Conflict-of-Interest Ridden Colony Ridge Caught Operating without Permit, Polluting

11/20/25 – Maria Acevedo, a construction expert and environmental activist, observed a Colony Ridge cement contractor, Liberty Paving, operating without a permit. She also documented sediment runoff from the site that violated Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Best Management Practices (BMPs).

The lack of BMPs was polluting the surrounding area, which drains into the San Jacinto East Fork and has required tens of millions of dollars in dredging since the development of Colony Ridge began.

Acevedo reported the alleged violations to the TCEQ, which conducted its own investigation and issued a Notice of Enforcement.

Liberty Paving LLC, the contractor, has done more than $13 million worth of business for Liberty County Municipal Management District #1. Amazingly, the President of MMD #1 owns the paving contractor.

This letter from Attorney General Ken Paxton to members of Congress details a litany of other abuses and ethically ambiguous practices at Colony Ridge in Liberty County. Loopholes in Texas law big enough to drive cement trucks through enable them.

TCEQ Finds No Site Signage or Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan

When TCEQ investigated Acevedo’s complaint, it was not raining, so investigators could not confirm the allegations of runoff that Acevedo’s photos showed. However, TCEQ discovered that Liberty Paving was operating without coverage under the Construction General Permit, required site signage, and a mandatory Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). Neither was the company employing best management practices.

As a result, TCEQ issued a Notice of Enforcement Letter. TCEQ’s report says that Liberty Paving knew of its responsibilities because of permits issued at other sites outside Colony Ridge, but failed to comply inside Colony Ridge.

What exactly does TCEQ mean when it issues a notice of enforcement for “failure to obtain coverage under the Construction General Permit”? According to ChatGPT, the permit regulates:

  • Stormwater runoff from construction activities
  • Erosion controls
  • Sediment controls
  • Pollution prevention practices

Because the site began construction without filing the required notice of intent:

  • Any stormwater discharges were unauthorized
  • Discharged pollutants, such as sediment, were illegal.
  • The operator is out of compliance with the Clean Water Act and Texas Pollution Discharge Elimination System rules
  • Even if erosion controls were physically present, failure to obtain the permit still constitutes a violation.
Sediment escaping through improperly installed silt fence. Photo by Maria Acevedo.

Conflict of Interest?

John Harris, the Colony Ridge developer, lists himself as the president of T-Rex Management, Inc., the general partner of Liberty Paving, LLC. But Harris is also the current president of Liberty County MMD #1.

Minutes of MMD #1 show that in 2023, Harris’ brother was president of the MMD when it approved $13 million in payments to Liberty Paving.

In most states this would be a clear conflict of interest. But Texas allows it if the parties recuse themselves from voting on the contract/payment and disclose their conflicts of interest.

Mr. Harris was evidently present for one vote on paving payments, but absent for another. The minutes do not reflect whether he disclosed the conflict of interest.

That’s pretty academic, however, when four MMD board members have ties to the developer or Harris’ family.

One former state legislator who is an expert on MMDs told me that even if a board member recuses himself, other members of the board know how to vote through winks and nods, i.e., things that don’t get recorded in minutes. He raised some interesting questions. Are bids sealed? Are bids opened in public with all bidders present? And should the vote to accept a bid count if the board member who refrains from voting is necessary to make a quorum?

According to ChatGPT, Texas stands out nationally due to MMDs being allowed to:

  • Reimburse developers via taxpayer-backed bonds
  • Have developer-controlled boards
  • Contract with developer-owned companies
  • Reimburse developers for on-site infrastructure, including:
    • Roads
    • Water/sewer
    • Drainage
    • Detention ponds
    • Grading & clearing
    • Engineering costs

Most states allow reimbursement only for:

  • True regional infrastructure, or
  • Public facilities beyond subdivision boundaries.

Nor do other states allow developers to:

  • Form districts they control
  • Levy taxes on future residents
  • Reimburse themselves for subdivision improvements.

However, it’s standard practice in Texas for:

  • A developer to form a MMD or Municipal Utility District
  • The developer (or allied consultants) to serve on the board
  • The board to hire the developer’s own companies for construction, engineering, landscaping, or management
  • Taxpayers or landowners to repay the MMD or MUD through bonds or assessments.

Such practices are widely criticized as ethical conflicts of interest, even if they are not legal conflicts. They enable self-dealing and private gain from public-like financing powers. Yet it’s all technically legal if conflicts are disclosed and abstentions handled properly.

However, the Liberty County Attorney, Matthew Poston told Houston Landing…

“The scandal isn’t what is illegal. The scandal is what is legal.”

Matthew Poston, Liberty County Attorney
Colony Ridge
Colony Ridge Expansion in 2022.

Paxton Writes Scathing Colony Ridge Letter to Legislators

In Texas, the Attorney General does not normally police MMD self-dealing. However, two years ago, when illegal immigrant and consumer fraud scandals rocked Colony Ridge creating national headlines, Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a scathing letter to members of Congress about his offices’ findings.

Among other things, Paxton’s four-page letter details how:

  • Colony Ridge practices seem to contradict the intent of Texas lawmakers when they established MMDs
  • Minimal down-payment, high-interest loans with little identity verification lure non-citizens across the border
  • Fast growth and high crime create burdens on law enforcement, school districts, and neighboring areas
  • MMD #1 violates the intent of lawmakers
  • How MMD #1 bypasses bank scrutiny of its high risk activities contrary to the public interest
  • Unelected, unaccountable leaders are creating unsustainable growth of a “city” by catering to illegal aliens
  • How Colony Ridge is swamping taxpayers in the Cleveland ISD which caused it to more than triple in size
  • The people of Texas “never assented to the creation of a sprawling unincorporated, ungoverned zone.”

And Paxton didn’t even address Colony Ridge flooding!

Colony Ridge Drainage
For everyone who wants to own an Island Home. New Year’s Day of 2021.

For More On Colony Ridge

Consult this post – History of Heartbreak: A Colony Ridge Chronicle. It contains links to more than 75 previous posts with hundreds of photos taken on the ground and in the air. Scanning through them will make you wonder whether Paxton was too kind!

A development that didn’t exist 15 years ago is now 50% bigger than Manhattan … with hardly any flood control, fire hydrants, or police presence.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/20/25

3005 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Northpark Contractors Begin Mobilizing for Bridge Construction

11/17/25 – Contractors for the Northpark Drive expansion project have officially begun mobilizing to build the bridge that will go over the UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) Tracks and Loop 494. This morning, I received notice that a piece of equipment called a “Kelly Bar” arrived at the job site. It will be used to drill 100-foot deep piers for the bridge.

ChatGPT says, “A telescopic Kelly bar is made of nested, hollow, steel tubes of successively smaller diameter which slide within one another, allowing the overall length to extend or retract depending on drilling depth.”

Think of an extension pole that can reach the extreme depths needed to support a bridge that will carry heavy loads.

Kelly bar being hoisted off transport truck will be used for hydro-excavation.

At the monthly meeting of the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 on 11/13/2025, Project Manager Ralph De Leon described next steps on the project.

Bridge Construction Will Likely Start on West Side of Loop 494

Contractors will likely start building the bridge on the west side of Loop 494 and work their way east. That’s because UPRR needs to move an electrical line that powers their railroad traffic signals. The line will move to a new pole just north (left) of the junction box shown below. The old pole is in the way of new surface turn lanes that will carry westbound traffic.

Before traffic can be rerouted to new surface lanes that will be built on the left, electricity for the RR signals must move from the old vine-covered pole to another one out of frame on the left.

Note how traffic swerves right in the photo above. Until that pole moves, traffic must use the old surface lanes, which are in the bridge’s path.

Said De Leon, “So, we cannot build our feeder roads. The goal was to put everybody on the outside lanes to create an opening in the middle for the bridge.”

So, instead of building the bridge starting east of the tracks, contractors will likely start on the west where barriers to rerouting traffic do not currently exist.

Looking west from Loop 494. Note how new eastbound pavement on left is mostly complete.

Eastbound Surface Lanes Close to Concrete Pours

De Leon said contractors could finish the eastbound lanes between Loop 494 and US59 as early as Friday, 11/22/25. That would let contractors tear out the old eastbound lanes and create room to start building the bridge in the middle – independent of what UPRR does with the electricity for its crossing signals.

East of Loop 494, those eastbound surface lanes on the south side of Northpark are also nearing completion. Subsurface prep appears to be complete or nearly so.

Looking east toward Russell Palmer from in front of Dunkin’. Note the asphalt in the new lanes on the right.

Concrete comes next. “Once they finish that section, you’ll be able to drive on the new lanes on the south side all the way down past Russell Palmer. So, we’re close to getting everybody out of the middle on the eastbound lanes,” said De Leon. In other news…

Drainage Junction Boxes by UPRR Tracks Half Done

One of the two giant junction boxes by the UPRR tracks is now virtually complete. The boxes are the last link that will carry drainage from west of 494 to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.

Junction box cast in place west of UPRR tracks. The huge opening on the front will connect to a culvert coming under Loop 494. The back of the box (top of frame) is already connected to twin 5′ culverts under the tracks.

Once work on this junction box is complete, contractors can finish Loop 494 paving according to De Leon. “So, then 494 will have a broader cross-section. That’ll be great,” he said. Note how the junction box currently constricts 494 traffic in the photo below.

Looking S along Loop 494 where Northpark crosses L to R.

Meanwhile, work is just beginning on the box east of Loop 494 where boring started.

Junction box east of tracks. Note twin culverts, concrete floor, and contractors erecting rebar for side walls.

Focus on Driveway Construction

De Leon also discussed the status of business driveways that branch off Northpark. “If you’re going westbound from that new Chevron station near the Diversion Ditch, all those driveways are still blocked out. They have to finish those driveways. And that will keep them busy for a couple of months.” There are a lot of businesses! See the barriers below.

Looking W from Russell Palmer Drive at driveway construction.

For More Information

See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 website for Project 1013.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/25

3002 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Median Madness Volunteers De-Vine Another Section of Northpark

11/16/25 – Dozens of Kingwood volunteers – young and old – turned out yesterday for Round 4 of Median Madness. Armed with lopping shears, muscle, determination and smiles, they de-vined another section of Northpark Drive just east of West Lake Houston Parkway.

They cut, pulled and stacked mountains of vines that had been creeping out into traffic and reducing visibility. City of Houston Parks Dept. and HPD assisted the effort organized by City Council Member Fred Flickinger’s District E office.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

The work was exhausting, but fun. In a matter of hours, an ad hoc group of volunteers eliminated an eyesore and helped restore one of the worst sections on one of the major arteries in Kingwood. The pictures below tell the story.

The registration team from City Council Member Fred Flickingers District E office.
City Council Member Fred Flickinger set the tone for the Vine-Wrestling Championship.
Volunteers stretched out for blocks.
The joy of triumph.

In the end, the vines were no match for the volunteers…

…or the Houston Parks Department.

Many thanks to the sponsors: Chick-Fil-A, Trees for Kingwood and Houston Parks Department. Also to Council Member Fred Flickinger for organizing the event. And let’s not forget HPD who kept the volunteers safe from traffic as they worked.

Finally, thanks also to all the Greenbelt Guardians, who were well represented.

The Result

The volunteers proved once again that making a difference can be fun and rewarding.

I took the shot below this morning. A day after the event, no more vines or branches were intruding on the roadway! As one of the volunteers said, “I’m so proud of our team! Citizens 1. Ugly Vines 0.”

She can’t wait for the Median Madness Round 5. “This is the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/16/25

3001 Days since Hurricane Harvey

What Have We Accomplished and Learned in 3000 Days Since Harvey?

11/15/2025 – Today marks 3000 days since Hurricane Harvey – 8.2 years.

In that time, I’ve researched and written 2,941 articles about flooding that have been read 2,737,740 times.

Those articles contained 1,989,909 words (not counting this one). That roughly equals 25 novels.

I’ve also shot 63,526 photos to support that work.

Before I run out of Coke Zeros and power bars, I’d like to look back and ask:

  • What have we accomplished since Harvey?
  • What have we learned that can reduce future flooding?

What We Have Accomplished

I asked Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) for a table showing how many structures have been removed from floodplains since Harvey and where. I wanted to show how much we have gotten for our tax dollars.

Unfortunately, they didn’t provide me with exact information requested. Instead, they referred me to two pages on their website.

One showed general areas where they were buying out homes. It provided a round number for the number of buyouts to date: 3,000. But they have 5,000 remaining to close on. Total cost for 8,000: $1 billion dollars. Prorated cost for 3000: $375 million. They never did tell me how many were in each watershed.

The other link led to a list of completed mitigation projects. It showed we’ve spent $1.7 billion to date. But as far as I could see, only a couple of the project summaries linked to the spending page disclosed how many homes were removed from floodplains. That adds another 900 homes. Now, we’re up to 3,900.

But how much did we spend on them? They list conflicting information on different pages. The second page shows $400 million more than reported on the first page, for a total of $2.1 billion. Both are dated October, 2025.

So, for each reported home that HCFCD has removed from floodplains since Harvey, they’ve spent somewhere between $436,000 and $538,000.

In fairness, most of the projects completed to date do not involve construction. Said another way, we’ve spent a lot of money preparing for construction on other projects with preliminary studies and right-of-way acquisition. It could also be that the summaries of some projects simply did not list their benefits.

But of the 41 total projects completed to date, it appears that only a handful involved actual construction that removes homes from floodplains.

What Have We Learned?

So what can we deduce from those observations?

It costs far more to remove homes from floodplains than they are worth in most cases.

After floods, private profit turns into public cost. Wouldn’t it be much more cost effective to just:

  • Not build homes and businesses in risky floodplains or elevate them?
  • Teach people how to avoid flood risk and give them the tools to do so?
  • Unify floodplain standards throughout the region, so people downstream don’t bear the brunt of insufficient mitigation upstream?
  • Actually enforce those floodplain standards instead of looking the other way?
  • Turn those floodplains into parks that support recreation, healthier lifestyles and home values in adjacent neighborhoods?
  • Stay involved in mitigation efforts after a flood instead of pretending the next flood is a 100-years away?

So far, we’ve spent a little more than $2 billion to prevent another Harvey. But the storm cost $125 billion. Let’s not forget that. That’s the last lesson.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/15/25

3,000 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New Floodplain Maps Remain Secret For Now – At Least in Harris County

11/14/25 – Both Harris County Commissioners Court and the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group agreed yesterday to keep new, updated Harris County floodplain maps secret from the public. They accepted Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) explanation that they couldn’t release the maps until FEMA finished vetting them…a process that has gone years longer than scheduled and could drag on for years more. Neither group:

  • Asked for an explanation of what was taking FEMA so long
  • Asked how withholding the maps could negatively impact Harris County residents
  • Pointed to any FEMA regulations requiring that FEMA must release information first
  • Agreed to pressure FEMA to speed up the vetting process
  • Addressed why local authorities elsewhere are releasing updated maps before FEMA.

However, a spokesperson for HCFCD insisted after the meetings that HCFCD had a contract with FEMA that prohibited HCFCD from releasing maps paid for with taxpayer money. However, she could not immediately produce the contract for this post.

Other Areas in Texas Released Updated Maps Ahead of FEMA

Other authorities elsewhere seem to have no trouble releasing their updated maps based on Atlas 14. Take the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), for instance. They have posted a DRAFT floodplain viewer since 2022 with disclaimers, even though FEMA has not yet released its versions of the maps.

Screen capture on 11/14/25. Site also contains disclaimer.

The SARA maps even show the 30-year chance-of-flooding to help mortgage applicants understand their flood risk.

San Antonio River Authority Draft Floodplain Viewer showing 30-year flood risk.

Williamson County (Georgetown/Round Rock) also has released its Atlas-14-based floodplain maps ahead of FEMA. The maps feature a slider that lets you compare the extent of old and new floodplains.

11/14/25 Screen capture of old/new floodplain comparison in Williamson County’s draft viewer.

So, it is possible to release new maps ahead of FEMA. No regulations that I can find prohibit it. If Harris County’s contract prohibits it, I will do a followup post when HCFCD produces the contract.

San Jacinto River Flood Planning Group Decides Not to Press Map Update Issue

The San Jacinto River Flood Planning Group (RFPG) met yesterday. Among other things, they voted on a progress report for the Texas Water Development Board that showed their work to date on the next iteration of the state flood plan.

Their interim report identified floodplain expansion everywhere in the river basin except Harris County.

That’s because maps for Harris County were redacted at the request of HCFCD. And that generated a lot of discussion.

One member of the committee said, “We have omitted mapping within Harris County as part of this tech memo deliverable, since that’s posted to the public.” [Emphasis added.] That same member later added, “Not incorporating that maybe oversimplifies or otherwise misleads the general audience.” That member proposed updating the maps before submitting the report to TWDB.

However, instead, the committee decided to simply edit text to remove FEMA’s delivery date for the new maps which HCFCD claims FEMA has repeatedly missed.

“It’s not a change to technical content or substantive content, it’s just going to be how it narrates,” another member said.

The committee also discussed applying political pressure on FEMA to release the maps, but decided not to.

Harris County Commissioners Court Takes No Action on Map Updates

Harris County Commissioners Court on 11/13/25 also included a discussion of the status of flood map updates. (See Item 325 on the agenda.)

Commissioner Tom Ramsey kicked off the discussion by saying, “We have known that FEMA is going to, at some point, issue new floodplain maps for Harris County. And we sit here waiting for FEMA to release these.” Later, he said there would be a significant difference in the extent of floodplains. “The existing 500-year floodplain is now going to be the 100.”

Commissioner Adrian Garcia then said, “This is not my first rodeo related to maps.” He continued. “It’s going to be tough enough when FEMA releases the maps on us, because…

“We’re going to find … developers holding properties that now are going to potentially be un-developable.”

Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia

Garcia suggested that perhaps the National Association of Counties (NACo) “move this item along because it is in limbo.” Then he added, “The federal government needs to own this. They need to do their part. And then we can work it at the local level.”

Tina Petersen, executive director of HCFCD claimed, “The responsibilities of FEMA have always been clear. They are responsible for releasing the flood insurance rate maps.” While that’s a true statement, FEMA is moving away from basing NFIP insurance rates strictly on flood zones. However, the maps will remain critical for mandatory flood-insurance purchase requirements for federally backed mortgages.

Commissioner Rodney Ellis tried to pin Petersen down by asking if other places were releasing updated flood maps and adding disclaimers like “draft” or “preliminary.”

Petersen dodged the question. Her 55-second response boiled down to, “We believe we are close. We believe it is prudent to wait.”

Petersen also dodged Ellis questions relating to FOIA requests and how much the new maps cost the county.

Commissioner Leslie Briones asked for an update on what FEMA has accomplished in the second half of the year. Petersen replied, “Really, where FEMA is at now is all of the data that has been submitted from the flood control district has been reviewed, and they are currently working to develop the draft flood insurance rate maps.”

Briones concluded the discussion. “We are all in and making sure we’re supporting you so that we can get the information out and work in support as strongly as possible,” she said.

That concluded the discussion. Commissioners took no action. They just moved to the next agenda item.

No Good Answers

In the end, the recognition of higher flood risk could increase flood insurance premiums and make floodplain properties more difficult to develop.

Kicking the can down the road and pointing fingers at FEMA, an agency undergoing radical change, avoids difficult conversations now. But it also exposes Harris County residents to higher flood risk.

See the Harris County Commissioners Court discussion of flood maps at 3:13:36 of this video. The San Jacinto River Flood Planning Group does not publish video of its meetings.

FEMA’s Region 6 Map Division would not confirm when they will release new flood maps for Harris County. They referred me back to HCFCD.

HCFCD has refused to share flood risk information with the County’s own Community Flood Resilience Task Force despite repeated requests since 2021.

And partially as a result, people are building and buying tens of thousands of homes in Harris County floodplains that could flood in the next big storm.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/14/25

2999 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.

Izzy Finds Harris County Magically Solved All Its Flooding Problems Overnight

11/12/25 – My weird nephew Izzy called this morning. He was all excited about what he thought would be a tax refund check from Harris County. He had just finished scanning through the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group’s latest report and had convinced himself that the check was in the mail.

The Holiday Miracle

“Uncle Bob! Uncle Bob! Did you see what happened?”

“No Izzy. Calm down. What happened?”

“Harris County solved all its flooding problems and they didn’t even have to spend half the money in the flood bond!”

“Whoa there, Izzy. That sounds a little too good to be true. What makes you think that?”

(Flipping through a loose-leaf binder with hundreds of pages): “Lookee here, Uncle Bob. Every map in the book is like this. Yessiree.”

Existing Conditions Flood Hazard from San Jacinto Regional 2028 flood plan

“Yep, Uncle Bob. Every county in the river basin has flooding problems ‘cept Harris County. We done solved all our problems! I’m going to get me a new motorcycle with my refund check.”

“What’s wrong with your old motorcycle, Izzy?”

“It got flooded out.”

“And why do you think the county would give you a refund, Izzy?”

“They solved all our problems but only spent half the money. They geniuses.”

Izzy Gets an Education

“But that’s not how bonds work, Izzy. They don’t borrow the money until they need it.”

(Suddenly deflated) “You got to be kidding me.”

“Sorry Iz. I could use a refund check, too.”

“Oh, man. I was going to splurge and get me some nacho cheese Doritos with the change.”

“I’ll treat you to Doritos, Izzy, but I want to figure out what’s going on here.”

Uncle Bob’s Shocking Discovery

(Flipping through the report) “See, Uncle Bob. Harris County has NO flooding problems anymore, anywhere, nohow. I’m going to drop my flood insurance. That’ll save me some serious bank.”

“I wouldn’t drop it just yet, Izzy.”

“Why not?”

“Did you read this explanation on page 14, Izzy?”

“Read? Who reads anymore, Uncle Bob? That’s so old school.”

“It says the flooding in Harris County is still bad. They just aren’t saying how bad.”

“Why?”

“They claim they’ve been trying to figure out how to dish up the bad news…for four years.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m sorry, Izzy. They shoulda hired you to run Flood Control.”

“I got me a calculator that goes to 15 digits.”

“I’m sure you could have helped, Izzy.”

“Damn straight. I just can’t believe they’d try to trick me like this. They ‘da govmint. They ain’t supposed to trick people. Lives depend on this.”

“What do you say we drown our sorrows in some nacho cheese Doritos while I explain about government, Izzy?”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/12/25

2997 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.

San Jacinto Flood Planning Group’s Proposed Minimum Floodplain Management Practices

11/11/25 – The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group will consider adopting a set of proposed minimum floodplain management practices for the entire river basin at its meeting on November 13. The standards are part of a requirement by the Texas Water Development Board for the 2028 update of the state’s next flood plan.

The recommendations start on page 22 of the technical document. However, the document is 634 pages long and 214 megabytes in size. So, I’ve extracted them for easy reference.

They are targeted to floodplain managers in cities and counties in the San Jacinto River Basin. But they affect everyone from developers, homebuilders, and home buyers to home owners, insurers and first responders. So, I will add some explanatory comments below the proposed regs for those who may not understand their logic or language.

Proposed Minimum Floodplain Management Practices

Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
  • All regulatory entities to implement ordinances that meet minimum requirements per the NFIP
  • All regulatory entities to remain active NFIP participants in good standing
  • All regulatory entities to participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) Program to reduce flood insurance rate premiums across the region.
Development of “No Adverse Impact” Policies
  • All regulatory entities to define a no adverse impact policy.
  • The no adverse impact policy should be focused on preventing negative impacts. Evaluation of impacts should be completed using best available hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, where appropriate.
Establish Minimum Finished Floor Elevations
  • All new habitable structures shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 0.2% Annual Chance of Exceedance (ACE) flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
  • Where regulatory mapping has been updated using Atlas 14 or newer rainfall data, all new habitable structures shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
  • In areas designated as coastal flood zones, all new habitable structures shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMS plus 1 foot of freeboard.
  • All new critical facilities shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 0.2% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs plus 2 feet of freeboard except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
  • Where regulatory mapping has been updated using Atlas 14 or newer rainfall data, all new critical facilities shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs plus 2 feet of freeboard except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
  • In areas designated as coastal flood zones, all new critical facilities shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0%ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMS plus 2 feet of freeboard.
Encourage Use of Best Available Data
  • Utilize the latest rainfall data, NOAA Atlas 14 or newer rainfall data, when conducting new analyses, designing drainage infrastructure, or developing regulations and criteria.
Compensatory Storage Requirements in the 1.0% ACE Floodplain
  • Any reduction in floodplain storage or conveyance capacity within the 1.0% ACE regulatory floodplain must be offset with a hydraulically equivalent (one-to-one) volume of mitigation sufficient to offset the reduction, except in areas identified as coastal flood zones.
  • A full hydrologic and hydraulic analysis should be performed to demonstrate that floodplain fill mitigation provided is sufficient.
Compensatory Storage Requirements in the 0.2/% ACE Floodplain
  • Any reduction in floodplain storage or conveyance capacity within the 0.2% ACE regulatory floodplain must be offset with a hydraulically equivalent (one-to-one) volume of mitigation sufficient to offset the reduction, except in areas identified as coastal flood zones.
  • A full hydrologic and hydraulic analysis should be performed to demonstrate that floodplain fill mitigation provided is sufficient.
Development of Detailed Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis Criteria/Requirements
  • All regulatory entities to develop hydrologic and hydraulic modeling criteria or requirements.
  • All regulatory entities to identify features of a proposed development that would warrant a full hydrologic and hydraulic analysis.
Incentivizing the Preservation of the Floodplain
  • All regulatory entities to explore and develop systems for incentivizing the preservation of the floodplain directly within the regulatory floodplain or within 100 feet of the banks of unstudied streams.
Nature-Based Solutions
  • All regulatory entities to adopt criteria for design of nature-based solutions for drainage infrastructure and stormwater quality management. TWDB’s nature-based solutions guidance manual should be referenced when adopting criteria.
  • All regulatory entities to establish criteria that would require new construction to incorporate, or minimally consider, nature-based solutions in design of drainage infrastructure and mitigation.
Operations and Maintenance
  • All flood-related authorities who own and operate drainage infrastructure to create a maintenance plan for those assets to manage and reduce future replacement costs.
  • All flood-related authorities who own and operate drainage infrastructure to develop and maintain an asset management plan, including GIS dataset of assets, to support maintenance of infrastructure. Datasets to leverage infrastructure toolkit that has been prepared by the TWDB to improve the assessment of drainage infrastructure condition and functionality.
Property Acquisition Program
  • All regulatory entities to develop property acquisition program for repetitive loss structures.
Flood Warning System
  • All regulatory entities to develop flood warning system for public awareness.
Hazard Mitigation Plan
  • All regulatory entities to develop a Hazard Mitigation Plan to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from flood events and maximize funding eligibility for disaster recovery funding.

Explaining the Proposed Minimum Floodplain Regulations

If you’re scratching your head about anything above, the following explanations may help.

NFIP and CRS

The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS) encourages counties and municipalities to go beyond minimum floodplain management requirements in exchange for discounts on flood insurance premiums for their residents.

CRS rewards local governments that implement regulations which:

  1. Reduce flood losses
  2. Encourage accurate insurance rating
  3. Promote awareness of flood risk

Depending on the strength of a community’s practices, it could earn its residents anywhere from 0% to 45% discounts on their flood insurance premiums. Currently, Houston and Harris County earn 25% discounts. Montgomery County earns 15%.

So encourage your elected officials. This recommendation hits you in the pocketbook.

No Adverse Impact

Chapter 11.086 of the Texas Water Code says “No person may divert or impound the natural flow of surface waters in this state, or permit a diversion or impounding by him to continue, in a manner that damages the property of another by the overflow of the water diverted or impounded.”

The San Jacinto Flood Groups recommendation encourages local governments to adopt policies and best practices that prevent such adverse impacts.

Finished Floor Elevations

These recommendations encourage cities and counties to establish minimum heights above expected flood levels for buildings. “Finished floor” refers to living space. Sometimes people park cars under the first finished floor. This recommendation does not count garages below living space.

Together these recommendations say that if an area has adopted Atlas 14 (the latest rainfall probability statistics) and flood maps have been updated, the first finished floor can be set at or above the 100-year (1%) flood level. Otherwise, the first finished floor should be elevated at or above the 500-year (.02%) flood level.

Critical facilities, such as hospitals, fire stations, police stations and evacuation centers should always be at least 2 feet above the 500-year flood elevation.

Compensatory Storage Requirements

This recommendation is the same as “no net fill” requirements already in effect for many 100-year floodplains in the region. It has the effect of saying, “You can’t bring dirt into the floodplain, but you can move it around.” For instance, to elevate homes, builders would have to use the dirt excavated from a detention basin. It’s designed to prevent constriction of the floodplain, which could raise flood heights.

Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) Analyses

H&H Studies define where and how flooding occurs, including how fast runoff occurs, how fast it will move and where it will go. They replace flood maps based on outdated or incomplete data. They incorporate Atlas 14 rainfall data and account for new development, impervious cover, and drainage changes, including recent channel improvements or detention basins.

They enable updated floodplain mapping and help build regional consistency in data and methodology. That in turn helps improve local floodplain regulations and insurance accuracy.

Floodplain Preservation and Nature-Based Solutions

The farther homes are from floodplains, the safer they are. Preventing flood damage is vastly cheaper than correcting damage afterwards, often by a factor of 5 to 10 times or more.

Floodplain preservation provides permanent benefits including economic continuity, insurance savings, environmental benefits, and recreational benefits. It also avoids post-flood recovery costs including infrastructure repair, housing assistance, insurance claims, business disruption, and environmental cleanup.

O&M, Property Acquisition, Flood-Warning System, and Hazard Mitigation Plan

The last four floodplain management recommendations emphasize preparation.

  • Regular maintenance, for instance, can keep channels from becoming clogged with sediment.
  • Buyouts in areas that flood repeatedly prevent future damage and mitigation costs.
  • Flood warning systems can tell people when to evacuate or streets to avoid in a flood.
  • A hazard mitigation plan helps identify natural hazards, assess risks and vulnerabilities, and outline long-term strategies to deal with them.

As common-sense as these ideas are, it’s amazing that many areas still have not adopted them. That may be why Texas has more people living in floodplains than the populations of 30 states.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/11/25

2996 Days since Hurricane Harvey

100-Year Floodplains Doubling in Size, But HCFCD Won’t Release New Maps

11/10/25 – The Texas Water Development Board’s San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group will meet on Thursday, November 13, to consider adopting a technical memorandum that shows the river basin’s 100-year floodplains more than doubling in size.

From Page 16 of Draft 2028 Region 6 Flood Plan. 10-year floodplains were not previously mapped.

However, even though the group acknowledges the superiority of Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) MAAPnext floodplain models, Harris County refuses to release updated flood maps. As a consequence, hundreds of pages of maps in the 634-page document show nothing for Harris County flood risk. Why?

Example of redacted map from page 98.

You can find the answer at the top of Page 14. “MAAPnext mapping information has not yet been made available to the public and will not be released to the public by HCFCD until late 2025 or early 2026. Given the sensitivity of this information…”

“… HCFCD has asked that MAAPnext mapping information not be shared publicly so that they can continue to carefully and thoughtfully control the roll out of this information to Harris County residents.”

Page 14, Draft Region 6 Technical Memorandum dated November 2025

HCFCD did not respond to a request for explanation or comment.

Redacted Information Exposes Public to Unnecessary Risk

This isn’t national-defense information. It’s public-safety information that you need to protect your family and life savings.

The County has been on the verge of releasing this information since 2021. But the County has postponed the release multiple times without a good explanation.

MAAPnext FEMA timeline for flood map release explains uncertainty
Screen Capture from MAAPnext.org on July 4, 2021

I have little faith in the late 2025/early 2026 release date. They have simply postponed it too many times. And in fact, a quick check of the MAAPnext website shows they’ve already delayed release again. Now they predict the END of 2026.

Flood map update schedule as of August 2025

HCFCD blames delays on FEMA. But HCFCD doesn’t even need FEMA’s permission to release what they now have.

FEMA’s authority extends to flood insurance maps. But other counties release flood-map updates before FEMA for their own regulatory and public safety purposes. And that’s how this information could help.

Why We Need This Information Now

People need this data to make important decisions, such as:

  1. Should I buy this house?
  2. What is the real flooding risk at my house?
  3. Should I buy flood insurance?
  4. Can I afford flood insurance on top of my mortgage?
  5. Is my parent’s house at risk? My children’s?
  6. Is the assisted living center where my relatives live at risk for flooding?

Would you want to make one of these decisions knowing the government deliberately withheld information that could save a loved one’s life or your life savings? These are life-altering decisions affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of people.

A Houston Chronicle investigation found that 65,000 homes have been built in floodplains since Harvey – a number based on old pre-Atlas-14 flood maps.

The Region 6 Technical Report suggests that number may be radically understated. If floodplains cover twice as many square miles, it stands to reason more people will be affected.

Harris County has updated maps.

Not releasing the maps is a public-safety scandal.

Bob Rehak

Even worse, not explaining why the public can’t see information that could save lives and life savings is an even bigger scandal.

Meeting Information

The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group (RFPG) will meet on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 10:00 AM at the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, 1660 W Bay Area Blvd, Friendswood, TX 77546, Board Room. 

The public may attend and address the RFPG in-person. Or as a courtesy you may virtually access the meeting “as technology permits.” The link for virtual access can be found at: sanjacintofloodplanning.org. And here is the agenda.

For the full report, see Draft 2028 Region 6 Flood Plan.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/10/2025

2995 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 Feature on ReduceFlooding.com

11/9/2025 – In a continuing effort to make ReduceFlooding.com as useful to readers as possible, I have added a new tab on the Reports Page. It’s called Real-Time Conditions and Floodplain Extents. The information on this page comes from national, state and local sources.

On one page, you can find numerous links to sources that can help you understand your flood risk when you are deciding whether to evacuate, fleeing from a flood, or buying a home.

For instance, want to see how high the water got during a particular flood in the Humble/Kingwood Area downstream from the US59 Bridge? Check out the interagency Flood Decision Support Toolbox below.

InFIRM decision support toolbox shows flood extent during Harvey in Humble Kingwod Area
From Flood Risk Management Decision Support Toolbox showing flood extent during Harvey at US59/West Fork.

Key Links

The new tab contains the following links all in one easy to remember place at the top of the Reports page.

Caution: Flood Maps May Not Yet Be Updated to Atlas 14

Please be aware of the date on maps that show the extent of floodplains. As of this writing, most pre-date NOAA’s Atlas 14 rainfall probability statistics. When FEMA officially updates maps, the floodplains will likely expand. For instance, Harris County Flood Control District advises people that 100-year floodplains could become 500-year floodplains when FEMA releases updated maps.

Additional weather related links can be found on the Links page under the Weather/Flood/Climate Tab.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/9/2025

2994 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Why We Need FEMA

11/8/25 – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not just battled nature’s extremes this year. It has also battled political superstorms that have left both employees and citizens exposed and uncertain.

Disasters So Far in 2025

Despite a quieter than normal hurricane season so far this year, the U.S. has suffered:

Political Crosswinds Create Uncertainty

It’s not that FEMA was unresponsive in these events. It’s just that the agency has been hampered by political crosswinds and uncertainty. Early in the year, the Trump administration announced that it wanted to eliminate FEMA. But more recently, as disasters piled up, the administration has said it wants to restructure FEMA.

Still, during a government shutdown, attention to the FEMA Reform Act has been diverted, putting the agency and its people under strain. FEMA began the 2025 hurricane season with only about 12% of its incident-management workforce available for deployment, according to the Government Accountability Office.

According to Government Executive, the shortage is partly due to attrition, burnout from concurrent major disasters, and a backlog of missions. With the workforce so thin, FEMA’s ability to surge in response to large disasters is seriously compromised.

At the same time, FEMA has eliminated the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program. The exact value of such grants is unknown. However estimates range from almost $900 million to $3.6 billion.

FEMA’s own budget could be cut, too. Though not yet fully enacted, the administration’s FY2026 budget proposal included a cut of about $646 million for FEMA from prior levels.

FEMA has also reportedly blocked or delayed nearly $10 billion in disaster-aid over concerns about undocumented migrant eligibility. 

And the administration has stopped automatically approving Hazard Mitigation Grant Funds for disasters that it declares.

Why Response at Federal Level Makes More Sense for Rare Disasters

The Administration has said it wants state and local governments to take on the cost for disaster recovery. State and local governments already provide much of the funding for minor disasters. But can they provide the funding needed for the type of major disasters mentioned above?

Shortly before the government shutdown started, the Wall Street Journal ran an illuminating article about the changing focus at FEMA.

“The city [St. Louis] doesn’t have the finances, institutional knowledge or equipment to rapidly respond to catastrophic disasters like the tornado that struck in May, which the city estimates caused $1.6 billion in damage,” it said.

Other observers responding to the WSJ article pointed out that “This is the exact reason why a robust FEMA is SO critical to our nation.”  

“Any one individual municipality, county or even state can go years to decades without a major disaster that they have to respond to,” continued the article in the Balanced Weather Blog.

“The idea that these levels of government are going to maintain the large, complex infrastructure needed to effectively and adequately respond to rare catastrophic events is not only nonsensical, it would be an incredibly poor use of taxpayer money,” it continued.

“Having a robust FEMA enables the ongoing maintenance of the needed disaster response infrastructure at a federal level which can then be deployed when and where it is needed.”

Economies of Scale

That makes sense to me. Would you ask each state to provide its own Army, Navy and Air Force? Of course not.

Certain tasks require economies of scale to match threats. That’s what FEMA provides. The ability to shift people and resources where they’re needed when they’re needed makes more economic sense than forcing each of 50 states to duplicate those resources for a disaster that may never strike in a lifetime.

That said, I believe it’s also incumbent on cities, counties and states to shoulder as much of the burden as they can.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/8/2025

2993 Days since Hurricane Harvey