Aerial photos taken last week show a beautiful new Kingwood Middle School with an open, airy design taking shape.
Pictures Taken on 1/29/22
Glass enclosed atrium will look out over athletic fields where existing school now is.Existing school, bottom left, will be torn down to make room for athletic fields.Overhangs (not yet with roofs) will help provide protection from direct sun.View of entire school from over Woodland Hills Drive, looking NE.Looking E from over Woodland Hills Drive.Looking W from over Cedar Knolls Drive reveals drop off/pickup driveway behind school.
A permanent detention pond near the semi-circular drive in front of old Kingwood Middle School will eventually replace the temporary pond in the lower left of the image above. It’s exciting to see the Humble ISD making flood reduction a part of its plans for the future. That sends an important message to students and provides an opportunity for learning.
As they said in Poltergeist II, “They’re baa-aaack!” Contractors were hard at work again today at the Laurel Springs RV construction site near Lakewood Cove. The site had been virtually shut down for two days as city, county and state authorities launched investigations into alleged unauthorized stormwater discharges and other violations of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP).
Poltergeist Flashback
However, at noon today, I counted 11 contractor vehicles parked on the street and, and saw heavy equipment digging trenches and laying pipe throughout the site.
Workers’ vehicles lined up at entrance. Several more vehicles were parked out of frame on lower right.
It did not escape my notice that all this construction activity happened on a weekend when few inspectors pay surprise visits. The massive discharge of stormwater into Edgewater Park also happened on a Saturday.
Stormwater Discharge into Edgewater Park
The most serious allegations by far involve the discharge of the silty contents of the resort’s detention pond into the wetlands of Edgewater Park during the last two weeks. At first contractors tried to pump water over the pond wall.
Laurel Springs RV Resort pumping stormwater into Edgewater Park on Jan. 18, 2022.
Sediment-laden water in wetlands of Edgewater Park today, 2/5/22, still had a “coffee with cream” color to it.
Track-Out Issue
One of the SWPPP violations was lack of bullrock at the entrance. Bullrock knocks mud from truck tires before they leave the site. That keeps the mud from getting into streets where it can clog storm sewers.
Yesterday, I photographed one bulldozer at the entrance making room for bullrock.
Entrance to Laurel Springs RV Resort Construction Site on 2/4/22.Note: barely any bullrock at entrance.
At noon today, 2/5/22, I found fresh bullrock at the entrance.
Fresh bullrock at entrance of Laurel Springs RV Resort construction site.
One other curious thing: the bullrock did not extend very far past the curb…approximately 10 feet. Assuming 4-foot tall tires on dump trucks, it would take more than 12 feet for tires to make one full rotation on bullrock (π x diameter).
These folks spare no expense to protect the public.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/5/22
1621 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.
As of this morning (2/4/22), construction activity at the Laurel Springs RV Resort site was virtually shut down for a second day. Only one man was working on a bulldozer at the entrance. It appeared that he was making room for a new load of bullrock at the site’s main entrance. Harris County investigators asked the contractor to clean up the site and make it compliant with Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) requirements. That involves spreading bullrock at the entrances.
Purpose of Bullrock
Bullrock comes in many shapes and sizes and can be made from natural rock or crushed concrete. Think of very large gravel ranging from 2-5 inches. You often see it used in landscaping and French drains.
However, over time, even the large spaces between bullrocks can become clogged with sediment. So periodically, contractors must replace the rock. It appears that the man on the bulldozer below was excavating and compacting dirt at the construction site entrance to make room for more or new bullrock.
Laurel Springs RV Resort contractor on bulldozer working at entrance. Photo taken 2/4/22.
What SWPPP Requires
The SWPPP template is a real eye opener. For neighbors monitoring construction, it alerts you to potential violations. Requirements cover many items besides sediment track-out. They include:
Natural buffers
Perimeter controls
Stockpiled sediment
Dust
Soil compaction
Storm drain inlets
Site stabilization and more.
For instance, Section 4.9 (Storm Drain Inlets) on pages 26/27 states that storm sewer inlets must be protected. But those on Laurel Springs Lane adjacent to the RV site are not. In fact, residents have caught contractors pumping sediment-laden water directly into storm sewers.
Video of Laurel Springs RV Resort construction practices by Szymon Balicki, Lakewood Cove HOA president.
If you’re concerned about deficiencies in construction practices at the Laurel Springs RV Resort site, read the SWPPP template so you know what to look for.
I have requested the Resort’s own SWPPP plan, but have not yet received it.
How many other practices did the investigators from the City, County and State identify? Time will tell.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/4/22
1620 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/20220204-RJR_9179.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2022-02-04 15:36:062022-02-04 15:44:27Laurel Springs RV Resort Construction Site Quiet Again for Second Day
Construction at the controversial Laurel Springs RV Resort was shut down today as four investigations at the State, County and City levels swirled around construction practices there. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has one. Harris County has one. And the City of Houston has two – one around construction practices, the other around permits.
Weather May Have Contributed to Shutdown
It’s unclear whether the construction shut down was due to weather or complaints from one of the investigating bodies. All declined comment, citing ongoing investigations.
Photographs taken at the site on Thursday afternoon, 2/03/22, showed only one truck emptying Porta-potties.
Photos Taken Thursday 2/3/22
The investigations follow four recent posts documenting dubious construction and environmental practices.
Looking north. An empty construction site at approximately 2:30 pm on a Thursday afternoon is unusual, weather or not.
The silt fence that surrounded the inlet of the drain pipe that led from the stormwater detention pond into the County’s Edgewater Park had been removed.
Where there was a silt fence on Tuesday, on Thursday there appeared to be only a pile of dirt.Red circles indicate approximate inlet and outfall locations for drain pipe.
There was no silt fence at either the inlet or outfall. Nor was there a silt fence leading into the woods on the left that represent the northern boundary of Edgewater Park.
Another angle shows fresh dirt and tire tracks between the inlet and outfall. Did they just cover up the pipe?Approved construction plans show pipe should not have been installed at this location.Where the pipe should have gone. But as of Thursday afternoon, there was still no pipe from the pond leading to the circular pump housing in the corner.
And there’s still plenty of silty water in the woods of Edgewater Park, although, granted, it’s not as murky as on Tuesday.
Drainage from RV Resort in Edgewater Park. Laurel Spring Lane on left.
Troubled Present and Past
So what do we know?
Local, state and county governments have launched investigations.
The contractor has covered up the inlet and outlet to the pipe.
Silt fence appears removed or buried at one location and is still missing from the southern boundary of the site.
Silty water is still ponding in Edgewater Park.
We should know more in coming days about the status of the investigations.
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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/20220203-DJI_0746.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-02-03 20:07:012022-02-04 08:05:04Laurel Springs RV Resort Construction Shut Down as Four Investigations Swirl
Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) contractor Sprint Sand & Clay has started laying out, clearing and excavating a large, new detention pond that will more than double capacity on Woodridge Village. Woodridge contributed to flooding hundreds of homes along Taylor Gully twice in 2019.
When the developer clearcut approximately 270 acres, the loss of forests and wetlands decreased natural detention capacity on the land. This should help restore it.
Project Outline Becoming Visible
Last week, Sprint started building a construction road into the site. This week it appears that they also dug a shallow trench outlining the perimeter of the pond and started clearing brush within it.
Photograph taken looking NE from SW corner of Woodridge Village. New detention pond will go in foreground. The shallow trench may be the outline of the new basin. Contractor appears to be staying “inside the lines.”Earth-moving equipment worked Saturday and was back at it Monday morning, 1/31/2022.
How the Math Works Out
Sprint will ultimately excavate approximately 500,000 cubic yards of fill which translates to 310 acre feet. When Perry left the site, it had constructed 271 acre feet of detention. The site needed another 108.4 acre feet of detention pond capacity to meet Atlas-14 requirements, but will get 310 (the number of acre feet in 500,000 cubic yards). That almost triples the required additional volume and more than doubles the current capacity…all for $1000.
The $1000 is the out of pocket cost to taxpayers. Under the terms of it’s E&R contract, Sprint will make its profit by selling the dirt it excavates to third parties out of the floodplain. Their contract obligates them to excavate at least 5000 cubic yards per month. There is no monthly max.
In case you have kids or grandkids who like playing with dump trucks, 500,000 cubic yards works out to 50,000 loads. That equals the number of fingers and toes on 2,500 kids. And that’s way more than all the students in Kingwood Park High School!
Turn this into a learning exercise!
About E&R Agreements
E&R agreements provide an opportunity for making progress in advance of future basin construction. These agreements essentially provide a head start in the excavation process before the detention basin is fully designed and constructed.
Residents should beware of heavy equipment entering and leaving the site. The site will remain fenced through the completion of construction.
HCFCD expects to hold public meetings beginning in April to discuss other possible uses, i.e, recreation, restoration, etc., on the site. More news to follow.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/2/22, repeating digit day.
1618 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/20220131-DJI_0675-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-02-02 21:47:482022-02-02 21:47:51Woodridge Village Detention Basin Capacity Doubling
After photos showed clear construction permit violations at the Laurel Springs RV Resort, a City inspector said he found no problems there. Then, 311 closed the case. But Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin’s office said another group was investigating. Martin’s chief of staff did not elaborate.
RV Park Drains its construction pond into Harris County Precinct 4’s new Edgewater Park in background.
This violated the terms of the developer’s construction permit. The trees behind the trench belong to Harris County Precinct 4 Park System. And the construction permit clearly states that “stormwater runoff shall not cross property line.”
Contractors covering up pipe that will convey future discharges. Photographed yesterday.
So I filed a complaint with the City’s 311 system at the request of Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin’s District E staff.
Finally, today (Tuesday morning), I tried to photograph the drain/trench again. But contractors had covered it up and repaired the dike. If you hadn’t seen the previous pictures, you would never suspect a drainpipe was there (except for some black silt fencing around the intake which will be taken down).
By Tuesday morning, contractors had repaired the pond wall. Area circled in red is the outfall, covered with water.
Extent of Silty Runoff
The silty stormwater ran almost all the way down to Hamblen Road.
Water should have gone under Laurel Springs Lane and into the detention pond above via COH storm sewer. However, the contractor discharged it into the park instead. Note sediment-laden water in foreground.A large portion of the park appears to be inundated with silty discharge.Looking north toward detention pond on RV site from over Edgewater Park. Note silty water in foreground.
City Inspector Found No Violations
As I reviewed Tuesday’s images, I received an email from 311 saying the inspector found no problems and that 311 had closed the case. Obviously, the 311 operator didn’t clearly communicate the nature of my complaint. It was about stormwater runoff and construction-permit violations, not a fence line encroachment.
And clearly, the inspector didn’t:
Look at the approved drainage plan that showed the outfall should be going into the City storm sewer under Laurel Springs Lane.
Understand that draining water onto neighbor’s property violates the construction permit and state regulations.
Know the trees below the construction site belong to the County Park. He thought they belonged to the contractor. (See below.)
Response from 311 to complaint about construction stormwater violations.No pictures were attached despite text of email.
Inspector Felt Discharging into County Park Was Best Management Practice
To add insult to injury, the inspector characterized discharging into Edgewater Park’s vegetation as a contractor best management practice (BMP). Obviously, he thought the trees belonged to the contractor. He didn’t bother to explore who owned the land below the construction site or how far south the discharge had traveled.
Responses like this give the City a black eye.
I immediately emailed Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin’s office about the 311 response. Jessica Beemer, his chief of staff, responded that the case wasn’t really closed. She said a different group had been assigned to investigate the complaint. But, as of this writing, she did not elaborate.
The TCEQ hopes to respond to a separate complaint by tomorrow. And I met several Harris County employees investigating the construction this morning in response to other complaints.
Stay tuned. More news to follow. This isn’t over yet.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/1/2022
1617 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/20220201-DJI_0728-2-copy.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-02-01 19:44:112022-02-01 20:49:24City Inspector Finds No Problems At RV Park. 311 Says “Case Closed.” Martin’s Office Says “Not So Fast.”
Contractors drain the RV Park detention pond Saturday afternoon, 1/29/22, into Edgewater Park at top of frame.
The pipe leads from the inside to the outside of the pond near Harris County Precinct 4’s new Edgewater Park. This is not an overflow measure. The intake is at the bottom of the pond.
The RV owners are burying a permanent conduit to drain silty stormwater into the park’s wetlands and cypress ponds.
See below.
Same trench on Monday morning, 1/31/22. Pond is in lower left; park in upper right.Contractors are filling the trench to bury the pipe.
Furthermore, the City explicitly prohibits letting runoff cross another’s property.
Detail from approved drainage plan.See first sentence under “Approved Storm Drainage.” “Stormwater runoff shall not cross property line.”It now is.
Does the second sentence about exceeding capacity of the City of Houston storm sewer system have the developer worried? Could that be the reason for the pipe?
I became suspicious on Saturday when I saw black pipe piled near where plans called for reinforced concrete pipe (see below). That pipe looks suspiciously like the pipe now being covered up by the contractor, although in fairness, I did not see them move the pipe.
Image from Saturday afternoon, Jan. 29, 2022. Note black pipe near adjacent work area.But on Monday morning, there was no sign of black pipe or any kind of pipe entering the pond from this cornerwhere plans said it should be.
Controversy Continues to Swirl Around Pond
From the start, controversy has swirled about the size of the detention pond. The RV park received its construction permits one day before new regulations went into effect. The new regs would have required virtually doubling the size of the pond.
How they operate with such impunity bewilders me. We definitely need the county attorney to investigate.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/31/2022
1616 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220131-DJI_0669-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-01-31 17:49:232022-01-31 18:06:28RV Contractor Laying Pipe To Run Stormwater Through Detention Pond Wall Into Park
Only about 4.4% of the land in the U.S. has estimated impervious cover greater than 40%. Usually, high percentages of impervious cover are associated with shopping malls; large apartment complexes; manufacturing and warehouse districts; and densely populated urban neighborhoods. Now there’s a new entry in that category: the Preserve at Woodridge – single-family housing so close together that you can spread your arms and touch two homes.
If you like living close to neighbors, the Preserve at Woodridge will be for you. Guefen, the developer, claims 65% impervious cover. Assuming their calculations and claims are accurate, what does that look like?
We can now see. Builders have framed the first cluster of homes. I’ve posted before about how close together these homes would be. But until you see them, the proximity is hard to fathom. They certainly don’t pass the eyeball test for 65% impervious cover.
Pictures Dramatize Proximity of Homes
The good news is that these homes, some as large as 660 square feet, definitely have more space than a porta-potty or a cargo container. You’ll be able to vacuum the home in world-record time. And you’ll never have to wonder where you left your cell phone. It would be impossible to lose in a home this small.
The cluster of homes shown above is also shown in the schematic below.
Note 4.95-foot width between home in middle and one below it. See actual space below where ladder is.
You know things are tight when the developer measures the distance between homes down to the hundredth of a foot (1/12th of an inch).
Notice how the ladder leaning on one home is braced against the foundation of another.Those two homes have less than five feet of separation.
Regardless, the engineers claim the development has 65% impervious cover for the purposes of calculating detention pond volume. That means 35% would be pervious, i.e., grass. See below.
From developer’s drainage calculations, page 20.
But Where Do You Put the Lawnmower?
But with so much shade between the homes, can you really get grass to grow? And if you can, where do you put the lawnmower? The developer has only 34 garage spaces for 131 homes. Perhaps you can put the mower under your Murphy bed. Or in your gym bag.
More pads for the next batch of homes.Status of Preserve-at-Woodridge construction as of 1/29/2022.
Guefen plans to rent, not sell these homes. I guess you could consider these a step up from apartment living. But the developer has not preserved much at the Preserve. They certainly won’t live up to the reputation of the Livable Forest.
This is going to feel more like high-density, inner-city living … without the public transportation. We’ll soon see if there really is a market for this concept in the Kingwood Area.
How Impervious Cover Can Contribute to Flooding
The higher the percentage of impervious cover, the less stormwater soaks into the ground. It runs off faster. And without sufficient detention pond capacity, flood peaks build higher.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/30/2022
1615 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.
Stormwater Drainage Plan approved by City of Houston just three months ago. City stamped the red note in the middle of the detention pond below.
A reader emailed me this morning to alert me to the fact that the contractor was digging through the wall of the detention pond to drain it. Pumping the water over the edge evidently didn’t work fast enough.
Note trench being dug through wall of detention pond to empty stormwater runoff onto neighboring property – Harris County Precinct 4’s Edgewater Parkon left.On Saturday afternoon, 1/29/22, contractors were enlarging the breach to drain runoff faster.
The excavator seemed to be widening and deepening the ditch down to level of the pond bottom.
Was the timing of the excavation of this breach on a Saturday afternoon intentional to avoid City Inspectors? Will they fill this trench back in before Monday morning?
It’s not clear whether the contractor received permission from the City or County to dig the trench that emptied the pond. Phone calls and emails went unanswered Saturday.
There’s not much more to say about this. In fairness, construction is always difficult and risky. Wet conditions can create expensive delays that put tremendous pressure on all involved. And, of course, partially completed projects never fully function as intended.
Ironically, a close reading of drainage plans reveals that the contractor is supposed to be pumping the water into the COH storm sewer system. The plans also estimate that the draining the entire pond would take just 13 hours with two pumps. However, the connection to COH’s storm sewer has not yet been installed.
Note the construction activity in the top right corner of the last photo below. The contractor appears to be building up a wall around the planned pump cutoff station.
Where stormwater will be pumped into Lakewood Cove’s stormwater sewer system. See plans below.
From Laurel Springs RV Resort approved drainage plan. Plan shows contractor will pump contents of pond into Lakewood Cove storm drain system via a 24 inch pipe running under Lakewood Cove. From there, water will drain, downhill into Lakewood Cove’s detention pond near HamblenRoad.
Pray all that pumping doesn’t back stormwater runoff up into the streets of Lakewood Cove.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/29/2022
1614 Days after 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220129-DJI_0612.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-01-29 19:28:002022-01-30 20:36:09“Stormwater Runoff Shall Not Cross Property Line”
Mechanical dredging is sloooooooooow. Two months after my last dredging update, contractors are still working on the same portion of the East Fork Mouth Bar complex just north of the entrance to Luce Bayou. The sand bar is question is one of many in the area that popped up after Harvey and Imelda.
Pictures Taken on 1/28/22
I took the first three images below this morning.
Looking East across the San Jacinto East Fork from Kingwood toward Luce Bayou in upper right. North is to the left.Photo taken on 1/28/22.Dredgers are now working on a small island just upstream from Luce. But there’s a lot of work yet to do.Photo taken on 1/28/22.
The San Jacinto East Fork Mouth Bar grew more than 4,000 feet in length during Harvey and Imelda. River depth was reduced to 3 feet, according to boaters. That reduced conveyance of the river and contributed to flooding of homes on both sides.
It took three months just for contractors to dredge their way through the Royal Shores channel to get to East Fork (July, August, September 2021). East Fork dredging started in October last year. Removing sediment from the area in red above has taken four months. But it’s only a small portion of the work that needs to be done as you can see in the second image above that looks upstream.
Naturally, residents are asking, “How much more does the City intend to do?” The answer to that question is still unsettled.
Vendor for Long-Range Dredging Plan Still Not Decided
The project attracted a lot of attention. Thirteen companies expressed interest. And eleven signed up for a pre-bid conference. However, the purchasing agent for the City, Bridget Cormier, stated that “The City has not yet made a decision, nor a recommendation for award yet.” She explained, “We are still in the evaluation phase and have requested additional information from suppliers that moved forward in the process.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/28/2022
1613 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220128-DJI_0561.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-01-28 13:34:082022-01-28 14:28:52Dredgers Still Nibbling Away at East Fork Mouth Bar
