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Editorial: “Chaos” in Harris County Government

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about the brain drain at the highest levels in Harris County government, and its impact on productivity and service delivery. Sixteen departments have had a total of 34 leaders under Lina Hidalgo.

Since then, dozens of people have contacted me describing the impact of turnover on programs and service.

One manager used the word “chaos” to describe the environment since Lina Hidalgo took office. All of the sources for this post have requested anonymity because they fear reprisals – a chilling comment in itself.

No doubt, many good, talented, hard-working people remain in Harris County government, but the problems described below make it harder for them to do their jobs.

Unexplained Changes in Direction

One person told me about a new Harris County juvenile center that was being planned, due to overcrowding and substandard living conditions at the old center. Then one day, “…like out of nowhere, we got a sense that the whole project was canceled. We tried to explain how far along the project was and why it was necessary. And they didn’t care. It was just like, ‘Well, we [the judge’s office] are not going in that direction.’” The source added, “We had a lot of things in motion that just came to a halt.”

The new center never did get built. It had reportedly gone all the way through the design phase, so the unexplained cancellation was costly.

Not So Resilient Resiliency Plan

Another person mentioned a county-wide resiliency plan. The heads of multiple Harris County departments had worked on it for months. At the eleventh hour, people in Hidalgo’s office with no experience rewrote everything that people with experience had developed. “It just changed completely,” said one person involved.

Transportation Plan Stalled

Yet another person told me, “In Hidalgo’s mind, if you’re building a road, you’re doing taxpayers a disservice. Philosophically, she’s into multi-modal transportation. But a lot of times, she misses the point that the county is only allowed to do what the state of Texas allows it to do. That’s where they’ve had more problems. Their thought process a lot of times was, ‘Well, if they want to sue us for that, then they can.’ We’ve seen that play out several times.”

Other sources told me about progress on various components of Harris County’s Transportation Plan.

There has also been little to no movement on the county’s Multimodal, Major Thoroughfare plan to improve connectivity.
The Equity Study has stalled. So has a framework to implement it. There has been no movement on equity in transportation.
Likewise, there has been little to no movement on Vision Zero, the county’s effort to eliminate traffic fatalities.
Nothing notable has happened lately on Low Impact Development, Green Infrastructure, or other environmentally-friendly projects.

Lack of Clarity, Direction

Another major problem contributing to the chaotic work environment: lack of clarity and direction. One mid-level manager told me, “We would often be moving in a direction when everything kind of went on pause because we were waiting to see which direction to go. But we couldn’t ever narrow down a direction. It felt as if, in every single Commissioners Court meeting, we spent all day watching mommy and daddy fight. Even among the Democrats.”

Lack of Attention to Operational Details

Former managers of various Harris County departments also complained about lack of attention to operational details.

“Ellis’ office and the Judge’s office would work together to develop these big picture concepts of where we were going. But it was never clear how we would get there,” said one person.

“We’d sit there and go, ‘Well, that’s great. But you didn’t set up any funding for it. For example, we talked about big sweeping programs like MWBE – the Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprise program. That was four years ago and it’s still not off the ground.”

Hiring People Without Relevant Experience

They hired Pamela Chan to set up the new Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity. According to one person I talked to, Chan was a “a great academic,” but had no real-world, operational MWBE experience. Another said, “the guidance and support that Chan got was like almost nil and then she’d get beat up at court.” She soon left. That department has had two executive directors in a little more than a year.

Universal Services, the County’s information technology (IT) department, has the same problem. Its leader, Major General Rick Noriega has no IT background. Think what would happen if you put a computer programmer with no military experience in charge of a tank battalion. You’d probably have a high casualty rate. And that’s exactly what happened in Universal Services.

100% of Group Heads Leave Within 17 Months

According to many of his employees, Noriega’s lack of IT understanding contributed to high turnover beneath him at multiple levels. And that rapidly compromised the integrity of systems.

Noriega also pushed out people with excellent professional credentials and replaced them with political appointees in many cases.

Not long after Noriega took over the department, he lost his Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief of Cybersecurity (twice).

The department also lost 100% of its group directors beneath them and approximately one third of its employees in 17 months.

So many employees have left that the department doesn’t even put names on org charts anymore.

Incomprehensible Org Chart Without Names Revised More than 30 Times

In fact, the department doesn’t even call organization charts ‘org charts’ anymore. It refers to them as its “ecosystem.” See below.

*Harris County Universal Services Ecosystem Chart, Revision #25. For a high resolution, full-size PDF click here.*

At this point, the chart above has reportedly gone through more than 30 revisions under Noriega. Yet multiple sources told me, “No one understands it.”

Toxic Work Environment Accelerates Already High Turnover

The work environment in Universal Services has become so toxic according to sources that approximately one third of the department has left in 17 months and the rate of attrition is reportedly accelerating.

Universal Services org charts updated the day before Commissioners Court appointed Noriega the permanent department head show everyone who left since his arrival. The source told me that some positions have turned over more than once. So this 12-page chart understates the numbers involved. It shows that at least 134 people have left since Noriega assumed command. That’s out of approximately 400 to 450 total employees. The highlighted names represent people who left the organization in the last 17 months.

One third of a workforce turning over would not be surprising in fast food. But these are professional jobs with highly skilled people doing complex work that few understand.

Noriega reportedly tried to dismiss the turnover. But significantly, 100% of his group directors left, leaving much of the department rudderless, especially since Noriega did not have an IT background himself.

*Page 2 of 12-page Harris County Universal Services Org Chart as of 9/21/22*. *Highlighted group directors have left.* *To see turnover at lower levels, click here.*

Most employers, especially in government, try to hold attrition to 10% or less. High turnover disrupts service. It also costs time and money. This survey found that replacing workers costs an average of 33% of their yearly salaries.

If that percentage holds true in IT, losing one third of your workforce would cost one third of your payroll.

Self-Inflicted Damage

Some damage has been self-inflicted. While most IT companies let employees work remotely, Noriega forces managers to come into the office. This policy goes against the industry norm and has reportedly contributed to several of the departures at the managerial level.

“It’s Scary.”

One former IT employee told me Universal Services has refilled so many positions with inexperienced people that “They can’t even support the simple stuff. It’s scary.” This person called the replacements “Garcia’s puppets.”

Commissioner Adrian Garcia recommended Noriega for the job. Another Garcia loyalist, James Henderson, is Universal Services new Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. They have reportedly replaced many departing employees with people loyal to Garcia.

Can It Be Saved?

When the department’s crucial JWEB program went down recently, IT staff reportedly worked 8 hours on and 4 hours off around the clock trying to restore the system. But they couldn’t get it back up. So, hundreds of criminal suspects didn’t receive probable cause hearings in time and had to be released.

A former manager in the department told me, “I don’t think enough meat is left on the bone to fix what’s going on there.”

Harris County’s annual budget next year will exceed $3.5 billion. We’re one third of the way through a $5 billion flood bond. And these are the custodians of our tax dollars.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/1/2022

1706 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.

Mysterious Black Spots in RV Resort Detention Pond Contained Oil, Grease

Black spots in the detention pond at the Laurel Springs RV resort at 1355 LAUREL SPRINGS LANE near Kingwood contained measurable oil and grease concentrations.

TCEQ’s Second Investigation of Site

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) received multiple complaints about construction practices at the RV Resort going back to January. The first investigation found sediment discharges stretching approximately 450 feet onto neighboring property.

On March 7, 2022, the TCEQ investigated the site again in response to complaints about shiny black pools on the floor of the same detention pond that discharged the silt into the County’s Edgewater Park.

*Mysterious black spots in Laurel Springs RV Resort Detention Pond. Photo taken on 3/05/22.*

The investigator noticed several pools of water with dark colors. Some pools had a sheen on top and had bubbles. He used a stick to estimate the depth of the pools and determined that they were about a foot deep.

One pool appeared to leaking into the pond’s standing water, however, the site was not discharging water into the San Jacinto at the time of the investigation so no permit violations could be charged.

Contractors had worked to cover up the black spots for weeks.

TCEQ confirmed the allegation that the black substance was seeping from the ground. However, samples did not have sufficient concentrations to determine their exact origin. The conclusion stated, “Observations on-site did not indicate that the dark substance was petroleum based even though there was a measurable oil and grease concentration.”

A construction worker claimed earlier that the black goo was “decaying mulch.” However, the word mulch appears nowhere in the final TCEQ report.

Timing is Everything

It’s a shame that bulldozers covered the most concentrated pools before TCEQ investigators arrived. The week after the TCEQ investigation, the black substance re-emerged with a vengeance. See below.

After this incident, contractors erected a privacy fence around the pond. They also threatened prosecution of anyone taking photos.

For the full text of the TCEQ report including close up photos, click here.

To file a complaint with the TCEQ about a construction project, click here.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/29/2022

1704 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.

You’re Invited: Flood Task Force Meeting Tonight

The Harris County Community Resilience Flood Task Force will meet tonight (4/28/22) from 5:30 to 7:30 via Zoom. You’re invited. Register to attend by visiting the Task Force website.

Agenda

The agenda will cover:

Recap of first year’s activity
Reports by committee chairs
Status updates from Harris County Community Services, Flood Control District and Infrastructure Resilience Team on:
- CDBG-MIT Funding Update
- 2018 Bond Finances and next steps
- Resilience Actions Inventory
Public comments will come at the end of the meeting.

The Community Flood Resilience Task Force (CFRTF) is a multidisciplinary, community-driven body. Harris County’s Commissioners Court established it to ensure the County develops and implements equitable flood resilience projects that reflect community needs.

The meeting will also give you a chance to watch Dr. Tina Petersen in action. Petersen is the new executive director of flood control. She started last month.

Public Comment Period

CFRTF meetings are designed to help Task Force members accomplish their objectives. Therefore public participation is limited. However, members of the public may observe meetings and this meeting will have time available for public comment. If you cannot attend, you may also submit written comments in advance to cfrtf@hcfcd.hctx.net.

For more information on the CFRTF, visit https://cfrtf.harriscountytx.gov/.

Recently, the group has debated retooling the county’s equity guidelines for flood-mitigation funds to favor densely populated neighborhoods, such as those inside Beltway 8. If you feel left out, make sure you attend. Voice your opinion.

The map below shows historical flood losses in the county.

historical flood loss map of Harris County after Hurricane Harvey — *Historical flood loss map of Harris County after Hurricane Harvey*

Lake Houston is in the upper right. Darker colors represent more damage. Lighter colors represent less.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/28/22

1703 Days since Hurricane Harvey

More than $400 million in Unexplained Harris County Transfers Receive No Discussion During Rants On Other Items

A Harris County Commissioners Court meeting yesterday lasted 8 hours and 30 minutes. While viewers were repeatedly treated to rants alleging racial discrimination, partially documented transfers of approximately $470 million received absolutely NO discussion.

Let’s begin with the rants. Here’s one example. A revision to equity guidelines for the Flood Resilience Trust consumed 20 minutes of discussion including a 6-minute monologue from Commissioner Rodney Ellis. In essence, Ellis said, “I support the new formula” in 894 words. I transcribed the rant in its entirety below. See if you can follow it. Among other things, Ellis:

Says he hopes to reduce a HUD appropriation from $750 million to $250 million.
Confuses the County with the City; and flood mitigation with parks and police.
Drags Harris Health into the discussion for some unexplained reason.
Invokes ‘back of the bus’ language to describe watersheds receiving the lion’s share of funding.
Threatened to sue a federal agency trying to give the county $750 million.
Claims the County didn’t make specific project recommendations/allocations for the flood bond (which it did).
Overlooks the contribution of partner funding to build a case for not chasing partner funding.

It gets better! Read on.

Rodney Ellis on New Equity Formula

“Commissioner Garcia, some of the issues that you were raising and Commissioner Ramsey were raising, I think that this proposal for prioritization-framework modifications will address some of them. Commissioner Ramsey, first of all, I want to point out that the 2018 package of $2.5 billion would in no way fund all of the projects that people talked about. I also want to reiterate that coming off city council a long time ago, I argued to list specifically what the projects were. It was a short fuse. If you remember Commissioner Cagle, you might agree with me. I was worried about having the election in August, as opposed to when more people would show up.

“But I didn’t win that battle and it passed despite my misgivings. But we were on a short time frame and I was told you cannot lay out the specific projects, because if a project…If you put in 20 million and it costs 50 million, can you get the creek? Or you put in 50 million and it costs 40 million and it didn’t quite sound right to me. Because unless the city did a better job of projecting what parks and police command stations will cost, you know, inflation. But that’s what was said. And I was not going to argue with it and didn’t think I had the support of the court anyway.

“But 2.5 billion was never going to fund all of the items that were on the radar, shall we say, because a decision was made not to lay them out with specificity was how to do a cap improvement program. I also want to say that to my knowledge, maybe others’, two projects had come to my mind that weren’t on the radar. One was in your precinct. The education project came from them.

“The other one was in another county – Commissioner Cagle’s area. I don’t know where it is now, buying some land in another area that certainly had some political gravitas to it.

“I argued for two things. The varnish was coming off. What I wanted to despair to say, and everybody said that they were for getting rid of disparities until it was time to vote. Send somebody to do statistical analysis to see if they had one. And I was told, you pay for it. And you can do it. So Precinct One paid for it. Thank you to the women. Precinct One, you added $660,000 back. And of course, it showed there was a tremendous disparity. I would encourage you to listen to Harris Health’s discussion of why they’re going to lay off the expert study off. So it will be interesting to see what Bert came up with, but that’s history. Going forward, we will do better as we are doing better here, I think.

“The other item I wanted was the equity guidelines. Now, once it passed, there were those who thought equity meant just split 2.5 billion…four ways…which would be highly inequitable if we all agreed that chasing federal money with a cost benefit ratio and a host of other issues meant certain neighborhoods that flooded all the time didn’t get funding regardless of why, chasing federal money, that’s what happened. So all of these projects were started. We know three big ones, Commissioner Garcia, in your precinct and mine, and might touch all our precincts, in Halls and Greens.

“We were chasing GLO money or federal money that never came, so they were delayed. So, then resiliency was created as a way to get stuff here created to fill up the gap. And whether or not it would fill it all up, I don’t know. But I, for one, would not just talk the talk. You got to pay for it, pay for it. Or maybe politely find a way to just pass a resolution and say you resolve to do it down the road. This prioritization framework makes sense because it places a greater emphasis on the number of people that a project would address instead of what neighborhood you live in.

“I can’t say it enough. Something’s wrong. When this county had a system where you protect the neighborhood I live in now, but the neighborhood I came out of – even if that one historically flooded more. It also says we do not consider partner funding as a factor because who gets partner money? Well, that’s part of the funding.

“The neighborhoods have always been privileged. It’s just that way. And we use the latest data to invest in projects that address structural delay both inside and outside the 100-year network. So, I can’t wait until you bring it up and I’m going to vote for it when it comes up.

“And I tell you, just as I’m proud of what Texas Housers did, and I’m proud of what HUD did to get us our 750. Hope we get down to 250 and I hope the city gets this bigger because they deserve it. We both do.

“And if we don’t follow prioritization framework like this, I will be the first one finding somebody to file a lawsuit and raising all kind of hell at HUD because we will continue to neglect those neighborhoods that have always been on the back of the bus. But other than that, thank you very much.”

– End of Ellis Monologue –

Diversionary Tactic?

How can one react to rambling, unsubstantiated rants such as this!

During the meeting, as I tried to look for backup on several agenda items, the county website froze on numerous occasions – shades of the IT debacle at Universal Services.

To set the record straight, Brays Bayou, the watershed in which Commissioner Ellis grew up AND in which he now lives, has received $575 million in flood-mitigation funding in the last 22 years. White Oak, the watershed where Commissioner Garcia now lives, has received $525 million in funding. That’s almost one third of all the flood mitigation money spent in the county since 2000 – on two watersheds out of 23. No watersheds have received more!

*Flood mitigation spending in Harris County during first quarter 2022 and since 2000. Obtained via FOIA Request.*

Greens and Halls received another $620 million. That makes $1.72 billion. And that’s 46% of all the flood mitigation money in recent history.

More than one long-time Harris County insider has characterized such rants as a diversionary tactic. Elsewhere on the agenda yesterday was a motion to make “routine transfers” between departments (see Item 17).

It received absolutely NO discussion and the Budget Management Department provided no backup for the agenda item. But the transfers totaled almost half a billion dollars. I had to obtain the backup through a special request. Notice how many of the transfers do not follow the industry standard for double-entry accounting – even though the forms request it.

Double-entry accounting shows where money is coming from and going to. That facilitates balancing the books and auditing. But in this case, the ‘from’ or the ‘to’ were omitted in 21 of 39 transactions for this year. Those 21 transactions alone totaled approximately $470 million.

I have no proof that anything illegal occurred and I’m not suggesting it did. But I am suggesting that Democrats, who pride themselves on transparency, could improve on that score.

Eight hour meetings filled with incomprehensible rants, agenda items without backup, backup that omits crucial elements, and a website that intermittently stopped responding during the meeting create barriers to public participation and government oversight.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/27/2022

1702 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.

Harris County still has not posted video of yesterday’s meeting. Here’s an audio recording of Mr. Ellis‘ rant so you can check the transcription yourself. He is admittedly hard to understand at times.

First Quarter 2022 Flood-Mitigation Spending Update, New Equity Formula

In the first quarter of 2022, Harris County Flood Control District spent a total of $84 million. That brought the total of flood mitigation spending since 2000 up to almost $3.8 billion.

For the first time since ReduceFlooding.com started tracking these numbers via Freedom of Information Act requests, spending in the Hunting Bayou watershed led all other watersheds. Brays Bayou, the previous front runner, dropped into second place. Cypress Creek, White Oak Bayou, Clear Creek, and Halls and Greens Bayous virtually tied for third place in spending. The San Jacinto Watershed came in 17th despite the fact that it is the largest in the county.

*Watershed spending by Harris County Flood Control District last quarter and since 2000. Includes partner funds and all phases of all projects.*

The Galveston Bay and Vince Bayou Watersheds had no invoices reported during the quarter. Totals for Jackson and Addicks were restated to account for a change in accounting, resulting in negative numbers. Previously HCFCD reported dollars spent by project management status. The District now reports totals by invoice date. The new method is more precise.

First Quarter 2022 Watershed Rankings

*Negative numbers reflect adjustment for change in accounting described above.*

Cumulative Spending Since 2000

*Ratio between highest and lowest is almost 100 to 1.*

Totals Since Harvey

Between Harvey and the end of 2021, HCFCD spent $1.45 billion on all watersheds. The $85 million spent in the first quarter of 2022 brings the total since Harvey up to $1.535 billion.

San Jacinto Watershed

Of the almost half million dollars spent in the San Jacinto Watershed during the first quarter of 2022, virtually all of it was spent on preliminary engineering and design. The Harris County Flood Control District shows only one active capital improvement construction project in the San Jacinto Watershed valued at $1,000. That’s the Excavation and Removal Contract on the Woodridge Village Property to develop additional floodwater detention capacity. Compare that to the $15.6 million spent on construction in Hunting Bayou.

Equity Formula Being Changed Again

The disparity in totals between watersheds largely has to do with Federal partner funding and the equity funding formula passed by three Democrats at Harris County Commissioners Court. The original formula has been revised again and again to send more and more funding to watersheds with high percentages of low-to-moderate income residents. Commissioners started debating another set of changes to the formula today that would apply to money in the Flood Resilience Trust, but did not vote on it.

The changes recommended include:

Prioritizing people over structures
Eliminating partnership funding from consideration
Recommending proxies for FEMA data since 1977

People Over Structures

This change would favor spending in densely populated neighborhoods inside Beltway 8 as opposed to neighborhoods with more single-family homes outside Beltway 8. For example, 100 people could live in an apartment building on a single acre. So could 3 people in a single family home. The only problem: Flood control has no way of determining how many people live in an apartment building. So the District will have to use an average for the watershed, according to Dr. Tina Petersen, the new head of flood control.

Partner Funding

Democrats don’t want to wait for partner funding. They want to start projects right away, using bond money and other funds diverted from the toll road. Using out of pocket money could speed up flood-mitigation projects in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods, but it could also reduce the size of the total pot, jeopardizing badly needed projects somewhere.

Dated Data

Using 1977 data would disadvantage areas outside the Beltway, which was under construction at that time. Places like Kingwood were just beginning to be built. So using the older data from the Seventies would stack the deck in favor of inner-city neighborhoods. However, there was no universal agreement on a suitable substitute for the FEMA damage claims.

“Who Goes First?” No Longer the Issue

These constant changes to an equity formula which was originally conceived as a “Who goes first?” tool, seem to make less and less sense now that all flood bond projects have started. So commissioners are considering these changes in regard to the Flood Resilience Trust. That money will theoretically allow development of more projects when the flood bond expires. But no one has yet determined the list of projects for that money. So Commissioners still have many details to work out.

One huge related detail is developing a plan for how to spend $750 million in HUD partner funds. The county administrator seems to have turfed the assignment to the Community Services Department. Said another way, they took it out of Flood Control and put it in a department that has had four leadership changes in four years.

Out of 154,000 homes in the county damaged by Harvey, Community Services managed to distribute only $21.4 million in repair funds.

*Screenshot from HarrisRecovery.org as of 4/26/2022.*

No offense. I’m sure this is a difficult job. And I’m sure the county has talented people. But justifying flood-mitigation grants seems to be more of a job for engineers than people who handle claims. The adventure continues. More details in coming weeks.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/26/2022

1701 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Royal Pines or Vanishing Woods?

On paper, it appears to be called Royal Pines. On foot, it appears that a more appropriate name would be Vanishing Woods.

Live in a place long enough and you are bound to lose some of the things that attracted you to that area. Today, I discovered contractors clearing land for another new development in Montgomery County. It’s at the north end of West Lake Houston Parkway in Porter, just west of Country Colony. See red oval below.

*Contractors are clearing land in the red oval.*

In White Oak Creek Watershed

I do not yet have any firm details about the size of the new development or the number of homes. But White Oak Creek will cut just north and east of it.

*New development sits in middle of map south of White Oak Creek.* *White Oak joins Caney Creek (right) and then the East Fork (out of frame, farther right).*

Layer After Layer of Ownership

The developer has not yet posted any signs at the entrance to the development. However…

Montgomery County Appraisal District shows that a limited partnership named TC LB Royal Pines LP owns 150 acres at this location.

Royal Pines bought the land from the 1992 Guniganti Credit Shelter Trusts on 12/9/21. The Guniganti family owns the Triple PG sand mine east of the area being cleared.

*From Montgomery County Appraisal District Web Site.*

The Texas Secretary of State shows that the purchaser of the land registered its partnership just two days before the sale. TC LB GP, Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia, is the general partner of the limited partnership. The general partner is registered in Delaware. However, the MoCo Appraisal District lists the mailing address for tax bills at 8655 S. PRIEST DR., TEMPE, AZ 85284-1903. Google Maps shows a company named Coronado West at that address. The relationship between Coronado West and TC LB Royal Pines LP remains unclear.

The Houston Business Journal ran a story in February about Royal Pines. It said that Ashton Woods Homes (a Starlight Homes subsidiary which targets first-time home buyers), plans to build 350 to 450 homes in the area.

Photos Taken 4/24/22

Contractors have cleared only a small portion of the property to date.

*Looking SE toward the northern end of West Lake Houston Parkway, Country Colony, and Royal Brook. A sliver of the Triple PG mine appears in the upper left.*

*Looking east toward WLHP, Country Colony and the Triple PG mine.*

*Without plans, it’s impossible to tell how many trees the developer plans to retain.*

*Some not so royal pines stacked at entrance at north end of West Lake Houston Parkway.*

Eyeballing the cleared area, I estimate that contractors have only cleared about about 10-20% of the 150 acres to date. Stay tuned for more news as it becomes available.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/24/22

1699 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.

Silty Detention Pond Flushed into Bens Branch

Contractors at the controversial mini rent home development called the Preserve at Woodridge Forest flushed a silt-laden detention pond into a stormwater channel leading to Bens Branch this week. The silty water migrated at least two miles downstream. The pictures below show the trail of silt.

On 4/17/22, Easter Sunday, I photographed a full pond and noticed a pump in the upper right (southeast) corner of the pond.

*Looking east over Preserve at Woodridge Forest detention pond on Easter Sunday. Note pump in upper right* *and pond level.*

Three days later, the pump was still going and the pond was nearly empty.

The ditch between the Preserve and Kingwood Park High School was filled with identically colored water.

*Color of water in ditch matches color of water in pond. Note pile of silt in ditch below pump hose in lower left.*

*Looking north past pump and the near-empty detention pond.*

*Equipment apparently cleared paths for northern end of pond to drain toward pump.*

Where did all the silty water go?

*One block downstream,* *Bens Branch at Woodland Hills Drive.*

*Bens Branch at Tree Lane* *approximately 2 miles south of construction site.* *Resident Chris Bloch followed the pollution even farther downstream.*

Fish Story

As I photographed the silty water above going down Bens Branch, two young boys with fishing poles came up to me. They looked at the water in disbelief and then looked at me quizzically. “Do you think it’s safe?” they asked.

“Hard to tell,” I said. “It’s runoff from a construction site upstream.”

They left without even dropping a hook into the water or saying a word. Smart kids.

Dangers of Sediment Pollution

The EPA published this brochure that explains some of the dangers of sediment pollution. Among them, it says, “Sediment in stream beds disrupts the natural food chain by destroying the habitat where the smallest stream organisms live and causing massive declines in fish populations. Sediment increases the cost of treating drinking water and can result in odor and taste problems.” Bens Branch empties straight into Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for 2 million people.

Sediment can also clog streams, reducing their carrying capacity. Harris County Flood Control recently cleaned out Bens Branch in a 4-phase project. According to the Kingwood Area Drainage analysis, it had been reduced to a 2-year level of service in places. That means it would flood on a 2-year rain.

No Permit Posted

For these reasons, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality closely monitors construction sites. But the Preserve at Woodridge did not have a TCEQ Construction General Permit posted at the street. This web page seems to indicate they should have one. See Step 5. It says, “Before starting construction, post a copy of the Site Notice at the construction site. Leave the notice posted until construction is completed.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/23/22, with thanks to Chris Bloch for alerting me to the story

1698 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.

Case Finally Closed on Lake Conroe Association Lawsuit against City, SJRA

In April, 2021, a Montgomery County District Court dismissed the Lake Conroe Association’s lawsuit against the City of Houston for its Lake Lowering Policy. In August 2021, the court dismissed the same case against the SJRA with prejudice. The Lake Conroe Association (LCA) and several Lake Conroe residents appealed the decisions.

Then on April 20, 2022, LCA and the other appellants asked that the Court dismiss their appeal. Neither the City, nor SJRA, opposed the motion. Three judges of the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Beaumont then unanimously dismissed the appeal. Case closed.

“Takings” Claim Disputed

Lake Conroe Association contended that the SJRA’s lake lowering policy amounted to a “taking” of residents’ property.

The City of Houston and SJRA contended that the water at issue did not belong to lakefront homeowners. It belonged to the State of Texas and the City. Therefore, the Lake Conroe Association had no basis for a “takings” claim.

Sources close to the process said that before the matter was heard on appeal, the LCA realized it would never win. So its leaders decided to drop the case and avoid more legal fees.

Clearing the Way for Lake-Lowering Policy to Remain in Effect

This clears the way for the SJRA’s seasonal lake lowering policy to remain in effect during construction of additional floodgates on the Lake Houston Dam. The policy helps ensure that extra “storage capacity” (parking space for water) remains in Lake Conroe during the rainiest months in spring and the peak of hurricane season.

This reduces chances of another devastating release that floods downstream residents during a major storm, such as Hurricane Harvey. The SJRA released 79,000 cubic feet per second during Harvey, one third of all the water coming down the West Fork between Humble and Kingwood.

However, as time went by, Lake Conroe residents became upset with the policy. That led to a contentious confrontation between upstream and downstream residents, as well as the lawsuit.

2022 Version of Lake-Lowering Policy is a Compromise

Over time, the SJRA has reduced the amount of lowering in its policy. Currently, the spring lowering is one-half foot below 201 during April and May, the level of the conservation pool in the lake. Originally, it was one full foot below 201. Most people call that the “normal” level. However, the mean level of Lake Conroe is below that about two-thirds of the time. (See last table below.)

Current Lake Conroe Level

Evaporation and low rainfall currently have Lake Conroe at 200.8, or about 3 inches above the new seasonal target level and 3 inches below the conservation pool.

*Currently Lake Conroe’s level is at 200.8 feet and the City of Houston (COH) has not called to lower the lake further.*

A close reading of the policy reveals that for the lake lowering to begin, the City of Houston must call for the water.

Below-Average Rainfall Has Delayed Need for Spring Release

However, below-average rainfall for the last two months has delayed the need for a spring release from Lake Conroe this year. Much of the state is now in drought.

*Montgomery and northern Harris Counties are currently rated as “abnormally dry.”* *Southern Harris, Fort Bend and Waller Counties all have “moderate drought.”*

Jace Houston, general manager of the SJRA, said, “We haven’t had a big rain in a long time and there’s no significant rain in the foreseeable future. The feeling is that evaporation will soon take the lake down to the target level. The City of Houston must initiate the lowering. If we get a lot of rain, we’ll start releasing again.”

Time for Healing

In addition to reducing the spring lake lowering, the 2022 policy lowers Lake Conroe to 200.5 in August and 200 in September – both a half foot higher than the original policy.

Hopefully, this compromise will help upstream and downstream residents live together now that the lawsuit has been dismissed. It’s time for some healing.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/22/2022

1697 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Martin Updates Community on Additional Gates for Lake Houston

Perhaps no flood-mitigation project has generated more interest in the Lake Houston Area recently than the addition of more flood gates to the Lake Houston Dam. In recent months, as engineers worked on the project’s benefit/cost ratio, information about the project became hard to find. That fueled rumors.

But Tuesday night, at the Kingwood Community Center, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin put many of those rumors to rest. He denied the project was on hold, reaffirmed the City’s commitment to the project, and outlined the three main issues that engineers are currently grappling with.

Issues Still Being Evaluated

The main issues include:

Safety concerns about cutting into the concrete of a dam that’s almost 70 years old.
Getting the benefit/cost ratio up.
Finding a suitable alternative that significantly reduces flood risk within the budget.

Martin elaborated on each. Regarding:

Safety concerns – He described the risks of cutting into it to install crest gates. Among them, he said engineers worried about structural stability of the dam after construction. Accordingly, they are recommending significant reinforcement of the concrete. He also hinted that contractors might not bid on the project for fear of the potential liability.

Benefit/Cost Ratio – He said that the higher-than-expects costs on of some alternatives drove the BCR down, and that that was driving the exploration of additional alternatives. He did say, however, that FEMA allows including “social benefits” when the BCR is between .75 and 1.0. The inclusion of social benefits still must yield a BCR of 1.0 or greater. On a separate note, a federal employee told me that the Biden administration may change this policy. So significant uncertainty still exists re: calculation of the BCR.

Budget – He implied that some alternatives under consideration became non-starters because of high costs and inflation.

Alternatives Still Under Consideration

So, the search for a suitable alternative that meets all objectives continues. Among the options still in the running, Martin mentioned crest gates on the west side of the dam and adding a tainter gate to the earthen, eastern portion.

Martin shared a timetable that shows construction beginning in November. However, FEMA must approve the benefit/cost ratio before they release construction funds.

*Schedule for adding gates to Lake Houston, first shown in July 2021. Also shown on 4/19/2022. Martin emphasized the schedule has not changed*, *but could.*

Background of Project

At the peak of Harvey, 425,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) went over the dam’s spillway. That’s five times the average flow of Niagra Falls. Floodwater backed up so far that it flooded thousands of homes and businesses. It also killed 13 people in the Lake Houston Area, 12 of them in one retirement center.

The release of 80,000 CFS from Lake Conroe contributed almost a fifth of the water going over the spillway. Lake Conroe gates can release 150,000 CFS while Lake Houston’s can release only 10,000 CFS. The disparity in release capacity caused many to ask whether more gates on Lake Houston could reduce flooding.

Martin pointed out that when water gets high enough in Lake Houston, it can escape over a 2,000-foot-wide spillway. However, more gates could play a role in a pre-release strategy.

Pre-releasing water from Lake Houston in advance of major storms, as the City does now, creates extra capacity in the lake so that it can absorb more water without flooding homes and businesses. This strategy (coupled with the seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe) has worked effectively since Harvey and prevented flooding on more than one occasion.

Time Vs. Release Capacity Vs. Water Preservation

However, right now, it takes so long to release water from Lake Houston that storms can sometimes veer away and miss us after the lowering starts. Thus, water could be wasted. But bigger gates would let dam operators release the same volume of water in less time, so operators would not have to start releasing water so far in advance. In other words they would have a higher degree of confidence that the the storm would not veer away and that release was worthwhile.

Martin reassured people that:

Smaller (i.e., less costly) floodgates can lower Lake Houston sufficiently if given enough time
The lake usually refills quickly
Even if it doesn’t, the City can always call for the release of water from Lake Conroe.

We should know within a few months whether Black & Veatch, the engineering company leading the project, has succeeded in designing additional gates within the budget that meet all other objectives.

Staying on the schedule above will be ambitious. FEMA must approve the BCR before releasing money for construction.

Posted by Bob Rehak on April 21, 2022

1696 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Progress Report New Woodridge Village Floodwater Detention Basin

A new floodwater detention basin that will ultimately more than double the capacity of Woodridge Village is expanding slowly but steadily. To date, 33,159 cubic yards have been excavated! The pictures below show progress since the start of work in late January.

Photos showing Progress

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) announced the project on 11/24/2021. Excavation started on 1/27/22.

beginning of Woodridge Village excavation — *First truckloads of of excavated material leave the southwest corner of the site on 1/27/22.* *Looking SW.*

Wider shot taken on same day looking NE looking in opposite direction. The new basin will eventually expand to cover most of the area within the road, tree-line on the left, and the ditch that bisects the property from left to right.

*Photo taken on 2/14/22 shows the excavation expanding. Looking SW.*

*Four days later.* *2/18/22. Looking SW toward entrance.*

*Basin will ultimately expand to green boundary.*

About Vendor’s Contract

The stormwater detention basin still has a long way to go before it reaches its ultimate size. HCFCD is excavating it under the terms of an E&R (Excavation and Removal) contract with Sprint Sand and Clay.

Sprint has agreed to remove up to 500,000 Cubic Yards of dirt for only $1,000. However, it has the right to sell the dirt at market rates to make a profit. But the dirt can only elevate structures outside of current floodplains.

Three Months Into Contract, Beating the Minimums

When Perry Homes finished its planned floodwater detention basins, it had enough capacity to hold a hundred year rain as defined by pre-Atlas-14 standards. But capacity fell 40% short of Atlas-14 requirements.

The addition of the new detention basin should take capacity well beyond Atlas-14 requirements and create a safety margin that accommodates additional upstream development.

Excavation under an E&R contract can have ups and downs. When construction booms, excavation moves along quickly. But when construction slows, excavation can, too. However, the contract does have minimum excavation requirement of 10,000 cubic yards per month written into it.

At 36,000 cubic yards after roughly 2.5 months, Sprint exceeds the minimum. But if that rate continues, it could take another four years to reach 500,000 cubic yards.

At some point, the county may choose to step in and pay market rates for excavation to speed things up. But until then, every truckload hauled out of Woodridge Village by Sprint will reduce the ultimate cost.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/18/2022

1693 Days after Hurricane Harvey