The River Grove Park boat launch has finally reopened. Hurricane Harvey sanded it in two and half years ago.
These were among the first boaters at River Grove after the opening.Further downstream, the river was crowded with personal watercraft.Jet skis near Romerica property downstream from River Grove.South of Kingwood Country Club, I spotted four more boats.
Remember, River Grove is restricted to people with KSA stickers. River Grove is a private, not a public park. It’s restricted to Kingwood residents whose villages belong to KSA.
Hope you enjoy the great outdoors. The reopening of the boat launch has been a long time coming.
Just remember to be careful. There’s plenty of room for you and your boat out there on Lake Houston to practice social distancing…as you see in these photos.
Also remember that barges and dredges are still moving up and down the river. They can’t maneuver like you. So keep your distance.
Barges offloading spoils from mouth bar directly across river from River Grove Park.
Safety first, last and always.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/22/2020
967 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200421-RJR_1090.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-04-22 21:06:302020-04-22 21:06:58River Grove Boat Launch Reopens
J. Carey Gray, lawyer for Figure Four Partners, a Perry Homes subsidiary, sent a letter to Harris County, City of Houston and State officials on April 15th. The letter extends to May 15th the County’s deadline for pulling a deal together to purchase Woodridge Village.
A flyover of the site Tuesday, 4/21/2020, revealed that Perry contractors now have at least 30 pieces of earth-moving equipment at Woodridge Village. That’s compared to about 20 a week ago. Contractors are:
Expanding the N2 Detention pond and taking dirt to fill in low areas elsewhere around the site.
Blocking out new roads
Pouring concrete
Installing culverts.
Construction Pictures from Tuesday, 4/21/2020
The pictures below show the activity.
Looking south across Woodridge Village from northern boundary along western boundary at Webb Street Entrance in Porter.Looking SE. Closer shot of work on N2 detention pond. Dirt from pond is filling former wetlands on left.Grassy area in bottom right is portion of N2 pond built by MoCo in 2005 for another project.Some excavated dirt from N2 is being used to fill the bog along Woodland Hills Drive near Kingwood Park High SchoolNew section of concrete poured this morningnorth of Sherwood TrailsMore concrete poured this morning north of Fair Grove in Elm Grove Village. Note: still no berm between S1 pond (center bottom) and S2 pond (upper right).Culverts being installed along Taylor Gullywhere it cuts through Woodridge VillageOutlines of roads taking shape.Dirt from pond is filling in wetlands, left.Culverts about to be set in concrete.Workers appear to be building a concrete pilot channel in the middle of the expanded N2 pond.An assembly line of trucks carried more dirt away from N2, which is relentlessly expanding.
Text of Letter from Perry Lawyer
Despite all this activity, Lawyer Gray promises that if Harris County can pull together a deal, the additional costs will not affect Perry’s purchase price.
Gray also says that Perry continues to seek a private buyer. And that it hopes to have detention ponds completed by summer of 2020 (presumably if the purchase does not go through). See the full text of Gray’s letter below or download this printable PDF.
Page 1Page 2
Draw your own conclusions from the letter and the construction, and keep your fingers crossed.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/22/2020
967 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 216 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200421-RJR_1507.jpg?fit=1200%2C699&ssl=16991200adminadmin2020-04-21 23:30:262020-04-22 07:53:43Perry Homes Extends Deadline for Woodridge Purchase as Construction Ratchets Up
Last week, a friend sent me some links to NOAA’s coastal flood exposure mapper and several related sites. The NOAA tools have inland applications, too. Full functionality extends to the northern part of Harris County. The NOAA site combines so many different tools in the flood exposure mapper (and related sites), that they could become the “go to” sites to determine flood risk for many in the Houston region.
Their main value: the ability to overlay many different kinds of information on one map to precisely render the geospatial relationships, and easily share what you see.
The flood-exposure mapper site:
Incorporates FEMA’s flood risk zones
Identifies many more levels and types of risk, and their extent (see below)
Lets you change base layers, so you can view risk zones over maps or satellite images
Lets you toggle layers on and off, and vary their opacity, to help explore risks in your area
Allows you to share the map on your screen by simply copying the web address (as I did in the embedded links below).
17 Different Layers Available
You can render seventeen different types of information and overlay them in different layers.
HAZARD LAYERS
Coastal Flood Hazard Composite
High Tide Flooding
FEMA Flood Zones
Tsunami
Storm Surge
Sea Level Rise
SOCIETAL EXPOSURE
Population Density
Poverty
Elderly
Employees
INFRASTRUCTURE EXPOSURE
Development
Critical Facilities
Development Patterns
ECOSYSTEM EXPOSURE
Natural Areas and Open Space
Potential Pollution Sources
Natural Protection
Wetland Potential
EXAMPLES
Flood Zones vs. Critical Infrastructure
Say you wanted to see where critical infrastructure facilities, such as schools, hospitals, and police and fire stations, are in your neighborhood relative to mapped flood zones. Turn on the FEMA layers. Turn on Critical Infrastructure. Vary the opacity to suit your taste. And voila. You can see where everything is. Location could affect first responder response time in a flood, your ability to get to a hospital, or your ability to get kids at school. Also see it below.
Flood zones versus critical infrastructure in the Lake Houston Area.
Flood Zones Vs. Population Density
Want to map population density against flood zones?
Development Density and Time Frame
Curious about when certain areas were developed, and the intensity of that development
Green Infrastructure
Want to see how much green space developers left in your community?
289 Possible Searches
Only two layers at a time can be active. But with 17 different layers, you have 289 possible searches for any given area.
Note: some, but not all layers contain information for Montgomery County, Liberty County and other counties that have no coastal exposure. You just have to experiment.
Helpful Background Information
Puzzled about what some of the terms mean and how they relate to flooding?
Click on the info button for “Employees” and you will see this explanation. “This map shows the range in the number of employees for U.S. Census block groups (or geographies) that work in or near coastal flood-prone areas. Some of the most devastating disaster impacts to a community include the loss of income due to business interruption and the loss of jobs as a result of business closures. It is also important to know where people are located should a hazard event occur during work hours.”
Wondering what “natural protection” has to do with flooding. Click the info button. The following explanation pops up. “Natural areas and open space adjacent to development can buffer and protect against flooding. Wetlands hold floodwaters, reduce wave heights, capture sediments, and reduce erosion. Beaches and dunes absorb wave energy, and other natural areas such as forests and grasslands provide porous surfaces that can absorb, store, and slow water. Protecting these natural areas will ensure that communities continue to receive these benefits; however, with sea level rise, these habitats will need to move landward, so in addition, communities will want to assess and protect surrounding land to help facilitate this process.”
These are very powerful, well-laid out tools within an easy-to-use, intuitive interface. It’s actually fun to explore.
Sea-Level-Rise Visualizer
Speaking of sea level rise, without taking a political stance on global warming, NOAA provides an interesting inundation map/viewer. It lets you vary the amount of sea-level rise by 1 to 10 feet and shows how much coastline will be lost for any given amount of rise. You’ll be pleased to know that Lake Houston is not in danger, even with 10 feet of rise.
The sea-level-rise viewer also contains a high-tide flooding map, a vulnerability map, a marsh migration map and more.
Most of these sites are geared toward professionals, such as flood plain managers, developers, planners, government employees, and real estate people. However, that should not deter residents and home buyers. Each of these related sites offers excellent tutorials.
I would also say that during COVID-school shutdowns, science teachers and parents of teenagers have an excellent learning opportunity with these tools. There’s enough here to keep bored students interested for days. It can be something you explore together as a family.
More Information About Nature Based Solutions
For flood engineers, planners, developers, regulators and serious flood geeks, NOAA also offers the following:
An Associated Press article published this afternoon and already being picked up by many news outlets cites a Texas A&M study of air quality monitors in the most heavily industrialized parts of Houston. The A&M study reportedly shows that air pollution has surged 62% in the three weeks since the EPA announced that it would relax enforcement of pollution regulations due to the corona virus.
The EPA claims its new stance represents a reasonable response to the virus crisis. Many plants, they say, have been crippled by worker absences.
I have no problem with that. I’m sure the virus has affected law enforcement agencies around the country.
I do have one problem, however: the publicannouncement that you will stop enforcing the law.
Can you imagine, for instance, what would happen if:
Houston Police Department announced it would pull all officers out of Kingwood?
The SEC announced it would no longer prosecute insider trading during the virus crisis?
The Defense Department signaled that it would not retaliate against foreign aggression?
While I do believe that the vast majority of people and companies would continue obeying the law, I also believe that some will take advantage of the lack of enforcement. The public announcement gave a green light to people in the latter category.
A 62% increase in three weeks sounds like a big jump.
Had the EPA used its enforcement discretion to quietly relax prosecution of businesses hampered by the virus, it could have shown compassion and reasonableness without harming the regulated community. However, the public announcement of the relaxed policy may have harmed residents living near pollution sources. The AP article cites many examples.
I wonder how the announcement impacted San Jacinto River sand mines and water quality. EPA enforcement in this area has never been aggressive in my opinion.
Confluence of Spring Creek and West Fork showing pollution coming off West Fork at Montgomery County Line. 20 square miles of sand mines lie upstream on the West Fork.Photo taken March 6.
When someone writes the history of this EPA enforcement controversy, the key question will be “Why the public announcement?”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/19/2020
964 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20200306-RJR_9506.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-04-19 15:00:552020-04-19 15:20:33AP Article Cites Texas A&M Study Showing Pollution Surged 62% Since EPA Enforcement Rollback
As of 3PM on 4/19/2020 the tornado watch was extended until 10PM: A tornado watch is in effect for all of SE Texas. Thunderstorms have begun to develop over SE TX, especially along and near I-10. Air mass is becoming increasingly unstable. The approach of an upper level system from the west and a Pacific cool front along with veering wind profiles will support the formation of scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms.
Radar Updated at 3:20
Hazards
Storms may become severe with the following hazards:
Isolated tornados (mainly N of I-10)
Large hail (a few hail report could exceed 2.5 inches in diameter)
Damaging winds (60mph or greater)
While the tornado watch includes the entire area, the greatest threat will be generally along and N of US 59 to the west of Houston and then along and N of I-10 east of Houston.
For Your Protection
Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
Prepare immediately for large hail and deadly cloud to ground lightning.
Seek shelter inside a well-built structure.
Stay away from windows.
Continuous cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature’s leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning.
Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding.
Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/19/2020 at 9:30amand updated with new radar at 3pm.
964 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Attachment-1.png?fit=2436%2C1179&ssl=111792436adminadmin2020-04-19 09:41:302020-04-19 15:27:40Tornado Watch for All Southeast Texas Until 3 P.M.
City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced today that Houston Public Works will repair the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge beginning Monday, April 27. The project should last through Wednesday, May 20th if weather cooperates. During that time, bridge traffic will narrow to two lanes.
West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge connecting Atascocita and Kingwood will narrow to two lanes for repairs from 4/27 to 5/20.Looking north toward Kings Harbor. Photo taken January 20.
Bearing Pads Being Replaced
The City will replace 14 bearing pads at a cost of $307,400. The City’s Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund will pay for the project. The contractor for the project is ISI Contracting, Inc.
On Monday, April 27, work will begin at 7:00 a.m. by closing of the northbound lanes of the bridge. The City will convert southbound lanes to two-way traffic. The contractor will work Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.West Lake Houston Bridge Final Repairs Scheduled
Pedestrian Sidewalks Closed
The City will also barricade pedestrian sidewalks for safety.
Look out for flagmen and orange traffic cones assisting with traffic flow.
All lanes of the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge and pedestrian sidewalks will reopen on Wednesday, May 20, weather permitting.
For more information, please contact Mayor Pro Tem Martin’s office at (832) 393-3008 or via email at districte@houstontx.gov.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/17/2020 based on information from COH District E
962 Days After Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20200120-RJR_6930.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-04-17 16:34:182020-04-17 16:34:29West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge Repairs Scheduled April 27 to May 20
Pop quiz: In the last 100 years in Harris County, Texas, were you more likely to get flooded in the first or second half of the year? And the answer is…second half. But surprisingly, it’s a close tie. Looking at the data, also revealed that a major flood happened every 2.5 years on average.
Harris County Flood Control District keeps a list of major floods. It actually goes back further than 1920. However, the pre-1920 records don’t reliably record the month of the flood, so I limited the sample to 100 years for the purpose of this quiz.
HCFCD shows 38 events through 2016. For my count, I added Hurricane Harvey (2017) and Tropical Storm Imelda (2019). Both happened since the last HCFCD chart update. And both produced major flooding in Harris County. That brought the total to 40 events.
22 of 40 Events Happened in Second Half of Year
Of the 40 major floods in 100 years, 18 happened from January through June; 22 from July through December.
That means you’re almost as likely to get flooded in the spring as you are by a tropical event in the summer or fall.
23 of 40 Events Happened During Hurricane Season
However, if you phrased the question as, “How many major floods happened during hurricane season?” you would get a slightly different answer. Seventeen of the 40 did not and 23 did.
That’s because:
June falls in BOTH spring and hurricane season. Note that two floods, Audrey in 1957 and Allison in 2001, both occurred in June.
In 1935 a major flood occurred during December, which is outside of hurricane season.
Major Flood Intervals Average 2.5 Years
The other major, mind-bending, slap-you-in-the-head statistic that comes out of this quiz concerns frequency. Forty events in 100 years represents a 40% chance of a major flood happening in any given year.
The average interval of major flood events: 2.5 years. The shortest interval: one month in 1929, 1989 and 2016. The longest interval: eight years between 1961 and 1969.
If those statistics don’t make you a believer in flood insurance, I don’t know what will. It should also make you a believer in flood control and drainage districts if you live in a southeast Texas county, such as Montgomery, that doesn’t have one.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/17/2020 based on HCFCD data
962 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Flood-History-1200dpi.png?fit=1200%2C681&ssl=16811200adminadmin2020-04-17 13:46:202020-04-17 14:10:35Quiz: In Southeast Texas, Do Floods Happen More Often in First or Second Half of Year?
A bi-partisan amendment sponsored by Dan Crenshaw and approved in the U.S. House of Representatives would provide $45 million to resolve “duplication-of-benefits” issues that continue to dog more than 1000 Texans stemming from Hurricane Harvey. However, the bill has not yet been taken up in the Senate. Pleas for help to Senators Cruz and Cornyn by Hurricane Harvey flood victims have not resulted in action.
At issue: whether those who are eligible for grants, but who received SBA loans, should be allowed to use grants to pay back loans. The government permitted this after Katrina and wants to permit it for Harvey victims, but 961 days after the storm, the Senate has still not voted on Crenshaw’s amendment that would enable it.
Duplication of Benefits or Duplication of Disasters?
Imagine you were retired, then flooded during Harvey. You’re living on social security and savings. For the sake of illustration, let’s say you had damage totaling $100,000. You got a grant of $20,000 and took out an SBA loan for $80,000 to repair your home. Then you came out of retirement and found another job to pay back the loan. But your employer laid you off when the virus hit.
When you took out the loan, you were told that it would not count against you if additional grants became available later. But it did. When you applied for the second grant to help pay back the loan, they told you it would count as a “duplication of benefits.”
Why? They don’t have enough money to cover people in your category. Why? Because the Senate has not acted on Crenshaw’s amendment. When you write your Senators, you get polite form letters back, but no action.
Will this problem be fixed? Will the Senate ever act? Probably not. The government is so consumed with the corona crisis that it has forgotten about the Harvey crisis. Meanwhile, the victims of BOTH are forgotten.
How You Can Help Forgotten Ones
If you think this is unfair, please email your Senators. They respond to public pressure.
Please take a few minutes.
Ask your senators to sponsor “the Crenshaw-Fletcher Amendment for HUD appropriations to supplement Harvey Housing.”
Emphasize that loans are being classified as “benefits” to deny people who would otherwise be eligible to receive grants.
Loans weren’t considered a duplication of benefits after Katrina, but they are for Harvey.
Congress, the President and HUD don’t want loans to be a duplication of benefits.
Constituents are being doubly hurt by a “duplication of disasters”: Inaction over the duplication of benefits issue and unemployment due to the virus.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_8300.jpeg?fit=1280%2C960&ssl=19601280adminadmin2020-04-16 13:26:502020-04-16 14:24:42Lack of Senate Action Holds Up Resolution of So-Called Duplication-of-Benefits Issues
City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced this afternoon that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will close the intersection of Kingwood Drive and Texas Loop 494 this weekend. The closure starts Friday evening, April 17 and, weather permitting, will last through early Monday morning, April 20.
Purpose of Closure
This is a bit off topic for a flood blog, but Kingwood Drive affects half my readers and 494 affects many more. Here’s what’s happening.
TxDOT will raise the intersection of Kingwood Drive and 494 with two feet of asphalt. The purpose: to remove the dip by the UP railroad tracks.
Weather permitting, construction should start at 9:00 p.m. on Friday. Crews will work continuously until 5:00 a.m. Monday.
Please watch for flagmen and orange traffic cones indicating detours. Detours at Crescent Springs, Butterfly Lane, Royal Forest and Northpark Drive are shown below.
For more information, contact TxDOT at (936) 538-3300.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/15/2020
960 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_0003.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-04-15 15:49:002020-04-15 17:14:31Kingwood Drive and Loop 494 Intersection Closed This Weekend
After the Easter weekend, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) started its seasonal-release plan. The river authority is currently releasing at a rate of 529 cubic feet per second (CFS) from Lake Conroe. At that rate, the lake should reach its target level of 200 feet above sea level by the end of April, according to Jace Houston, general manager of the SJRA.
SJRA Seasonal Release on 4/15/2020. One tainter gate open six inches releases a slow, steady stream of 529 cfs. Image courtesy of SJRA.
The slow rate of release avoids flooding downstream property and the lower lake level provides additional capacity in the lake. That additional capacity provides a buffer against flooding for downstream residents.
About Seasonal Lake Lowering Policy
Houston said the River Authority will hold the lake at 200 feet through the end of May, then allow it to reach its normal level for most of the summer.
Lake Conroe actually reached 200.75 feet before SJRA began its seasonal lowering this week.A reduction of .14 feet equates to about one and two-thirds inches of lowering so far.
At 200.75 feet, Lake Conroe was actually above its highest average monthly level for the year, which is 200.44 feet in May. The normal level for April is 200.32 feet.
Lake Conroe seasonal levels by month. From SJRA board presentation by Chuck Gilman in January.
Earlier this year, a bitter fight broke out between upstream and downstream property owners over the seasonal lake lowering policy. The SJRA board decided to extend the lake lowering plan, but modify it. In the fall, they will let the City of Houston, which owns two-thirds of the water in the lake, decide whether to take the lake down below 199.5 feet.
Despite the start of the seasonal release and last week’s rains, the level of Lake Houston has declined this week. And rivers are far from flooding.
Normal level for Lake Houston is 42.5 feet, but City is still lowering lake for spillway maintenance.
Uncertain Weather for This Weekend
Jeff Lindner, Harris County meteorologist, predicts that storms this weekend could bring several inches of rain. “With the Gulf of Mexico water temperatures running several degrees above average for this time of year, winds blowing off the Gulf will need little time to supply a rich moisture-laden air mass.”
The NWS predicts a 30-40% chance of showers and thunderstorms for this weekend as a front passes. However, Lindner notes, models diverge widely in their predictions. The Global Forecast System (GFS model) predicts that most rain will happen over the Gulf with little impact to land.
However, the European Medium Range Forecast Model (ECMWF) predicts a very wet weekend with several rounds of storms and several inches of rainfall for much of southeast Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/20200220-RJR_8690.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=11200800adminadmin2020-04-15 13:26:562020-04-15 20:58:42SJRA Starts Seasonal Release to Lower Lake Conroe
