 million gallons of stormwater. That’s a foot of rain falling across 3.6 square miles, or half a foot falling across 7.2.

Following construction, contractors planted 22.19 acres of native tree and shrubs, and 12.79 acres of stormwater quality-treatment wetlands. They also created 14.04 acres of other wetlands to replace those impacted by construction.

Ceres Environmental Services Inc. constructed the Kuykendahl basin and another to the east (see Glen Forest below). Combined, they were the largest construction contract ever managed by HCFCD up to that time. The two basins reduced or removed flooding risks and damages from more than 1,100 structures along Greens Bayou. “Avoided damages” exceed $90 million in every flood. Far more than the cost of construction.

FEMA awarded $39.2 million to the Harris County Flood Control District, under the Hurricane Ike Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to construct the basins and HCFCD contributed matching funds.

Google Earth satellite photos indicate construction finished for both basins in 2020.

Glen Forest

Farther east along Greens, the Glen Forest Detention Basin extends from I-45 to Imperial Valley north of Greens Road.

*Looking West at Glen Forest Basin on Greens Bayou between I-45 at top of frame and Imperial Valley Drive under camera position*.

The Glen Forest Basin project removed approximately 2.15 million cubic yards of soil in three connected cells. The completed basin holds approximately 894 acre-feet. That’s 1.4 square miles one foot deep or 2.8 square miles a half foot deep.

Aldine Westfield Basins: Phases 1 and 2

Farther east along Greens Bayou, directly south of Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport, you will find two more new basins. HCFCD completed construction on the first in April 2021. The second (to the north) then began construction and has not yet finished.

*Looking East from over Aldine Westfield Road in foreground at Phase One. Beltway 8 in upper right. Note Greens Bayou turning south under Beltway in upper right.*

*Looking ENE. Phase 2 is still under construction on Aldine-Westfield Road immediately north of Phase 1 (lower right). Note airport tower on horizon.*

Phase 1 holds approximately 667 acre-feet of stormwater and Phase II will hold another 600 acre-feet. Two 5’x4′ reinforced concrete boxes will connect the two phases and outfalls into Greens Bayou.

Together the two basins will hold a foot of rain falling over more than two square miles.

Lauder Basin

1.5 miles to south of the Aldine-Westfield Basins, you will find the Lauder Basin: Phases 1 and 2.

Phase 2 of the Lauder Basin is starting in the forested area in the upper right of the photo above.

Phase 1 completed construction late last year. In May of 2022, the Texas Water Development Board granted HCFCD more than $2.2 million to begin Phase 2.

The two basins when complete in 2024 will hold a foot of rain falling over more than 2 square miles (1260 acre feet). That concludes your helicopter flight down Greens Bayou for today.

Greens by the Numbers

Together, these basins should hold approximately a foot of rain falling over 12 square miles.

That’s not enough to prevent flooding in another Harvey. But it will certainly reduce flooding for thousands of people. HCFCD has not yet released updated flood-risk data for the mid- and upper reaches of Greens Bayou (shown above). More news on that when it becomes available.

According to data obtained from HCFCD via a FOIA Request, Flood Control and its partners have spent more than $435 million on flood mitigation in Greens Bayou between 1/1/2000 and the end of last year. That includes money spent on all phases of all projects shown above.

Only three other watersheds have received more funding since 2000: Brays, White Oak and Sims. But more on those later.

Greens was the second most heavily damaged watershed in five major storms (Allison, Tax Day, Memorial Day, Harvey, Imelda). Those storms damaged more than 29,000 Greens structures.

58% of the population of Greens has low-to-moderate income (LMI). That ranks 6th on the LMI scale of Harris County watersheds.

Posted Bob Rehak on 7/19/22

1785 Days since Hurricane Harvey