A close reading of the Woodridge Village Section One plat shows that the Montgomery County engineer disclaimed any responsibility for the impact of Woodridge Village both upstream and downstream, in fact, anywhere in the watershed. At the same time, the county engineer certified that the plans developed by LJA Engineering met all the requirements of Montgomery County Commissioners. See below.
Enlargement from first page of plat for Woodridge Village.
Gaps in Regulations
On May 7th, at least 196 homes flooded downstream of Woodridge Village. Many other homes in Porter also flooded on the upstream side of the subdivision.
This raises the question of whether Montgomery County floodplain regulations are sufficient to protect neighboring residents.
To complicate matters, the flooding happened before construction of several detention ponds – despite the fact that the land near the area that flooded had been clearcut for more than six months. However…
According to Montgomery County’s Floodplain Administrator, County regulations look only at pre- and post-construction runoff rates. They do not address anything that happens during construction.
Montgomery County has no regulations that dictate the sequence of construction. For instance, could building detention ponds on one section of land before clearcutting another have reduced flood risk and averted disaster?
Need for More Consistency to Protect Neighbors
I have previously posted about the differences in floodplain building regulations in various jurisdictions. These differences cause confusion for residents and property owners. They may feel protected when builders ten feet away on the other side of a county or city line play by an entirely different set of rules.
These gaps in regulation provide a good example of why the State of Texas should step in and bring some uniformity to guidelines. We need sensible regulations that enable growth without endangering downstream residents.
The thoughts in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the great State of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/24/2019
664 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Screen-Shot-2019-06-23-at-5.59.29-PM-e1561331450467.png?fit=1500%2C445&ssl=14451500adminadmin2019-06-23 19:39:052019-06-23 20:01:43Fine Print: Montgomery County Engineer Disclaimed Responsibility for Impact of Woodridge on Upstream and Downstream Drainage
Since Harvey, the Lake Houston Area has seen some huge changes for the better in the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA). When the Governor visited Kingwood and took a helicopter tour of the San Jacinto River basin after Harvey, he directed the SJRA to establish a flood mitigation division. He also appointed two directors from the Lake Houston area to ensure downstream representation on the SJRA board.
Many Improvements Since March 2018
Since then, Kaaren Cambio and Mark Micheletti, the two new directors from the Lake Houston area, have led the charge to lower Lake Conroe seasonally. This ensures a greater buffer against floods.
The effort paid off this year when heavy back-to-back-to-back rains in early May would have forced a large release from Lake Conroe had it not already been lowered. That release, added to already swollen tributaries, would almost certainly have threatened low lying homes and businesses.
The SJRA will again lower Lake Conroe during the peak of Hurricane season. Starting August 1, it will take Lake Conroe down one foot. Beginning August 15, they will take it down another foot until October 1.
The SJRA is also working with Harris County Flood Control to install more upstream gages and turn the Harris County Flood Warning System into a Regional Flood Warning System with customizable alerts. The goals: create more awareness of upstream dangers to give people more time to evacuate and save valuables in the event of a flood. Said another way, avoid middle-of-the-night surprises like we had during Harvey.
Finally, the SJRA is leading a joint river basin study that hopefully will lay the groundwork for additional upstream detention, more flood gates for Lake Houston, and an ongoing maintenance dredging program. So, many good things are happening.
Cambio’s Term Expiring
However, Cambio’s term on the board expires this year. She wants to stay in the position and I hope she does. Cambio has worked tirelessly to mitigate flooding on so many levels. Her position as a key staffer for Congressman Dan Crenshaw also makes her uniquely qualified to help coordinate efforts from Federal, State and local agencies. She deserves reappointment.
The answer is, “In the short term, no.” Cambio’s seat on the board is the only one up for renewal this year.
SJRA Sunset Review Coming Up
However, in two years, the entire SJRA will come under close scrutiny as part of a sunset review. A sunset review is an evaluation of the need for the continued existence of a program or an agency. It assesses their effectiveness and performance, and recommends either retaining, modifying, or terminating them.
No one expects the SJRA to be terminated. But many other river authorities that have gone through the sunset review process, have had a complete overhaul, said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Sunset Commission has been brutal at times. For instance, between 2016 and 2017, the Commission reviewed four river authorities and noted:
“Sulpher River Basin Authority Board has not built the trust needed to effectively carry out its mission.”
“Central Colorado River Authority no longer serves a necessary public purpose.”
“Upper Colorado River Authority has not set priorities to ensure its operations meet changing local watershed needs.”
“Palo Duro River Authority of Texas lacks flexibility to adapt to changed local circumstances.”
Their report makes fascinating reading. One thing that became clear in scanning it is that, like most good performance reviews, the Commission judges performance against objectives. In the case of these Authorities, enabling legislation spells out the objectives.
Enabling Legislation Established SJRA Goals
That prompted me to review the enabling legislation for the SJRA. The sections discussing goals begin on page 2 of this PDF. I have summarized them below.
The state created the SJRA (originally called the San Jacinto River Conservation and Reclamation District) to “conserve, control, and utilize to beneficial service the storm and flood waters of the rivers and streams of the State.” Section 2 of the enabling legislation mentions floodwaters three times.
Prevent the devastation of land from recurrent overflows.
Protect life and property.
Regulate the waters of the San Jacinto River and its tributaries.
Build dams and distribution networks that provide waters for cities, towns, irrigation, agriculture, commercial, industrial, mining and other beneficial uses.
Develop drainage systems that enable profitable agricultural production.
Conserve “soils against destructive erosion and thereby preventing the increased flood menace incident thereto.”
Forest and reforest the watershed to aid in the prevention of soil erosion and floods.
Encourage, aid, and protect navigation and harbor improvements.
Acquire land for parks and recreation, and to build park and recreational facilities thereon.
Dispose of sewage and industrial waste.
Construct, improve, maintain, operate and repair water and sewage plants and distribution networks.
How Would You Rate Performance against These Goals?
It seems to me that the SJRA does a great job at its basic mission. And they’re improving at flood mitigation. However, for decades, the SJRA ignored other crucial parts of its job description, including flood and erosion prevention; reforestation; parks and recreation; and navigation protection. In fairness, the Legislature never funded those mandates. The SJRA’s only income comes from the sale of water which it impounds.
Still, you would think somebody could pick up a phone and call the TCEQ for help with some of these things. For instance, sand mines along the banks of the river dump effluent and sediment directly into the drinking water supply for millions of people. It will be interesting to see what kind of changes the Texas Sunset Commission recommends when the SJRA comes up for review.
For an interesting history of the SJRA, see Chapter 4 of this doctoral dissertation by Andrew C. Baker at Rice University. It paints a fascinating picture of the problems the SJRA had in originally fulfilling its basic mission and how the SJRA overcame them with help from the City of Houston.
Note: For future reference, the SJRA enabling legislation has been added to the Reports page under the SJRA tab.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/23/2019
663 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Untitled-1.jpg?fit=260%2C279&ssl=1279260adminadmin2019-06-23 00:22:542024-05-09 20:16:47SJRA Update, Upcoming Sunset Review and Enabling Legislation
In 1969, the rock group Three Dog Night released a hit recording called “One is the Loneliest Number.” As I listened to Elaine Phillips tell me her story about the May 7th flood, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. Elaine, still fighting off the effects of chemo, found herself alone at home with floodwaters rising around her for the fifth time since 1997. With her husband in New York on business, and her grown children in Austin and Houston’s Midtown area, this CPA is now trying to fight cancer, contractors, and “government logic” – by herself. As this Kings Forest resident reaches for the Xanax, she’s still reaching out to help other “flood virgins,” as she calls them. Below are portions of my interview with a woman “at the end of her tether.”
Rehak: You bought this home in…
Phillips: July of 1997.
Rehak: And you’ve flooded how many times since?
Flooded Five Times in 22 years
Phillips: This is my fifth, I think. And it had flooded two times before we moved in.
Rehak: I took a picture of you earlier pointing to the water level from Harvey on your house. It looked like at least six feet.
Elaine Phillips showing how high the water reached in her home during Harvey.
Phillips: Yeah.
Rehak: You were reaching well above your head. Did it get that high previously?
Phillips: Just enough to require three feet of your wall to be ripped down.
Water height on May 7Erosion from/through the Phillips’ yard has likely caused sediment to alter the gradient in her drainage ditch.
Rehak: Earlier today, you and I walked around your property. You showed me a berm that your landscaper built to help divert water from your house to the drainage ditch. Erosion from that water was starting to crack your driveway and expose a drain pipe from your pool. So you’ve lost soil back there. And the water isn’t draining fully to the corner where it should. The city inspector who came out and talked to you about it said it was…?
Phillips: “Performing as designed. No action needed.”
Water sometimes flows backward from the drain toward the Phillips house.
Rehak: Your response to that was?
Phillips: It was designed to flood my home? Then success! (She throws up her hands and laughs.)
Rehak: Do you think that eroded sediment may have altered the gradient in the ditch and be backing water up?
Phillips: Absolutely. Sometimes it flows backward in the ditch…away from the drain. I’ve lived here since ‘97 and we’ve never had the ditches worked on. Logic tells you that the sediment that gets left behind on all of these heavy rains is going to change the landscape and create more problems.
Just Finished Harvey Repairs and Then…
Rehak: What happened on May 7th?
Phillips: The first thing we always notice is the backyard filling up.
Rehak: And then?
Phillips: Within a heartbeat, it’s over the pool. And once it’s over the pool, it’s up to the back door.
On May 7, water started seeping through the back of the house from the pool area.
Rehak: And?
Phillips: Then I noticed it coming in. I ran to the front door and then it starts coming in there, too. But it starts at the back first. Then I watch the pool and once the pool has overflowed I know it’s a matter of minutes.
Rehak: You said on May 7th that the first water came from the back.
Phillips: The laundry room right there is where I noticed it first. I always start by putting a bunch of towels in front. Isn’t that adorable? Thinking that it’s just a little bit. And so I had towels in all the doors. I even sandbagged for Harvey. That was adorable, too.
Rehak: On May 7th, how long after the start of the rain did it take for the water to get in your house?
Phillips: It started around 10:30 a.m. and was in by 12:44 p.m. That’s when I shot this photo. There were never any breaks in it for the drains to catch up.
Video showing intensity of rain on May 7, 2019.
Home Alone
Rehak: Your husband was working in New York?
Phillips: In the Empire State Building. I texted him that we were flooding and asked whether he was going to come home? He said, “Only if you need me.”
Rehak: He wins the sensitivity award.
Phillips: I’m glad you see the humor in that. I did what I could. I had already started taking some stuff upstairs. Then the next morning I just got in my car with my dogs and drove to Austin, where I stayed for five days.
Refurbishing the kitchen that had just been refurbished from Harvey.
Begging for a Buyout
Rehak: Would you accept a buyout?
Phillips: We’ve begged for one. FEMA has paid us around a million dollars over these five floods. It just makes common sense. As a CPA, I ask, “When do you cut your losses?” You buy this home and quit paying these people two to three hundred thousand every time they flood. But unfortunately FEMA’s not really here. We need to appeal to Harris County. I did speak to the county guy and he said they don’t buy out homes that aren’t adjacent to Flood Control property. So they continue to pay out. Hundreds of thousands each time it floods.
Rehak: You paid how much for your house?
Phillips: $180,000 back in 1997.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed.Luckily, the home has an upstairs.
Repetitive Losses Add Up to 4-5X Value of House
Rehak: So they’ve already paid out the value of the house about five times!
Phillips: I don’t know what one hundred and eighty thousand dollars in 1997 would equal in 2019. But yes, they’ve paid four to five times – at least. Thankfully, we’ve always had flood insurance from the day we bought it. I don’t think it was in a flood zone back then, but I think it’s deemed a 100-year flood zone now. We barely got done with the repairs from Harvey when May 7th hit. Our appliances were less than a year old!
The Phillips’ garage has become a carpentry shop.
One Problem on Top of Another
Rehak: You’re in chemo. Life’s been ganging up on you lately.
Phillips: I was diagnosed with cancer last November. It was a reoccurrence. I had cancer in 2009. I was in chemo from December to April and then two weeks after my last chemo, we flooded. And now I get to do this (gesturing to the construction work all around us). And I will say if there’s anything positive that came from it is that it has forced me to get up and start moving. I couldn’t just lay around convalescing.
Rehak: Your kids are grown and gone. Your son is in…
Phillips: Austin.
Rehak: Your daughter is in…
Phillips: Austin and the youngest son is down in Midtown in Houston.
Rehak: And your husband is working in New York. You’re in a floating home. On chemo. Can it possibly get any worse?
Phillips: You know what? The sad thing is I know it can. And so I always feel blessed as long as my children are safe and healthy. The fact is this house is paid for. Yes, I can continue to live in it. I’ll just live upstairs and come down to cook or whatever.
Ideally, I would like to sell it. Or be bought out and then move to a house on a hill. A small house on a hill.
Lox and louvers for breakfast, anyone?
Feelings Toward Governmental Entities
Rehak: How has the government handled your case? You’ve dealt with them on the buyout issue…the drainage issue. What are you feeling at this point?
Phillips: Believe or not, I actually have nothing but positive feelings about FEMA other than the fact that they need an accountant that says, “Hey let’s quit paying this Phillips family. Let’s just buy their house.” Other than that, they pay quickly. Which makes it easy to get a contractor because if they know you have FEMA, they know they will get paid. In that respect, I have no problems with FEMA.
The City? I’ve talked to well-meaning people; the man that came today couldn’t have been more polite. But nothing gets done. And there’s no rhyme or reason to what they do. They’re grading ditches two streets over. but not here.
Rehak: So they’re grading ditches where people didn’t flood and not grading them where people did flood?
Phillips: Yes. They said, “Your area is at a lower elevation.” So basically, they’re saying, “You can’t be helped.” But I said, “So the people that need it most don’t get help?” The idiocy of it all! (She practically growls at this point.)
Getting to a Happy Place
Rehak: What would you like to see happen now?
Phillips: In the short term as in now, tomorrow, next week? I would love the ditches to be regraded. From my house to the corner at the proper slope.
Rehak: That would cost less than fixing up the house again. (Then…noticing that she seems almost happy.) You don’t seem very stressed, despite all of this.
Phillips: I’ve been stressed since this entire thing started. The City, the County, the contractor, the workers, the adjuster…who has been a complete jerk this time…they all pushed me to the edge. And then health issues, I’ve been so stressed out.
But then yesterday, something came over me. I just thought “I don’t even care anymore” and it was such a freeing feeling. When I was diagnosed six months ago, my doctor prescribed me some some Xanax (an anti-anxiety medication). I’m not sure where the Xanax is now, but I think I need to find it and just go to my happy place. (She laughs.)
I will just walk my dogs. WHISTLING a tune and I do not even care. I will say this. Purging your home was an oddly good feeling to it. Nothing purges your home like a flood.
Putting Albums 4′ Up and Getting 6′ of Water
The worst part was, stupidly, things that belonged to my mom who is no longer with me. I lost all of that. It was on the first floor. My photo albums of my children. I put them on shelves four feet high. Then we got six feet of water. So, I’ve lost all of the things that can’t be replaced. That breaks my heart. I still kept those photo albums, but they’ve swollen like this big (she spreads her arms wide). And every time I open them I just want to cry, so I just don’t anymore. But as far as things, you know…clothes, shoes…I lost everything I owned. I don’t care.
Rehak: Where do you go from here?
Phillips: Ideally…SELL IT. My husband has wanted to downsize forever. I just need to have a bit of a yard for the dogs…and on a hill. I don’t need a six bedroom, four-and-a-half bath house. I don’t regret living here one bit because my kids growing up here had an awesome time. I couldn’t have wished for a better neighborhood.
Rehak: What else would you like to tell people?
Looking for Results
Phillips: Everybody I talk to has been great. But I just haven’t seen any results. Even getting the debris picked up took a long time. It took four work requests. You put in a work request on 3-1-1. And then they say, “OK we’ll be out on such and such a day.” But then they didn’t come.
When I called to see what happened, they said, “Well, that work order is closed. It’s complete.” I say. “No, it’s not. The trash is still there.” So they rescheduled it and told me, “They’re coming tomorrow.” And guess what. They didn’t come again. It took four requests before they finally came!
I think what put me over the edge before I arrived at my Xanax Happy Place was knowing that they graded the ditches over on Valley Manor. And that’s all I wanted here all along.
Rehak: I feel for you.
Flood Virgins
Phillips: I’d already been through chemo twice. It was hell. But never in my wildest dreams did I think a day of heavy rain would flood me.
The people in Elm Grove. It broke my heart watching them being interviewed on TV, because I believe the majority of them did not have flood insurance. They had no reason to think they needed it when they were interviewing them on TV. They were just crying and sobbing. Grown men were crying! And it really broke my heart even though I was in the same boat, but I jokingly referred to them as “flood virgins” because they had no idea what it’s like. The heartbreak and the lack of control. There’s nothing you can do.
Tips for Dealing with Contractors
A lot of them had questions. Who do I call? What do I do? Can anyone recommend a contractor? They didn’t know where to go. I know it so well I don’t even need a contractor anymore. Maybe I should become their contractor.
Despite digging in her heels from time to time, Elaine Phillips contractor has returned for the last three floods. She must be doing something right.
Rehak: Any tips for dealing with contractors?
Phillips: Except for $10,000 to $15,000 to get them started upfront, pay after the work is done. Only dole out money for work that’s completed. And don’t feel like you’re being bitchy if you say, “Well, I’ve already given you five thousand or ten thousand and you’ve only done this.” No. You dig in your heels. The contractor and I have a love/hate relationship. He loves it because we pay him. We pay him on time. And we pay him the full amount. But he also knows he has to work hard.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/21/2019
661 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PhillipsElaine_01_01.jpg?fit=1000%2C1500&ssl=115001000adminadmin2019-06-21 17:55:082019-06-21 19:21:23Elaine Phillips’ May 7th Flood Story: One is the Loneliest Number
HB 1820 gives the Liberty County Drainage District authority to: issue bonds; impose assessments, fees, or taxes; and exercise limited powers of eminent domain.
The Senate Research Center’s analysis of the bill noted the high amount of damage in Harris County due to Hurricane Harvey. Stakeholders from the Liberty county hoped to avoid that kind of damage by creating the Drainage District. The Senate Research Center found that, “Areas within Liberty County are prone to flooding, especially where there are low-lying areas, undersized culverts and bridges, and railroads, just to name a few. The creation of a drainage district would provide an additional funding mechanism, through grants or ad valorem taxes, for improvements.”
Local Bill Passed Almost Unanimously
The bill, which applies only to Liberty County, passed both houses with one dissenting vote in the Senate and only four in the House.
Map of Liberty, County Texas.
The bill creates a temporary board of directors which must hold a confirmation election with the public before September of 2022.
Liberty County is mostly rural and agricultural. In the 2010 census, it had a population of just 75,563.
Liberty County borders Harris County on the east. It extends from Cleveland to below Crosby. It includes Dayton and the town of Liberty on FM1960. The Trinity river runs through Liberty County as well as the Luce Bayou Inter-basin Transfer Project. That project pumps water from Lake Livingston and the Trinity River to Lake Houston to help ensure our future water supply.
The Texas Water Development Board lists the Trinity River as the longest in the state with a watershed entirely within Texas. Twenty-two tributaries drain into the 710 mile long river which has a watershed of approximately 18,000 square miles.
It will be important for Liberty and Harris County Flood Control/Drainage Districts to work together to help mitigate flooding in areas such as Huffman near the county line.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/20/2019
660 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Liberty-County.jpg?fit=1500%2C1170&ssl=111701500adminadmin2019-06-20 18:29:522019-06-21 07:16:57Legislature Creates Liberty County Drainage District, Subject to Confirmation Election
Yesterday, I posted about the discovery of something called the Odom Lake Swamp on a 70-year-old map. Many of the homes that flooded in Elm Grove on May 7 were built in or near it. But learning that required scaling and aligning maps in Photoshop. It’s a time consuming process and not everyone has Photoshop. If you’re considering buying a piece of property, luckily, there’s an easier way to check on its past: the history function in Google Earth Pro.
History Function In Google Earth Pro
Google Earth Pro contains dozens of aerial and satellite images that are already scaled and aligned. The program is a free download and makes scrolling back through time simple. When you first open the program, you’ll see a map of the world. Click on the area that interests you to zoom closer in steps.
Then:
From the menu at the top of the screen, select “View/Historical Imagery”
Click on the Clock icon in the menu bar.
Arrows and a timeline will appear at the top left of the screen.
Scroll back and forth through time by clicking on the arrows.
To show streets that exist today (but that didn’t exist when the image was taken), select View/Sidebar. Then check Labels/Borders and Roads.
Here’s what you see when you scroll back to 1978 (minus the red circle which I added to highlight the area of interest).
Odom Lake Swamp in 1978.
Looking at this, you wouldn’t have known that the large flat, featureless area was called Odom Lake Swamp. But you could tell that something unusual was going on there. And that might tell you to dig further into the area’s history.
“Reading” Satellite and Aerial Images
Google Earth Pro doesn’t show contour intervals as a topographic map would. Nevertheless, it can still tell you a lot. Flat featureless areas like this in the middle of dense forests can indicate ponding, at least on a seasonal basis. Translation: Low area.
Note several other discontinuities in the image above:
A small pond in the lower left (north of Sherwood Trails)
A depression near the upper left that interrupts the straight white line
A triangular area in the upper right where no trees are growing.
In the image below, I zoomed in closer on the Odom Lake Swamp. The image shows what at the time was a dry lake bed. Taylor Gulley had just reached the area and had most likely drained what was a seasonal pond or swampy area. Taylor Gulley itself (bottom right) had not yet been excavated to the county line (thin green diagonal line in upper left).
Close up of Odom Lake Swamp. Taylor Gulley at the bottom was still under development at the time of this image in 1978. Streets had not yet been built in this area. The white lines show where streets are today.
Nature Never Forgets
As one expert told me: “Where old channels, swamps, meanders, etc. were filled in, during major floods, water always seeks the lowest point. Even if you fill in an area, it usually is still the lowest point of a larger area (or watershed) and during large rain storms, the water finds its way there.”
It only takes a one degree slope to make water move across concrete (two degrees through grass or foliage). That’s barely visible. It underscores the need to consult maps and tools like Google Earth when buying property.
Awareness of potential problems is your best way to prepare for or avoid them.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Odum1978.jpg?fit=1500%2C1062&ssl=110621500adminadmin2019-06-20 14:20:082019-06-20 14:21:10Google Earth Pro: Another, Easy Way to Check on a Property’s Hydrologic History
A 1949 map of the area now called Kingwood reveals that the homes in Elm Grove that flooded on May 7 were built in something once called the Odom Lake Swamp. It turns out, “Nature never forgets.”
Area of interest for this discussion is circled in red.
I previously posted about this map in the context of how the West Fork has shifted over time. At the end of the post, I asked readers to write me if they found anything else interesting. One did. And it was a very interesting indeed.
He pointed to the area circled in red above. When I superimposed that over the present-day image below, my jaw dropped.
Same general area that was superimposed over old map.
It’s True. Nature Never Forgets
The area labelled Odom Lake Swamp matches very closely the outline of the May 7 flood in Elm Grove that damaged almost 200 homes.
I used the county line and the confluence of the East and West Forks to align the two images, then cropped this out of the center.
The reader who reported this came up with a slightly different map that shifts the label “Odom Lake Swamp” to the west side of Village Springs. I am not sure what alignment points he used, but his work and mine closely match.
At a Houston Geological Society seminar on flooding that I attended last year, I remember several speakers talking about this phenomenon, including former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. During heavy rainfalls, water gravitates toward its original channels.
One expert, who talked to me on condition of anonymity because of the lawsuits swirling around this issue, explained it this way. “Where old channels, swamps, meanders, etc. were filled in, during major floods, water always seeks the lowest point. Even if you fill in an area, it usually is still the lowest point of a larger area (or watershed) and during large rain storms, the water finds its way there.”
Current Flood Map Echoes 1949 Map
He attributed the Elm Grove flooding to a combination of clear cutting without mitigation upstream, heavy rainfall, and lower elevation. In fact, FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer Viewer shows that this part of Elm Grove is in the 100-year (aqua) and 500-year flood plains.
I’m not a lawyer and I don’t give legal advice, but it seems to me that this finding does little to change the legal lay of the land (no pun intended).
The residents south and east of Woodridge Village, despite being lower than surrounding areas, had never flooded before – even in Harvey.
Had those ponds been in place, they should have held 13 inches of rain (a 100-year) rainfall. We didn’t get that much. The gage at US59 recorded 6.24 inches on May 7 over six hours. The heaviest rain fell during the noon hour when we got 3.64 inches.
From HarrisCountyFWS.org for May 7. The other official nearby gage at West Lake Houston Parkway received less rain that day.
Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner characterized the May 7th event as somewhere between a two and 50-year rain. Experiment with the different possibilities on the chart below.
NOAA Atlas 14 precipitation frequency chart.
Ten Lessons of May 7th
So aside from the Odom Lake Swamp being a historical curiosity, what can readers learn from this.
Flooding doesn’t always come from the river. Streets can flood homes when the rainfall rate exceeds the capacity of storm drains.
Before you buy a home, check historical maps. Learn whether the developer filled in lakes, ponds, swamps, or wetlands and then built your home on top of them. Remember: Nature never forgets!
If the answer is yes, question how much you want the property. Use the knowledge to negotiate a discount with which you can purchase flood insurance. That’s the best way to discourage unsafe development practices.
If you live downstream of an undeveloped area, be aware that floodplains are a shifting target. Just because you’re NOT in a floodplain today is no guarantee that you won’t be tomorrow. Upstream development can cause downstream flooding. So watch carefully.
Pay no attention to anyone who says, “Oh, that area will never be developed.” The more worthless the land, the bigger the profit potential.
If you live in this area, get flood insurance.
If you buy a low-lying home, be prepared to have your life disrupted.
Buyer beware.
Pressure your elected representatives to turn areas such as Woodridge Village into park land. When it was wetlands, it protected the people downstream from flooding and provided recreation.
Buying the property north of Elm Grove could have cost less than the damage to one home. (See appraisal below). Not buying the property was a costly decision.
Ironically, the Montgomery County appraisal district values the 60+ acres of land north of Elm Grove at about a quarter million dollars.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/19/2019
659 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Elm-Grove-Circled-1949.jpg?fit=1500%2C978&ssl=19781500adminadmin2019-06-19 18:25:082019-06-20 13:38:14Nature Never Forgets: Lessons of May 7th Flooding
Tonight, the Lake Houston area is under yet another flash flood watch. Residents of North Kingwood Forest and Elm Grove are wondering whether a new detention pond in Woodridge Village will be enough to protect them.
Another 1-4 Inches of Rain Possible
We may get another chance to test the engineering on the detention ponds in that new Woodridge Village under development in Montgomery County. Our area received 1-3″ of rain today and more is on the way tonight. The area remains under a flash flood watch until 7a.m. Monday morning.
Heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms will be possible tonight into early Monday.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist warned at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night that, “Numerous thunderstorms are in progress over portions of Liberty, Harris, and Montgomery Counties. Heavy rainfall is the main threat with these cells with recent HCFCD gages in SE Montgomery County recording 2.60 inches in 1 hour. Additional rainfall amounts tonight of 1-2 inches with isolated totals of up to 4 inches are possible.”
The storms appear to be fast moving so the higher totals are less likely than in early May when approximately 200 homes flooded in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest just south and east of the area that Woodridge contractors had clearcut.
Role of Detention Pond in Reducing Flood Potential
Had the Woodridge Village S2 Detention Pond been excavated before May 7, it might have prevented much of the flooding. But despite the land being cleared for approximately six months, the pond had not yet been built. LJA Engineers designed the pond to hold 50 acre-feet of runoff. What does that mean?
How Much is An Acre Foot?
One acre foot would cover an entire acre to a depth of one foot. An acre is about the size of a football field. That means 50 acre feet would cover:
One football field to a depth of 50 feet
50 football fields to a depth of one foot
Or, in the case, of this pond, about 3.5 acres to a depth of about 15 feet.
The pictures below show what it looks like today. Very little of this area was excavated on May 7.
S2 has the shape of a hockey stick. Here’s the “face” of the stick. It took a 14mm super-wide-angle lens to get the width of this pond in the frame.This conveys its width but does not adequately convey its depth.This panoramic image was stitched together in Photoshop from seven still images taken with a normal focal length lens. It more accurately conveys the height of the sides. But there’s still nothing in the frame to communicate scale.Although the sides don’t look tall in the previous photo, this is what they look like when you turn and face them. This shot was taken while standing near the bottom. My eye level is more than six feet high and didn’t come halfway up the slope.This notch in the wall of the pond allows water from the ditch behind the grass to overflow into the pond instead of flooding North Kingwood Forest (behind the tree line. That’s the theory anyway … if the calculations are correct.The red circle shows the location of the notch between the pond and drainage ditch beyond it.
Hopefully, the amount of detention in place tonight is enough to handle the rain we get.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/16/2019
656 Days after Hurricane Harvey
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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Woodridge6.17.19_01_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-06-16 22:40:432019-06-16 22:43:09Flash Flood Watch in Effect Until 7 a.m. Monday; Luckily, Woodridge Detention Pond Nearing Completion
Officials close to the project say actual dredging could start as early as next week. Dredgers only need more 24″ pipe to pump the sediment 10 miles back upstream to placement area #2, an old sand pit near Kingwood College. However, the City and Corps are still debating the volume deposited by Harvey. The Corps has not yet divulged where it plans to start dredging, what its objectives are for this phase of the project, or what the contributions of other partners will be.
New Drone Video of Mouth Bar by Jim Zura of Zura Productions
New drone footage of the West Fork mouth bar shows just how much the mouth bar has grown since Harvey. I took the still shot immediately below from a helicopter two weeks after Harvey. To see what it looks like today, scroll down. Kingwood-based Jim Zura of Zura Productions shot two new drone videos this morning. They show what the mouth bar looks like 22 months later. As you watch the videos shot from different elevations, consider the immensity of the bar compared to the dredge at the tail end of each video.
Five hundred thousand cubic yards will not come close to restoring the full conveyance of the West Fork. How does 500,000 cubic yards compare with what NEEDS to be dredged?
Let’s start by looking at the channel that the Corps is dredging upriver and assume that they will extend that between the mouth bar and Atascocita Point. That strategy follows the relict channel. The relict channel is also the path with the least sediment at the moment. So that would make the most efficient use of funds.
Let’s also assume that the channel needs to be dredged an average of five yards (15 feet) deeper than its current depth along that path in order to match the profile below.
Endpoint of current dredge program shows channel 22.5′ deep by 400′ wide..
A “budget” of 500,000 cubic yards would allow you to dredge a channel 133 yards (400 feet) wide 5 yards deeper and 752 yards long. That equals 500,080 cubic yards. But 752 linear yards is only about one-fourth of the 3,000+ yards to the FM1960 bridge. And we haven’t even touched the mouth bar!
West Fork Map shows difference in sedimentation between 2010 and 2017. Note the white and violet areas near the FM1960 bridge. Red/orange/yellow/green areas represent decreases in sediment. Blue, violet and white represent increases.
Clearly, dredging the rest of the way to the bridge will require more money from the State, County and/or City. Thankfully for the Lake Houston Area, all of those entities have already allocated funds.
Details Yet to Work Out
However, the City, Harris County, and State of Texas have even more hurdles to clear beyond the volume debate.
They must find a suitable storage site that can accommodate all the sediment they hope to dredge. The storage site represents the biggest obstacle at the moment and a limiting factor.
The Corps would prefer a below ground site, i.e., an abandoned sand pit. That would reduce the risk of future floods carrying sediment back into the river. Also, it would NOT encroach on the flood plain.
Finally, the closer the site is to the dredging, the faster and cheaper the project. Long pipelines lead to more breakdowns. And each additional booster pump uses 1000 gallons of diesel per day.
Latest on Madden Property
The largest property evaluated so far is a 4000-acre site owned by Berry Madden of Humble. Madden’s property is close – half the distance of the sand mine on Sorters Road. It is also large enough to accommodate all the sediment people want to remove – including sediment from maintenance dredging down the road. Permitting one property instead of several would save lots of time (perhaps years).
But storage on Madden’s property would be above ground. Until someone builds on it, that introduces an element of risk that below-ground storage does not have. Madden has conducted an environmental survey of his property and is now conducting an archeological survey required for a storage permit. The Corps has not yet approved his property.
A source close to negotiations says the Corps is considering approving half of the Madden site for now while it performs additional evaluations of the rest of the site. That might be enough to accommodate immediate needs, reduce the cost of pumping sediment ten miles upstream, and provide storage room for future maintenance dredging.
80,000 CY More Sediment Deposited Since Last Survey
Meanwhile, time and sediment march on. Sources say the Corps recently found another 80,000 cubic yards of sediment deposited in the mouth bar area since the last survey after Harvey.
This supports the theory of two top local geologists, RD Kissling and Tim Garfield, who predicted that the mouth bar would form a dam that accelerated sedimentation. That theory also explains why the mouth bar must be removed, or at least why we must dredge a channel around it ASAP.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/18/2019with drone footage courtesy of Jim Zura, Zura Productions
658 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FirstDroneVideo.jpg?fit=1500%2C839&ssl=18391500adminadmin2019-06-16 12:55:552019-06-18 17:39:41Dredge Finally Reaches Mouth Bar
When Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest flooded on May 7, the Woodridge Village contractor had cleared most of the 268 acres of land north and west of them. The contractor also had sloped the drainage toward those subdivisions without first installing a critical 50 acre-foot detention pond to intercept runoff. Tonight after months of delays, and the flooding of almost 200 homes, work on that pond is almost complete.
S2 Pond Finally Connected to Drainage Ditch Today
Regular readers may remember plans call for a 15-foot deep detention pond shaped somewhat like a hockey stick (see below). The area circled in red is the channel that will connect the pond to the drainage ditch that runs down the east side of the property. Today, some workers excavated that channel while others deepened the pond.
Circled in red: the channel excavated today that will connect the drainage ditch with the detention pond.
Not Much Excavated on May 9
Back on May 9, about a month ago, very little of the pond was excavated when local videographer, Jim Zura, captured this image from his drone. Only a small ditch connected a pond north of Sherwood Trails to the box culvert seen below. The white outline indicates how much of the pond had yet to be excavated.
Almost nothing had been excavatedshortly after the May 7 flood.White outline shows the approximate intended dimension of the pond.
Despite the heavy rains in early May and early June, the contractor now has most of the pond excavated. See the video that Jeff Miller shot this afternoon.
Since the flood, the pond has been widened and deepened. Rebel Contractors is now approaching the pond’s final dimensions and target depth of 15 feet, according to Miller. However, Miller was even more excited about the excavation of the channel connecting the drainage ditch running down the east side of the property to the detention pond. “I’ll be able to sleep with both eyes closed tonight,” he said.
In the future, when runoff drains from the northern part of the property to the southern, it will overflow from the ditch into the pond, rather than into neighbors’ houses.
Recent Excavation Despite Heavy Rains Last Week
The next two shots show what the connecting channel looks like from the ground.
Previously, water in the ditch had to funnel down into the 3′ black culvert (bottom left). This caused the ditch to overflow into surrounding neighborhoods when the ditch got full.Now, however, this channel connects ditch (foreground) and pond (upper left). It will allow runoff to overflow into pond instead of neighbors’ homes.
Bill King Visits Elm Grove Again, Meets Texas Monthly Writer
But that wasn’t the only good news, today. Houston mayoral candidate Bill King visited Elm Grove for the third time in a month and toured the area with Mark Dent, who is covering the story for Texas Monthly.
Bill King (left) and Mark Dent talk about flood mitigation strategies with Taylor Gulley in the background.
King emphasized several needs to Dent. They included:
Greater clarity and accuracy of flood maps, so that people can realistically assess their flood risk
Safer construction practices that better protect downstream residents
Preservation of natural wetlands, buffers and drainage features like those that previously existed on the Woodridge site, and that had protected Elm Grove since it was built.
King emphasized that preserving such natural areas and the wetlands on them can provide both recreation and protection against flooding. Finally, he advocated using buyouts to build more and bigger detention ponds, and also to create more green space.
It’s good to know that King is taking Kingwood issues seriously. He’s making them a centerpiece of his campaign and using them to shine a spotlight on development practices that need improvement in my opinion.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/14/2019with help from Jeff Miller
654 Days since Hurricane Harvey, 5 weeks since the Elm Grove Flood, and 4 Months Until the Election
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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Swale_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-06-14 19:41:442019-06-14 19:50:21Critical Woodridge S2 Detention Pond Approaching Final Dimensions
Charles Jones, a Lake Houston Area resident and business man, has developed a presentation that examines the role of the FM1960 bridge in Harvey Flooding. The small openings in the bridge, he says, constrict the flow of floodwaters, much like sand gets pinched and backed up when moving through an hourglass.
The following three slides sum up the heart of Jones’ theory.
Most of the flooding during Harvey happened above the FM1960 bridge on the East and West Forks.The bridge is mostly a causeway. It has two small openings that total 1700 feet.The two openings restrict the flow compared to other bridges and create a backwater effect.
Discussion of FM1960 Theory
Jones’ presentation is a deliberately “high level”, simplified discussion targeted at a general audience. Parts of it seemed a bit OVERsimplified at times.
For instance, at one point he describes the FM1960 bridge as the cause of sediment build up in the mouth bar area on the West Fork. But if that’s the only cause, why isn’t there a similar build up on the East Fork?
Another example: he describes the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge as 3700 feet in length. That’s true. But so much sand is stacked up on the downstream side of the bridge that it effectively narrows the opening. See sand in the treetops below.
Looking north toward Kingwood’s Kings Harbor. The West Lake Houston Parkway bridge is on the left. Photo taken two weeks after Harvey. In the foreground, sand now reaches the tree tops and is virtually as high as the bridge itself. Water used to flow under the bridge and through the area in the foreground during floods. Now it is forced north.
However, put those observations aside for the moment and ask two simple questions:
Are the principles behind Jones’ theory generally true?
Are there any direct observations available that support the theory?
The answers are yes and yes.
“There’s Always a Bottleneck Somewhere in Every System”
I had a client for 35 years that made plastics. The company was one of the largest and most respected in the business. They built plants around the world. A process engineer in that company, whom I highly respected, once told me, “There’s always a bottleneck somewhere in every system.” The FM1960 bridge is ONE of those bottlenecks.
A Google Earth satellite image taken DURING Harvey shows water swirling above the bridge looking for a way to get downstream. In the photo below, see how the bridge disrupts the different colors in the flow.
Note the different shades of brown near the FM1960 Bridge and how the flow within those colors is disrupted by the bridge, especially by the smaller eastern opening.Satellite image from 8/30/17 DURING Harvey.
So pardon the pun, but I think Jones’ theory holds some water. It certainly merits further investigation. I would certainly like to know the answers to the following questions:
Did someone actually measure the difference between the high water marks on each side of the bridge during Harvey?
If so what was it? Can the backwater effect of the causeway be quantified?
Is there photographic evidence of any difference?
If the backwater effect is significant, how much would it cost to modify the bridge? Would the benefits justify the cost?
Thank you, Mr. Jones, for bringing this matter to the public’s attention. You’ve made a valuable contribution to our understanding of Harvey.
And On a Side Note…
What’s that nasty brown stuff flowing out of Luce Bayou on the upper right in the photo above? At first I thought I might be the shadow of a cloud on that particular day, but it shows up consistently in other photos. See below, for instance. It starts about the time construction on the Luce Bayou project started. That’s the project designed to bring water to Lake Houston from the Trinity River. Mmmmmm!
Satellite image from 12/30/2014 shows purple/brown effluent coming from Luce Bayou.Note the three distinct sediment colors in this photo: light brown in the West Fork on the left, medium brown from the East Fork at the top, and dark brown from Luce Bayou on the right.Most recent Google Earth image from 2/23/19 shows that water coming from Luce Bayou is more normal in coloration now. Construction on the Interbasin Water Transfer Project is required to be complete this month. Let’s hope that’s the last we see of that purple stuff.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/14/2019
654 Days After Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Portholes.jpg?fit=1978%2C1396&ssl=113961978adminadmin2019-06-14 08:22:022019-06-14 14:32:28New Presentation Looks at Role of FM1960 Bridge in Harvey Flooding
