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Post-Dredging Survey Shows Average Depth in West Fork Mouth Bar Area To Be 5.579 Feet

A recent mouth bar survey shows that dangers still likely lurk just beneath the surface. Here’s why they will only get worse if we don’t take action.

Corps Survey Shows Average Depth South of Mouth Bar

An Army Corps survey of the West Fork Mouth Bar area conducted on 9/4/2019 shows that the average depth after dredging is a bit more than five and a half feet. And that’s only because they surveyed some areas pretty far downstream from the mouth bar.

The survey contains 21,766 sampling points. You can review them all here, in this 507-page PDF. Unfortunately, my web host does not allow posting of Excel files. So you can’t explore the data as conveniently as you might like.

The Corps did not measure the mouth bar itself, which appears to be about four feet high in places. So that also skewed the data. And I am sure that the shallow areas near the bar prevented the survey boat from acquiring information there to. For instance, there are no recorded depths less that one foot.

Scattergram of All Soundings

This graph helps visualize where the bulk of the values lie as well as the extremes and range.

Distribution of Values

A bar graph is another way to visualize the distribution of values. On the vertical axis, we can see the number of soundings. On the horizontal axis, we can see the depth in feet. About half the survey points fell within the 5-6 foot range. That’s not surprising for a survey with an average depth of about 5.5 feet.

Sedimentation from Imelda Not Included

It’s important to realize that the Corps conducted this survey AFTER dredging, but BEFORE Imelda. We saw how much sediment came down the East Fork – enough to raise the bottom depth from 18 feet to 3 or 4 feet between Luce Bayou and Royal Shores, according to boater Josh Alberson.

*The East Fork now has its own mouth bar.*

West Fork Flooding

Of course, Imelda did not dump as much rain on the West Fork. So flooding there was less severe. But it still ranked as a “major flood.”

At US59, the flood peaked at about 8PM on September 19th as you can see in the graph below from the Harris County Flood Warning System.

This map from Jeff Lindner, meteorologist for Harris County Flood Control, shows the distribution of rainfall across Harris and souther Montgomery Counties, plus streams that flooded. The purple color applied to the West Fork indicates it experienced a major flood. Note: these are 48-HOUR rain totals.

Source: Harris County Flood Control District

In fact, I have heard reports of the river flooding streets in Atasocita Point and Fosters Mill, long after the peak of the storm. Other areas may also have flooded.

Imelda’s floodwaters also ruptured a number of sand mine dikes on the West Fork. They then carried a significant amount of sediment downstream. I took the shot below on 10/2, almost two weeks after the storm. It shows the convergence of Spring Creek and the West Fork, just west of the US59 bridge. Note the huge difference in the color of water between the two streams.

*Confluence of Spring Creek (left) and West Fork San Jacinto (top and right).*

That’s, in part, thanks to breaches like the one below in West Fork sand mines that were still open long after the flood.

*One of many breaches in West Fork sand mines on 10/2/2019, still open almost two weeks after Imelda.* *This one was at the Hallett Mine in Porter.* *This same dike breached during Harvey.*

You could see the impact downstream.

*Flying over the mouth bar on the same day (10.2.19), I noted new deposits in the undredged area between the mouth bar and Kings Point/Fosters Mill.* *See exact location in the wider shot below.*

Virtually none of the mouth bar itself has been removed. Nor was any of the area to the right of the mouth bar. Only the area to the left of it has been dredged and only three feet. That brought average depth to 5.5 feet. Photo taken 10.2.19, looking west.

This shows the most-downstream profile in the US Army Corps of Engineers plans for the initial dredging campaign. Where the Corps stopped dredging, bottom depth was a minimum of 22 feet below the water surface elevation. *Some boaters, though, have reported even greater depths in this area…as much as 38 feet.*

What does all this mean?

The Corps has shortened the ramp between where it stopped dredging in Phase I and where it started dredging the mouth bar area. While they increased the conveyance by a minor amount, water will hit an underwater wall when it gets to the mouth bar. It’s like herding water into a box canyon. If the City were to lower the lake by 5.5 feet, you would see a sediment dam about a half mile long.

Despite dredging three feet, the mouth bar in its current state will still contribute to flooding…in my opinion.

The City still has not announced any plans for additional dredging despite the availability of more than $40 million earmarked for that by the State and County.

The Great Lakes Dredge has been anchored at the mouth bar for a month and a half. Recently, a crane showed up at the Army Corps command post opposite Marina Drive in Forest Cove. One can only wonder whether Great Lakes will pull their dredge out of the river like Callan did last month.

The Value of Self-Reliance

If dredger(s) have to remobilize at a later date, the cost could eat up close to half of the money earmarked for dredging by the State and County. Mobilization in Phase I cost approximately $18 million.

FEMA and the Corps have refused to dredge more than the 500,000 cubic yards that they already have. Nevertheless, Stephen Costello, the mayor’s flood czar, is making one more plea for reconsideration.

This whole episode reminds one of the wisdom of self-reliance.

The City needs to put up some of its own money out of that billion dollars we’ve paid in drainage fees to:

Redo the post-dredging survey to see how much sediment Imelda deposited.
Model the effects of various flood scenarios.
Share the results with the world.
Take appropriate action to restore public confidence.

I find it incredible that after two years of arguing about this, no one has yet modeled the effects of the mouth bar on flooding and shared it with the world.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/10/2019

772 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 21 since Imelda

The thoughts expressed in this post represent my 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.

One Bright Spot of Imelda

While Imelda brought untold heartache and suffering to hundreds, it did have one bright spot.

Shortly before Imelda, KSA had the meadows mowed in East End Park. Since then, thanks to the heavy rains, a bumper crop of fresh new green grass has attracted large numbers of deer. The grass is already knee high. On my evening walk in the park tonight, we circled the large meadow and saw more deer than I have ever seen in one place in 35 years of living in Kingwood. We counted a total of four families and twenty deer in total: bucks, does, and fawns.

The best time for viewing deer, if you are so inclined, is near sunset.

Video courtesy of John Knoezer. Deer are pretty skittish. You probably won’t get closer to them than 20 or 30 yards. But it’s inspiring to watch such graceful creatures, even from a distance. Bring binoculars for the best viewing. Many deer will remain near the edge of the meadow where they can retreat into the forest if they feel threatened.

Why KSA Mows the Meadows

KSA mows the meadows occasionally to discourage the spread of invasive species and halt the spread of the forests into meadow areas. The meadows also provide grass seed for migrating species of birds in the fall and spring.

Even though KSA got a late start mowing this year, heavy rains from Imelda made the grass grow quickly. It has already started going to seed, ensuring that migrating birds will have a satisfying rest stop and that birders will have have one of the best seasons ever.

The deer this year? Purely a bonus.

Meadow Trails Still Passable

While flood waters destroyed trails and wetlands in other parts of the park, the main meadow near Kingwood Drive seems to have benefited. Meadow trails are still passable unlike other trails. And at sunset there is a refreshing breeze that seems to keep mosquitos away.

*Three of 20 deer spotted in East End Park’s main meadow near sunset on 10/9/2019.* *Photo courtesy of John Knoezer.*

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/9/2019

771 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 20 since Imelda

Three Ways to Find Out If You Are In a Floodplain

Here are three quick and easy ways to find out if you are in a mapped floodplain of any kind.

FEMA – National Scope

The first site is FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer. Using this site, you can check any piece of property in the country…including Pike’s Peak or Walden Pond…just in case you want to do a Thoreau.

Another benefit of the FEMA site is that it spans county boundaries, i.e., if you live on the Harris/Montgomery County Line.

FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer can track creeks, etc. across county lines. Please note the big green space in the center of the frame. This is the new Perry Homes development, Woodridge Forest. Neither the FEMA map, nor the MoCo map below contain flood zone information for this area although much of it was wetlands before Perry clear cut it.

Harris County

Harris County operates a site called “Flood Education Mapping Tool.” The Harris County site superimposes drainage ditches, streams, creeks, bayous and rivers and even gives you their names and numbers. Very helpful if you want to report a problem some day, or track up or downstream to see where drainage issues may be originating.

Montgomery County

Montgomery County operates a site called “Am I in a Floodplain?” It includes some very helpful interactive tools, topographic maps and more.

*People on Killerbee Lane will be pleased to know that they are not in any mapped floodplain.*

Benefits of County Sites

According to Diane Cooper, a hydrologist with more than 20 years of experience in forecasting floods, both of the County sites have better imagery and more layers than the FEMA site.

Layers comprise one of the key features of both county sites. Experiment with them. I’m especially fond of the background layers.

They let you see the flood zones superimposed over simple maps, satellite images, historical satellite images, and more. The Montgomery County site even lets you click on streets and information about them pops up. I learned, for instance, that one subdivision in MoCo has a street named Paper Wasp Lane. You really don’t want to mess with the people on that street! It’s not far from Killerbee Lane. Let’s get up a football game between those two streets! I’d pay to see that.

Posted by Bob Rehak on October 10, 2019, with help from Diane Cooper

771 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 20 since Imelda

FEMA Individual Assistance Now Available For People, Businesses Flooded by Imelda

Houston City Council Member Dave Martin announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now offering assistance to Houston residents affected by Tropical Storm Imelda.

*Several homes that flooded in Woodstream subdivision. Imelda affected at least 49 homes in this one subdivision.*

Applications for FEMA Individual Assistance for Imelda recovery will be open through Tuesday, December 3, 2019. FEMA may provide Houston home owners, certain types of renters, and businesses with the following types of assistance:

Home/Primary Residence: FEMA provides assistance to individuals and families who have lost their homes as a result of a presidentially-declared disaster. If you are a renter or homeowner you may qualify for assistance. By law, FEMA assistance cannot duplicate the assistance you receive from your insurance company, but you may receive assistance for items not covered by insurance. If your home was impacted by a major disaster, FEMA recommends that you apply for assistance by clicking here.
NOTE: FEMA does not offer assistance for a secondary home. Federal guidelines only allows FEMA to provide housing assistance when your primary residence is impacted by a presidentially-declared disaster.
Business: FEMA does not offer assistance for small businesses impacted by a presidentially-declared disaster. However, FEMA partners with the Small Business Administration (SBA), which offers low interest loans for business damages. Learn more about the business loan application process by clicking here.
Other Needs Assistance: FEMA offers disaster assistance for some of your other disaster-caused expenses including, medical and dental, child care, funeral and burial, essential household items, moving and storage, vehicle, and some clean-up items.

Click here or call 1-800-621-FEMA for more information. Residents can visit www.houstonrecovers.org for additional recovery information.

Información en español: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/es.

For questions regarding the FEMA application process, please contact your Federal Representative as FEMA is a federal agency. To find out who represents you at a federal level, please click here.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/8/2019

770 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 19 after Imelda

Stunning New Imelda Images Show Stream of Muck Coming Down Shady Maple From Direction of Woodridge Village

Note: If you have pictures of Imelda that you would like to share, please send them in via the Submissions page on this web site. Remember to identify time, date, location and describe what’s happening in the photo.

Where Shady Maple intersects Rustling Elms in Elm Grove, Melanie Bankston and her husband captured some stunning images on the morning of September 19th as Imelda raged across the area. The images show a distinct zebra pattern in the water rushing down the street. Taken as a series, they indicate that:

Shady Maple (the street) initially flooded from pure rainwater, not Taylor Gully or Woodridge Village
Later, murky brown, sediment-laden water, streamed down the street
Woodridge Village did not contain its stormwater as the law mandates.

Because of the way Shady Maple curves, I’ve included this satellite image for orientation purposes. The red arrow indicates the angle of view in the photos. Bankston shot across Shady Maple toward the bridge on Rustling Elms and Taylor Gully.

At 9:37 a.m.

Video at 9:52

At 9:52 a.m. most of the water in the street is still running clear. Note the speed of the trash can as it floats by. Taylor Gully is in the background. You can see it under the crepe myrtle. Also note how the water in the street is rushing toward Taylor Gully, an indication that the water in the gully was lower than in the street.

By 10:37 a.m.

*This closer shot was taken seconds later. In it, you can see how the color of muddy water invading the street matches the color of muddy water in Taylor Gully behind the crepe myrtle.* *At this point in Taylor Gully, the water came almost exclusively from Woodridge Village.*

By 11:25

Likely Path of Water from Woodridge

Erosion signs, silt fences that were pushed over, a trail of damaged homes, and eyewitness statements indicate that water from Woodridge backed up behind the twin culverts at the county line. At a certain point, the detention ponds started overflowing. That’s when water pushed into the streets of North Kingwood Forest and Elm Grove.

In North Kingwood Forest, the same types of evidence suggest that muddy water entered Right Way, then River Rose Court, turned the corner on Creek Manor toward Taylor Gully then turned again down Shady Maple toward Rustling Elms. There it turned another corner toward Taylor Gully, until the Gully came out of its banks.

*Path of muddy water through the streets of North Kingwood Forest and Elm Grove toward the Bankston Home, Rustling Elms and Taylor Gully.*

Emergency Evacuation for Second Time in Four Months

Keith Stewart who lives on the corner of Shady Maple and Creek Manor evacuated his family in a canoe toward Ford Road in Porter. He says the current coming down River Rose was so fast, he struggled against it.

Keith Stewart family evacuating Elm Grove on 9.19.19. Stewart had just made the turn from Creek Manor, north onto River Rose. He was struggling against the current while taking this shot. Shown in the picture are his wife Jennifer, son Gabriel, and brother-in-law Ambrose Johnson.

The water also overflowed into several surrounding streets, such as Forest Springs. There, Jeff Miller’s security camera picked up the same sudden surge of silty water.

Implications

Aside from the stunning and unusual amateur photography, the content of these images represents yet more evidence that Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors failed to contain stormwater runoff as they were obligated to do by law. Hundreds of families in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest paid for that failure.

The Perry gang had only installed about a quarter of the detention on their site before Imelda. The other three quarters of the rain had to go somewhere else and it did.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/7/2019

769 Days after Harvey and 18 after Imelda

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

More Breaches Discovered at Triple PG Sand Mine; Implications for East Fork Flooding

The Triple PG Sand Mine on Hueni Road in Porter breached its dikes during Imelda in more places than originally observed. Despite the breaches still being open, and despite multiple investigations into the mine’s operations, the mine resumed business today. Trucks went in and out all afternoon. At the end of this post, I will discuss some of the implications of these multiple breaches and their possible contribution to flooded homes.

Second Flyover Reveals More Breaches

During my initial helicopter flyover on 9/28/19, I could only observe three breaches in the Triple PG Sand Mine dikes because of inclement weather. On a second flyover on 10/2/19, I observed several more. Other people discovered several more from the ground or boat.

Here’s what I saw from the air and ground. These pictures have been sent to State Representative Dan Huberty, the TCEQ and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the Department of Labor. The TCEQ forwarded them to the Attorney General’s office.

Below: the approximate locations of breaches for orientation purposes. All aerial photos taken on 10/2/19.

*Approximate locations of eight breaches in the Porter Triple PG mine during Imelda.*

Breach #1

*Partial breach along Caney Creek in the northern section of the mine, looking south toward the mine’s ponds.*

Breach #2

*Another pond in the far northern area shows evidence of a breach and severe erosion. This shot looks northwest.*

Breach #3

Looking NW from over the main dike that separates the main part of the mine from the northern area. The dike cuts from the upper left toward lower right and has a massive breach. The angle of the downed trees suggests that Caney Creek overflowed on the north, swept through all the ponds to the north and then broke into the mine through this breach.

Breach #4

*Partial breach. Hovering over Caney Creek in the foreground, looking west into the pit.*

Breach #5

*Hovering over Caney Creek in the foreground, looking west into the pit.* *This breach was opened in May and never closed properly.*

*Same breach, but photographed from the reverse angle. Hovering over the pit, looking east toward Caney Creek.*

Breach #6

*The southern dike of the mine is behind these trees. It obviously didn’t hold back water sweeping through the mine. It pushed these fences in from the north toward the south.* *Photo taken 10/6/19.*

*Many homes immediately below the mine flooded also. The so-called dike that runs along the southern edge of the mine is really flush with the ground level in this area.* *Photo taken 10/6/19.*

Breach #7

*Hovering over the pit looking toward the west dike of the mine and White Oak Creek*, *which breached into the mine.*

*Reverse shot. Looking east into the mine from over White Oak Creek.*

Breach #8

*The mine’s main stockpile sits on the western side of the mine. Rain seems to have washed much of it into the creek below the dike.*

Direction of Flow

Note additional erosion to main stockpile. It sits at the confluence of two floodways: Caney Creek’s and White Oak Creek’s. You can see the influence of those two creeks in the erosion. This shot faces west. Caney Creek came in from the north (right to left). White Oak Creek came in from the west (top middle to left middle). Note the sand pushed up against the building. *See close up below.*

*Sand pushed up against northern edge of building indicates the main flow came from the north…Caney Creek.*

Sand Clogging River

Much sand now clogs the river that wasn’t there before Imelda. No doubt, some sand came from river bed and bank erosion. But it’s hard to believe that none of it came from the Triple PG Sand Mine, which sits in two floodways and whose dikes breached in at least eight places.

The shot below looks across the northeastern section of Riverchase. Many homes flooded in this area. When you look at the river, you can see a possible contributing factor: giant sand bars that consume two-thirds of the width of the river.

The breaches, the sand clogging the river, and the flooded homes all argue for moving mines back farther from rivers. Texas is the only state that has no minimum setbacks for mines. During Imelda, the East Fork and its residents paid the price for that policy.

*Northeastern Riverchase, where several homes flooded near the river. Note giant sand bars just beyond the trees.* *Residents have commented on all the sand in streets. East End Park lies to the right of the giant bar. It also suffered from massive sanding during Imelda, in the area immediately opposite the bar.*

*A reverse shot of this bar shows that it is not only wide and long but tall. It reaches into treetops.* *The helicopter was hovering over East End Park for this shot and the camera is looking north.*

Altogether, I took almost a thousand shots from the air last Wednesday along the East Fork between 99 and Lake Houston and from Lake Houston up the West Fork to the Woodlands. More findings in future posts.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/6/2019 with help from Josh Alberson and Charlie Fahrmeier

768 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 17 since Imelda.

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

More Dirt on Perry Homes

Ken Matthews lives in a one-story house on Shady Maple Drive in Elm Grove about a block below the troubled Woodridge Village development in Montgomery County. Homes on Shady Maple Drive experienced severe damage during both the May 7th and September 19th storms. That damage has been linked to this development.

“Had I Waited One More Minute…”

Between 8 and 9 o’clock a.m. on September 19th, Matthews saw water rising quickly in front of his home. He made a split-second decision to evacuate his wife and child. By the time he packed them in his car, they barely escaped. Water filled the street that quickly. He said, “Had I waited one more minute, we would not have gotten out.”

Matthews had just moved back into his house days before. They had lived with a friend for months while finishing repairs from the May 7th flood. He and his family went to the same friend’s house to wait out the September 19th storm.

The Clear-Cut Difference

Clear-cutting accelerates the rate of run-off, contributes to flooding, and increases sedimentation as you can see in this video. Virtually the entire 268-acre Woodridge site had been clearcut by mid-August when work on the site mysteriously ground to a halt. But only about about a quarter of the detention ponds had been installed before September 19th – despite a more than a month of ideal construction weather before Imelda.

Video from Jeff Miller’s security camera several blocks east shows his street filling up with clear water at the same time Matthews evacuated. However, a short while later, at exactly 10:10 a.m., a wave of chocolate brown muddy water came cascading down the street in a sudden surge. That much muck could only have come from one place: Woodridge Village. With only 25% of the detention installed, 75% of the runoff had to go somewhere else. It went into the streets of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest.

*When Matthews returned home, he found a thick layer of silt in his mailbox of all places.*

*Perry Homes’ check wasn’t in the mail, but apparently their dirt was.*

Matthews said he did not join the lawsuit against Perry Homes subsidiaries and contractors after May 7th. However, he does plan to join the suit now. His home has just been wiped out for the second time in four months.

Even More Dirt

If you want to find more dirt on Perry Homes, its subsidiaries and contractors, just go to the north end of Village Springs Drive next to Woodridge.

*Dried muck at the end of Village Springs Drive next to Woodridge (beyond the silt fence in the background) reaches over the curbs.*
*Video shows muddy water flowing out of Woodridge at this location on 9/19/19.* *Photo taken on 10/4/19.*

Significantly, Perry Homes has not lifted a finger to help the residents of Elm Grove. Instead it is suing them. This ranks as a new low in the annals of American corporate history.

Harris County Stormwater Rules Discourage Clearcutting Giant Sites All at Once

What do best practices in the development industry have to say about clearing such large sites all at once?

Harris County Stormwater Quality Management regulations discourage clearcutting giant sites like Woodridge Village all at once. See section 4.2.3.1, Stormwater Pollution Prevention (SWPPP) During Construction. The text states, “The clearing, grubbing and scalping (mass clearing or grading) of excessively large areas of land at one time promotes erosion and sedimentation problems. On the areas where disturbance takes place the site designer should consider staging construction [emphasis added], temporary seeding and/or temporary mulching as a technique to reduce erosion. Staging construction involves stabilizing one part of the site before disturbing another [emphasis added].“

Of course, these are Harris County regulations and Woodridge Village sits in Montgomery County. Montgomery County has no comparable regulations posted on its website as far as I can tell.

Construction Sequencing Not Addressed In Construction Plans

Section 4.2.5 of the same Harris County document addresses Construction Sequencing. This section states, “The construction drawings should clearly state the designer’s intentions and an appropriate sequence of construction should be shown on the plans. This sequence should then be the topic of a detailed discussion at the pre-construction meeting (that must include the on-site responsible construction personnel) and then enforced by an appropriate inspection program throughout the construction period.”

That didn’t happen in Montgomery County either.

Another Conflict of Interest for LJA Engineering?

LJA Engineering plans that have become public to date do not address the sequencing of construction except for Phase 1 and Phase 2. (Curiously, they started Phase 2 first.) Nor was there adequate supervision during the months before May 7th. No sediment control measures, such as silt fencing, had been installed before then.

That’s a shame. Perhaps if they did, hundreds of homes may not have flooded on September 19th.

While searching the Montgomery County site for stormwater regulations, I was reminded that LJA Engineering manages the stormwater program and reporting for Montgomery County. LJA Engineering developed the plans for Woodridge Village, yet another apparent conflict of interest. LJA Engineering’s stamps are all over the hydrology plans for this development, too.

Perry Homes Gang Still Stalling Lawsuit, But Some Hope

Meanwhile, the Perry Homes gang is still stalling the Webster-Spurlock law suit against them. Two weeks after the judge in the case heard arguments in the motion to compel discovery, she still has not made a ruling.

However, there was some movement in the case last week. Lawyers for both sides agreed to keep all documents and depositions obtained during discovery confidential. Perry’s subsidiaries and contractors may have material that would embarrass the parent company if it became public. The court documents refer to “protecting trade secrets.” That sounds like convenient cover to me. How many trade secrets can there be about bulldozing dirt?

The intent of the order seems to be to keep documents away from the watchful eyes of the media, such as ReduceFlooding.com. On the plus side, though, lawyers tell me that sometimes such agreements may be a prelude to settlement talks. If this moves the case forward, I’m all for it. The flood victims desperately need help.

Posted by Bob Rehak on October 5, 2019

767 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 16 since Imelda

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

Harris County Declared Federal Disaster Area in Wake of Imelda; State Taking Control of Disaster Mitigation Funding

On October 1st, Governor Greg Abbott sent a disaster-request letter to President Trump in response to the damage caused by Tropical Storm Imelda. The 31-page letter to President Trump lays out the case for Federal aid. It also includes an impressive catalog of storm-related damages.

The thirteen counties impacted by Tropical Storm Imelda (Imelda) are still recovering from previous disasters, including Hurricane Harvey. The population of the counties affected by Imelda exceeds 7.59 million people. That represents more than a quarter of the state’s population.

Six Counties Declared Disaster Area

Abbott requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration for the six counties in the Gulf Coast region that sustained severe flooding. Today, the President granted Governor Abbott’s request.

That means Individual Assistance for those in Chambers, Harris, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, and Orange counties will now become available. The Governor’s press release states that “Individual Assistance includes up to $35,500 per household for damages sustained during the severe weather.”

“This means that even if people did not have flood insurance, they may receive financial aid and low-cost SBA loans,” said Kaaren Cambio, staff assistant for Congressman Dan Crenshaw.

GLO Designated to Lead Disaster Mitigation Efforts

In a separate statement, the Governor announced that Commissioner George P. Bush and the Texas General Land Office will lead the State’s comprehensive disaster mitigation program. Bush will direct more than $4 billion in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant for Mitigation (CDBG-MIT).

The program will prioritize large-scale, regional projects that increase the state’s resilience to disasters statewide, protect lives and mitigate against future hurricanes and other natural disasters. Bush says he will focus on projects that benefit the most Texans. That means “prioritizing regional partnerships to protect Texans from future storms.”

On August 23, 2019, HUD released mandatory rules for the use of more than $4.3 billion in funding for mitigation projects. They covered money appropriated by Congress on February 9, 2018. Before the GLO could begin drafting a state action plan, those rules had to be published in the Federal Register. The GLO has already begun drafting the plan. It should take approximately nine months or more to complete, at which time, the GLO can send it to HUD for approval.

In total, HUD allocated $4,383,085,000 in CDBG-MIT funds to Texas. Altogether, 140 Texas counties are eligible for some part of this allocation of funding for 2015, 2016, and 2017 (Hurricane Harvey) disasters.

ABC13 Says Choice of GLO Was Response to Slow Pace of Recovery

Ted Oberg of ABC13 News reported today that Abbott tapped the GLO because the City of Houston and Harris County were not moving fast enough with their flood mitigation efforts. The article’s headline says, “Slow pace costs Houston, Harris County control of flood money.” It begins, “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken notice of Houston’s slow-moving progress with its Harvey recovery program.”

“Houston and Harris County’s lack of movement on Harvey housing recovery is the reason the city and county will not get a direct allocation. Victims need this money. That’s why this will go through GLO,” Abbott spokesman John Wittman told 13 Investigates’ Ted Oberg.

In the Mayoral Debate on Wednesday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that the city had received $1.3 billion for home repair and recovery.

Oberg reported in June, 2019, that only four people received housing aid as of that date, despite private companies being paid millions to operate the program. Oberg says that the City’s latest figures show that since then, only an additional 11 people have received financial assistance, despite more than 16,400 homeowners expressing interest in it.

As of August 1, of the 4,900 people that the City invited to apply for its federally-funded Homeowner Assistance Programs, less than half submitted an application.

Reaction from Local Officials

According to Oberg, Mayor Sylvester Turner said, “It’s on them now.”

Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement to 13 Investigates. “While we’re disappointed in Governor Abbott’s decision to run this program out of Austin instead of providing us local control, we’ll continue to work as a team to make sure we apply every single federal dollar available towards building a stronger, safer Harris County.”

Questions Still Remain

It’s still unclear to me at this hour how the GLO’s focus on large scale mitigation projects affects individual homeowners seeking financial assistance. They seem to tap two different pots of money. But they also seem to have been conflated by the reporting on this issue. Let’s hope that the state can speed things up on both fronts. Flooded homeowners need help immediately, not three years after the disaster.

*More than a dozen homes on Dunnam Road near Tailor Gulley flooded for the second time in four months during Imelda.* *The owner of the home on the left told me he did not apply for federal assistance.*

Need to Re-engineer Disaster Mitigation is NOT in Question

As I’ve stated before, we need to re-engineer the whole disaster mitigation business. Sometimes fewer people, not more, can get results faster.

Harris County’s Final Harvey report stated: “Based on house flooding assessments, the estimated total number of homes flooded within Harris County is 154,170.” That only 15 homeowners have received HUD financial assistance more than two years after Harvey is an indictment of the whole crazy system that has evolved.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/3/2019

766 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 15 since Imelda

KSA Approves $60,000 to Begin Emergency Repairs to East End Park Immediately

At its monthly meeting, members of the KSA Parks Committee voted unanimously to approve $60,000 to begin emergency repairs to East End Park immediately. The vote followed a presentation by Bob Rehak (me), Park Steward; Dee Price, KSA President; and Maryanne Fortson, KSA Secretary and President of Fosters Mill.

Safety Concerns Jumpstart Repairs

The presentation detailed damage by Imelda and historic East Fork flooding that put most of the park under water during the tropical storm. Much of the discussion focused on safety concerns following a review of photos taken from land, boat and helicopter, including those below.

*Pelican Overlook Trail consumed by erosion from river during Imelda.*

*Same scene from river shows undercut banks. People standing near river could trigger dangerous cave ins.*

*More trail erosion in East End Park. The river migrated approximately 50 feet south consuming large parts of two trails.*

The photos (including those above) showed significant bank erosion to the northern shoreline of the park. The river undercut two trails as it migrated south about fifty feet during the storm. Parts of two trails fell into the river: the Pelican Overlook and Eagle Point Trails.

Photos (above) taken from Josh Alberson’s boat show significant undercutting of the shoreline in those areas. That means, someone standing on the edge could trigger a cave in.

KSA has tried to close the park three times, but people keep tearing down the warning signs.

Options Discussed but NOT Included in Emergency Repairs

As part of the discussion on the motion, the Committee examined several alternative solutions to restoring the park to full functionality.

A short new trail (further inland) will reconnect the two parts of the severed Pelican Overlook Trail.
Fallen logs will block off the parts of the existing trail in danger of caving into the river. Metal signs will be screwed into the logs warning people of dangers ahead.
KSA will abandon the Eagle Point Trail and rename it the “Dunes Area” of the park. Residents can still access the Dunes Area, but no trails will run through it. This will reduce current and future repair and maintenance costs; repairing that area consumed a large portion of the budget after Harvey. The dunes should offer a new experience for park-goers, especially those who like climbing or hiking in sand for cardio workouts.
As a separate project (not included in the $60,000), KSA will explore the cost of building a new trail that connects the South Loop and Pelican Overlook trails without going all the way back to the main entry trail. It would go to the south of the “overflow channel” that carries floodwater through that section of the park and would not require bridges.
Also as a separate project, KSA would compare two options for replacing a portion of the South Loop trail. The portion – between Heron’s Rest and the turn-off to the main boardwalk – turns into mud after every flood. The mud comes from several inches of silt deposited on TOP of the crushed granite trail. The first option: relocating the trail atop a berm that parallels the current trail about 50 feet further inland. The second option: replacing the current trail with a low boardwalk, like the ones near Alligator Alley.

Dunes Area Will Revert to Nature

*This birds’ nest used to be the height of a basketball hoop. After Imelda, it’s ankle high.* *Photo by John Knoezer.*

Emergency Repairs Will Include…

The Parks Committee appointed Rehak, Fortson and Price as a subcommittee to approve emergency repair costs, rather than wait another month for the Parks Committee to meet again. Included in the emergency repairs:

Tree removal, where necessary
Patching trails scoured by the flood to create a stable hiking and jogging surface
Resurfacing most muddy areas with crushed granite
Boardwalk repairs
Restoring the telephone poles in the parking lot to their original positions
Replacing trail underliner on hills with gravel to create a more stable base for crushed granite. The latter will form the top finished surface.
Erecting barricades and signs warning of hazardous conditions where the river undercut existing trails
Cleaning all boardwalks and benches
Removing all flood debris from trails.

Restoring An Ecological Gem

An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 visitors per year use East End Park. It is an ecological gem, valued as much for the 150 bird species that migrate through the park and a herd of deer that lives in the park year round, as for the quiet, restorative atmosphere that bonds families together on nature walks.

Five area cross country teams also use the park for practice. Joggers value the soft surface of crushed granite. It’s much easier on knees and backs than concrete.

East End Park is also one of the few dog-friendly parks in the City of Houston. Different people like the park for different reasons. It has so much to offer.

I remember one time, seeing a man sitting at a new bench in a particularly beautiful part of the park. He came day after day to walk in beauty and meditate on nature. One day, I asked him what he got out of it. It gave him the motivation, he said, to cope with chemo.

The poster below shows how the park looked then and how it will soon look again.

*What East End Park looked like BEFORE Imelda.*

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/3/2019 with gratitude to Josh Alberson, John Knoezer, Dee Price, Maryanne Fortson, National Helicopter Service and the entire KSA Parks Committee

765 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 14 since Imelda

City of Houston Files Cease-and-Desist Order Against Perry Homes, Double Oak, and Figure Four Partners

Houston City Council Member Dave Martin would like for Kingwood residents to know that the City of Houston has filed cease-and-desist orders against Perry Homes, Double Oak Construction, Inc., and Figure Four Partners, Ltd. for the discharge of stormwater from the Woodridge Village development site.

*Erosion within Woodridge Forest. Photo taken two days after Imelda on 9/21/2019*

*How the streets looked in Elm Grove on 9/20/2019.*

Basis of Cease-and-Desist Order

These cease-and-desist orders were issued in response to the discharge of sand, silt, sediment, and debris from the development site into the Municipal Storm Sewer System (MS4) on September 19, 2019.

This discharge is in direct violation of City of Houston Ordinance: ARTICLE XII. – STORM WATER DISCHARGES, DIVISION 5 – ILLICIT DISCHARGES AND CONNECTIONS, Section 47-741 – Discharge to MS4 prohibited (a) A person commits an offense if the person threatens to introduce, introduces or causes to be introduced into the MS4 any discharge that is not composed entirely of storm water.

Severe Damage to COH Property and Citizens

This discharge has caused severe damage to the City of Houston’s MS4 and to the property of the citizens of the City of Houston.

As a result of this discharge, the City of Houston started last week a 12-week extensive investigation of the stormwater system located within Elm Grove and other effected communities within the far northeast section of Kingwood. This investigation is currently 10 percent complete.

Another Update Coming on October 17

Another update on this investigation will be provided during the Council Member Martin’s Kingwood Town Hall Meeting to be held on Thursday, October 17, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. located at the Kingwood Community Center (4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood, TX 77345).

Council Member Martin is actively pursuing additional measures to be taken to further protect the residents of Kingwood. Although he has not yet specified what those are, members of his staff implied that they may be seeking to throw executives for the defendants into jail until the situation is remedied.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/2/2019

764 Days After Hurricane Harvey and 13 after Imelda