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Proposal for Comprehensive Post-Mining Plan Could Help Avert Future Tragedies

6/29/26 – Forming a Montgomery County Lake District could create a unified post-mining plan for dozens of individual sand mines along the West Fork, benefiting industry, residents and government at all levels. Here’s how.

Roaring Through the Cracks

In August of 2025, I documented the massive breach in the dike of an old sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork. The 130-acre pond dropped at least 10 feet in less than an hour. All that water rushing out was like a dam breaking. It caused tremendous erosion.

Rushing water destroyed everything in its path and washed a tremendous amount of sediment into the river. 1300 acre-feet of fresh water weighs approximately 3.5 billion pounds! The force of that water enlarged a nick in the dike to an opening up to approximately 150 feet wide by 1000 feet long in minutes.

A year later, the abandoned mine’s owners still have not fixed the damage. See this one-minute video on YouTube of the devastation left behind. I shot the video on 6/27/26.

Tragically, it was all preventable.

How It Happened

Hanson Aggregates stopped mining the pond in 2021. Just months later, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) instituted new best management practices for mining in the San Jacinto River Basin. The new rules called for miners to develop a post-mining/abandonment plan, but TCEQ says that never happened in this case because of the timing.

A group called Ags Unlimited LLC later bought the abandoned mine in 2023 and still owns it today, according to the Montgomery County Appraisal District.

It’s not clear what Ags Unlimited planned for the property. At various points in a conversation with the manager, he mentioned building a boat launch, a kid’s camp, a recreational amenity for an adjacent residential community, and selling wetland-mitigation credits. He later told investigators from the TCEQ that he hoped to build a “recreational pond for livestock management.”

John McKinney, the Montgomery County Floodplain Manager, says the County cited the new owners for non-compliance on December 19, 2024. The issue: Repairing the berm around the pond and installing overflow pipes.

On August 24, 2025, the berm blew out when a contractor with a small backhoe tried to install the overflow pipes. According to one account, he dug too deep into the sandy soil and a trickle quickly enlarged into a torrent.

Breach in abandoned sand mine on San Jacinto West Fork on 8/24/25 — *Photo taken on 8/24/25 as water was still rushing through breach. Compare height of breach to height of excavator.*

Vision for the Future: Montgomery County Lake District

Regardless of what were perhaps good intentions, a disaster resulted. And the present owners seem incapable of fixing it.

The lower water levels have contributed to headcut erosion on adjoining properties, now threatening one widow’s home. So, how do we prevent such harm in the future?

I propose a cooperative effort of cities, counties, Texas Parks & Wildlife, TCEQ, Texas General Land Office (GLO) and industry to designate the areas where sand has been mined along the San Jacinto West Fork, along with floodways, as “The Montgomery County Lake District.” The concept: Turn a network of abandoned mines into publicly owned green space connected by trails.

The Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association (TACA) could help lead the way. It is one of the most powerful lobbies in Austin.

TACA members on the West Fork now have an obligation to provide abandonment/post-mining plans to the TCEQ. Selling their land when mining is complete to the MoCo Lake District could relieve mine owners of the need to develop their own individual abandonment plans. It could also create a positive, lasting legacy for the industry.

From the standpoint of residents, proximity to green spaces enhances surrounding home values and provides healthy, outdoor recreational space. Preservation of floodways and floodplains also reduces flooding.

Governments at All Levels Could Benefit

Former mines along the West Fork could become a new state park under the auspices of Texas Parks and Wildlife, which already has responsibility for rivers in Texas. Land is scarce in urban areas. But abandoned mines sell at a steep discount.

Undeveloped land deep in floodplains and floodways, such as the Scarborough property, just downstream from the Hanson mine, might also be included.

The General Land Office (GLO) has partnered with Scarborough and may be looking for a way to back out of the deal. A state park might be an honorable and popular way to do that.

Cities and counties could reduce water purification and dredging costs. They could also eliminate headaches such as the one above that damage their residents.

The state has resources to address such issues. Small private groups like Ags Unlimited rarely do. Collectively, we can create something far larger than any one group could by itself.

*Rough outline of proposed MoCo Lake District incorporating current and abandoned sand mines as well as undeveloped land in floodways and floodplains along West Fork from US59 to Conroe.*

If it works, this could become a model for responsible aggregate production in Texas and the country.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/29/26

3226 Days since Hurricane Harvey

As HCFCD Tries to Accelerate Projects, Woodridge is Still Crawling

6/28/2026 – Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) contractor on the Woodridge/Taylor Gully Project apparently didn’t get the memo about billing as much work as soon as possible.

Harris County Commissioners Court approved Brice Construction and Design LLC’s $29.4 million contract in their March 31, 2026, meeting. It took Brice two months to mobilize for the job. And they have accomplished little in the month since they actually started moving dirt.

Looming Deadline on Community Development Block Grant Projects

The County is scrambling to bill $322 million dollars of Community Development Block Grant funds (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by a 2/28/27 deadline to avoid losing the money.

To do that, the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which administers HUD funds in Texas, is letting Harris County bill completed work on both CDBG-Disaster Relief (DR) and CDBG-Mitigation (MIT) projects against the $322 million allocated to DR projects.

The Woodridge/Taylor Gully Project falls into the MIT category which has a longer deadline. According to the contract, the contractor must finish the project no later than December 2027. However, if the company works faster, it can help save up to about 10% of that $322 million for its client.

Slow Going

But with 15% of Brice’s contract time elapsed, the contractor has barely scratched the surface. Aerial photographs show that little has changed in the three months since Brice’s contract was approved.

The contractor is working with a skeleton crew and minimal equipment for a job of this size. So far, they’ve excavated only a small area near the entrance to the job site and broken up some old storm sewer pipe.

Contract documents said HCFCD expected them to work on both Taylor Gully and Woodridge simultaneously. But so far, they have worked only on Woodridge…and only a small portion of Woodridge at that.

The contract includes excavating more than a million cubic yards of dirt to form a 421-acre-foot detention basin, rebuilding the bridge over Taylor Gully at Rustling Elms, and increasing the carrying capacity of approximately 2 miles of Taylor Gully itself.

Let’s look only at the Woodridge portion of the job for a second. Dividing a million cubic yards by the carrying capacity of heavy-duty dump trucks (10 cubic yards) suggests that Brice will have to haul off 100,000 loads of dirt. That boils down to 180 loads per day, 22 per hour, or about one every three minutes per 8-hour work day. I certainly haven’t seen that kind of activity so far.

And those calculations assume the contractor works seven days per week…which they are not…at least so far.

As you look at the photos below, keep in mind that most of what looks like the detention basin was excavated under a previous contract by a different contractor. The million cubic yards is in addition to that.

Pictures Showing Starting Point to Now

The first picture below shows how Woodridge looked when Brice actually started work at the site.

Woodridge Village Construction on Day 2 — *Woodridge on May 22, 2026*

All of the excavation you see above was done previously by Sprint Sand & Clay under an Excavation and Removal (E&R) Contract. HCFCD cancelled the E&R project so that it could apply for HUD funding; projects cannot change by law during the application period.

Here’s how the same area looks another month later.

*June 26, 2026, three months after start of new contract.* *Not much has changed.*

On Saturday June 27, 2026 I saw an excavator, a front end loader, and one dump truck carrying one load during about a 20-minute flight over the site.

Woodridge 26.06.27 — *The excavator would fill up the front end loader, which would then*…

To be fair, more dump trucks may have visited the site during the day, but I didn’t see any others during the time I was there. The activity looked anemic compared to the TC Jester site I had photographed only an hour earlier. I counted more than a dozen dump trucks and three excavators hard at work during the same period of time – a bustling activity level consistent with the hypothetical calculations above.

And contrary to HCFCD’s expectations about working on Woodridge and Taylor Gully simultaneously…

…*I have yet to see any construction activity anywhere along Taylor Gully. Last checked on 6/28/26*

A Challenge for Stuckett

This is just one of the issues that HCFCD’s new executive director Marcus Stuckett will face when he starts on 6/29/26.

How can he accelerate the few projects actually turning dirt at this point to save as much of that $322 million as possible? At the present rate, will Brice even be able to meet its contractual deadline? Or the March 31, 2028 deadline for CDBG-MIT projects?

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/28/26

3225 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.

Construction of Giant East TC Jester Basin Kicks into High Gear

6/26/26 – After getting off to a sluggish start, construction of the giant 725-acre-foot East TC Jester stormwater detention basin along Cypress Creek has kicked into high gear.

History of Project

On 11/30/21, Harris County Commissioners approved an agreement with an engineering company to provide design/bid/construction-phase services.

In September of 2023, Dr. Tina Petersen held a press conference at the site to with Congressman Dan Crenshaw, State Rep. Sam Harless, and Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey to promote the funding secured for construction.

Major funding announced for Cypress Creek Detention Project by Crenshaw, Harless, Ramsey and Petersen — *TC Jester Detention Basin Press Conference promoting availability of funding.*

Then, there was a long pause. In mid-April this year, I received an email from Harris County Flood Control District saying construction had started. But when I visited the site on 4/22/26, I saw nothing but a construction trailer. That led me to conclude that HCFCD was broken.

On 5/1/26, HCFCD released a report saying it would miss the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) deadline of 2/28/27 by several months.

A little more than a month later, on 6/3/26, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) estimated construction was only 2% complete with only nine months left before the clock ran out on $23,844,000.00 of HUD funding.

Progress in Last 2 Months

Today, 6/27/26, I visited the site again and was pleasantly surprised by the progress.

Contractors had to clear the site before excavation could start. That looked complete and they were well into the excavation phase. I saw a carousel of belly-dump trucks parading past three excavators on a Saturday afternoon. In the 20 minutes I flew over the site, I counted more than a dozen of the giant trucks come in, fill up, and exit the site.

See the pictures below. First, here was the starting point two months ago.

*TC Jester East Basin 1B on April 22, 2026 before start of construction. Looking W. TC Jester at top of frame. Cypress Creek on left.*

*Wider shot of same area two months later showing extent of construction on 6/27/2026.*

*Looking WSW from over Cypresswood Drive.*

*Looking E from over TC Jester. Cypresswood Drive on left.*

*Loaded dump trucks circling around and leaving site.*

*Closer shot of the parade of dump trucks.*

*Closer shot showing depth of excavation.*

I wish all the HUD Community Development Block Grant projects were moving as fast as this one. Unfortunately, they aren’t. See one tomorrow that seems to be moving slower. Much slower. .

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/27/2026

3234 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.

Stuckett Unanimously Approved as New Head of HCFCD

6/25/26 – After 15 minutes in executive session this morning, Harris County Commissioners unanimously approved Marcus Stuckett as the new head of Harris County Flood Control District.

*Marcus Stuckett, new Executive Director of HCFCD*

2-Years of Debate Boil Down to 57 Words

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE made the motion.

Ramsey: I’d like to make a motion to ratify the appointment of Marcus Stuckett as executive director of the Harris County Flood Control District, with an effective date of hire of June 29th, 2026.

Ellis: I’ll second it.

Hidalgo: Can I second this one? Okay. All in favor?

(Four vote AYE, Garcia remained silent.)

Hidalgo: Any opposed? Abstentions? Okay. Motion carries. Unanimously. Congratulations to the new director.

The official record will show Garcia voted in favor of hiring Stuckett despite the fact that he remained silent. Unless a court member explicitly states that he/she votes Against or Abstains, the vote counts as FOR.

It was all over in 57 words and 41 seconds.

Under Dr. Tina Petersen, Stuckett’s predecessor, the speed of project execution slowed precipitously.

HCFCD 2026 Q1 spending — *Cumulative flood-bond spending as of the end of Q1 2026. Petersen took over HCFCD in 2022.*

The slow rate of project execution put hundreds of millions of dollars of federal partnership funding at risk because of looming deadlines that HCFCD would likely miss.

Regardless, last night Garcia took to the airwaves to continue promoting Petersen and question the appointment of Stuckett on procedural grounds. See his comments on KHOU Channel 11, ABC Channel 13 and Fox Channel 26.

However, shortly after this morning’s vote in Commissioners Court, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) released this statement from Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. She said that she looks forward to working with Stuckett to serve the residents of Harris County. She added:

“Time is of the essence. Harris County residents deserve nothing less than ‘full speed ahead’ to ensure these projects are completed on time in accordance with the federal deadline.”
– Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D.

“Like Changing a Tire on a Busy Freeway”

Stuckett inherits Petersen’s problems and a volatile, high-pressure, politically charged situation despite the apparent unanimity of today’s decision.

One observer said this about Stuckett’s return to HCFCD: “It will be like changing a tire on a busy freeway with traffic flying by at 70 MPH.”

There’s still a chance that HCFCD could miss deadlines on some projects. But the people I consulted for this story say that Stuckett is Harris County’s best hope for saving the federal funds.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/25/26

3222 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.

Northpark Surface Lanes Now Open from US59 Past Russell Palmer

6/24/26 – Traffic now flows smoothly – straight through – on new Northpark Drive surface lanes all the way from US59 to Russell Palmer Road and beyond! Yesterday afternoon, crews switched crossing arms and traffic signals at Loop 494 and the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks.

Traffic flowed smoothly all the way down Northpark! And within an hour, Harper Brothers started demolishing the old lanes.

*Demolishing old asphalt lanes near UPRR tracks*. *Photo courtesy of Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority.*

The switch to the new surface lanes now opens the way for bridge construction over the tracks and 494. That’s the good news.

Impact of Intersection Reconstruction

However, the Loop 494 intersection is being demolished for storm sewer work and repaving. Northpark Project Manager Ralph De Leon expects that could take as long as 4-5 weeks. However, Harper Brothers Construction hopes to shorten that time.

East-west traffic will remain open and unobstructed during reconstruction of the intersection. However, north-south traffic on Loop 494 will be diverted onto Northpark. To continue north or south, traffic will have to go east or west on Northpark until it reaches a crossover. After making a U-turn, drivers will then have to double back to 494 and turn north or south again.

It sounds complicated. But the drone photos below will help visualize it. All pictures below were taken around 3PM on 6/23/26.

*Note in- and outbound Northpark traffic now using new concrete feeder lanes. Also note northbound 494 traffic turning right on Northpark to loop around and get to the other side of the intersection.*

North- and southbound traffic may find it easier to use US59 for the next month.

*Contractors demolishing the old, asphalt center lanes near railroad and Loop 494 intersection*

*Facing east. Wider shot shows east/west traffic now crossing 494 and tracks straight through in both directions.*

*Facing south. Note Loop 494 traffic being diverted onto Northpark in both directions.*

*Inbound is now a straight shot as far as the eye can see.*

Traffic no longer does a zig-zag near the tracks as it did for months.

Entry Pond Status

Elsewhere along the length of the project, another visible sign of progress is the entry ponds at US59. They will double as detention ponds that handle additional runoff from the extra lanes being added to Northpark. They will also serve as beautiful, welcoming entrances to the community.

For More Information

Search “Northpark expansion” on this website. Or visit the project pages on the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website.

You can find a three-week lookahead schedule, here. Major priorities in the next few weeks include:

Excavating, grading and lining both detention basins
Finish demo of old lanes
Finish installation of illumination.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/24/26

3221 Days since Hurricane Harvey

HGSD Issues Final 2025 Report on Groundwater, Subsidence

6/23/26 – In May of this year, I posted a PowerPoint from the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District showing a preview of their 2025 annual groundwater report. The final report has since been published. You can follow the links below to its component parts:

Two-page overview/info sheet – explains at a high level how drought, population growth, and regulation interact to influence groundwater use and subsidence
An updated interactive subsidence map showing representative locations throughout the region
The PowerPoint presentation discussed in May
A 43-minute video of the PowerPoint being presented to a public gathering (including Q&A and public comments)
A 6-page executive summary of the report
The full 275-page report with appendices.

The people at the Subsidence District are real scientists. Anyone interested in earth sciences will find this material enlightening. It could even make a great summer science project for your students.

Report Shows Impact of Regulation in Reducing Subsidence

By comparing groundwater reports from previous years, you can see how subsidence has shifted in reponse to regulations. The earliest-regulated areas have minimized subsidence, while it still rages in areas only recently regulated.

Two centimeters is a little less than an inch. So in a decade, those areas with maroon shading could sink 8-12 inches.

But downstream areas are sinking less. Far less. That’s called differential subsidence. And differential subsidence can reduce the elevation of one area relative to others nearby. You can clearly see differential subsidence in this map, which features InSAR data (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar).

Subsidence Map Insar from 2025 Report — *From Page 30 of report*.

Impacts of Subsidence on Infrastructure, Property Values

For instance, the Lake Houston Dam is sinking at a much slower rate than areas upstream in Montgomery County. That, in essence, tilts the lake toward its headwaters, reducing the safety margin that people built their homes above the floodplain.

But even before you flood, you could experience subsidence as cracks in concrete or in the walls of your home. Subsidence can even trigger geologic faulting.

Subsidence induced by groundwater pumping — *Woodlands faulting damage triggered by subsidence.*

Combatting Subsidence

Combatting subsidence requires reducing groundwater usage. Said another way, it requires getting on surface water. That’s why the City has spent $2 billion to quintuple the treated surface water supply from Lake Houston.

Phases 2A and 2B of NE Water Purification plant still under construction — *Northeast Water Purification Plant Expansion in progress in 2023.*

The North Harris County Regional Water Authority is also constructing an additional 94 miles of transmission and distribution lines to connect 45 Municipal Utility Districts and get them off groundwater.

That’s how serious subsidence is.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/23/2026

3220 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Harris County Commissioners Will Consider New HCFCD Head Thursday

6/22/2026 – On Thursday, 6/25/26, Harris County Commissioners will consider appointing Marcus Stuckett to replace Dr. Tina Petersen as the new head of Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). Petersen resigned under pressure after the last Commissioners Court meeting on 6/11/2026. Slow project delivery during her tenure threatened the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

Commissioners Court 3.27.25 — *File photo of Harris County Commissioners Court. Agenda item for next Thursday is #137.*

The question facing Stuckett is whether he can quickly restore the momentum that HCFCD had when he previously worked there as Director of Engineering.

Stuckett’s Background

Stuckett is a professional civil engineer and Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) who has spent much of his career working on flood mitigation projects in the Houston region.

He joined HCFCD in 2015 and worked his way up through the organization. As Director of Engineering he oversaw planning, design, and implementation of flood-risk-reduction projects throughout Harris County.
Before and after his time at HCFCD, he worked in the private engineering sector and has roughly two decades of experience in stormwater, drainage, and flood-control engineering.
He has represented HCFCD in regional flood-planning efforts, including nomination to the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group in 2021.
He was the public face for several major flood-control initiatives, including projects on South Mayde Creek and other watershed improvement efforts.

Stuckett is not a newcomer. He is thoroughly versed in engineering and planning discussions regarding detention, channel conveyance, floodplain management, and implementation of the 2018 flood-bond projects.

The context surrounding his nomination is significant. He would take over amid concerns that some federal funding could be jeopardized if spending deadlines are missed. Those issues contributed to Petersen’s departure and will likely be among the first challenges facing the new director.

The big question surrounding Stuckett: Can he speed up procurement and project delivery to improve compliance with Federal grant requirements?

What Distinguishes Stuckett?

Stuckett comes directly from the engineering side of flood control. He spent years inside HCFCD managing project development and engineering delivery. People familiar with Stuckett point to strong qualifications for the job at hand:

Greater emphasis on project execution and delivery – He reportedly has a greater sense of urgency than the leader he may replace and is more confident in his decision making.
Strong institutional knowledge – He has been involved in HCFCD projects for more than a decade and understands the agency’s internal processes and technical staff. Same for the county.
No learning curve – Unlike an outside hire, he already knows the flood-bond program, federal grant requirements, watershed studies, and ongoing capital projects.
Potential return to an engineering-led culture – Stuckett worked under Petersen’s predecessors who placed more emphasis than she on technical decision-making (as opposed to political decision-making) and project delivery.

Issues to Watch

Stuckett’s potential return on Thursday suggests Commissioners Court may now be placing a premium on technical expertise and institutional experience at a time when project delivery and federal funding compliance are under intense scrutiny.

The key question is not whether Stuckett understands flood-control engineering; he clearly does. The more important question is whether he can convert that expertise into faster delivery of major projects while navigating the political and funding challenges that have recently affected HCFCD.

Votes of Confidence from Former Co-Workers

For this post, I spoke with several engineers and managers who previously worked with Stuckett in various capacities. They unanimously sang his praises.

One of the strongest recommendations came from Eric Heppen, head engineer for Harris County Precinct 3. He worked with Stuckett for more than a decade and said “I have zero doubts about Marcus being able to do this.”

Heppen explained. “When Marcus started with flood control, he started as a coordinator between Flood Control’s Capital-Improvement-Project Department and Harris County Engineering to make sure that everything that the two offices did was properly coordinated.”

“After that,” said Heppen, “Stuckett worked his way up through watershed management into engineering and through the leadership ranks. He did a fantastic job and has been able to handle everything that we/I have ever thrown at him. He has a great handle on what it takes to get capital projects moving.”

Heppen described Stuckett’s management style. “It’s always ‘Let’s sit down. We’ll take an hour. We’ll sort through it. And we’ll move on.’ Stuckett doesn’t take six months to make a decision. It’s, ‘Let’s make the best possible decision today based on the facts. Then we’ll verify that it works. If we need to pivot, we’ll pivot. But let’s figure out what the ‘Decision-One’ point is today.’”

Posted by Bob Rehak

3219 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.

Sand-Mine Breach Triggers Erosion Threatening Widow’s Home

Kelly Callahan is a retired widow who loves fishing, kayaking and living near nature. That’s why she bought a home near the San Jacinto West Fork. Callahan accepted the flood risk. However, she didn’t expect that the man who bought the sand mine behind her wooded lot would partially drain the dredge pond into the river. Where a small creek flows across part of her property, the sudden drop in the pond’s elevation triggered what geomorphologists call “headcut erosion.”

About Headcut Erosion

Headcut erosion happens where flowing water reaches an abrupt, near-vertical drop. The falling water scours the base, causing the overhanging soil and plant roots to collapse. That forces the “waterfall” to rapidly migrate upstream. In Kelly’s case, it could soon threaten her home. Instead of fixing the sand-pit dike, the mine’s new owner has offered to buy the widow’s land for below-market value. I talked with her at length about her situation and options. But first, some pictures that illustrate what happened.

*#1: Satellite image as of 12/23* *with full sand-pit pond* *behind Callahan’s home.*

*#2: January 2026. The breach is now real and level of pond has dropped precipitously.*

*#3 Breach is virtually twice as tall as man.* *Note excavator that created breach in upper left.*

*#4: Meanwhile, the ephemeral creek flowing across Callahan’s land has downcut to the new level of the pond.*

#5: 12-second video from inside the treeline shows attempt to slow erosion by owner of former mine. Recent heavy rains blew out the tarp and erosion continues.

Impact on Widow

Rehak: You investigated this property pretty thoroughly before buying it.

Callahan: Yes, I even talked to the sand-mine foreman. Never on God’s green earth did I think that somebody would purchase it and then lower the pond and cause all of this damage.

Rehak: What did the new owner do?

Callahan: He hired someone to cut through the dike surrounding the mine. He said it was to prevent flooding the homeowners on our street. But the dike completely blew out and 10-20 feet of water from the pond went downstream with a tremendous amount of sand.

*Breach still not repaired as of 6/20/26*

Rehak: You were dealing with some medical issues at the time?

Callahan: I had horrible sciatica and could barely walk. So, I couldn’t see what was going on back there until recently.

Rehak: What happened when he saw all the damage he caused?

Callahan: He started coming to me and saying “It’s eroding back there. You need to get some fill and fix it.

Rehak: Did you?

Callahan: No. He caused the problem.

Rehak: What happened the other day when you got 4.5 inches of rain in a few hours?

*Callahan’s home in foreground. Note creek, bottom left, flowing toward pond near top.*

Callahan: He showed up unannounced and trudged back to his pond. When he came back, he said, “Kelly, we got a $100,000 problem now. You didn’t put any fill back there.” I said, “That’s a band-aid and I’m not going to do it. It’s just going to erode again.”

Rehak: What did he say to that?

Kelly Callahan Property eroding from former Hanson Pit — *Kelly Callahan looking wistfully toward erosion on back of her property*.

Callahan: He said, “As far as I can tell, in two and a half years, it’s going to be all the way up to your house.” (At this point, Callahan breaks down into tears.) “It’s already travelled over a hundred feet. My guess is that it’s already 20% of the way to your house.” And again he asked, “Did you ever get someone with heavy equipment to come out and give you a quote?”

*Note how far erosion has cut into her back yard.*

Rehak: You talked to Montgomery County Engineering instead.

Callahan: Right. Every department I talked to advised me why I shouldn’t. Had I been band-aiding this, I would have been fined by the MoCo permitting office. They were requiring me to hire an engineer and get a permit. The new owner of the former mine has the same problems.

Rehak: It doesn’t sound like you’re responsible for this. Headcut erosion happens when there’s an abrupt drop in a stream bed. That happened when the mine owner cut through the berm and lowered his pond. He created a miniature waterfall migrating upstream. That’s why they call it headcut.

Callahan: My son thinks he’s just trying to get my property on the cheap.

Rehak: Where do you go from here?

Callahan: I don’t want to move back to the suburbs. After being out here, you can’t really go back to that. I cry every day. It breaks my heart.

*Callahan kayaking on the creek in her own backyard during happier times.*

Posted By Bob Rehak on 6/21/26

3218 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.

Economic Benefits of Healthy Watersheds

6/20/26 – The EPA has published a nationwide study of studies focused on quantifying the economic benefits of healthy watersheds. This 9-page PDF provides a high-level introduction to the EPA’s Healthy Watersheds Program.

The fact sheet also provides dozens of timely examples that support preserving 5,300 acres west of Kingwood instead of developing it.

The studies fall into six categories:

Lower water treatment costs
Reduced costs associated with flood protection and other natural hazards
Improving food supply through hunting and fishing
Promoting recreation and tourism
Quality of life and health benefits
Increased property values

Nationwide Scope, Wide Variety of Metrics

Scientists from Alaska to Florida and New England to Hawaii conducted the 35 studies cited in the fact sheet. They used a wide variety of metrics to estimate economic benefits. See several examples below.

In Iowa, riparian buffers for agricultural land reduced water treatment costs in the Raccoon River watershed by $2.63 million annually.

In Maine, forest conservation efforts contributed to such exceptional water quality in the Sebago Lake watershed that Portland Water District has avoided the need for a $150 million water treatment plant. They report a payback of $4.80 to $8.90 per dollar invested.

New York City saved an estimated $8-10 billion in costs to build a water treatment facility by preserving 140,000 acres of forests in the watershed that supplies residents with drinking water.

In Tampa, mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses provide flood-protection benefits valued at $31 million per year by preventing property damage from 100-year floods.

28,000 protected acres of greenway along the Meramec River reduce flood damage by an average of $31 million annually for residents downstream by promoting infiltration and reducing runoff rates.

In Middlebury, Vermont, protected wetlands and floodplains reduce flood damage to homes and businesses by an average of 54-78% per flood event by storing and slowly releasing floodwaters.

These studies are consistent with other studies I have reported. For instance, proximity to parks can increase home values by up to 20%. The parks also provide flood-reduction benefits.

Timely Lessons for Proposed Scarborough Development

The EPA publication provides timely lessons for the entire Lake Houston/Southern Montgomery County Area. A Dallas-based company named Scarborough has proposed developing 5,300 acres in floodplains and floodways west of Kingwood.

According to hydrologists, if Scarborough develops the land, it would be like “aiming a firehose at Humble and Kingwood.” But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Floodplains Streams from Ryko Drainage Study

You can help preserve this land, improve water quality in Lake Houston, reduce flooding, increase home values and provide healthy recreational opportunities.

If you haven’t already signed the petition at Change.org to block development of this floodplain property, please do so now. We’re closing in on 10,000 signatures. Both the Houston City Council and Harris County Commissioners Court have unanimously passed resolutions against developing the land.

Please help. Join thousands of your neighbors. Sign the petition now.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/20/2026

3217 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.

Study Documents Link Between Wetland Loss, Downstream Flood Damage

6/18/2026 – A new study published in the journal “Nature Water” on June 1, 2026 shows that wetland conservation is a potentially effective but undervalued strategy in managing growing flood risk. The authors, Jesse D. Gourevitch,
Adam C. Gold & Helena M. Garcia found a statistical link between wetland loss and rising flood insurance claims since 1985.

Economic Value of Wetlands in Reducing Flood Losses

The estimated increase in flood insurance claims due to wetland loss totals $10.1 billion.

That’s equal to about 9% of insured riverine flood losses. And according to a blog post by the authors in the Environmental Defense Fund website, “The highest added costs were concentrated in the Houston metropolitan area, southeastern Louisiana, and coastal Florida.”

Scarborough Wetlands — Scarborough wetlands between Spring Creek and San Jacinto West Fork, west of Kingwood. The study estimates that each acre of Scarborough wetlands reduces downstream flood losses by approximately $90,000.

The authors say that because the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, covers only a fraction of total flood losses to homes, the full costs of wetland loss are likely even higher.

These numbers help quantify a value of land-use decisions for policy makers.

*USGS shows hundreds of acres of wetlands on the Scarborough property between the West Fork and Spring Creek like those shown in the photograph above.*

To help protect these wetlands and your home, please sign this petition on Change.org.

Other Savings Due to Wetlands

The authors caution that their study measures only one part of wetlands’ value: reducing insured riverine flood losses to residential properties.

However, they point out that wetlands also provide many other benefits. They include improving water quality, storing carbon, supporting wildlife habitat and creating recreational opportunities.

The study did not include many other categories of flood damage, such as losses to commercial or government property, business interruption, uninsured losses or flooding from coastal storm surge, etc. So, while the core estimate is significant, it is also conservative.

Local Interactive Map

The study also provides an interactive map that shows the value of wetlands in particular watersheds in terms of reducing downstream flood losses.

*An acre of wetlands in the Bens Branch watershed, for instance, reduces downstream flood losses by $146,756 per acre.*

To see where the wetlands are near you, visit the USGS National Wetlands Mapper.

Royal Shores wetlands — *Many of the remaining undeveloped tracts in the Lake Houston Area are flush with wetlands.*

Under- and Unvalued Assets

Adam Gold, senior manager of coasts and watersheds science at EDF and co-author of the study, said, “Wetlands act like natural sponges during heavy rain, storing floodwater and slowing runoff before it moves downstream. Yet wetlands continue to disappear, in part because the value of the services they provide is often overlooked. Our analysis helps fill that information gap.”

Gold concludes his article by saying, “Wetlands are not just open space waiting to be developed. They are part of the infrastructure that helps reduce flood damage. And when they disappear, households and communities bear the burden, and the costs, every time a storm hits.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/18/2026

3215 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.