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Homes That Didn’t Flood Because of Quick Action: Example of How to Reduce Flood Risk

Coordinated, fast action by the City, Harris County Flood Control, and concerned citizens reduced flood risk for many homes earlier this month. Together, they eliminated many blockages in drains and ditches that likely prevented many homes from flooding during the storms from May 3 through May 10. Perhaps we can learn from the experience and organize neighborhood groups that spot and report developing situations before they get out of hand and cause floods. Here’s what happened.

Triple Whammy: Three Major Storms

On Friday, May 3, late in the afternoon, heavy rains combined with high winds and possible tornadoes downed trees throughout Kingwood. Tree debris littered the ground everywhere. The City worked throughout the weekend to clear streets and drains. But large amounts of debris remained in yards and along greenbelts.

Then on Tuesday, more intense rains hit and flushed much of that debris into drains and ditches.

The City again sprang into action; Public Works sent crews out to inspect the storm drains for blockages. Camera and clean up crews have been here ever since.
Harris County Flood Control also sent crews out to clear ditches. Due to erosion and high winds, many trees had fallen into the ditches and were creating blockages.

Sadly, many homes did flood on Tuesday. The vast majority of those were near a massive construction site that altered drainage.

But had it not been for fast, coordinated action by the City, County and Citizens, many more homes elsewhere might have flooded on Friday, May 10, when Round Three of heavy rains hit the Lake Houston Area.

Example of How Things Can Go Right

Jennifer Coulter, a Kings Forest resident, reported a small creek totally blocked behind her home. The Coulters flooded badly in Harvey and have been hyper vigilant ever since. Jennifer detected a blockage in the ditch behind her home AFTER Tuesday’s storm on May 7. Here’s what it looked like. Harris County Flood Control sent a team out to clear the blockage BEFORE the Friday storm.

*This bridge over a small ditch/creek in Kings Forest had become totally blocked in the previous storms.*

*Another view of the same ditch showing extent of blockage.*

*Wide shot illustrates how water would have been forced out of the ditch during a storm because of the blockage.* *Once blocked, additional debris can quickly pile up, making things even worse.*

When notified, HCFCD immediately dispatched a crew. They managed to clear the blockage before the next storm hit. It took about an hour. Here’s what the same ditch looked like when they left.

A Minor but Important Success

I emailed Coulter after the Friday storm to see how she did. Her response: “Dry here. Looked like the backyard drained well, too. Huge sigh of relief from this address!”

This wasn’t the only success story before Friday’s rains. I’m aware of at least five similar blockages removed before the storm. No homes flooded near those areas that I am aware of…at least as a result of reported blockages.

That’s not to say that no homes flooded anywhere. I am sure some did and that is tragic. But this example underscores the need for better identification of issues and coordination in communicating them.

Importance of the Right Five

Management consultants often talk about the “Right Five” as a key element of success. Success happens when the Right People, get the Right Information, at the Right Time, at the Right Place, in the Right Format.

In this case, residents knew:

The Right People to contact (Flood Control, not the City, and the right people AT Flood Control)
The Right Information to give them (description of problem so they could send crews with the right equipment, photos of what they would encounter, everything they needed to take immediate action).
The Right Place to send them (GPS coordinates, nearest street intersections, and nearest access points for greenbelts).
The Right Format (easy to read and understand; clear; concise; digital for easy transmission to crews in field).
The Right Time (before the storm)

While we are at it, we should also give ourselves a pat on the back. Residents helped clear drains and ditches before the storm, too. That’s not only our right; it’s our duty. The City needs our help. Their crews can’t be everywhere at once; Houston covers a lot of territory.

Organizing to Reduce Flood Risk

How can we learn from our failures and replicate our successes? Last week, the Kings Forest Board of Directors voted to establish a permanent Flood Committee with two objectives:

Raise awareness among residents of issues that contribute to flooding
Identify and communicate problems we can’t resolve on our own to the Right People at the City and County.

In essence, the idea is to create a group like Neighborhood Watch or Crime Stoppers, but focused on flooding: Clog Stoppers! People who can spot problems and report them before they cause flooding.

Major examples of things that contribute to flooding:

Yard waste swept into sewers or dumped on greenbelts
Dead or dying trees about to fall into ditches
Not cutting deadfall into small pieces [large ones block culverts; max 2′ pieces recommended]
Irresponsible construction practices
Sand mining in floodways behind inadequate dikes
People altering drainage illegally

I hope the other community, trail, and commercial associations can form similar committees. Working together through KSA or some other grass roots organization, we can reduce flood risk for everyone. We can also help improve government efficiency by getting the right people, the right information, in the right place, at the right time, in the right format.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/20/2019

629 Days since Hurricane Harvey

City of Houston Intends to Waive Permit Fees for Homes Affected by Flooding May 7-9

Houston City Council Member Dave Martin announced Saturday that Mayor Sylvester Turner has agreed to waive permit fees for the hundreds of residents affected by flooding during the heavy rains during the week of May 7. Details still need to be worked out. More news to follow soon. This is a pleasant development for people whose homes and possessions were destroyed. Every little bit helps! Permit fees are certainly more than the price of peanuts.

*Storm damage in Elm Grove where at least 196 homes flooded.*

Posted by Bob Rehak on May 19, 2019

628 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Caught On Camera: Woodridge Contractor Dumping on Neighbor’s Property

On Thursday, May 16, I photographed a contractor for a subsidiary of Perry Homes dumping dirt, mulch and sticks in a neighbor’s drainage ditch.

I was investigating flooding around the edges of a new development called Woodridge Village in Montgomery County just north of the Harris County line. The developer, Figure Four Partners (a subsidiary of PSWA and Perry Homes), has hired Rebel Contractors to clear and grade approximately 268 acres of land north of Elm Grove Village in Kingwood.

Hundreds of nearby homes that never flooded before flooded during heavy rains on May 7. It appears that something happened during the clearing and grading to change drainage.

At least four lawyers have discussed filing suits on behalf of neighbors against Figure Four Partners and Rebel Contractors. The Webster and Spurlock law firms alone initially filed suits earlier this week on behalf of approximately 100 plaintiffs and added approximately 80 more by the end of the week. So you would think the defendants would be on their best behavior. But never underestimate the chutzpah of men who drive bulldozers. Here’s what happened.

Though Shalt Not Dump, Especially When Being Sued

After interviewing a Porter flood victim, I was heading north on Webb Street past the entrance to the northern portion of the Woodridge job site, when suddenly, a large piece of earthmoving equipment shot out in front of me. The operator dumped a load of sticks and mulch into the ditch of a neighbor on the far side of the street. My jaw dropped! I grabbed my camera and photographed this sequence while waiting to get through. It shows him scraping mulch into the neighbor’s drainage ditch.

*He held traffic up in both directions* for several minutes.

When the operator saw my camera, he backed into the work site and ducked around the corner.

*I drove forward and got this close up. There was one load of mulch when I left.* *Notice the deep truck ruts and broken asphalt being covered up.*

Later that evening, one of the neighbors took the photo below at the same location. It shows that the operator dropped much more mulch into the neighbor’s ditch after I left.

*Photo courtesy of Gretchen Dunlap Smith.*

Property Owner Did Not Request Mulch

I returned Friday to talk to the owner of this property who wishes to remain anonymous. He says he did NOT ask the contractor to dump the mulch there, NOR did he give them permission to dump it. They just dumped it.

He theorized that it might be a feeble attempt to repair the road. However, to me, it looked more like an attempt to cover up road damage. But that didn’t work well either. As I photographed the pile the next morning…

*…to crack off large chunks of the street and push the material father into the ditch.*

*Where a nice lawn once grew, there was an ugly, useless pile of mulch to clog drains and culverts down the street during the next rain.* *That’s how dumping worsens street flooding.*

By Saturday, Even More Dumping on Neighbor

*By Saturday morning, the pile had grown wider and deeper.*

*It became clear that 18-wheelers where using the bed of mulch to…*

*…widen the turning radius into a driveway that was too narrow to accommodate large equipment.*

Link Between Dumping and Street Flooding

During the next big rain, this mulch will likely wash away and block the neighbor’s culvert. When that happens, his property will flood AGAIN…on what will probably be a smaller rain.

The homeowner said that the contractor had “assured him” that they would fix the street before they left. However, he also assured me that they had not given him anything in writing.

You Can’t Put Lipstick on Bulldozers

In the meantime, Perry Homes (whose subsidiaries own this property and hired the contractor) has reportedly brought in a high-powered PR team to help shore up their image on this project, Jim McGrath and Chris Begala. Begala and McGrath have strong political ties that include former presidents! Interesting that Perry Homes thinks this is a PR problem and not a quality-control problem.

Suggestion: Just Widen Your Driveway

You don’t have to drive or dump on others’ property. You don’t have to destroy a public street. Just widen YOUR driveway. There’s plenty of room. You have 268 acres!

Here’s the location of the incident in case Begala, McGrath, Perry Homes, Figure Four or Rebel Contractors want to do the right thing. Neighbors in Elm Grove complained of these same problems and more.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/19/2019

628 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Nailed: Triple-P Sand Mine Photographed Discharging Wastewater Directly into Lake Houston Tributary

Since Harvey, I’ve been talking about the dangers of sand mining too close to the river. Texas is the only state I can find that has no minimum setback for mines. Tony Buzbee, candidate for Mayor of Houston, asked to see what I was talking about. So a friend, Josh Alberson, took us on out his jet boat this afternoon.

Massive Breach in Mine Dike

As luck would have it, we went up Caney Creek. Just above where it enters the East Fork, we spotted a massive new breach in the dike of the Triple-P mine. Here’s what we saw.

*Looking into the Triple-P Mine through a breach in its dike on Caney Creek*

*Note the exposed shoreline in the background indicating how much water the mine lost to the river.*

*Looking 180 degrees from the shots above. The tree leaning over at a ten degree angle from the river is on the far bank of Caney Creek.*

*This shows how wide the breach is in relation to the boat.* The boat is 22 feet long.

*This shot taken from the boat shows the mine’s cleaning, sorting and transportation equipment in the background. I could not see the dredge operating in the mine’s pit from this angle.*

This Google Earth image shows the approximate location of the breach. The blue diagonal line is the Harris/Montgomery County Line. Caney Creek connects up with Lake Houston to the south (bottom part) of this image. Mmmmmmm. That water looks delicious, doesn’t it. If you get your water from Lake Houston, you’re drinking it!

Tony Buzbee, examining the sand bar at the bottom of the shot above (below the mine). The bar has grown in size, according to Alberson, a regular East Fork boater. This illustrates the danger of sand mining so close to the river. Buzbee also visited the mouth bar on the West Fork during his river tour today.

Mine Has History of Problems

I previously posted about breaches in this mine’s dikes and the loss of a major portion of its stockpile during Harvey. The stockpile is located in the confluence of two floodways (Caney Creek and White Oak Creek). Partially as a result of this mine, Kingwood’s East End Park just downstream was inundated with sand and gravel up to 15 feet deep after Harvey. Repairing damage to the trails in the park cost Kingwood residents almost $200,000. The wetlands have been lost forever.

*Wetlands no more. Eagle Point in East End Park is drowned in sand from the Triple-P mine. It washed downstream during Harvey.* *Massive sediment deposits in the San Jacinto have also been linked to flooding by the Army Corps of Engineers.*

The Triple-P mine also receives very favorable treatment from the Montgomery County appraisal district. They tax most of it as though it were timberland.

Buzbee as Witness

If you are a sand miner, having Tony Buzbee witness this breach and the massive sedimentation it caused downstream is a nightmare scenario. Not only is Buzbee running for Mayor of Houston, he’s self-funding his campaign. That means he does not depend on TACA contributions. And worse (or better if you are a resident), he’s one of the top litigators in the world. In 2015, he was named Texas lawyer of the year. Kingwood residents can only hope he takes up this cause.

TCEQ Already Investigating

Upon returning home from the boat trip, I immediately notified Ramiro Garcia, head of Compliance and Enforcement for the TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) about the breach in the dike. Garcia says they have people already on the case. I hope they choose to yank this mine’s license and make it an example. At a minimum, I believe they should give the mine the maximum fine. My understanding is that the fine can run up to $25,000 per day. This kind of flagrant violation endangers the health of millions of people and deserves no less.

A water quality expert I talked to about breaches like this told me they spike chloride levels in Lake Houston. Chlorides, you may remember, caused the pipe corrosion in Flint, Michigan, that contributed to pipe corrosion, lead poisoning, a public health crisis and an erosion of trust in local government.

Revive Best Practices Legislation for Sand Mines

As a result of the problems created by sand mining in the San Jacinto River watershed, State Representative Dan Huberty sponsored a bill this year to establish best practices for the mines. HB 909 was referred to the Environmental Regulation Committee on 2/25. The committee heard testimony on 5/1. TACA testified AGAINST establishing and publishing best practices. HB909 has been bottled up in committee ever since.

Please use this breach to try to get the legislation out of committee. This is major. It affects the drinking water supply for 2 million people. I talked about the dangers of mining too close to rivers when I testified for HB909. These miners just don’t care. They think that their ability to make a profit is more important that your health. Please send a message to Austin. Refer the members of the Environmental Regulation Committee to this post and tell them this is what Rehak testified about on 5/1. Have them vote it out of committee. Let’s establish best practices for sand mining in Texas. While we still can.

Here are the members of the Environmental Regulation Committee.

J.M. Lozano (Chairman) (512) 463-0463
Ed Thompson (Vice Chair) (512) 463-0707
Cesar Blanco (512) 463-0622
Kyle Kacal (512) 463-0412
John Kuempel (512) 463-0602
Geanie Morrison (512) 463-0456
Ron Reynolds (512) 463-0494
John Turner (512) 463-0576
Erin Zwiener (512) 463-0647

Please call their office and ask them to vote HB 909 out of committee. Tell them this breach is the great example of why we need this bill. Breaches like this happen far too often. There are only ten days left in this session.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/18/19, with a big thank you to Josh Alberson and Tony Buzbee

627 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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

Full Text of SWCA’s Request for Romerica Extension and Army Corps’ Withdrawal of High-Rise Permit Application

Last Christmas, the Army Corps issued a public notice about Romerica Investment’s permit application to build a high rise development in the floodplain and floodway of the San Jacinto West Fork. Almost immediately, people and groups began writing protest letters. By the end of the public comment period, the Army Corps had received 727. That didn’t include letters from other government agencies such as the TCEQ and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

*Computer rendering showing proposed high-rises in an area soon to be reclassified as the floodway of the San Jacinto.*

Record Number of Protest Letters

The number of protest letters set an Army Corps record. Due to the large number of responses, SWCA, Romerica’s environmental consultant, requested a suspension of the permit. Instead, the Army Corps withdrew the application without prejudice and invited Romerica to resubmit a new application at a later date.

Status: Start Over

SWCA expressed concern about starting the process over again. But according to Janet Botello, because of the large number of comments and the fact that much of the survey work will need to be redone, a new public notice and another public review are almost a certainty.

I finally received a return phone call from Leah Manlove Howard of Manlove Marketing and Communications. Ms. Howard acts as Romerica’s spokesperson. She said that Romerica and its team of consultants were meeting this week to determine whether they wanted to climb that mountain again. I do not yet have an answer to that question.

Full Text of Letters

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I requested both SWCA’s request to the Corps and the Corps’ response to the developer.

People familiar with Corps processes tell me that the Corps rarely rejects an application outright. However, regulations can and do occasionally make it so hard to receive approval that applicants give up. Romerica is the fourth or fifth developer to try to develop this land. It has been sold and resold numerous times, but never developed, in part, because of the history of flooding and difficulty of permitting.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/16/2019

626 Days since Hurricane Harvey

LJA Engineering Report Says “No Adverse Drainage Impacts” to Neighboring Developments or Taylor Gully

“No adverse impacts.” Really? Really! That’s what they say. Read the full report here.

*Street flooding in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest…*

*… turned into home flooding when sheet flow from the Woodridge Village was added to the street flooding on May 7 flood*

*Taylor Gully near the peak. Shortly after this shot was taken it overflowed into the park on the opposite bank, upper right.*

*Scene along Village Springs in Elm Grove after the May 7 flood.* *At least 196 homes in the neighborhood flooded.*

*Abel Vera now lives in a world without walls.*

It May Be Time to Rethink That Assertion, LJA!

In the conclusion of the cover letter of the report dated 8/28/18, Phyllis Mbewe, the project manager of hydrology and hydraulics for LJA Engineering guarantees Dan Wild, Montgomery County’s assistant engineer, that there will be:

No downstream impacts to Taylor Gully water surface elevations
No adverse drainage impacts to neighboring communities (such as Elm Grove or North Kingwood Forest).

She says, “…the proposed development of the 268-acre tract creates no adverse drainage impacts for events up to and including the 100-year event.”

So What Went Wrong?

Was it:

Bad Assumptions?
Bad Plans?
Bad Execution?
Bad Project Management?
Bad timing?
Worse rainfall than they planned for? Or…
One or more of the above?

Harris County’s meteorologist, Jeff Lindner estimates that, at most, last Tuesday’s rain was a 50-year event in this area.

Plea for Expert Advice

If you are an engineer or hydrologist, please help. Review these plans and give me your thoughts. You may remain anonymous if you wish. Please email me through the contact page of this web site. 196 families really need your help. The house you save may be your own…the next time around.

Posted by Bob Rehak on May 16, 2019

625 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Engineering Diagrams for Woodridge Development Reveal Crucial Detention Not Installed Before Elm Grove Flood

Late yesterday, I received engineering and drainage plans for the new development north of Elm Grove called Woodridge Village. They show that the developer had planned detention that was not yet installed when last week’s heavy rains hit. This helps explain why water overflowed into the streets of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest instead of staying on the developer’s land – where it should have been – until it could be released at a controlled rate into Taylor Gully.

Figure Four Partners, LTD, a subsidiary of PSWA Inc. and Perry Homes, is the developer of approximately 262 acres. Rebel Contractors completely clear cut the entire area before building required – and as it turns out, crucial – stormwater detention.

Plans Differ from Execution

Plans clearly show a huge detention/retention pond that should have been in the southeast part of the property near Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest. Its purpose: to capture runoff from the north and west. The plans also show a diversion of water from the existing ditch that borders the eastern side of the property into the non-existent detention pond.

This isn’t the only detention missing on the property. The northwest pond is also non-existent at this writing.

Photographs taken last week after the rains show that the southwest ditch overflowed where it narrowed down into a two foot pipe. Water then rushed overland into North Kingwood Forest on the east side and Elm Grove on the west. Where the detention pond should have been, one could see large erosion channels approximately one to four feet deep.

Here’s how the drainage works for the entire development.

*Note that the direction of flow is generally from north to south and west to east.*

Here’s a close-up of the area where a large concrete detention pond should have been. See red circle.

*Not-yet-constructed detention pond was designed to capture water from the north and release it through a culvert into Taylor Gully.* *Approximate area for detention pond was 2 acres. Plans show pond was intended to be 15 feet deep. Thus, this one pond could have and should have retained approximately 30-acre feet of runoff*, *much of which wound up in the streets of Elm Grove.*

Storm Hits Approximately Six Months after Clearcutting

Here’s what the area of the not-yet-constructed detention pond looked like after the storm.

Looking southwest toward the culvert. Abel Vera’s home is just beyond the tallest tree on the left. He and his neighbors up and down Village Springs suffered extensive damage from the water that was not retained on this site.

Below is what it looks like from the opposite direction, when you stand with your back to Elm Grove and Vera’s home.

*According to the plans, almost everything between the camera position and the telephone poles in the background should be a 15-foot deep detention pond.*

This discovery raises a question. Why did developers wait so long to install the proper detention? Satellite images from Google Earth show that this portion of the site was cleared sometime between 10/28/17 and 12/22/18. Residents say it was substantially cleared by November of 2018.

Developer’s Own Plans Contradict Its Statements

That means it sat clearcut without the required detention for about six months.

Figure Four Partners, LTD said in a statement released after the flood that their detention was installed AND that it functioned as planned. Figure Four’s own plans and these photos tell a different story.

Figure Four’s statement also said the rainfall was as so intense that it should be called an Act of God. Harris County Flood Control later released a statement saying the rainfall was between a two and 50-year event.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/15/2019, with a heads-up from Jeff Miller

524 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Thoughts and conclusions expressed in this post of 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 statutes of the Great State of Texas.

Engineering Plans for Figure Four Development Near Elm Grove

Below are several links that allow you to download the engineering plans for Woodridge Village, sections one and two. I haven’t had time to read them yet. Frankly they make my eyeballs bleed. But maybe some younger eyes can help.

I’m posting these because Kingwood is full of engineers who are more qualified to evaluate them than I. All of us are smarter than one of us.

*Cover page of first doc showing detention plans.*

Woodridge Village, Sections One and Two, comprise those huge clearcut areas north of Elm Grove. During heavy rains last week, video shows water pouring out of the newly clearcut section into Elm Grove. Something appears to have gone wrong. Texas law prohibits flooding your neighbors.

Please Help Review Engineering Plans

The first talks about their constructions plans for Waterline Relocation and Detention Ponds.

The second talks about their Water, Sanitary Sewer and Drainage Facilities & Paving and Appurtenances for Section 1 of the development.

The third talks about their Water, Sanitary Sewer and Drainage Facilities & Paving and Appurtenances for Section 2 of the development.

I would love to hear from civil engineers who know about these things. Reply in confidence through the contact form on this web site.

A shout-out to Houston City Council Member Dave Martin and his staff for supplying these documents. And another to Montgomery County for supplying them to him.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/15/2019

624 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Webster, Spurlock Law Firms File Suit on Behalf of More Than 100 Flood Victims

The Webster and Spurlock law firms today jointly filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than one hundred flooded home owners in the Elm Grove area. Webster and Spurlock list Figure Four Partners, LTD., PSWA, Inc., and Rebel Contractors, Inc. as the defendants.

Details of Suit

The lawyers say they may amend the suit to add Perry Homes and LJA Engineers. In addition, they say more homeowners could soon join the suit. Elm Grove Homeowners Association reportedly held another meeting with the lawyers at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church tonight.

The suit alleges negligence, negligence per se, gross negligence, nuisance, and violation of Section 11.086 of the Texas Water Code. Plaintiffs see exemplary damages and a permanent injunction among other things.

Read the text of the their legal filing here.

A statement by Figure Four Partners, LTD, claims the flood was an act of God. However, 93% of all the homes that flooded in Kingwood and Forest Cove were within a few flocks of the land that Figure Four clearcut.

Background

Also, videos and photographs that have surfaced since the flood show water pouring out of their new development into the streets of Elm Grove that already were retaining rain. Elsewhere in Kingwood, there was little street flooding that entered homes. So it appears that the combination of sheet flow from Figure Fours’ development with street flooding made the difference.

One resident sent me these pictures last night via the submissions page on this web site. They show water in the streets that appears to be higher than water in Taylor Gully.

Taylor Gulley just before the flood peaked, according to the photographer. Image taken at Rustling Elms shows that ditch was mostly within its banks at this point, though certainly, some overflow can be seen.

*Never park your car in the street during a flash flood.*

Same scene from lower angle a little later in the flood.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/14/2019

623 Days since Hurricane Harvey

93% of Flood-Damaged Homes in Kingwood and Forest Cove Are Near Area Clearcut by Figure Four Partners

I spent four hours driving around Kingwood and Forest Cove this afternoon counting flood-damaged homes from the heavy rains last week. I counted a total of 211. Of those, 196 were in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest. That means 93% were near the 262 acres that Figure Four Partners clearcut for its new development in Montgomery County.

*Approximate area where vast majority of damage occurs. Arrow represents direction of drainage from lower third of Figure Four Partners’ new development.*

The remaining 15 homes appeared to be isolated, low-lying homes or homes with blocked drains. Only four of those in Woodland Hills and Bear Branch appeared related to creek or ditch flooding. The rest were scattered around Kingwood and Forest Cove.

Breakdown by Location

Here’s the breakdown of what I could find … in descending order.

Elm Grove – 175
North Kingwood Forest – 21
Bear Branch – 5
Forest Cove – 4
Woodland Hills – 3
Trailwood – 2
Kings Forest – 1

Most damaged homes outside of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest appeared to be isolated instances in low-lying areas. In two places, I saw two damaged homes next to each other.

I could only find four homes (plus the St. Martha school and Kids in Action) that flooded near Bens Branch. Bens Branch is another stream about the size of Taylor Gully and not far from it.

I expected to find many more flooded homes near Bens Branch. But after going down dozens of cul-de-sacs and finding no damage, I abandoned that search.

Massive Concentration Raises Legal Questions

The concentration of damage within a few blocks of Figure Four Partners’ 262 clearcut acres will certainly raise legal issues for the developer and its contractors. So does the fact that all the other creeks in the Kingwood and Forest Cove area put together did not flood more than six homes/businesses that I could see. Several law firms are already reportedly filing law suits on behalf of flood victims. More on that later.

Figures Understated

These numbers may be understated because I may have missed some homes where trash had already been picked up. I was looking for the tell-tale wallboard residue in grass where people had piled sheetrock, but trash crews were doing a pretty good job.

Social media reported damage in Hunters Ridge, Sherwood Trails, Kings Mill and Kings Point. But I did not see the damage. If someone flooded in these areas, please send me your address through the contact form on this web site and I will update the count.

Also, I have not yet ventured to Atascocita, Huffman, or Porter. More on those areas in a subsequent post.

People on ten streets in Porter reported damage; all streets appear to be close to the new development, but I have not verified the proximity of damaged homes on those streets to the clearcut area. That 93% figure could rise or fall depending on what I find in Porter.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/14/2019, with thanks to Regan McMahon-Cohen for compiling a list of streets and neighborhoods from social media

623 Days since Hurricane Harvey

All conclusions expressed in this post are opinions on matters of public policy. They are protected by the Anti-SLAPP statute of the Great State of Texas and the First Amendment of the US Constitution.