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GLO Reimbursement Program Helped Rebuild 2961 Homes While Houston’s Helped Only 119

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) announced last week that it has successfully completed its Reimbursement Program from Hurricane Harvey. It was a first-of-its-kind program and concluded after providing nearly $86 million to almost 3,000 Texas homeowners. The GLO also announced that it had reconstructed its 2,500th home under its Harvey Homeowner Assistance Program.

Two Major Milestones Reached in Same Week

The two GLO disaster recovery programs are helping Texans across 48 counties (outside of Harris County and the city of Houston) whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. The two programs have now helped nearly 5,500 Texas homeowners recover from Harvey.

The GLO’s reimbursement program concluded after assisting 2,961 Texans with a total of $85,989,042 in reimbursements for out-of-pocket home repair expenses. In the same week, the GLO reached another milestone – reconstruction of 2,500 homes damaged during Harvey.
Texas General Land Office

“Every day at the General Land Office we work to help improve the lives of Texans,” said Commissioner Bush. “The GLO is proud to be setting a record pace in disaster recovery while helping thousands of Texas families rebuild their lives and their homes. The GLO continues to leverage federal dollars efficiently and effectively to help Texas families and communities rebuild and mitigate against future storms.”

Click for video

Details of Reimbursement Program

This week the Texas General Land Office completed its Homeowner Reimbursement Program (HRP) when it approved the final reimbursements for eligible homeowners.

The HRP program provided reimbursements up to $50,000 for Hurricane Harvey-impacted homeowners who used their life savings or other personal funds to pay out-of-pocket for disaster recovery repairs. The program’s efficiency yielded an additional $3 million in costs savings, which enabled the program to provide reimbursements for all applicants eligible under U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) rules for the available Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding.

Homeowner Assistance Program Details

In the same week that the GLO successfully completed its Reimbursement Program, the GLO handed keys to a fully rebuilt home to the 2,500th Homeowner Assistance Program (HOAP) recipient. So far, approximately 4,300 HOAP applicants have been approved for assistance by the GLO. Of those, about 1,400 applications are in pre-construction (awaiting applicant approval of final design plans and permits). Four hundred more homes are currently under construction in addition to those already completed.

Before the HOAP program concludes, GLO anticipates that it will help rebuild more than 6,000 homes. It will do so using more than $1.3 billion in available Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR). The GLO will also use an additional $500 million in Community Development Block Grants for Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Results Invite Comparison to City of Houston’s

The City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department updates its comparable statistics weekly.

*City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department statistics as of 1.20.21*

During the period that the GLO reimbursed 2961 homeowners, Houston reimbursed 119. And while the GLO reconstructed 2500 homes, the City reconstructed only 117.

Thus, the GLO was 20-25X more effective in finding and helping applicants than the City of Houston. And the GLO covered a 48-county area.

Possible Reasons for Huge Disparity

The GLO reviews City applications before forwarding them to HUD for final approval and funding. In trying to explain possible reasons for the disparity in results, a GLO spokesperson pointed to the needlessly complex structure of the City’s program.

The City set up a two-tier application process in which people filled out a screening survey before filling out an application.
Then the City divided survey respondents into six priority groups, trying to exhaust possibilities in one before inviting applications from the next.
As the December 31st deadline for reimbursement applications approached, some survey respondents were invited to apply at the end of the day on December 30th. Others were not invited at all.

The GLO also pointed out that many of the applications submitted by the City were incomplete and that the City’s data formatting was inconsistent.

When the GLO sent a team to Houston to help train City employees handling applications, GLO helpers were not allowed to enter City offices.

Harvey damaged more than 96,000 homes in Houston.

The City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department still has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/24/2021 based on data published by the Texas GLO and Houston Housing and Community Development

1244 Days after Hurricane Harvey

Last Remaining Townhomes on Timberline Drive in Forest Cove Demolished

Late yesterday (1.22.21), Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) contractors scraped the last remains of the townhomes on Timberline Drive in Forest Cove off the ground. Harvey destroyed the townhomes when more than 20 feet of water rushed through them. It rendered them structurally unfit for habitation. Since then, they have been an eyesore and the gathering place for drug dealers, arsonists, graffiti artists and illegal dumpers.

Cleanup Just in Time for New Projects

The demolition is welcome and will open the door to reclaiming the area as park and green space. Last month, both Harris County Precinct 4 announced plans to begin construction of its new Edgewater park and boat launch on the West Fork just east of US59. And the Houston Parks board announced plans to begin building a hike-and-bike trail connecting the new park with KSA’s River Grove Park and the Kingwood trail network.

The Texas Railroad Commission also cleaned up the first portion of the Noxxe Oil & Gas lease near the townhomes this week.

Removing the remains of the townhomes and oil-production assets will help restore the natural beauty of area. The added recreational amenities will also help attract new residents.

The townhomes demolished this week include those in the large red circle. The flood-damaged oil storage tanks in the small circle were also removed this week by the Texas Railroad Commission. They also plan to plug the two remaining wells in this area within weeks.

*Site of the now-gone townhomes at 4PM on 1.22.21.*

*Before demolition in February 2020. Note: buildings in background had burned in 2019 and building in foreground had been partially demolished by Harvey.*

*After the first building to burn had been demolished, the second one burned, too*, *in September 2020. This is the area that HCFCD cleaned up this week.*

Status of Remaining Townhomes

Beth Walters, a spokesperson for HCFCD, said, “All remaining townhomes have been assigned to the agent to be appraised. The timeframe to purchase depends on the owners’ willingness to sell. If the owners refuse to sell and take the case to litigation, it is possible for the acquisition to take a year or more. If the owners are willing to sell, we could purchase by the end of February.”

On January 5, 2021, Harris County Commissioners Court approved a declaration deeming the acquisition of the remaining townhomes a public necessity. This is the first step in possible condemnation of the any remaining properties. Here is the a document by the Texas Attorney General that explains a landowner’s bill of rights.

The Problem with Building Multi-Owner Units near Rivers

Multi-owner units, such as the Forest Cove townhomes, present special challenges for buyouts. Before a building with eight townhomes, for instance, can be torn down, HCFCD must buy out every unit in the complex. But many owners simply abandoned their properties after Harvey. Locating them became a time consuming task. Some cannot be found. For instance, a company in the Bahamas owned one unit. The company has gone bankrupt since Harvey, leaving the ownership in limbo. Hence, the demolition delays.

As you can see in the Google Earth image above, four structures remain to be demolished. The one closed to the river appears to have collapsed already on its own, but the debris remains.

The two structures removed on Timberline Drive had previously burned: one on the 4th of July in 2019 and the other last year. So the HCFCD work this week was really more rubble removal than demolition. Regardless of what you call it, it’s an improvement.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1.23.21 with thanks to Harris County Flood Control and Beth Walters

1123 Days after Hurricane Harvey

Railroad Commission Completes First Part of Noxxe Cleanup in Forest Cove Already

The Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) completed the first part of the Noxxie Oil & Gas post-Harvey cleanup on Tuesday, 1/19/21, just hours after the operation started. TRRC contractors began early in the morning near the Forest Cove Townhomes on Marina Drive. By 11 a.m., they had removed the heater treater; begun dismantling two storage tanks; and loaded up rusted pipe and twisted scaffolding. Before the end of the day, they had scarified the site and cleaned up after themselves. Scarification involves cutting and removing debris by breaking up the surface of the soil.

Before, During, After Pictures

Here’s what the Marina Drive area looked like before, during and after the cleanup there.

*Noxxe Tanks by townhomes in Forest Cove before cleanup.* *June 27, 2020.*

*Removal of Noxxe Tanks by townhomes in Forest Cove. 1/19/2021.*

*Cleanup complete of Noxxe Tanks by townhomes in Forest Cove. 1/20/2021.*

Plugging of Old Wells Scheduled in Two Weeks

Two pump jacks near the tanks remain. TRRC plans to remove those and plug the wells with a separate crew in a couple weeks, depending on the crew’s availability. That crew was responding to an emergency involving a potential blowout with some wells near Corpus Christi this week.

*One of two remaining pump jacks near the Forest Cove Townhomes.*

By Wednesday morning, operations had shifted to the far larger portion of the Noxxe field south and east of the Forest Cove little league fields. Dean Southward, a TRRC spokesperson and project manager, estimates cleanup of that area will take approximately two weeks.

The wells on the eastern portion of Noxxe’s lease will be plugged at the same time as the others near Marina Drive.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/22/2021

1242 Days since Hurricane Harvey

HCFCD Starts More Repairs on Taylor Gully

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has begun a three-month repair project on Taylor Gully near Maple Bend Drive in Kingwood’s Woodstream Forest. The repairs will extend 750 feet upstream and 1500 feet downstream of Maple Bend. The entire length of the project lies within a man-made channel and does NOT extend into the natural area on the northeast. See below.

*Orange line indicates approximate extent of repair project.* *Image courtesy of Google Earth.* *Water flows toward the upper right*.

This work activity will have no effect on wetlands; threatened or endangered species or their habitats; cultural or historic resources; or rookeries.

*Looking upstream from Maple Bend. Photo taken 1/19/2021.*

*Looking downstream across Maple Bend bridge toward next phase of project, which will stop before the woods. Note outfall replacement pipe stored on right bank in distance. Photo taken 1/19/2021.*

Purpose of Project

The purpose: to repair erosion and side-slope failures; repair or replace outfalls; rectify flowlines; and rehabilitate existing backslope swale systems.

Erosion repairs include the placement of fill material, placement of 3″x5″ granular fill and the placement of grade #1 riprap.
Channel cross sections will be restored to the original design where feasible.
The oldest recorded drawing on file is for the proposed channels from Elm Grove Village to White Oak Creek completed in March 1982. Record drawings typically show a 6-foot wide channel bottom with 3:1 side slopes.

Several homes in this neighborhood flooded during Imelda when water backed up into streets. While the rainfall amounts exceeded the capacity of storm drains, damaged outfalls could also have contributed to such backups. So restoring damaged outfalls will help reduce flood risk.

The earthwork will consist of installation of granular fill and Grade 1 riprap below the ordinary high-water mark. Sediment will be excavated to contour channel side slopes and bottom dimensions to match previously rectified conditions.

*Start of side slope repairs. Photo taken 1/19/2021*.

Previous Repair History

HCFCD record drawings show a general repair project on G103-80-03.1 in July 2012. According to HCFCD records, an emergency repair on the baffle structure on G103-80-03.1 was completed in October of 2019.

*Baffle previously repaired after Imelda.* *Photo taken 1/19/2021.* *The structure required an emergency repair due to significant erosion and a rip-rap dam that had formed, severely blocking flow.*

Such baffles slow the flow of stormwater to enable the channel downstream of the structure to drain efficiently, according to Beth Walters, a spokesperson for HCFCD.

Taylor Gully was twice severely damaged by excessive flow from Woodridge Village upstream at the Montgomery County Line in 2019. The new development flooded severely on May 7 and September 19 when sheet flow from heavy rains poured into the gully before Woodridge Village’s detention ponds were completed. This is the second major repair project since then. The first extended from the county line to near West Lake Houston Parkway.

*Taylor Gully repairs from Maple Bend Bridge on 1/19/2021*

Utility Crossings

Utilities along this reach of Taylor Gully (G103-80-03.1) include natural gas, telecommunication, electric, sanitary sewer and water. The CenterPoint gas line, telephone line, and water line all cross the channel at Maple Bend Drive. A 10” sanitary sewer line crosses the channel at the downstream end of the project.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/19/2021 with thanks to Beth Walters, Harris County Flood Control District

1239 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 488 since Imelda

Noxxe Oilfield Cleanup Starts Tomorrow in Forest Cove

Dean Southward, a spokesperson for the Texas Railroad Commission, confirmed today that cleanup of the toxic mess left behind by Noxxe Oil & Gas near the West Fork in Forest Cove will begin tomorrow. Noxxe abandoned its lease after Harvey flooded the entire field, toppled tanks, and destroyed the stripper-well operation.

The Railroad Commission tried unsuccessfully to get Noxxe to clean up the site for 2.5 years. After Noxxe declared bankruptcy in 2020, the Railroad Commission seized Noxxe’s remaining assets. Aerial photos show those include abandoned tanks, wells, pipe, vehicles, and more. Now the cleanup becomes their responsibility and it will be no small task. See below.

Photos Taken January 1, 2021, Before Start of Cleanup

*Abandoned Noxxe well, rusting tanks and a toppled heater treater near Forest Cove Townhomes also destroyed by Harvey.*

*Another portion of Noxxe’s field lies between the West Fork and the Forest Cove little league fields. The noxious stench of spilled crude could be smelled from the fields and surrounding homes.*

Noxxe — *The Railroad Commission intends to plug all the abandoned wells.*

Thanks for the cleanup go first and foremost to the Texas Railroad Commission, monitors more than 440,000 oil wells in the state. Thanks also go to State Representative Dan Huberty who helped accelerate the schedule once he became aware of the problem.

Noxxe may have a joke name – Exxon spelled backwards. But the mess left behind by the company is no laughing matter. Residents and kids who play baseball in Forest Cove will soon breathe a lot easier.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/18/2021

1238 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.

Rosemay Fain’s Harvey and Imelda Stories

Rosemary Fain and Archie Savage live on three acres in Magnolia Estates, in far northeast Harris County just a block from the Liberty County line, about halfway between Luce Bayou and the San Jacinto East Fork. They’re more than two miles from each and never flooded before the development of Colony Ridge, one mile north. Since then, during both Harvey and Imelda, East Fork floodwater rose so high that it came through their property and started flowing down toward Luce Bayou. The water damaged their home, barn, garage, workshop, pool, hot tub, well, septic system, chicken coop and more. But they were lucky compared to neighbors who had homes swept off foundations. This interview discusses their attempts to recover and their advice for others.

Rehak: How long have you all lived here?

Fain: Archie’s lived here since 1995. I joined him in 2015.

Never Flooded Before Harvey

Rehak: Did the property ever flood before Hurricane Harvey?

Fain: No, not at all.

Rehak: OK. How far are you from the East Fork of the San Jacinto?

Fain: More than two miles.

And Then Came Harvey

Rehak: What happened during Harvey?

Fain: Well, we knew that the hurricane was coming. And we did as much as we could to prepare for high winds. But how could we prepare for that much water? We never expected that much. It just…it looked like a river.

It looked like we were sitting in the middle of a river.
Rosemary Fain

We had people calling from all over the country to make sure we were OK. Then we lost power. Power lines went down at Magnolia Boulevard and Plum Grove Road and there were kids riding four wheelers in the water!

I have video of the water. It was coming from the East Fork and running into that gully that goes to Luces Bayou. And it was just a torrent. It was just an absolute torrent.

Video of Hurricane Harvey in Magnolia Estates courtesy of Rosemary Fain

On FM1485, people were loading boats to go down Huffman/Cleveland Road and rescue people that had their homes washed completely off foundations. And the East Fork … Oh, my God, way up here. Way up here!

After, on FM1485, people with tractors were pulling cows out of the ditches.

Rehak: You’re kidding.

Fain: No.

Rehak: Dead cows?

Fain: A lot … dead. They found an awful lot of carcasses down in the culvert.

Imelda “Much, Much Worse”

Two years later, Imelda came along. And it was worse! Much, much worse. Kids were kayaking out on the street. That’s how bad it was.

*Kayaking down the street in front of Fain’s house during Imelda*

Rehak: Wow.

Fain: Archie had made it to work that morning and I called him and asked, “Do I need to start getting blankets and comforters to put in front of the door? And he says, “Honey, it’s water. Nothing’s going to stop it. If it’s coming in, it’s coming in.” And that’s when it came right up to the top step. It was within inches of coming in the house.

Video of Tropical Storm Imelda in Magnolia Estates courtesy of Rosemary Fain

Rehak: Did it undermine the corner of your house?

Fain: It messed up more than that.

Rehak: Catalog the losses for me. You lost some machinery in your wood shop.

Fain: We lost the jumper pump in our well house. Our septic system flooded. We had damage to the pier and beam foundation under our kitchen and dining room, where the foundation later collapsed – between Christmas and New Years of 2020. We had no idea how bad it was.

*Part of damage caused by delayed collapse of one corner of house after Imelda*

*Corner of the house in kitchen that bore the brunt of Imelda’s floodwaters.*

The pier-and-beam foundation and kitchen floor have to be completely replaced, as well as the bottom kitchen cabinets. We lost the motor and the heater to the hot tub, and the hot tub footings shifted, causing the hot tub to crack. We lost the motor to the pool. Our chicken and pigeon coops had to be demolished.

The neighbors behind us lost their sheep pens, but there were no sheep there at the time.

*Neighbors sheep pens destroyed by Imelda.*

And there’s now black mold in the well house and the garage shop.

And, you know, by law we can’t sell this place with the black mold issues. So, what do we do?

We can’t afford to fix it and we can’t afford to move. This house is paid for. It’s our investment for retirement. But we can’t afford to fix what needs to be fixed and sell it.

Insurance doesn’t cover black mold.

Who would have thought we’d need flood insurance this far from the river? We have it now. But we didn’t when the floods hit.

Poorly Drained Soils Now Much Worse

Rehak: What can you tell me about the soils around here? Were they a factor?

Fain: It’s all clay-based.

Rehak: How does it drain?

Savage: Not well. These properties, if there’s a lot of water, they’ll hold it a good while to where it should percolate down. But it doesn’t. It cannot go through clay. Harvey deposited a lot of silt. Since Harvey, it just seems like the ground is constantly saturated even during the summer. And, if you dig down two … two and a half feet, it gets really, really messy.

*Clay-based soil throughout area drains poorly.*

Rehak: When you first moved here, did you go up Plum Grove Road and explore?

Savage: You could tell that it was a low-lying area.

Rehak: A lot of palmettos up there?

Savage: Yeah.

Loss of Thousands of Acres of Forest, Wetlands with Colony Ridge

Fain: The first time I came out here, it was a very pleasant, beautiful little drive. I was really impressed with the canopy of the trees and this whole area. And I’m telling you, it just is such a shame what it’s come to. It was all woods and all trees, and now it’s just nothing but tore up roads and mud.

Rehak: How did the changes coincide with development of Colony Ridge?

Fain: We never flooded before Colony Ridge. All the problems came after they started clearing trees. I remember all the logging trucks coming up and down Plum Grove Road. And then in 2017, Harvey hit and it was just horrendous.

Rehak: Do you feel that if the development hadn’t happened you would have been safer?

Fain: Definitely. It was scary. I mean, I wish we had taken our little flat bottom boat and tied it to that tree.

Slow Recovery and Then More Disaster

Rehak: How has the recovery been?

Fain: FEMA came out and they cut us a check for $357.

Rehak: $357!

Fain: And there is nothing available for Imelda. Project Recovery … I’ve called them twice, emailed them, and they haven’t responded at all.

Rehak: Are you in the City of Houston?

Fain: No, this is New Caney. But we’re in Harris County. The Liberty County line is about a block east.

Rehak: Tell me more about the damage to the corner of your house?

Fain: We just didn’t know the extent of the damage under our house after Imelda. We were just thankful that it didn’t get in. Then all of a sudden the whole corner of the house collapsed more than a year after the storm.

One day between Christmas and New Years of 2020, I walked into the kitchen to get dog food and I saw the whole corner of the house had collapsed. I went, “Oh, my God, oh, my God, Archie! There’s something going on in the kitchen.”

*Close up of corner of the house that collapsed suddenly 15 months after Imelda.*

We started pulling the flooring and floorboards away. I marked the wall and it’s gotten much worse since. We just had no idea what the extent of the damage was.

And now it looks like the window has closed for any assistance. So we’re having to repair this essentially on our own. Insurance will cover some of it, but they’re not going to cover all of it.

*Refrigerator resides in front entry hall until repairs to kitchen can be made.*

Disabled and Trying to Recover With One Income

Rehak: You’re disabled now?

Fain: Yes, I can’t work anymore.

Rehak: How has the COVID situation affected Archie’s job?

Fain: He’s been lucky. They cut him back to forty hours. There’s no overtime, but he’s been very fortunate to keep his job through all this.

Rehak: He’s the sole breadwinner. That has to make doing all these repairs tougher.

Fain: Oh yeah!

Rehak: Is there anything else around here, besides Colony Ridge, that may have affected flooding?

Fain: Not in our neighborhood. There are no new homes going in at all. It’s been built out for a long time.

Doesn’t Want to Move, But Can’t Afford to Fix

Rehak: If you could sell this house right now without taking too much of a loss on it, what would you do? Would you find another place in the country?

Fain: We’re so close to retirement, we don’t really want to move. But if we did, it would definitely be to a place in the country. And away from anywhere with a hurricane, tropical storm or any of that.

Rehak: Until you’ve gone through a few of them, it’s hard to imagine the destruction.

Fain: Well, I’ve been through two in five years now, Harvey and Imelda. I’d never been through one before.

Rehak: Did this place flood during Tropical Storm Allison?

Fain: No. Archie told me that he could see the trees leaning, leaning, leaning in front. And then he went to the back and he’d see them lean in the other direction. But it didn’t flood.

Rehak: What about during Ike?

Fain: Same thing. Wind, but no water near the house.

Advice to Others

Rehak: If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?

Fain: If you see development going on around you or your neighborhood … get involved. Make sure they understand they’re being watched. If they don’t do things right with their drainage, it could ruin your neighborhood and ruin your home and ruin your life.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/17/2021 based on an Interview with Rosemary Fain and Archie Savage

1237 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Endangered Species Spotted in Kingwood’s East End Park

Natural buffers of green space between rivers and residents are one of the best ways to reduce flooding. And they come with side benefits! Like occasionally spotting endangered species.

Ken and Debbie Beeney are avid birders who frequent Kingwood’s East End Park, where they have helped document more than 140 species of birds, many of them rare, threatened, or even endangered – such as the Henslow’s Sparrow. The presence of such species helps indicate the environmental health of a community. And on that score, Kingwood is doing well, indeed.

History of East End Park

Back in the 1980s, Friendswood Development had hoped to build another subdivision in the area of East End Park. But because of wetland issues, the EPA issued a “cease and desist” order in 1988. The developer then donated East End Park to the Kingwood Service Association (KSA) to turn it into a community amenity.

The dirt from the streets Friendswood cut in Kings Point built up the area that has now a 43-acre tall-grass meadow within the larger 158-acre nature park bordering the San Jacinto East Fork.

*Representative scenes from East End Park*. *The park has 5.5 miles of trails and boardwalks.*

Fast Forward 33 Years

In addition to providing hiking and jogging trails, the park provides a refuge for migrating birds. In winter, the grass goes to seed and the birds use that as a fly-through buffet.

*Part of East End Park from the air. Lower meadow in center.*

After consulting with the Houston Audubon Society and the Lake Houston Area nature club, KSA decided to mow the meadow each year after the spring migration. Mowing helps prevent the forest from encroaching on the meadow. The timing also allows the tall grass to regrow and reseed before the fall migration. That helps preserve a healthy supply of seed and cover that attracts all those species.

Beeney Photographs Henslow’s Sparrow

The Beeneys, who are members of the Lake Houston Area Nature Club, write, “Could you please extend our thanks and gratitude to KSA for timing the mowing of the meadow to accommodate the wintering birds who need this type of habitat.”

*Endangered* *Henslow’s Sparrow photographed in Kingwood’s East End Park on January 9, 2021, by Ken and Debbie Beeney.*

“Saturday January 9th, we spotted a rare bird, the Henslow’s sparrow. This is the first observed Henslow’s at East End Park. Henslow’s is listed as an endangered species in Canada. Additionally, seven U.S. states have listed Henslow’s Sparrow as endangered, five have listed it as threatened, and four have listed it as a species of Special Concern. Grassland conservation efforts have been responsible for the reversal of some long-term declines among local populations of this species.”

“Our bird walks in December and January have yielded high numbers of sparrows in the grassy meadow. Species include; LeConte’s, Chipping, Savannah and Swamp Sparrows. The overwintering sparrows need the tall grasses for protection from predators and as a food source.”

Regards, Ken and Debbie Beeney

Park Has Many Values

In addition, to attracting wildlife, areas such as East End Park attract people. East End is one of the busiest parks in Kingwood. The Lake Houston Area Nature Club meets there at 7:30 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month from September through May for guided nature walks.

The park helps PROTECT wildlife. But we shouldn’t forget that it also provides a valuable amenity for residents and protects homes from flooding. During Harvey and Imelda, the ENTIRE park went underwater. Can you imagine if Friendswood had built homes there!

Ultimately, the donation by Friendswood let them salvage some value out of the land by improving home values in the rest of Kingwood. This should be a valuable lesson for all developers as areas upstream start to develop.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/16/2021 with thanks to KSA, Ken Beeney and Debbie Beeney

1236 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Flood Decision-Support Toolbox Enhanced by State, Federal Team

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the federal Interagency Flood Risk Management (InFRM) team (composed of USGS, FEMA, the Army Corps, and National Weather Service) has enhanced their Flood Decision-Support Toolbox. The Toolbox is an interactive online application that provides maps and data that simulates the extent of flooding and shows historical flood extents. It can be used for analyzing potential scenarios, flood risk assessments, damage analysis, and more.

How It Works

Here’s how the Flood Decision-Support Toolbox works:

Go to https://webapps.usgs.gov/infrm/fdst/?region=tx

2. Observe current conditions OR select historical peak floods.

*Historical peak floods at US59 and the West Fork. Note the increase in recent years*, *likely due to upstream development and/or climate.*

3. Explore the flood map library by selecting a flood level (river stage)

4. In the “Buildings” Layer, select ALL or INUNDATED BUILDINGS ONLY

5. Note the damage estimates in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

*In the case of a simulated Harvey flood, near the gage at US59, 739 buildings would be inundated at an estimated total cost of $84,914,000.*

*But at 52.5 feet (the beginning of the “major” flood stage), 83 buildings would flood. Estimated total damage: $1,494,000.*

The magic of this toolbox is that you can see exactly which buildings will flood at any given level.

What is your appetite for risk?

Potential Uses

The Flood Decision Support Toolbox also provides real-time data from USGS streamgages connected with flood inundation models to interactively display a range of flood conditions at streamgage locations. The result is a dynamic tool for flood risk assessment that enables planners, emergency responders, and the public to visually understand a flood’s extent and depth over the land surface.

TWDB worked closely with USGS to incorporate building footprints on Texas maps. The Toolbox can now display potential damage to structures within the range of the USGS gages. This will give users the ability to estimate the economic impacts of different flood events on their communities and property. The TWDB has also provided building footprints outside of the current gage ranges in preparation for future mapping updates.

That can help guide:

Rescue efforts
Evacuations and evacuation routes
Mitigation decisions
Property purchases and investment decisions
Risk estimates
New construction and development
Permitting decisions

The site displays flood scenarios that range from minor to major flood events. New updates let users save and share inundation maps with different data layers through a unique URL.

Collaborative Effort

“This collaborative effort,” said Jeff Walker, Executive Administrator of the TWDB. “provides Texas-specific data that will help communities understand their local flood risks and make cost-effective mitigation decisions.”

The InFRM team was formed in 2014 and launched the Flood Decision Support Toolbox in 2019.

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional water and flood planning, and preparing the state water and flood plans.

Posted by Bob Rehak based on information provided by TWDB

1235 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Groundwater Management Area 14 to Hold Joint Planning Committee Meeting on January 20

Mark your calendar and sign up now. Groundwater Management Area 14 (GMA 14) will meet by webinar Wednesday, January 20th at 10 AM to continue the process of developing a set of desired future conditions for area aquifers. The standards will eventually determine groundwater availability and affect other issues such as subsidence.

*GMA 14 includes the 15 colored counties above. Each color represents a different Conservation District.* *Montgomery County (dark blue) has the Lonestar Groundwater Conservation District.*

GMA 14 engages in a joint planning process and includes representatives from Bluebonnet, Brazoria County, Lone Star, Lower Trinity, and Southeast Texas groundwater conservation districts, plus two subsidence districts. GMA 14 spans 20 counties. It is one of 16 groundwater management areas in the state of Texas.

High Stakes

Groundwater availability is a growing concern in the management area due to subsidence, water table reduction, wells running dry, the triggering of geologic faults, impacts to infrastructure, foundation issues, and providing a sustainable basis for future growth.

The last available subsidence maps, for instance, showed the north Harris and south Montgomery County area sinking 2 feet relative to the Lake Houston Dam.

*Pumping 115,000 acre feet per year would cause up to 3.25 feet of subsidence in southern MoCo. That’s far more than the 1-foot in the Desired Future Conditions definedby GMA14.*

*The same amount of pumping would cause up 3 feet of subsidence in parts of Kingwood and Huffman*, *and a foot or more in much of the rest of Harris County.*

Because aquifers travel under several counties, what happens in northern Montgomery County can impact southern Harris and Galveston counties, especially where people live closer to sea level.

How Much is Safe to Pump?

In determining groundwater availability targets, this month’s meeting will focus on:

Socioeconomic Impacts Reasonably Expected to Occur
Feasibility of Achieving the Desired Future Conditions
Other Relevant Information (including fault movement).

In all, GMA 14 considers nine factors in the join planning process:

Aquifer Uses and Conditions
Water Supply Needs and Management Strategies
Hydrological Conditions
Environmental Impacts
Impact on Subsidence
Socioeconomic Impacts
Private Property Rights
Feasibility of Achieving the desired future conditions
Other Relevant Information

MEETING INFORMATION

________________________

GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AREA 14

JOINT PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING

January 20, 2021 at 10:00 AM

Via GoToWebinar.com

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPATING

The Groundwater Management Area 14 Meeting will begin at 10:00 A.M.
Click the following link to register for Groundwater Management Area 14 – January 20, 2021 Meeting: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5586548623672514573
Once the registration is completed, an email will be sent with information on logging into the meeting and/or phone numbers and access codes to dial into the meeting should you wish to attend by telephone. Please choose one method or the other to join to avoid audio feedback.

Note: Participation via video conference is not required. If you wish to address the Board, during the public comment period, please fill out and submit the online speaker registration form.

You may also register as a speaker at the beginning of the meeting. Registration as a speaker will require providing:

first and last name;
email address
phone number.

Any person participating in the meeting must be recognized and identified by the Chairman each time they speak.

Go To Webinar Information

https://www.gotomeeting.com/webinar/join-webinar

GMA 14 Speaker Registration Form

:http://www.setgcd.org/meetingshearings/
_______________________________

AGENDA

The agenda includes:

Call to order;
Confirmation of receipt of posted notices;
Welcome and Introductions;
Public comment;
Discussion and possible action to approve minutes of November 18, 2020 GMA 14 Joint Planning Meeting;
Update from Texas Water Development Board and discussion of any related items of interest to GMA 14;

Meeting will be convened as a meeting of the GMA 14 Joint Planning Interlocal Agreement Participants.

Presentation and discussion by Districts or Interlocal Agreement Participants of recent activities of interest to or impacting the GMA 14 planning group;
Discuss and consider current Desired Future Conditions as they relate to recent static water level measurements within GMA 14 Member Districts;
Presentation, discussion and consideration of “socioeconomic impacts reasonably expected to occur” (as required by Texas Water Code 36.108 (d)(6));
Presentation, discussion and consideration of “the feasibility of achieving the desired future conditions” (as required by Texas Water Code 36.108 (d)(8));
Presentation, discussion and consideration of “any other information relevant to the specific Desired Future Condition” including but not limited to fault movement related to groundwater pumping (as required by Texas Water Code 36.108 (d)(9));
Discussion and possible action regarding the DFCs and the path forward for GMA 14 to accomplish statutory mandates for Round 3 Joint Planning;
GMA 14 Interlocal Agreement financial report;

GMA 14 Interlocal Agreement Participants meeting will be adjourned, and the meeting of the GMA 14 District Representatives will reconvene.

Discussion and possible action regarding next meeting date, location, and agenda items;
Meeting Adjourned.

GMA 14 – January 20, 2021 Agenda

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/14/2020

1234 Days since Hurricane Harvey

City of Houston Couldn’t Even Give Away Harvey Aid Due to Bureaucratic Bungling

As a December 31st deadline expired, approximately $162 million – allocated by HUD to reimburse homeowners in the City of Houston for repairs they made after Harvey – remained unused. The City had worked on the reimbursement program for TWO years. Yet in all that time, the City’s Department of Housing and Community Development successfully processed only 120 applications for reimbursement of repairs. Grants awarded to those 120 families totaled a mere $2,024,000 out of the $164 million allocated – just 1.2% of available funds.

Desperate Families Needlessly Left Empty Handed

Meanwhile, flooded families:

Never received applications, despite repeated calls and emails from potential applicants
Received an application only hours before the deadline expired on the New Year’s weekend
Received incomplete and misleading information.

Regarding the last point, an email sent to residents at the 11th hour failed to inform them that they just needed to start the application and sign it before January 1st. Instead, residents were told that they needed to complete the application before December 31 (i.e., before the end of the day on December 30).

A two-step application process, engineered by the City, complicated and delayed aid. Residents first had to fill out a survey to qualify to fill out an application. The City then tried to sort the survey respondents into priority groups. This increased the workload, created management complexity, and delayed the filing of formal applications for years while the deadline passed.

Had everyone just been invited to fill out an application early on, no one would have missed the deadline.

Help From GLO Refused

Worse yet, after missing one interim deadline after another, the City refused to let the Texas General Land Office (GLO) help. The GLO oversees HUD funds distributed in Texas. It had sent a team to Houston to help train City employees. However, the City refused to allow the GLO team into the Housing and Community Development offices.

As the final deadline loomed, it became apparent that the City wasn’t coming close to meeting its performance goals and that aid would not reach people who needed it. As a last resort to help flood victims, the GLO tried to terminate its contract with the City and take over the City’s Harvey-aid program. But the City sued the GLO to prevent the takeover. That cost even more precious time.

Before the final deadline, the GLO notified the City that it should alert all potential applicants and the media so that they, in turn, could spread the word about the impending deadline. The GLO even provided a sample press release that the City could tweak for local media. Instead, the City posted a notice on Twitter and social media. That severely limited the reach of the message.

Confusion Reigned

To this day, lawsuit settlement talks between the City and GLO continue. Meanwhile, the GLO provided the City of Houston with funds for the Homeowner Assistance Program (HoAP), which included its reimbursement program.

But according to Jennifer Coulter, a would-be applicant who called the City, the City swore the GLO had taken control. The resident then called the GLO. GLO correctly said, “No, the City has it.” The back-and-forth continued until she was told the deadline passed.

*The Coulter family lived in a trailer in their driveway for almost two years as they repaired their home.*

Resident Chris Johnsen flooded 4 feet during Harvey. After waiting 3.5 years for help, he received an email from Housing and Community Development minutes before the close of business on December 30. It erroneously told him he needed to complete and sign the application before December 31.

He was out of town when the application arrived at 4:08 PM on December 30th, but submitted it after he returned. The City rejected his application. When he complained, the City told him, “Unfortunately we are not able to accept the application because it is past the deadline of 12/31/2020.”

Adding Insult to Injury

Being flooded during Harvey and financially devastated during reconstruction were bad enough. But being denied aid through the City’s bureaucratic bungling added insult to injury. Ironically, the City requested and received a nearly $30 million increase in the amount of aid available for reimbursements part way through the program…and didn’t make a dent in it. The amount increased from $135,691,299 to $164,117,633.

Meanwhile, people are moving on with their lives and giving up. But maybe that’s the City’s intention.

The Big Question: Why?

The Department of Housing and Community Development’s avowed goal with Harvey relief is to focus on those “most in need and most at risk.” People who can afford to repair their own homes and then seek reimbursement generally do not fall into that category. By law, at least 70% of HUD reimbursement funds must go to LMI (low-to-moderate income) households.

However, the 70% requirement does not apply to each individual program within Houston’s total aid allocation. It’s an average requirement across all programs. So the entire $164 million allocated for reimbursements could have gone to non-LMI households without jeopardizing the City’s LMI requirement.

This has all the hallmarks of a conscious decision to limit reimbursement aid after requesting more. Why?

One observer suggested that spending less on reimbursements will let the City funnel those funds into multifamily housing instead.

Death of Hope

96,410 homes flooded in Houston during Harvey (see page 15) and could theoretically have been eligible for reimbursements. But only 120 received reimbursement checks by the end of 2020 – again, about 1.2%. See below.

In contrast, the GLO started its own reimbursement program (for the 48 counties in which it is administering the program) on February 28, 2019, and has already completed the program with nearly 3,000 reimbursements approved for more than $85 million.

This brings to a sad, sorry end one of the darkest chapters in Houston’s history. The end of the program means the death of hope for families desperate for assistance. Many cashed in retirement savings and their children’s college funds to rebuild their homes after Harvey.

The City claims hundreds of additional families filed applications before the end of the year for reimbursements. But the GLO has not yet confirmed those.

The City is allowed to process applications received before January 1. But the City can no longer accept applications.

Reimbursements: A Small Part of a Much Bigger Problem

On January 4, the City updated its HUD-compliance website. It showed that out of approximately $1.28 billion dollars that HUD set aside for City of Houston residents, the City still had not submitted applications for almost $800 million dollars (62.5% of the total). Said another way, the City could not achieve almost two thirds of its aid-distribution goals in two years.

The City has not returned calls, texts and emails from ReduceFlooding.com requesting comment and the City’s perspective.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/13/2021

1233 Days since Hurricane Harvey