Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has enhanced its Flood Warning System at www.harriscountyfws.org.
Flood Warning System Enhancements
The system can now provide:
Residents of Harris AND surrounding counties…
The ability to receive CUSTOMIZED water level AND rainfall alerts…
From ANY gage or gages IN THE ENTIRE REGION…
Via TEXT message, EMAIL, or BOTH.
When signing up, consider the gages nearest you plus those upstream. Upstream gages can give you more warning time.
How to Sign Up for Warnings
Sign up for the new flood warning system at www.fwsalerts.org. Create your free account, then customize your preferences. You can request notifications from more than 250 gage locations across the region. Gages are located in or operated by:
Harris County
Brazoria County
Fort Bend County
Montgomery County
Galveston County
Waller County
City of Mont Belvieu
City of Sugar Land
The Woodlands
San Jacinto River Authority
Residents will need to create an account and can then choose which gages they want to receive information from, i.e., those nearest them and those upstream from them. You can create custom alerts for various water levels, channel depths, rainfall intensities, and so forth. You can also default to four standard alerts.
1 inch of rainfall in 15-minutes
4 inches of rainfall in 1 hour
Channel flooding is possible (3 ft below bankfull)
Channel flooding is likely (bankfull)
When defined rainfall or water level values are reached indicating a potential for flooding, the new flood warning system will begin sending alerts that match your preferences.
Response to Harvey
“One of the biggest takeaways from Hurricane Harvey was the need for automated notifications to be delivered in a timely manner. This enhancement will help do that,” stated Jeff Lindner, Director of Hydrologic Operations and Meteorologist for the Flood Control District.
“Residents can use the new alerts feature to make timely, informed decisions on how to protect themselves, their families, and property,” said Lindner.
More Information
HCFCD has optimized the flood warning system for both desktops and mobile phones.
HCFCD encourages residents across the region to establish an account and sign up for alert notifications at www.fwsalerts.org.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/13/2019
653 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FWS-Signup.jpg?fit=1500%2C1009&ssl=110091500adminadmin2019-06-13 17:20:242019-06-13 17:20:38Flood Control District Enhances Flood Warning System with Customizable Alerts
Geologic change happens so slowly, most people won’t live or stay long enough in one place to perceive it. Then something happens to make you crank up the Wayback Machine and look more closely. Yesterday was one of those days for me. The Army Corps announced that it was going to begin dredging part of the West Fork mouth bar area.
That raised the question, “Which part?” That wasn’t announced. So I asked Tim Garfield, retired chief geologist for one of the world’s largest oil companies, what he would do. He felt it was important to re-establish the river’s natural channel. So I asked him where it was. (Spoiler alert: It’s between the mouth bar and Atascocita Point.) But in the process of figuring this out, I learned many more things about the mouth bar and a river I take for granted. I’ll save those for the end.
70 Years of Change on the River
Garfield led me to the Perry-Castañeda Map Collection of Texas Topographic Maps at the UT Library Online. He found this map from 1949 of Moonshine Hill. It’s exactly 70 years old! The 1949 date means we can see where the river was before the dam and lake were built in 1955.
The San Jacinto in 1949 before Lake Houston was impounded in 1955.For a higher resolution version of this map, click here. This map shows what geologists call “the relict channel.”
Kingwood, Atascocita and Huffman Before Settlement
This map shows areas that would eventually become Atascocita, Kingwood, and Huffman. It includes the area where the mouth bar has formed between Kings Point and Atascocita Point.
You can tell a lot by looking at this map. You can tell even more when you superimpose it over a satellite view of the area today in Photoshop. Suddenly, you see how the landscape has changed. In fact, it changed so much that I had problems aligning the two images.
Map Superimposed Over Satellite Image At Varying Opacities
However, the county line and 1960 are still in the same location. So I used those as reference points. Then I varied the opacity in the top layer (the old map) so that you could see more and more of the current landscape. At different percentages, you can see how various features have changed over time.
Here’s what the sequence looks like starting with 1949 and today. I started by cropping tighter on the area of interest, the West Fork where the Corps is dredging. I include several different opacity ratios because some changes become more apparent at one ratio than another.
100% opacity for 1949 map.0% 1949 and 100% today.60% 1949 and 40% today.50% 1949 and 50% today.33% 1949 and 67% today.25% 1949 and 75% today.
Most Visible Changes
Starting from the left:
In the 33/67 image, notice how the river once meandered near US59 and how much further south it was.
In the 50/50 image, notice how much of the Romerica land was swamp in 1949…and still is.
In the 75/25 image, notice how much the river migrated north just north of Kings River estates.
In the 25/75 image, notice how much area the lake claimed.
In the 33/67 image, notice how far north the river has shifted under the West Lake Houston Parkway bridge.
In the 33/67 image, notice how Atascocita Point has grown past the relict channel.
In the 60/40 image, notice how the mouth bar grew at the confluence of a relict stream bed within the lake and the relict channel of the West Fork. You can also see this pretty clearly in the 25/75 image.
In the 25/75 image, notice how the relict West Fork channel used to hug Atascocita Shores.
Key Map
This image shows locations referenced above for those who may not be familiar with them.
Key to locations
Do you see other things that I did not? Please let me know through the contact form on this web site.
As the dredging program moves forward, these maps may also help inform dredging strategy. Stay tuned.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/13/2019
653 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/50-copy.jpg?fit=1500%2C990&ssl=19901500adminadmin2019-06-13 00:32:172019-06-16 09:32:21Living Landscape: San Jacinto River Before Lake Houston and Now
GALVESTON, Texas (June 10, 2019) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District staff executed a modification to the West Fork San Jacinto River Emergency Debris Removal contract June 7, 2019, to dredge an additional 497,400 cubic yards of material that was deposited in the mouth of the San Jacinto River from Hurricane Harvey.
“This contract modification will ensure a decrease in threats to critical infrastructure and lower the risk to potential loss of life,” said Charles Wheeler, USACE Galveston District project manager. “This is an ongoing contract that is part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency mission assignment.”
According to USACE Galveston District officials, the dredged material will be placed at the existing location referred to as Placement Area 2, which is located approximately 10 miles upriver. The additional dredging is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019, with the demobilization of the equipment completed by early 2020.
No Mention of Other Partners
The press release does not mention the City of Houston, Harris County, the State of Texas, or Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s office. Most had been negotiating with FEMA and the Corps as late as last Friday.
On two previous occasions, the City announced agreements in principle with FEMA and the Corps. However, the two sides still had many details to work out relating to volume, storage, permitting and cost. The City and FEMA have tried to reach agreement on the volume of sediment deposited by Harvey since last October – eight months.
The Corps’ announcement reveals just how far apart the two sides were in their volume estimates – about 900,000 cubic yards. That difference means much of the mouth bar area will remain undredged – at least for now.
With approval to remove only about 500,000 cubic yards, the dredgers will have to cut a channel around the mouth bar, most likely on the deeper Atascocita side. Ironically, that would mean leaving behind sand deposited above water by Harvey – a decision that could confuse the public.
Today, the Great Lakes dredge has anchored near Kings Harbor. Judging by the weeds and logs in the pictures below, it appears that they will have to dredge their way TO the mouth bar. That could use up some of the precious approved volume. It could also take several weeks to position and calibrate all the equipment necessary to pump sediment 10 miles upriver.
Great Lakes Dredge has moved downriver east of West Lake Houston Parkway. It is anchored in front of Raffa’s in Kings Harbor.Wider shot taken from the pier in Kings Harbor facing west toward the Great Lakes Dredge and the West Lake Houston Parkway bridge.Callan dredge operating on the other side of the pier. Dredgers are responsible only for work in the channel, not tidying up the shoreline.While taking this shot this morning, I noticed that workers were finally starting to renovate Sharkey’s, one of the most popular restaurants in Kings Harbor before Harvey.
What Comes Next?
Pumping sediment from the mouth bar to PA-2 will require the horsepower of the larger Great Lakes dredge. It will also require several extra booster pumps and miles of additional 24 inch pipeline. The Great Lakes dredge has now moved downstream and is anchored east of the West Lake Houston Parkway bridge near Kings Harbor.
Last week, dredge pipe re-appeared under the 59 bridge after being gone for two months. That fueled rumors that the two sides had finally worked out some kind of deal. At this hour, the mystery is where does the Corps’ decision leave all the other parties in this process? More important, where does it leave the remainder of the mouth bar?
The City, Corps, FEMA and TDEM would have to increase the approved volume after the next phase starts or…
The City, County and TDEM would have to remove the rest without FEMA and the Corps.
However, money is just part of the problem. The second option might require permitting another placement area. Permitting could delay the project. But permitting a closer placement area might also save money. It gets complicated.
PA 1 is filling up rapidly as the pictures below show. And PA-2 is so far upriver from the mouth bar that would cost extra millions of dollars to use.
Tail end of the Callan dredge pipe empties sediment into an old sand pit off Townsend in Humble.Several months ago, this was all water. The owner of the pit is now selling sand to an asphalt companyand the pit is still filling rapidly.
Easy Way to Save Money
Shortening the distance between the mouth bar and the placement area could reduce the amount of diesel and manpower needed to run the booster bumps. Each booster uses more than one thousand gallons of diesel per day. So costs add up rapidly. That’s why the Corps is still considering other placement areas.
Berry Madden owns several thousand acres south of River Grove Park between the river and FM1960. According to Madden, using his property could save the government $5.5 million in pumping costs. And that’s just on the first 500,000 cubic yards. If 2 million cubic yards is an accurate estimate for the total mouth bar, using Madden’s property could save $22 million. That’s even more than the remobilization costs we were trying to save.
I hope we don’t stretch this out too much longer or make it any more difficult. My truck needs some repairs and I’m afraid, as a taxpayer, that I may not be able to afford them!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/12/19
652 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/BensBranch_01_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-06-12 12:26:022020-01-17 10:21:08Army Corps Moving Forward with Partial Mouth Bar Dredging to Reduce Flood Risk
Yet more drone footage by local resident and videographer Jim Zura of Zura Productions revealed that Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest weren’t the only areas with flooding problems on May 7, 2019. The low-lying Romerica land is in the floodway and floodplain of the San Jacinto West Fork. A large part of the property is also classified as wetlands.
Flood Follies
May continued the developers’ long standing tradition of flooding follies.
Zura Videos Show Scope of Flooding Day After May 7
Zura filmed three short drone videos linked below. The first two from River Grove Park show the extent of Romerica’s flooding problems on May 7. The third shows street flooding on May 3 on much higher ground.
Romerica has reportedly decided to reapply for a permit from the Army Corps. As they develop the required surveys and studies coming out of Round One, they have taken down many of the websites that previously caused them so many problems. For instance, they removed the site offering EB-5 visas to foreign investors through their American Vision program. However, I have screen captures of all the suspect websites.
Zura’s video underscores the folly of developing this property into anything other than a park. I hope Mr. Haddad and Mr. Covarrubias watch these videos closely.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Zura-RG-Romerica.jpg?fit=1500%2C838&ssl=18381500adminadmin2019-06-11 21:44:272019-06-11 21:47:25Zura Drone Videos Reveal Romerica Had Flooding Problems on May 7 Also
This is a letter to the editor from retired Kingwood resident Bill Fowler. Fowler managed real estate property taxes for one of the world’s largest oil companies for much of his career.His home flooded during Harvey.
An in-depth analysis of 2018 property tax assessments in one flooded neighborhood shows that flooded homeowners who didnot protest their appraisals last year were appraised on average higher per square foot than those who did successfully protest. That means if you flooded and did not protest, you could have paid thousands of dollars more in taxes than you should—and may have been assessed inequitably.
Kingwood Greens During Harvey. Photo courtesy of Jay Muscat.
Property Tax Reappraisal Season Starting Now
As Kingwood prepares for its most dreaded annual event, Hurricane Season, let’s not forget another discomforting annual occurrence, Property Tax Reappraisal Season.
Yes, this is your chance to accept the Harris County Appraisal District’s (HCAD) market value of your home or file a protest to seek a lower value.
This article should make it apparent that relying on HCAD to properly value your home can sometimes prove costly. This discussion relates specifically to flooded homes, but non-flooded homeowners should also review their assessments for opportunities to reduce HCAD’s opinion of market value.
Questions to Ensure Fair Appraisal
A majority of homeowners who flooded during Hurricane Harvey have not yet received their 2019 property tax appraisal notices from HCAD. However, some have. When you receive your 2019 assessment notice, keep these questions in mind:
How much did the market value of your home change between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019?
If you made progress towards, or completed, restoration of your home between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019, how much did you increase your home’s market value?
If your repairs are completed, is this year’s proposed value realistic compared to your 2017 pre-flood value?
Does HCAD have sufficient comparable post-flood sales data to support its opinion of the appraised value of your home?
Is your assessment equitable relative to your neighbors’?
Early Trends in Heavily Flooded Neighborhoods
A review of HCAD’s 2019 online records has revealed early trends in three heavily flooded neighborhoods. Results reported here likely include a mix of both fully and partially repaired homes. Numbers in parenthesis reflect approximate percentage of homes in the neighborhood with published 2019 assessments; HCAD lists all remaining home values as “Pending.”
Kingwood Greens (25%): Average values are up 40% from 2018. 2019 values are only 5% lower than pre-Harvey 2017 values.
The Barrington (55%): Average values are up 18% from 2018. 2019 values are only 9% lower than pre-Harvey 2017 values.
The Enclave (20%): Average values are up 21% from 2018. 2019 values are only 7% lower than pre-Harvey 2017 values.
Success of Protests
To illustrate the effect of successfully protesting your assessment, I analyzed the final 2018 property tax year assessments of all Kingwood Greens homes using HCAD’s public information.
On average, Kingwood Greens homeowners who protested their assessments saw significantly greater declines in their 2018 final assessments and were assessed less per square foot compared to homeowners who chose not to protest.
About half of Kingwood Greens residents chose to accept HCAD’s initial 2018 assessments. The average reduction in their appraised value was 25% below 2017 and average assessment per square foot was $108.
The other half (despite their assessments being down initially 21% from 2017) protested their assessments. 98% of those who completed the protest process reduced HCAD’s initial proposed assessments. Reductions ranged from as low as $4,000 to more than $500,000.
At the end of the day, successfully protested homes were appraised 36% lower on average than in 2017 @ $96 per square foot — a far greater average reduction and lower value per square foot than the 25% and $108 per square foot realized on non-protested properties.
Your Fair Share
To ensure you pay only your fair share of taxes this year, it seems prudent to consider filing a protest when you receive your notice. You have 30 days from the date of the notice to file the protest which can be done either electronically on the HCAD.org website or by mail. Your assessment notice will include instructions on how to protest.
Once HCAD receives your protest, you will receive an informal hearing date. You can also access electronically the sales and other evidence HCAD used to determine your assessment.
You may represent yourself in the protest process or hire a consultant to represent you. Should you hire a consultant, the consultant’s fees can reduce any savings you realize by up to 50%.
Additional Clarifications and Thoughts
By law, property must be appraised at Market Value as of January 1 each year, and then taxed at the Appraised Value (less exemptions). Your 2019 assessment is based on market value as of January 1, 2019.
Notice that your 2019 assessment notice references two values: Market Value and Appraised Value.
Market Value is the price at which a property would transfer for cash or its equivalent under prevailing market conditions. Keep in mind this is the value you will be challenging if you protest, not Appraised Value.
The appraisal district compares your property to similar properties that recently sold. Then they adjust for differences to arrive at an opinion of market value. Bottom line: Sales of homes comparable to yours are the basis of assessments.
When protesting, make sure HCAD has based its opinion of your home’s market value on properties that are truly comparable. Valid comparable sales need to be located in the same general neighborhood. Valid adjustments recognize differences such as size, age, condition, quality of construction and additional features (pool vs. no-pool, for example).
Especially important: Flooded home market values should not be based on sales of non-flooded homes (or vice versa).
If your home was still under repair as of January 1, 2019, make sure HCAD recognizes the proper stage of completion of your repairs as of that date. Ensure you are not valued as completely restored or at too great a percentage of completion.
Your tax liability depends on your Appraised Value (less any exemptions you qualify for). Its capped at an increase of 10% above the prior year’s Appraised Value (provided you have not improved the property—i.e. increased the size of the property, added a pool, etc. in the past year).
Important to note: If your flooded home was not completely restored by January 1, 2018, for tax year 2019, that cap is 21% above your 2017 assessment, not 2018 assessment.
If you completed flood repairs by January 1, 2018, the 10% cap over last year’s appraised value applies.
Remember: Equity Also Matters
One last issue to bear in mind: Don’t forget equity! Just as all properties are legally mandated to be valued at market value, the law also requires each appraisal to be equitable in relation to the median level of appraisal of comparable properties (after the adjustments mentioned above). This requires comparing your assessment to those of comparable homes in your neighborhood to ensure you are equitably assessed and paying only your fair share. An inequitable appraisal is also grounds for protest.
May 7 Flood Victims Must Wait Until Next Year
Any flooding that occurred to homes in early May was past the January 1 assessment date. By law, the 2019 values must be based on market value of properties as of that date and taxing jurisdictions cannot request disaster reappraisals without a disaster declaration. Therefore, the 2019 assessments of people who flooded on May 7 will not reflect losses in market value due to flood damage, but may impact their 2020 assessments.
By Bill Fowler, 6/10/2019
650 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/KingwoodGreens-e1551452236612.jpg?fit=1500%2C1038&ssl=110381500adminadmin2019-06-10 09:06:472019-06-10 13:29:57How Some Flood Victims Saved Substantial Tax Dollars
In the School of Hard Knocks, there’s an introductory course called, “Money Has a Short Memory.” Most students fail this free course and, as a consequence, are still paying “tuition” years later. The irony was never more visible than last week. As I reviewed a Houston Public Media Story about how the City of Houston was not attempting to curb development in the 100-year flood plain – despite everything we learned from Harvey – I had a presentation about the 1994 flood waiting for review on my desktop.
1994 Flood Should Have Taught Us Lessons We Still Haven’t Learned
Kingwood received 29″ of rain that week. Rainfall averaged 19.5 inches over the entire 2,880-square mile San Jacinto River watershed. The event lasted four days. It started on Saturday, October 15, 1994 when Pacific Hurricane Rosa met a gulf coast warm front over Texas. It affected 38 Texas Counties, an area as large as Maine.
1.9 million acre-feet of runoff passed through Lake Houston: almost 12 times the volume of the entire lake! The lake crested 8.3 feet above the 3,160-foot spillway.
Homes under construction on Atascocita Point. HCFCD Photo from presentation by Yung and Barrett on 1994 flood.
Stunning Photos of 1994 Flood
The presentation contains photos of flooding:
On Atascocita point, where new construction was just beginning at the time.
In Forest Cove townhomes that would flood at least four more times before buyouts
In Banana Bend below Lake Houston, which is also just now being bought out
Around Toys ‘R Us on 59 – before an entire strip center of big box stores surrounded it
That collapsed the 59 bridge
That downed power lines over Lake Houston
That went up to the roofline of what was then Reeves Furniture on the southbound 59 feeder just north of the West Fork
That ruptured pipelines across the San Jacinto and started a toxic blaze
That buried downstream areas in sand and gravel.
Sound familiar? It should. Virtually all those things happened during Harvey, with the exception of the pipeline fire. However, toxic waste pits were involved during Harvey.
What are the Chances?
At the time, experts opined about how rainfall exceeded the expected 100-year levels. But the new Atlas-14 data released by NOAA, now advises that a four-day flood averaging 19.5 inches would have an average recurrence interval of 50 years.
The latest NOAA Atlas-14 Rainfall Data for the Lake Houston area
After Harvey, people dazed by the devastation, solemnly concluded that the storm must have been a 500-year, a 1,000-year, or even a greater storm. They had absolute faith in the numbers that developers, engineers, bankers, insurers, and government agencies certified. They assumed storm intensity had to be greater than expected. It never occurred to them that perhaps the numbers could be off…in the other direction.
Complicating things, most people are oblivious to the nuances of probabilities. The naming convention (100-year storm) misleads them into thinking that if we had a 100-year storm last year, “we must be good for another 99 years.” Wrong. Theoretically, if you tossed a coin and it came up heads 99 times in a row, you have a 50:50 chance of getting heads on the hundredth toss, too.
How many people read…or understand…the fine print in tables like the one above? Did you read the footnotes? If not, please go back and read them now. It’s important for your own safety and the safety of your investment.
They’re trying to say, “We can’t predict extremes with accuracy.”
Conclusions of 1994 Flood Presentation
Yung and Barrett conclude with several warnings. They include.
Extreme rainfall events will continue to occur.
The adoption of criteria that exceed FEMA minimum requirements should be considered by communities to guard against severe events.
So until the City learns this lesson, what’s someone without a PhD in math supposed to do when buying a home? Forego the river or lake view and buy on the highest ground you can find. Buyer beware! There are huge markups on floodplain property. And money has a short memory.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/9/2019, based on a presentation by Andy Yung and Duange Barrett
649 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/AtascocitaPoint-in-1994.jpg?fit=1500%2C1037&ssl=110371500adminadmin2019-06-09 19:17:192019-06-09 19:17:30“Money Has a Short Memory” or How Lessons from 1994 Flood Might Have Averted Much Harvey Damage
Rains this week were neither as fast, nor as heavy as the May rains that caused extensive flooding on all four sides of Woodridge Village in May. Also, since the May rains, the developer had excavated much more of a crucial detention pond near the areas hardest hit by the May floods. As a result, I heard of no reported flooding in Elm Grove, North Kingwood Forest or Porter this week.
How Much Rain We Got
The screen capture below from the Harris County Flood Warning System shows the total rainfall for Lake Houston Area gages on June 5th and 6th. They range from about 1.5″ to 4″, with the higher totals on the southern side of the area. About 90% of these totals fell on Wednesday, June 5, during the morning hours.
Rainfall totals June 5-6 associated with first tropical disturbance of season. The rain fell on dry ground. No flooding was reported in the Lake Houston area, though Fort Bend and coastal counties received up to 14″.Source HarrisCoutyFWS.org.
During the 7 hours from 5 a.m. to noon, we received about 3.5 inches of rain at the nearest official gage.Source HarrisCoutyFWS.org.
Residents Anxious About a Repeat of May 7 Flood
Woodridge Village is the 268-acre clearcut area currently under development between Kingwood and Porter along the Harris/Montgomery County line. Two hundred homes in Kingwood and dozens in Porter that border the new subdivision flooded during more intense rains on May 7th.
However, repeat flooding was avoided. That was because of a combination of factors. Compared to May 7, we had lower rainfall totals, lower rainfall intensity, and most of Woodridge detention pond S2 (the second southern pond) had been excavated.
How Woodridge Village Handled the Rain This Week and Why
This sequence of pictures shows what the part of Woodridge immediately near Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest looked like after the May 7 storm up through the peak of last Wednesday’s storm (6/5/19).
Engineers planned a huge detention pond for the entire southeast section of Woodridge. It should hold approximately 50 acre-feet of stormwater.
Approved plans for S2 Detention Pond (the second pond in the southern section).Approximate S2 outline superimposed over keyframe from drone footage taken on May 9, 2019, two days after the May flood. This shows percentage of S2 actually excavated at time of flood: very little. Note also, the absence of silt fences. Virtually the entire 268 acres drains toward the culvert in the lower right.Drone footage courtesy of Jim Zura, Zura Productions. Zura is an FAA-licensed drone pilot.By May 30, much more of S2 had been excavated. Outline of pond was becoming visible.Photo Courtesy of Jeff Miller. In the background, notice the black silt fence has finally been installed. It should have been installed before they started clearing land.
On the evening of June 4, Jeff Miller took the shot below from on top of the concrete box culvert where all of Woodridge Village drains into Taylor Gully.
Notice the depth of excavation in the deepest part. It had not rained for three weeks and the water was missing on May 30. Note also, the rocks in wire cages designed to hold back silt in a flood. The height of the bikes gives you a feeling for how tall the rocks are. Photo courtesy of Jeff Miller on 6/4/2019.
The next day, on 6/5/2019, we got the bulk of the rain from the storm. Jeff Miller went out again in the afternoon and took this shot showing how full the pond was.
6/5/2019 photo of S2 by Jeff Miller showing the amount of rainwater detained from the day’s storms.The low area in the center of the image leading to the pond is an overflow channel for the ditch behind the camera position that narrows down into a three-foot pipe.
Just after the rain stopped on the 6/5/19, Nancy Vera took this shot, near the peak of the flow.
At the peak of the flow, water covered the circled rocks (see swimming shot) now lining the channel to prevent silt moving downstream.Photo courtesy of Nancy Vera.It appears that a 4″ rain spread out over a day – when the ground was not saturated – did not tax the capacity of the culvert either.This should be some comfort to residents.Image courtesy of Nancy Vera.Even the 3′ culvert that runs along the western edge of North Kingwood Forest had room to spare. Photo courtesy of Nancy Vera.Even Taylor Gully had plenty of room to spare. Photo courtesy of Nancy Vera.
Sleep a Little Easier
So what can we deduce from all of these observations.
The expansion of the S2 detention pond since the May 7th flood has created a greater margin of safety.
Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest residents should sleep a little better knowing that they are protected from storms as large as we got on Wednesday, June 5.
Based on the latest NOAA Atlas 14 figures (see below), it looks like Wednesday’s rain ranked as a 1- to 2-year event.
It appears that there may be even more capacity to absorb even bigger rains.
However, with all ponds not yet complete, it’s unclear whether these ponds could handle a storm like we had on May 7th or a major hurricane.
NOAA Atlas-14 Rainfall Frequency Chart. Find the line that represents how much rain fell during a given period of time. Then look up to the top of that column to find the average recurrence interval (ARI).3.5 inches of rain in a 7-hour period would be a rain we could expect every year or two.
Posted by Bob Rehak on June 8, 2019with help from Nancy Vera, Jim Zura and Jeff Miller.
648 Days since Hurricane Harvey and One Month since the May 7th Flood
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/S2.jpg?fit=1500%2C884&ssl=18841500adminadmin2019-06-07 22:25:192019-06-07 23:45:22How Woodridge Village Neighbors Fared in Last Large Rain and Why
Houston Council Member Dave Martin announced that the City of Houston and Montgomery County will host a flood claims workshop from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.
Kingwood Community Center
4102 Rustic Woods
Kingwood, Texas 77345
This event is for anyone (resident or business owner) who has: a) suffered flood damages, b) has flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and c) has questions about the policy claims process. FEMA representatives will be available to provide resources and answer questions. It does not matter what event caused the flood damage. Although the time has passed for submitting a Harvey claim, some people may still be struggling with the process. If they are protesting a settlement, they might benefit from this event.
Wetlands are a natural solution to a natural problem: flooding. Problem is, their name sounds like it’s the opposite – more of a problem than a solution.
Wetlands? Get out the mop.
Wetlands? Will I need galoshes?
Wetlands? Just pave it.
Wetlands? We can’t have that.
See what I mean? If we named them something else, something that had a benefit, maybe they would stand a fighting chance against bulldozers. For example:
Flood-Prevention Lands? I’ll fight for that.
Flood Buffer? Give me an extra one of those.
Safety Shield? Don’t lose that.
Guardlands? Better than free insurance!
Wetlands detain water during heavy rains. They let it flow away gradually at a rate that streams and bayous can handle naturally.
Visual Comparison
Here’s a visual example. We had heavy rains the night before I took this shot – almost four inches. When I went to East End Park the next morning, I saw the wetlands at the end of the main entry trail filled with water. There’s a natural, little bowl in the landscape there that covers a couple acres. After a very heavy rain, it usually takes a week or two for the water to drain away.
After heavy rains, the bowl fills up. Then the water trickles away, evaporates, gets sucked up by trees, or percolates through the ground to the river.OK, so sometimes it moves faster than a trickle. But this is still much slower than if two-acre feet suddenly hit concrete and a storm drain.
Contrast that with runoff coming out of the clearcut Woodridge Village below.
Developer filled in natural creeks and wetlands on this property without constructing required detention ponds first. Elm Grove is behind the trees to the left, where hundreds of homes flooded on May 7.
Abel Vera, who lives next to this recently denuded area, told me how his kids used to play in the woods and creeks that covered the wetlands to his north.
Sadly, it will be a few decades, if ever, before more kids have that opportunity again. If only we had named the wetlands on this property something else. Protector Ponds? Storm Shields? Heck, even Gator Haven would have worked. Developers could have sold tickets.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/7/2019
647 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Wetlands.jpg?fit=1500%2C1125&ssl=111251500adminadmin2019-06-07 12:25:562019-06-07 12:30:16If They Called Wetlands Something Else, We’d Have a Lot More of Them
Houston Public Media yesterday reported that City Council approved a new floodplain development upstream from the Addicks Reservoir. This is what happens when you pit one person’s property rights against another’s. Engineers and developers say they take precautions to prevent downstream flooding. But still, people downstream flood.
Hmmmm. Wonder why that happens? Here’s a pretty balanced report that explains why, and why politicians approve such developments.
Impact of Land-Use Changes
It’s filled with examples of people who said, “I lived here for 30 years and never flooded before. What happened?”
The experts say it’s usually due to some kind of land-use change upstream from them.
I had a similar experience years ago when I lived on Spring Creek in the Dallas area. I bought a house guaranteed to be two feet above the hundred year flood plain. But after they built the Collin Creek Mall in Plano upstream from me, I found I was almost flooding on tiny rains. The Army Corps came back out and resurveyed the creek.
They determined I was now 10 feet BELOW the hundred-year floodplain.
That was the last house I will ever own near water. Highly recommended listening (or reading).
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/6/2019
646 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/KVE-2017-Flood.jpg?fit=1500%2C968&ssl=19681500adminadmin2019-06-06 22:40:532019-06-06 23:10:07Houston Public Media Reports Houston City Council Not Attempting to Curb Floodplain Development
