Buzbee Has a Chance to Succeed with Flood Mitigation; Turner Blew His

I’m voting for Tony Buzbee on Saturday. It’s not just that Buzbee has a chance to succeed with flood mitigation; it’s that Sylvester Turner blew his.

833 Days after Hurricane Harvey, it’s hard to tell what the City of Houston has accomplished in terms of flood mitigation or even what the City hopes to accomplish. That’s not to say no work has been done. Or that I don’t appreciate that work.

I just can’t find a comprehensive list of projects and where they stand that matches what Mayor Sylvester Turner has promised the Lake Houston Area.

Turner Not Getting Job Done, Not Committed to Transparency

I did find two City web sites that catalog flood mitigation projects.

  • “City of Houston Harvey Relief” lists four flood mitigation projects, none of which involve the Lake Houston area. Worse, that page has not been updated in two years, even though other parts of the site have frequent updates. There’s not even a way to link to that page from the site’s navigation! You can only find it through search engines.
  • City of Houston Public Works also operates a site called “BuildHoustonForward.Org”. It shows no projects in the Lake Houston Area or the San Jacinto Watershed. (See below.) In fairness, the site does say they are still uploading projects. But really! After 833 days! The map below shows where the City’s priorities are. Just look at the concentration. There’s nothing in Kingwood, around Lake Houston or ANYWHERE in the entire San Jacinto watershed!
Screen Capture from Build Houston Forward on 12/10/2019 at 6pm.

Net: I believe the Lake Houston Area is a low priority for Mayor Turner.

Worse, he has accepted $5,000 from Kathy Perry Britton, whose company, Perry Homes, contributed to the flooding of hundreds of Kingwood homes. The timing of the contribution, after the City’s cease-and-desist letter to Perry, looks like a brazen attempt to buy influence. Turner’s acceptance of the contribution speaks volumes about his priorities yet again. Meanwhile, Perry missed it’s own first deadline, exposing residents to more flood risk. And there was nary a word from Turner.

What Happened to All the Projects Turner Promised?

I have lost faith in Mayor Sylvester Turner to get the job done. Flood mitigation is complex. It requires partnerships and funding from multiple sources. Those partners must trust each other. And it’s not clear we can take Mayor Turner at his word. What happened to Lake Houston Dam Gates, maintenance dredging on the San Jacinto, storm drain repairs, and clearing the mouths of drainage ditches around the lake? What happened to the drainage repairs that Turner promised us Perry would make in Woodridge Village?

Buzbee: A Fresh Start and Fresh Approach

The final day to vote for mayor of Houston is this Saturday. It’s time for a fresh start. I have been meeting with Tony Buzbee re: his priorities for flood mitigation as have many other Lake Houston area flood mitigation leaders. I am refreshed by his openness, willingness to talk, and commitment to transparency and accountability. No doubt, the man has fire in his belly. He’s not a career politician; he’s down to earth and plain spoken.

Buzbee has made many visits to the Kingwood area. He waded onto the mouth bar like a Marine at Normandy (he is a Marine BTW). He witnessed the May mine breach at the Triple PG sand mine on the West Fork and made it a central part of his campaign for Mayor.

Tony Buzbee, on banks of Caney Creek at Triple PG Sand Mine Breach in May.

Buzbee has specified – in detail – his commitments to flood mitigation projects in the Lake Houston Area, as well as Houston in general.

Buzbee’s open letter to the Lake Houston Area includes provisions that address best practices for sand mining and developers; removing sediment from the river and lake; working across political boundaries; openness; transparency; drainage improvements; professional project management and much more. See below.

He has put those commitments in writing. And he has signed the document. I urge you to read it before going to the polls on Saturday. I have reprinted the text below for ease of viewing on portable devices.

Signed Buzbee Commitments

Commitments by Tony Buzbee to the Lake Houston Area Community that he will put in place, if he becomes Mayor of Houston from the runoff election in December, 2019.

If some of these measures are already in place, Tony will improve them as stated below.  If these measures are not already in place, Tony will put them in place by the time frame stated.  Tony agrees to work with local community groups, such as the Lake Houston Area Long Term Recovery Task Force, to identify and flesh out details of these plans.

First 100 days:
  • Have fully operational a Website that will have fundamental info on the additional gates on Lake Houston project, C.I.P.# S-000890, (project manager, engineering & environmental studies contractors, identified project milestones, etc.). This Website shall also have project reporting, updated every month on the status of reaching those milestones or not, plus explanations of why not, if that is the case, and subsequent plans to correct any delays to get the project back on schedule.  This includes a commitment from Tony that this project will stay on schedule to be completed by fall of 2022.
  • Announce what City of Houston (COH) department and individual will lead the responsibility for the City of Houston in taking the significantly expanded leadership role with other government agencies (HCFCD, SJRA, CWA, FEMA, USACE, Montgomery, Liberty & other surrounding counties, State of Texas and Texas Agencies, and other government and non-government entities (NGOs) as necessary) in achieving world-class flood protection projects & policies for the San Jacinto Watershed. This COH department shall be given significant and proper resources to function as a world-class agency to provide the expected world-class results.
    • Some potential milestone difficulties that have been questioned specifically for the Lake Houston Gates project, that may need particular scrutiny are the necessary buyouts of property downstream of the Lake Houston Dam and associated mitigations problems identified in any environmental study, including Superfund sites.
  • Continue to fund and execute the complete removal of the blockage area in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River commonly referenced as “the Mouthbar” and stay committed to the removal of sediment in both the East and West Fork Rivers to restore the conveyance of these rivers to the levels of when the Lake Houston dam was built.  It is not expected that the removal of the Mouthbar and other sedimentation areas will be completely removed in 100 days, however there will be a show of progress, commitment to remove these areas and identify a maintenance plan with a funding source that will ensure conveyance is maintained in the future.
  • Release plans on how the COH, in it’s new expanded leadership role, will work with the appropriate government agencies (HCFCD, SJRA, State of Texas, Federal Government, etc.) and appropriate non governmental entities to remove sediment & debris from all the inlets & canals that feed storm water runoff into Lake Houston.  This removal process shall be done within nine months of sediment removal of the Mouthbar at a rate consistent to the levels of reduction of the Mouthbar, subject to appropriate right-of-way agreements being in place.
Projects that Will Take Longer than 100 days

For these projects Tony will release his plans of how he will achieve these goals, dedication of staff and resources and a time line for each activity.  These plans will be listed on a Website with milestones and reporting progress every month in the same fashion as the website described above.  

  • Within six months, identify and prioritize removal of major and minor system restrictions including debris and sediment on the East and West Fork of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston in partnership with the SJRA, CWA, The State of Texas, the US Federal Government and other governmental and NGOs as necessary for a plan of a long-term maintenance plan to manage the constrictions and storage reductions that sediment and debris is causing for the Lake Houston region, that may include long term maintenance dredging if that is determined to be the best solution.  These plans shall contain projected dates of the start of execution.
  • Provide guidance and support to Harris County Commissioner Court and HCFCD to prioritize and fund projects that increase the capacity of the Bayous through partnerships with HCFCD to allow for water to efficiently move into the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Identify a plan for routine maintenance for overgrown and sediment filled ditches within COH ROW. Prioritize by complaints filed via 311, and/or potential 311 Website, as well as investigate flooded areas identified by the above referenced community groups.
  • Ensure completion of the projects that Public Works SWAT team has identified and forecast out future projects.
  • Identify a work group to outline a plan for the creation of dynamic storm water models that are integrated with HCFCD Bayou/creek models to ensure we understand how the system is draining. This will identify areas that an integrated sewer/ditch and bayou improvement plan is needed.
  • Re-evaluate the storm drainage/curb and gutter criteria to align with current Best Management Practices (BMPs). Identify a plan with projected costs to design and improve existing open ditch systems to the concrete top elevations criteria.
  • Strongly encourage developers in the San Jacinto Watershed to leverage the Houston Incentives for Green Infrastructure Plan http://www.houstontx.gov/igd/ which launched in Aug 2019. Evaluate the success of the program and identify opportunities for improvement. Support Public Works incorporating Green Infrastructure design as a storm water management approach with projects.  
  • The COH shall exercise its expanded leadership role by:
    • Lobbying and advocating to the State of Texas (SoT) that the Aggregate Production Operators (APOs), commonly known as the Sand Miners, that operate in the San Jacinto Watershed, shall use SoT approved Best Management Practices (BMPs).
    • Lobbying and advocating to the State of Texas (SoT) and all the counties that have the San Jacinto Watershed in their boundaries for developers to use SoT recognized BMPs in storm water control.
Publishing Own Report Card

Tony commits to publish on a Website available to the public all of his stated plans published on https://www.tonybuzbeeformayor.com/issues/ as of 12/9/2019.  Also published on this Website will be a Report Card reporting on the progress of all of his promised plans updated every month.  There will be a phone number for you to call and a Website to ask questions about any of Tony’s plans and you will get answers.

Signed: (Tony Buzbee – see original above)

Dated: December 10, 2019

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/10/2019

833 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Critical Pieces of Union Pacific Bridge over West Fork Now in Place

The Union Pacific Railroad has removed two of the five large cranes used for the reconstruction of its bridge over the West Fork of the San Jacinto. During Harvey, floodwaters damaged the bridge. The narrow supports caught floating trees that dammed the river and backed water up, making the flood worse. The new bridge will have much wider supports that allow trees to pass through. But the wider supports also require U-shaped steel trusses that help bear the weight of crossing trains.

Where Union Pacific Project Stood in November

Here’s how the project looked in early November. Note the giant cranes poised to lift the steel supports into place.

Union Pacific Railroad Bridge
Union Pacific Railroad Bridge over the San Jacinto West Fork. Photo taken on November 4.

December Status of UP Project

Here’s how it looked on December 3rd. The first thing you notice is that all of the steel trusses are now in place and that two of the largest cranes have been removed.

Looking southeast toward the east side of the UP bridge over the San Jacinto West Fork. Note all of the old bridge supports still in place between the new ones.
Looking south, you can see that a steel truss system now completely spans the river. The steel truss system supports the extra stress created by the wider concrete supports.
Eight new concrete supports now replace the dozens of steel posts that it once took to bridge the width of the San Jacinto.
The wider supports will allow trees to flow through the bridge in future storms. During Harvey, uprooted trees formed a dam at the base of the bridge that backed water up.

Still Remaining: Removal of Old Supports

It now appears that workers are starting to remove some of the old supports between the new ones. From US59 today, I noticed that the supports are no longer even touching the bottom of the bridge. It may not be long before UP wraps this project up.

That will eliminate one more barrier that has slowed the progress of Harris County’s new Edgewater Park near this same location. In lake 2018, the county hoped to begin construction by the fall of 2019. Construction, changing plans, and coordination with the Houston Parks Board have all contributed to delays on the project.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/10/2019

833 Days after Hurricane Harvey

Don’t Dig Near Pipelines: A TACA Safety Moment

The Texas Aggregate and Concrete Association (TACA) brags that its members uphold the industry’s highest standards for safety. Or did they mean daring? Let’s have a safety moment.

Myth Meets Reality on the West Fork

To shine a light on the difference between the myth and reality, I’ve taken up a new hobby: sand-mine photography from a helicopter. On my December flight up the West Fork of the San Jacinto, I flew over this mine. Note the wetlands and utility corridor in the middle. Also note the trench leading through the trees on the right to that open gap in the tree line along the utility corridor.

I was curious about that gap. So I asked the pilot to go closer and got the photo below. How strange, I thought! The pipeline corridor has washed out, like at the Triple PG Mine. But this was a little different. The mine appeared to be draining the wetlands. Note the river of muck in the photo below.

Enlargement Shows Makeshift Supports

Someone had rigged “supports” under five pipelines. See the enlargement below. I put supports in quotes because they don’t seem to be working very well; note the sagging. Some look more like clotheslines than pipelines under pressure.

Pipelines Carry Highly Volatile Liquids

Investigation showed this is the SAME utility corridor bisecting the Triple PG mine miles to the southeast in Porter. These are the same five pipelines carrying highly volatile liquids (HVL). This mine, however, lies on the West Fork of the San Jacinto in Conroe near 242.

The channel under the five pipelines is up to a 100 feet wide.

Historical Images in Google Earth Show How This Happened

An investigation of historical satellite images in Google Earth shows that erosion has been a problem in this area at least since 1995 – the date of the earliest available image. Water overflowing the wetlands tried to make its way to the river on the other side of the utility corridor. The problem was manageable, however, as long as the land was flat. That was until 2014.

In 2014, when the mine first started excavating next to the corridor, a process called headward erosion started. Water flows from top to bottom. Notice how much deeper and wider the erosion is below the corridor than above. See explanation below.

In 2014, two things happened. The mine started excavating right up to the edge of the pipelines (just as Triple PG did).

Next, three back-to-back-to-back monster storms in 2015, 2016 and 2017. They were “perfect storms” where the right combination of circumstances came together: Heavy rain. Exposed, loose soil. Steeper gradient.

How “Headward Erosion” Happens

The fact that miners had excavated up to the pipeline corridor with some very deep pits created a steep drop at the edge of the pipelines. That meant water crossing the corridor tended to accelerate and erode the sandy soil beneath the pipelines faster. The soil then sagged into the pit, much as you see in the pictures above. This process is well documented and has a name: headward erosion.

Here’s an illustration of how the process of headward erosion works

From Arizona’s Pinal County Dept. of Public Works, Page 123.

Here’s a 43-second YouTube video showing the process in action in a table-top flume experiment.

Makeshift Repairs Not Working All That Well

Trying to make the best of a bad situation, it appears that either the miners or the pipeliners tried to shore up their pipelines with supports. But it’s not working. They keep trying to plant grass. They keep using erosion control blankets. The supports keep sinking. And the pipelines keep sagging. Here’s an even bigger blowup.

It looks as if some of these supports are anchored in quicksand. Notice the extreme difference in their heights. The cross braces supporting the weight may be adjusted as the supports sink. But not on this day.

Another factor here: What if a tree washes down this chute during a torrential rain? It happens. Regularly.

I have a hard time imagining the stress on these pipelines. An engineer calculated a range of weights for me. He made some assumptions about the thickness of the pipes and the weight of liquids inside them. Then he calculated the weight of 100 feet. The range: 20,000 to 30,000 pounds. No wonder they’re sagging. That’s more than I weigh after a dinner at Carrabbas!

Probably No Imminent Danger, But Just in Case…

They’re probably not an imminent danger. But what happens in the next big storm? We’re overdue. It’s been more than two months!

Hundreds of thousands of gallons of flammable liquids. Under high-voltage electric lines. Pipes under stress. Erosion that widens with every storm. This should be a wake up call. But…

TACA has resisted all attempts at sensible regulation. They don’t even want to define and publish best practices. And it has long been known that you can’t legislate common sense. So I guess we are just stuck living on the edge with connoisseurs of edge work.

Where to File Complaints

If you would like to complain to someone, these people may be willing to listen.

TCEQ

Mine Safety and Health Administration (this puts miners at risk)

Texas Railroad Commission (responsible for pipelines in Texas)

US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Location of exposed pipelines: 30º11’56.63″N, -95º21’57.78″W

Office on 18214 East River Road in Conroe, TX

Highly Volatile Liquid (HVL) Pipelines Involved:

  • Plains Pipeline – Red Oak Pipeline (20”) moving crude
  • Enterprise Products Operating – Chapparral System (12.75”) – HVL Liquid (probably crude)
  • Mustang Pipeline – GLPL System (6”)  – HVL Liquid
  • Enterprise Products Operating – Texas Express Pipeline System (20”) – HVL Liquid
  • Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC – 8″ Products Pipeline

That concludes our safety moment.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/9/2019 with help from Josh Alberson

832 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 80 since Imelda

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.

The Perfect, Perpetual Production-Consumption Cycle

The taxpayer-funded Grand Parkway (State Highway 99) extension will make many people happy. Proximity to transportation drives home-buying decisions. People eager to “get away from it all” will find the lure of saving 10 minutes on a longer commute irresistible. They will marvel at all the trees around them and speak with pride about their growing community in the forest.

Eastward expansion of SH99 from I-69.

It will also make the sand miners happy. It takes lots of sand to make concrete.

West Fork San Jacinto mine

Developers and homebuilders will take advantage of lax regulations in Montgomery County to boost their profitability.

Perry Homes’ Woodridge Village

And the flooding, caused by all the environmental destruction, means that downstream residents get to remodel their homes. Or move farther out to avoid future flooding. At which point the cycle will repeat itself in a few years.

Elm Grove Home below Perry’s Woodridge

From a marketing point of view, it’s a perfect, perpetual production-consumption cycle. How could you possibly improve it?

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/8/2019

831 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 79 Days after Imelda

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.

From Erosion to Explosion: Why It’s Dangerous to Mine Sand Near Streams and Pipelines

Mining sand near pipelines can expose the public to danger through erosion. We’ve seen this at the Triple PG sand mine in Porter where a potentially lethal combination of circumstances came together. 1) MINING 2) in a FLOODWAY 3) too close to PIPELINES 4) created EROSION 5) that undermined and EXPOSED the pipeline 6) to FLOATING DEBRIS and 7) the FORCE of floodwater.

Excavating pits in floodways causes erosion to move upstream and downstream during floods. When the pit is too close to infrastructure, such as bridges (or pipelines), erosion can then threaten their foundations.

Predictable Phenomenon

Headward erosion is a PREDICTABLE phenomenon. It’s as certain as gravity causing dirt to fall into a hole. Except in the case of the Triple PG sand mine, floodwater gave gravity an assist. It pushed the dirt into the hole. The hole, in this case, is the sand pit on the left below. The floodwater came from the top of the frame.

Headward erosion cut right through the pipeline crossing that paralleled what used to be a road around the mine.

This doesn’t happen every day. It’s sporadic. It happens during floods. But that makes it no less predictable.

How Triple PG Grew Toward, Between and Past Pipelines

The images below show the growth of the Triple PG Sand Mine northward into Montgomery County. In 1995, the mine was 2,000 to 3,000 feet away from the pipelines.

1995

2017 Pre-Harvey

The mine kept expanding to the west and north. Just before Harvey, notice how Triple PG had mined right up the pipeline and beyond it, into the danger zone between the pipeline corridors.

Then came Harvey.

2017 Post-Harvey

During Harvey, headward erosion took out about a 200-foot wide section of earth supporting the natural gas pipeline (also seen in the helicopter photo above). Harvey also elongated the lake in the middle of the pipeline corridors.

Then in 2019, this area had a major flood in May and Tropical Storm Imelda in September. The major breach widened and the lake elongated even more.

2019 Post-Imelda

Imelda widened the Harvey breach so wide and deep that it exposed more pipeline. (See photo below).

Exposed pipeline has no protection from floodwaters carrying trees, cars, houses or other debris downstream. A major collision could cause an explosion. But that’s not even the biggest potential catastrophe at the Triple PG mine.

Now … For the Real Disaster Scenario

Looking at a wider satellite image (below), we can see that the mine is now closing in on the HVL pipelines from the south AND the north. It brackets them.

Water flows from top to bottom in the image above. Note how Caney Creek bends near the white line above. During Imelda, floodwater cut through that area into the big northern pond at this bend instead of following the natural stream bed. See below.

Without constant repairs like you see above, Caney Creek could soon reroute itself through the big pit on the left below. Erosion on both sides of the utility corridor could expose the HVL pipelines – just as it did the natural gas pipelines. Not likely, you say?

A breach on the left would reroute Caney Creek right across the pipelines buried in the utility corridor on the right.

In the last three years, the two ponds along this line have grown closer together by more than 1000 feet. The ponds now are within a few feet of actually touching the pipeline corridor on both sides. Continued erosion could soon threaten the HVL pipelines in the middle if nothing is done to stop it.

Why is This Potentially MORE Dangerous?

Compared to exposing a natural gas pipeline, exposing liquid pipelines is far more dangerous.

When a natural gas pipeline explodes it creates a fireball that could kill anyone near it.

But when HVL pipelines rupture, they spew poisonous liquids. And if those pipelines rupture during a flood, those poisonous liquids will flow right into the source of drinking water for two million people – Lake Houston. This is why sand mining in floodways near pipelines is a bad idea.

Most of us have seen news footage of pipelines that ruptured on the San Jacinto River. Floodwaters swept away barges that collided with pipelines and caused them to explode. Could something comparable happen here with trees or cars floating downstream?

Enter James Cameron stage right.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/7/2019 with help from Josh Alberson

830 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 79 since Imelda

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.

Is Danger Still Lurking at Triple PG Sand Mine?

Note: This post has been updated at 3:30 a.m. with information from Kinder Morgan.

The Texas Attorney General is suing the Triple PG Mine for dike breaches that allegedly discharged process wastewater into the drinking water supply of 2 million Houstonians. I photographed multiple dike breaches there in May, September, October and November. On Tuesday this week, I flew over the mine again and noticed something in one of the unfilled breaches: an exposed natural gas pipeline. Kinder Morgan, the line’s owner has had three washouts around this line in two years, according to a spokesman. Currently the line is filled with inert gas until it can be repaired, so there is no immediate danger. However, the repeated washouts raise questions about the safety of mining sand around pipelines.

Exposed Pipeline in Danger Zone

These pictures tell the story.

Flying up Caney Creek on 12/3/2019, I took this photograph looking toward the mine (west) in the background. Note the exposed pipeline.

When I got home, I enlarged that sign in the foreground to see what it said.

Flying over the trees, here’s what you see looking northwest. Notice the exposed pipeline in the bottom right of the photo. It aims toward a massive 183-foot breach in the mine’s northern dike created by Hurricane Harvey. Obviously, moving water exerts tremendous force in this area. See below.

The most recent erosion exposing the pipeline happened during Imelda on September 19th, according to Kinder Morgan.

Here’s what a close up of the pipeline looks like.

Close up shows downed trees all around the pipeline from the Imelda flood.

One tree has fallen on the pipeline like a guillotine.

A second Kinder Morgan spokesperson characterized this as a MAJOR natural gas pipeline.

He said the first two washouts happened during Harvey in the major and minor breaches shown in the photos above. After Harvey, they buried the pipeline under the major breach and filled in the smaller breach.

Then came Imelda. The smaller breach washed out again, creating the third exposure.

Kinder Morgan has not repaired the small breach this time because they can’t get to it. It has been 78 days since Imelda and the mine has yet to repair the road leading to the exposed pipeline.

Previous photographic analysis suggested that during Tropical Storm Imelda, 42,000 cubic feet per second coming from Peach and Caney Creeks (out of frame in the upper right of the photograph above) captured this mine’s pit. That means, the creeks likely rerouted themselves through the mine during the flood.

Here’s another view from a slightly different angle.

Another angle shows more of the exposed pipeline and the erosion around it.

I feel only a little bit safer knowing that the mine’s owners have agreed to stop dredging until the AG’s lawsuit goes to trial next year.

Another Port Neches in Porter?

According to Josh Alberson, a number of major pipelines run through this area. The Texas Railroad Commission’s GIS viewer shows the Kinder Morgan natural gas line crossing the property plus the following:

  • Plains Pipeline – Red Oak Pipeline (20”) moving crude
  • Enterprise Products Operating – Chapparral System (12.75”) – HVL Liquid (probably crude)
  • Mustang Pipeline – GLPL System (6”)  – HVL Liquid
  • Enterprise Products Operating – Texas Express Pipeline System (20”) – HVL Liquid
  • Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC – 8″ Products Pipeline

These are major pipelines!

I hope the Mine Safety and Health Administration addresses this before we have another Port Neches disaster in Porter.

The more I look at this mine, the more surprised I am that people have not gotten killed here. It reeks of danger.

These repeated breaches and the exposed pipelines remind me of pipeline incidents farther down the river. They destroyed lives and properties in previous floods when lines ruptured from collisions with floating debris. We’re just been lucky so far.

Hollywood Blockbuster in the Making

I’ve nicknamed this mine “Death Wish VII” after one of my favorite movie series. I can’t wait until the next sequel comes out. Some friends in Hollywood are working on a treatment already. “Cardiologist turned sand miner pollutes drinking water of 2 million people, burns down East Texas, and is named Citizen of the Year by TACA.” It has all the earmarks of a Hollywood blockbuster. But seriously, I think TACA has more class than that. They would probably name him Citizen of the Decade.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging. So much for satire.

Pipeline Incidents Cost 3X More Public Lives than Industry Lives

I’m dead serious now. Thank God that there’s inert gas in this pipeline for now. But what happens in the next flood when it’s flammable gas. What if its exposed for a fourth time and more trees start slamming into it.

There’s danger associated with this. Here’s a list of all the public and industry injuries, fatalities and costs related to pipeline incidents in the US since 2005.

Two things jump out at me: the public sustains roughly three times more injuries and fatalities than industry, and the costs are staggering – in the billions.

I have already notified the TCEQ and MSHA. My feeling? We shouldn’t be mining sand in floodways. And we especially shouldn’t be mining sand in floodways criss-crossed with pipelines. The mines accelerate the potential for washouts. And that exposes everyone to more danger.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/7/2019, with help from Josh Alberson

830 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 78 since Imelda

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.

Liberty Materials Mine Carved Out of Many Wetlands

The Liberty Materials Mine in Conroe on the West Fork of the San Jacinto was cited last month for allegedly discharging 56 million gallons of wastewater loaded with up to 25 times the normal amount of sediment. When we look at the issue of sediment in the river and how it affects flooding, such breaches contribute to the problem. But it’s not just what such sand mines discharge. It’s also about what the wetlands they were carved from don’t hold back any more.

Before there was a Liberty Materials in Conroe, the area they now occupy contained many densely forested wetlands. Now there is nothing to slow down the water during heavy rains. Much more sand and sediment are exposed. And the wetlands are no longer there to filter it. It’s a double whammy. We get it coming and going.

Green areas mapped as wetlands in USGS National Wetlands Inventory. See descriptions below.

Before Liberty, Abundant Wetlands

Visually, it appears that wetlands once covered roughly half the area of this mine. But what was actually there?

US Geological Survey (USGS) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) use a five character alpha-numeric code to classify wetlands. Liberty Materials operates in areas that were classified as PFO1A and PEM1A.

P stands for the class: Palustrine. Palustrine wetlands include any inland wetland that lacks flowing water. The word palustrine comes from the Latin word palus or marsh. Wetlands within this category include inland marshes, swamps and floodplains covered by vegetation.

The second two letters in each case stand for the subclass: FOrested or EMergent. Forested means it had broad-leaved, deciduous trees or shrubs taller than 6 meters. Emergent means it had aquatic plants.

These were areas that could store large volumes of water during floods. Plus, they had vegetation that could suck it up.

Trees Soak Up Water, Too

Trees can soak up 50 to 300 gallons of water in a day depending on their size, age and type. They send it back into the atmosphere; let’s use 100 gallons as a conservative average and do some simple math to calculate their contribution to flood reduction.

It’s difficult to estimate the number of trees per acre; it depends on the factors mentioned above plus more. But some people use 500 trees per acre as a good average for estimating purposes.

The Liberty sand mine complex comprises more than a thousand acres. That’s 500,000 trees each soaking up 100 gallons of water per day. Or 50 million gallons of water per day.

That’s about the same amount that the TCEQ estimates the Liberty Mine discharged downstream in one breach.

Personally, I’d rather have the trees and wetlands than white water and a river that’s so silted up it contributes to flooding.

Influence of Wetlands on Flooding

Imagine a sand box that’s 1.5 miles wide and 2.5 miles long. Here’s what it looked like the day after the peak of Hurricane Harvey.

Image from 8/30/2017 of Liberty Mine one day after the peak of Harvey.

And here’s why. Note how closely the extend of flooding matches the extent of the flood plains. Like almost all mines on the West Fork, this one lies substantially within the floodway and floodplain.

Cross-hatched = floodway; aqua = 100 year; tan = 500 year floodplain.

Is Liberty’s Luck Running Low?

If these people had the strongest dikes in the world, maybe you could cut them some slack. But they don’t. They breach repeatedly.

About a month after allegedly discharging 56 million gallons of process wastewater into the West Fork, the only thing holding back another discharge at the Liberty Mine is a couple feet of sand. Photo taken on 12/3/2019.

We need sand, but not at the expense of floods and the environment. Maybe it’s time for TACA to run some of its members out of Texas. That do-good routine they stage in Austin every other year could be in jeopardy with members like Liberty. See below.

11/4/2019. The Day the West Fork Turned White. Confluence of Spring Creek and West Fork. TCEQ alleges that Liberty Mines discharged 56 million gallons of white waste water into the West Fork.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12.5.2019

828 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.

Reminder: Public Open House for San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan

From December 16 -19, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and its partners will hold a series of open houses to familiarize people with the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan (SJMDP). Residents may also give input at the meetings.

HCFCD, Montgomery County, the City of Houston, and the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA), will host the open houses to provide information about the regional plan and other study efforts underway in the San Jacinto River watershed. Keeping them all straight is difficult!

Timeline for Master Drainage Plan

The SJMDP study effort began in April 2019 to identify future flood mitigation projects that can be implemented in the near- and long-term to reduce flood risks to people and property throughout the San Jacinto River regional watershed.

Timeline for the San Jacinto River Watershed Master Drainage Plan as of 12/4/2019. Source: HCFCD.

More about the Master Drainage Plan

The SJMDP is jointly funded with 75 percent from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Planning Program and 25 percent from the four local partners.

Overall, the SJMDP aims to provide an up-to-date technical basis to identify flooding vulnerabilities for existing infrastructure and impacts from future growth to improve flood resiliency within the watershed. The SJMDP should complete in fall 2020.

The SJMDP study area covers nearly 3,000 square miles located in seven different counties and includes approximately 535 miles of stream.

Open House Dates/Times/Content

Flood Control will solicit public input and participation throughout the study. The first series of public open houses for this study effort will be held on the following dates and locations:

Tomball
  • Monday, December 16, 2019
  • 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Lonestar Bekendorf Conference Center
  • 30555 Tomball Parkway
  • Tomball, Texas 77375
Kingwood
  • Tuesday, December 17, 2019
  • 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Kingwood Community Center
  • 4102 Rustic Woods Drive
  • Kingwood, Texas 77345
Huffman
  • Thursday, December 19, 2019
  • 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • May Community Center
  • 2100 Wolf Road
  • Huffman, Texas 77336

All three meetings will have the same materials and format. Each open house will include information about the following projects, studies, and efforts in the region:

  • San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan
  • Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis
  • Huffman Area Drainage Analysis
  • Spring Creek Watershed Planning Study
  • Luce Bayou Watershed Planning Study
  • Willow Creek Watershed Planning Study
  • Jackson Bayou Watershed Planning Study
  • Cedar Bayou Tributary Analysis
  • SJRA-led Projects 
  • City of Houston-led Projects
  • Harris County Permit Office
  • Harris County Engineering Department – Recovery and Resiliency Division
  • Hurricane Harvey Repair Efforts
  • Information about services provided by Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County and Montgomery County

The open houses will last from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The free-flowing meetings will have informational displays. Staff will answer questions. The open house format lets attendees arrive and participate at their convenience. No formal presentation will be made. 

To Provide Input on Master Drainage Plan

You can comment on the plans at the public open houses and throughout the duration of the study.

If you can’t attend in person, mail comments to:

  • Harris County Flood Control District
  • 9900 Northwest Freeway
  • Houston, Texas 77092
  • Attn: San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan

Alternatively, you may submit comments online.

For more information about the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan, visit www.sanjacstudy.org.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/4/2019

827 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 76 since Imelda

Plans For Next Phase of Dredging Announced

Behind-the-scenes work for the next phase of dredging has already started. The City, County and State are working together on a $30 million grant application for submission this month. The legislature earmarked the money for dredging at the confluence of the San Jacinto and Lake Houston. However, the money must go through the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to Harris County and then the Harris County Flood Control District.

Circuitous Route for Funding

The supplemental appropriations bill, SB500, that the legislature approved dictates the circuitous route for funding. See the exact text from SB500 below.

“Out of funds appropriated in Subsection (1), $30 million is dedicated to the Texas Water Development Board to provide a grant to Harris County for the purchase and operation of equipment to remove accumulated siltation and sediment deposits located at the confluence of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston.”

DIY vs. Outsourcing

State Representative Dan Huberty, who authored the SB500 amendment, has worked closely with all parties involved to explore the most cost-effective and timely solutions. For instance, Flood Control explored how much it would cost to hire an outside company for dredging versus buying the equipment and doing it themselves. Said Huberty, “In my discussion with the TWDB last week, they have agreed we can buy equipment if we need to, which is the direction we are pushing for at this time.” However, that option would take longer to implement and the money must be spent within the current bi-annum – by law.

Long Term vs. Immediate Needs

Meanwhile, the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto have urgent, immediate dredging needs, too. So the partners could break the work up and pursue both DIY and outsourcing options.

Said Huberty, “I met with DRC (Disaster Recovery Corporation) a week ago. DRC has an ongoing contract with both the City and County for debris removal from Lake Houston and they are still removing debris from the lake. So they might be an option that would let us deploy faster.” 

DRC is the parent company of Callan Marine, a subcontractor during the Army Corps’ Emergency West Fork Dredging project after Hurricane Harvey.

The dredges are gone but the pipe is not. The quarter-mile long sections of pipe used in the initial Emergency West Fork Dredging Project have been broken down into smaller sections for transport, but much of it remains on the West Fork. Photo taken 12/3/2019.

Additional Sources of Funding

Huberty also said that, “In addition to the $30 million, the Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Council Member Dave Martin committed last weekend to help us fund this in partnership with Harris County Flood Control.” The City committed approximately $6 million, according to Huberty.

The ever-growing mouth bar on the San Jacinto West Fork. Imelda wiped out many of the gains from the Corps’ supplemental dredging program that ended on Labor Day and removed 500,000 cubic yards. Photo taken on 12/3/2019.
The growing mouth bar on the East Fork of the San Jacinto near the entrance to Luce Bayou and the Interbasin Transfer Project.
The Inter-Basin Transfer canal empties into the lower reaches of Luce Bayou, which flows into the northeastern corner of Lake Houston, near the emerging mouth bar. The project costs $351 million and will provide water to the Northeast Purification Plant. Photo taken 12/3/2019.

“In addition,” says Huberty, “I spoke to the Governor’s staff this weekend. We still have money left over from Harvey debris removal. That’s approximately another $16 million. They told us we can spend the money on the river and lake, but not for other purposes. This will let us complete the mouth bar dredging and get mechanical dredging done in areas like Huffman and Atascocita. The scope of the project is expanding, which is very good news. We’ll be able to help more people.” 

Smaller mouth bars have set up around the lake at the entrance to drainage ditches, like this one in Atascocita near Walden. Photo taken on 10/4/2019. Such blockages can force water up, out and over the banks into neighborhoods during large rains.

Next Step: Commissioners’ Court Needs to Approve Grant Request

The ball, at this moment, is in Flood Control’s court. Commissioners’ Court must approve all grant requests made by any part of the County. Says Huberty, “There will be an item on the December 17th Commissioners Court agenda requesting permission from the Court to submit the grant application to TWDB. All parties involved have already had discussions with the TWDB staff and are working on the grant application paperwork.”

Early next week Huberty plans to meet with John Blount, the Harris County Engineer; Stephen Costello, the Mayor’s Flood Czar; and John Sullivan, President of DRC.

Constant Dredging for Foreseeable Future

“In my discussions with all interested parties,” said Huberty, “we should have the application submitted by year end. We have been pushing to get it awarded quickly. It is a formality. We need to spend this money quickly which works to our advantage. We can always go back to the legislature for more after that.”

“All of these initiatives will ensure we can have constant, permanent dredging on the Lake for the foreseeable future,” said Huberty. “I am very pleased with the result and look forward to getting this project started.”   

Posted By Bob Rehak on 12/4/2019

827 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 76 since Imelda

Perry Homes Fails to Meet Own First Deadline For Additional Woodridge Village Detention

At the Kingwood Town Hall meeting on October 17th, 2019, Mayor Sylvester Turner read a letter from lawyer J. Carey Gray who represents Perry Homes and its subsidiaries against hundreds of flooded Elm Grove homeowners. The letter laid out a timetable – extending more than 2 years into the future – for completion of the detention ponds on the troubled Woodridge Village subdivision. The first step: finish the S2 pond, which was already substantially complete. Perry Homes gave itself 30-45 days for that task. As nonsensical as that sounded on October 17, they managed to miss the deadline … by not showing up … until after the deadline. 

Deadline Expired Yesterday With No Improvements to Pond

Yesterday marked 45 days since Lawyer Gray delivered his letter to the Houston City Attorney. Since then crews have worked several days on adding a concrete lining to a small portion of Taylor Gully. They also replaced some eroded dirt along the northern edge of S2. Still incomplete, however are: 

  • Excavation of the remaining dirt
  • Grass to stabilize the soil on the banks
  • A perimeter road required by the Montgomery County Drainage Criteria Manual
  • Lining for a severely eroded spillway between Taylor Gully and S2
  • Drainage of the detention pond
  • Backslope interceptor swales

Photos Demonstrate Lack of Progress

Here’s how the pond looked in September, two days after Imelda.

Status of S2 Pond on September 21, 2019, two days after Imelda
Status of S2 Pond on November 4, 2019, two and a half weeks after J. Carey Gray’s letter to City Attorney.

Here’s what it looks like today, 46 days after J. Carey Gray’s letter to the City Attorney. They had made some progress on lining the Taylor Gully channel behind the pond. But as far as the pond itself went, there was a lone excavator moving dirt that had eroded into the pond back up on the banks. That’s because they failed to establish grass there.

One day after the deadline for completing the S2 detention pond, Perry Homes had a lone excavator pushing eroded dirt back up onto the banks. Photo taken 12/3/2019.
Photo taken 12/3/2019. Hardly a bustling construction site with contractors racing to meet deadlines.

Only 735 more days before all the detention ponds are complete … assuming they can meet any of their own deadlines.

Questions Raised by Lack of Performance

The failure to meet this first deadline raises questions:

  • Is Perry Homes sincere? Can they ever be trusted for anything ever again?
  • Has Perry Homes lost its ability to deliver? Is the company financially crippled beyond repair?
  • Did Sylvester Turner extract terms from Perry Homes designed to get him through the general election?
  • Or did Perry Homes play Sylvester Turner to torpedo his chances in a runoff election?
  • Did Kathy Perry Britton, CEO of Perry Homes, think no one would remember?
  • Is Perry Homes holding the threat of future flooding over Elm Grove residents to force a settlement of their lawsuits?

If it’s the latter and there’s another flood – with this record of foot dragging – they’ve nuked themselves. It’s a Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School case study that will go down in the Annals of Corporate Stupidity. 

What can explain this level of ineptitude?

This has to be a huge embarrassment for the City of Houston and Montgomery County. It’s also a PR debacle for Sylvester Turner … in the middle of a hotly contested runoff election. Turner can’t do anything about that now except to tell the City Attorney to sharpen his spurs.

But if I were MoCo, I would claim Perry Homes’ performance bond and finish the work myself. 

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/3/2019

826 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 75 since Imelda

The thoughts expressed in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.