Tammy Gunnels Flooding Story: Ten Times in Ten Years

If they kept world records for flooding, surely Tammy Gunnels would have the gold medal. Her home flooded 10 times in 10 years, once due to Hurricane Harvey and the other times due to inadequate or damaged storm drains on her street. The lady, who works as a maid and has scrubbed toilets for 33 years, has sought help from Montgomery County, the State of Texas, and FEMA – all to no avail. But rather than walk away from her mortgage, she and her husband have spent a quarter of a million dollars on flood mitigation for an $80,000 house. This family not only slipped between the cracks, it got swallowed by them. Learn how two people’s lives changed forever when they bought a house from an unscrupulous seller who hid past flooding problems. I interviewed Tammy in her modest home in a modest neighborhood called River Club Estates. The neighborhood is between Sorters Road and the West Fork of the San Jacinto in Montgomery County.

Tammy Gunnels baking Christmas cookies in her kitchen with her son Justin Davis and husband Ronnie Gunnels.

Rehak: When did you buy this house?

Gunnels: In December of ’08, exactly ten years ago.

A low lot and inadequate drainage: a bad combination for the Gunnels family.

Rehak: When did you first flood?

Gunnels: Four months later, in April, ’09. We’ve flooded nine more times since. If the forecast calls for 2 to 5 inches, we have to prep for flooding. Before we built a concrete berm that runs 8 inches below and 8 inches above ground around the house, a heavy rain would flood us in half an hour. Now, it takes about two hours of heavy rain. It all depends on how fast it comes down.

Rehak: How do you prep for a flood?

Gunnels: We put all of our furniture up on wooden blocks that we store out in the garage. The only carpets we have now are area rugs, so we roll those up and put them up on couches or tables. 

Extensive Flood Mitigation Efforts

Rehak: What else have you tried to mitigate flooding?

Gunnels: Everything anyone has ever suggested. The first thing to go was carpets. For a while, we tried indoor/outdoor carpets. A contractor told us we could just suck up the water after a flood with a shop vac and then dry it out with fans. But that theory only lasted until the septic backed up. So we ripped everything out and then painted the concrete. But floods make the paint bubble up. We repainted a couple times and spot painted for four years. Then after Harvey, we realized “NO MORE.” I wanted something that I never had to mess with again. So, we went to stained concrete.

Rehak: It’s beautiful. How do you like it? 

Gunnels: When we get water, my husband shop-vacs it up and we’re good.

Rehak: What else have you done?

Gunnels: We have three-inch plastic baseboards instead of wood. They never rot. They are clipped into place so we can remove them before water starts coming in.

Removable kick plate conceals flood space under elevated cabinets.

We raised all the cabinets and sinks up off the floor, like in a motel. Some of those have removable plastic kick plates, too.

Because we usually only get a couple inches in the house, our sheetrock no longer goes all the way to the floor. It stops 2 inches short. We’ve installed pre-treated studs everywhere, even on the inside of the house. We use green board, which is made out of cement, instead of normal wall board which soaks up water. We’ve installed gutters and downspouts to carry the water away from the house. And we’ve put in French drains for the same reason. We’ve even elevated appliances like the water heater.

Wallboard stops above floor. All studs made from pre-treated timber, even in interior of house.

Rehak: How much water did you have in the house during Harvey.

Gunnels: Over 4 feet. That was from the river, not the street.

Source of Problems

Rehak: Do other people in the neighborhood have the same problems?

Gunnels: Since we’ve been here, aside from Harvey and the Tax Day Flood, no one else has flooded except for us and the house next door. When it starts to rain, water is supposed to drain out through the neighborhood. But there’s not enough slope or capacity to carry it away. We’re at a low point, in a little bowl.

First time we flooded was from a flash flood. We got 4 or 5 inches. Nobody in the whole, entire neighborhood flooded but us.

Insurance approved repairs up to two feet. Once we cut into the walls, we saw water marks three feet up on the studs. The people we bought the house from only disclosed two floods, neither more than a couple inches, and said it was because of the lack of maintenance from the county. We found evidence of other floods that were much worse when we started to investigate.

From Misrepresentation to Mitigation

Rehak: How did that affect your insurance?

Gunnels: When we bought the house, we were in the 500-year flood zone. So, our insurance was only $285.

After our very first flood, State Farm said you’ll have to go direct to FEMA; you’re high risk. That’s when we learned how bad the problem was. FEMA told us the house had flooded FIVE times. The sellers only disclosed two and said water had never gotten over the baseboards. That was an outright lie from the water marks under the wall board.

Once we found out all that, our contractor recommended that we build a concrete berm 8 inches below and 8 inches above ground around the house. So, we sunk money into that. We were good for a couple years. We later realized that our “good luck” was the drought. The following year, we flooded three times in a seven-week period. As soon as we got sheet rock cut, it would flood again. It just would not stop!

Don’t forget to step up when you leave through the front door!

When State Farm sent us to FEMA, FEMA wanted $2,000 per year. After constructing the berm, gutters, French drains, and more, my husband and I felt we would be OK without the insurance.

Hit Five Times in One Year Without Insurance

Then we got hit five times in one year. When I tried to get insurance, they now wanted $3,000 a year. But we hadn’t made any claims except for that one in ’09.

Not even a concrete wall around the exterior of the house was enough to stop the flooding. 
Gunnels tries to sop up the leakage with extra sheets.

We had done everything anyone had told us to do. Except for elevating the house. We got three different estimates for that. Not including electrical, plumbing or anything else, the lowest was over $100,000. That just wasn’t feasible for us.

Not Enough Claims Means No Buyout

At this point we were up to six or seven floods. Then the Tax Day flood happened. That’s when Montgomery County stepped in. They said, “We’re going to start offering buyouts. We asked for one, but they said, “You don’t qualify because you haven’t maintained insurance.”

I said, “Because I didn’t file claims, you won’t offer a buyout?”  He said, “Unfortunately, that’s the way the system works.

So, we bit the bullet and got insurance in 2015. In our bathrooms, our vanities and everything are elevated. There’s nothing touching the floor.

Example of elevating cabinets to reduce flood damage.

I had my kitchen cabinets specially built. The kick plates are removable. They’re made out of plastic and clipped on. In a flood, I can pull off those kickplates and let the water go under. Usually, we only get a couple inches.

Rehak: But in Harvey the whole neighborhood flooded?

Gunnels: Pretty much. Just a few homes that sit up higher did not flood.

Advice For Others

Rehak: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give homebuyers to avoid the situation you’re in?

Gunnels: Buy flood insurance and file a claim every time it floods.

Also, I didn’t know you could get a history. Of course, sellers should disclose. But sometimes they conceal things. Don’t take the seller’s word for it. Get a print out from FEMA. They’ll give you a history on any property that’s had a flood claim on it. Also, talk to neighbors. It’s very important to talk to the neighbors because we flooded without insurance, so it’s not on record. But our neighbors know.

FEMA had paid out a total of a quarter million dollars on this property BEFORE our claims. We’ve now made three. 

Rehak: FEMA paid $250K. You put another $250K into it. So you have half a million dollars into a house that cost $80K. 

Gunnels: (Laughs.) Yeah, pretty much. In a home built in 1967. It makes absolutely no sense.

Search for Help from Officials

I clean homes for a living. One of my clients is a lawyer. After Harvey, she sent some letters for me, trying to get a buyout. But the answer we got was, “No funds available, Montgomery County is no longer doing buyouts.” 

I don’t know who to contact at this point. I contacted county commissioners Jim Clark and Ed Rinehart. I’ve contacted Cecil Bell, our state representative. I have already made plans to call the new county commissioner James Metz. He starts in January. We’ve talked to FEMA numerous times.

The county engineers came out and explained how the drainage works.

They said we need a wide drain that goes from Sorters Road to Lana Lane.  We said, “Well, build it.” They said, “We can’t. It’s on private property.”

When the property owners gave them permission, they said, “Oh no, we can’t. It’s too much of a liability. We can’t do that.”

My neighbor uncovered some emails saying they were going to do it, and then somehow, the money wasn’t there for them anymore.

Emotional Losses Compound Financial Losses

Rehak: Financially, the floods have been devastating for you. How have you survived emotionally?

Gunnels: In every flood, I’ve lost something. I inherited things from my great grandmother, grandmother and mother. Slowly but surely, over nine or ten floods, I have lost everything they gave me. After each flood, I told myself that “It’s just stuff.” But at a certain point, I said, “It’s my stuff.”  

The hundred-year-old family bible Gunnels inherited from her mother: an irreplaceable loss to flooding.

Everything that you look at in this house is brand new. Everything. From the lamps to the tables. To the throw rugs. I have lost everything. But with Harvey. This was lost. (She plops a swollen book on the table; at first I don’t recognize what it is.) This is my mother’s family bible from 1918. I can’t turn the pages because they are stuck together. (She breaks down crying.)  That is what it does to me. 

Gunnels’ husband and son return from an errand.

No Way Out

Rehak: What would you like to do now if you could do anything?

Gunnels: Get bought out. Give me anything. A FEMA trailer and a piece of land. I’ll be happy. 

My grandkids who visit every two weeks religiously have their own room here and they have lost everything, too. They can’t keep toys or a doll house or anything here. In EVERY flood, we lose something..

The first thing people say when they hear about our situation is, “Well, just move.” “Really? Where are we going to move to?” We’ve even looked into walking away from this house and letting it go into foreclosure. But that ruins our credit. We wouldn’t even qualify to rent a plastic shed from Home Depot.”

“We also looked into buying another house while we still owned this one. But the bank wanted to see a year of payments made on two places before loaning the money.” There’s just nothing that anyone can suggest that we haven’t looked into.

Fighting a Tax Increase

Rehak: So, I’m guessing that if you’re running Tammy’s Maid Service and you’ve sunk a quarter million dollars into this place, you’re not a shirker.”

Gunnels: Right! (Laughs.) I’m not high educated, but I’ve scrubbed toilets for 33 years. We’ve worked for what we have.

The Montgomery County Appraisal District wanted to raise our taxes one year.  “Oh ho ho,” I said. “You want to raise my taxes on thisplace? They tried to come at me with, “The home over here is worth this and the home over there is worth that.”

I said, “Look at the pictures. You got raw sewage in the ditch. I flooded this many times.” They dropped our valuation down to $60-something thousand dollars. At first, they tried to argue with us. But the board voted unanimously to lower our appraisal.

Montgomery County wanted to increase the appraisal on Gunnels’ flood-prone property, but ultimately backed down.

If this house didn’t flood, it would be worth about $160,000 with all the improvements we made. We upgraded everything. We even replaced all the wiring in the house. Replaced aluminum with copper. Put in smoke detectors. A new breaker box. The works.

I’m not asking for anything more than what I have. I’ll even take smaller. As long as it doesn’t flood.

Gunnel’s Husband: My family all lives near here. So it’s important to us that we stay in the neighborhood.

Impact on Retirement and Savings

Rehak: What next for the Gunnels family?

Gunnels: Every single time a claim is paid out on this house now, it’s taxpayer money. We waste taxes on this. 

Rehak: How much have you received in flood insurance claim reimbursements?

Gunnels: About $180,000.

Home Wet Home! No way to live with it and no way to leave it.

Rehak: What has happened to your savings?

Gunnels: We’ve burned through his 401K and every bit of savings we had. DONE! He is 53. I will be 49 next month. To our name, we have about four grand in savings.

Gunnels’ Husband: I didn’t know we had that much!

All: (Belly laughs.)

Gunnels: He’s got a little bit left in his 401K. Maybe 20 grand.

Rehak: That’s not going to last very long in retirement. 

Gunnels:  One year. Maybe. Everybody I talked to has empathy, but apparently there is no sympathy … because “Here we are.”

This was going to be our retirement home. When we moved here, we still had two kids left in school between us. Now they’ve moved on and we have grandkids. This was going to be our last home ever. We were fixing to die in this home. And we probably WILL. 

Everyone: (More belly laughs.)

Posted by Bob Rehak on December 28, 2018

486 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Moderate Flooding Expected on West Fork, Minor Flooding on East Fork

The rain overnight became pretty intense between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. about the time the NWS issued a tornado watch. Once again, areas north and northwest of us received more rain that we did. The NWS has issued a flood warnings for the West Fork of the San Jacinto. West Fork. They expect the river to crest at 51.3 feet, well below the major classification.

The River should rise above flood stage Friday morning and crest on Sunday. The flood will impact low lying roads near the river. The north side turnaround at US 59 and low points on Thelma Rd, Aqua Vista Dr, and Riverview Dr. will begin to flood. Water levels should approximate those reached in the December 7-8, 2018 event. Nearly all of the water heading into the West Fork is from significant run-off being generated on Cypress, Spring, and Lake Creeks.

The City did not lower Lake Houston in anticipation of this flood. However, the Coastal Water Authority is currently releasing 2500 cubic feet per second through the tainter gates on Lake Houston. It will be interesting to compare the ultimate water height to the Dec. 7-8 flood when the City did lower the Lake.

Here’s what the dock at River Grove looked like this morning. Photo courtesy of Bruce Casto.

Boat dock at River Grove around 9 a.m. on Thursday 12/27/18.

On December 8, River Grove looked like this.

River Grove Flood Level on December 8. Will this flood be higher?


East Fork Crest Delayed and Prolonged

East Fork residents can breath a little easier.

River is already rising at FM 1485 and nearing bankfull at FM 2090 (Plum Grove). Heavy rainfall over the headwaters of the river will move downstream from the Cleveland area and reach Plum Grove and FM 1485 this weekend. The river should rise to flood stage midday Friday and have an extended flat crest over the weekend near 60.5 ft. FM 1485 may be threatened at these levels along with low lying roads in subdivisions downstream of FM 1485. That’s Huffman and Kingwood!

Spring Creek

Significant run-off is in progress over the upper headwaters of Spring Creek and the creek is rising along the entire channel. Hegar Rd is at bankfull this morning and near bankfull conditions will be possible along the creek downstream to SH 249 and I-45. No structure flooding is expected, but some low lying roads near the creek or that cross the creek may be impacted…especially upstream of SH 249.

Cypress Creek

Significant run-off in the headwaters into Cypress Creek. Creek may reach near flood stage later today at Katy Hockley. Harris County Flood Control does not expect any significant downstream flooding east of Hwy 290 along Cypress Creek, although the creek will be very high as upstream water moves downstream.

Posted on 12/27/18 by Bob Rehak

485 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Impact of Government Shutdown on West Fork Dredging

For those of you wondering how the federal government shutdown would impact dredging, the answer is “little at present.” Dredging continues. The government allocated funds for the current emergency West Fork dredging program long before the shutdown. As of this evening, prospects for a quick resolution of the budget impasse were dim according to the Associated Press.

Dredge currently operating near West Lake Houston Parkway

Shutdown’s Impact on Current Dredging

It’s not immediately clear how the government shutdown will affect Army Corps employees supervising the job. Technically, the Corps is “military,” but many Corps engineers and project managers are civilian employees. The Corps may have listed its inspectors as emergency personnel since the West Fork was an emergency project. However, the Corps’ information office did not return emails to verify that. Holiday vacations likely caused the lack of response. But if the shutdown does affect Corps inspectors, contractors may experience delays at some point.

Possible Impact on Mouth-Bar Project

A bigger question: how the shutdown will affect consideration and approval of Mouth Bar dredging. Readers may remember that at a meeting in Austin on October 11, all agencies involved reportedly gave conditional approval to the mouth bar project subject to a favorable environmental report and the location of a suitable disposal site. After two and a half months, the project still has not been approved. City officials are hopeful that the project could be approved before the end of April when contractors should begin demobilizing from the current job. Remobilizing could cost another $18 million if FEMA or Congress does not approve an extension of the current project that includes the Mouth Bar.

Sources are hard to find between Christmas and New Years. Hopefully, we will have an update from City Hall and greater clarity when people return to work after New Years.

All of this underscores the need for more urgency and timeliness in government decision making, in my opinion. Harvey happened 16 months ago.

Posted by Bob Rehak on December 26, 2018

484 Days since Hurricane Harvey

First Proposal to Improve Sand-Mine Regulation in House

On December 11, 2018, Texas State Representative Terry Wilson introduced HB509. HB509 is a bill to regulate aggregate production operations (APOs). APOs include sand mines.

HB509 Stipulates Consideration of Hydrologic Impact During Permitting

Currently, sand mines in Texas are permitted and inspected by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

New legislation proposed by Representative Terry Wilson of Marble Falls would require regulators to consider hydrologic impacts of sand mining during the permitting process.

HB509 enables the Texas Railroad Commission to work with the TCEQ; adopt, amend and enforce rules pertaining to aggregate production operations; issue and revoke permits; and inspect APOs without notice. It also:

  • Creates criminal penalties for non-compliance.
  • Requires a hydrology assessment of the operation’s impact on surrounding surface and groundwater – including water availability.
  • Enables regulators to consider the cumulative impact of multiple APOs in an area when evaluating new applications.
  • Requires the operation to prevent material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area.
  • Requires public notice of permit applications
  • Provides for public comment on permit applications
  • Makes permit approval contingent on past performance
  • Requires permitting agencies to publish the public comments
  • Allows the agencies to deny permits based on public comments
  • Grandfathers operations with existing permits

New Fines and Creation of a Criminal Offense

A person commits an offense if the person “knowingly makes a false statement, representation, or certification, or knowingly fails to make a statement, representation, or certification, in an application, record, report, or other document filed or required to be maintained under this chapter or under an order of decision issued by the commission under this chapter.”

Violators may be punished by fines of up to $10,000 and a year in prison.

Positives of HB509 from Residents’ Perspective

While this bill will not immediately and directly address sand-mine issues on the San Jacinto, I think it could eventually help this area. Things residents will like include:

  • Significant penalties for false statements!
  • Having more eyes on the problem; TCEQ complains that it doesn’t have enough staff to enforce regulations.
  • River-impact assessments, especially the idea of looking at the cumulative impact of all providers in the area! Twenty square miles of sand mines between US59 and I-45 on the West Fork have decimated the environment immediately upstream from the drinking water source for 2 million people.
  • Public hearings for permits. Right now, regulators hear one side of the story.
  • Making the permit application approval contingent on past performance. This gives sand miners the ultimate incentive to comply with regulations: “Don’t comply and you’re out of business in this state.”

Shortcomings From Residents’ Perspective

Things residents probably won’t like include:

  • Grandfathering existing operations; the cumulative impact of sand mining is already a huge problem on the San Jacinto. However, I’m not sure a fair alternative exists, short of buyouts.
  • Lack of definitions for what they’re trying to prevent under “hydrologic impact.” That creates flexibility to cover unforeseen consequences, but also leaves a huge “out.” HB571 in the 2011 session, the first bill to regulate sand mining in Texas, also lacked specificity. It said for instance that the mines had to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, but did not specify what they were. It left lots of wiggle room. This could, too.
  • No prescription for minimum setbacks from rivers or prevention of mining in floodways.
  • Use of the words “designed to” in front of hydrological impacts. That creates a big “out.” Anybody who places a bale of hay in drainage ditch on the mine could say he designed the drainage to prevent erosion, However, the real issue is what happens when the river reroutes itself through mines during a flood.

Lack of Specificity Concerning Hydrologic Impact

My biggest concern is the lack of specificity re: adverse hydrologic impacts. No references exist in the bill to:

  • Dangers of river migration
  • River capture of sand pits
  • Draw down of the water table
  • Effects of such drawdowns on surrounding vegetation and farms
  • Repeated breaches of dikes
  • Increases in rates of sedimentation
  • Loss of downstream lake capacity at increasing rate
  • Poor water quality
  • Loss of river conveyance
  • Increases in erosion
  • Escape of chlorides from wash pits during floods
  • Contamination of groundwater and wells by chlorides
  • Pipeline corrosion
  • Loss of riparian vegetation
  • Downstream flooding
  • Eventual need for dredging and other costly remediation.

All in all, though, it’s a good start and can only help curb the excesses of sand mining in the long run.

Read the bill in its entirety. Here is the current text of proposed House Bill  509 for 2019.

About Congressman Terry Wilson

Congressman Wilson represents the area west of Austin. His district includes Burnet, Milam and Williamson Counties and the cities of Round Rock and Marble Falls. His web page in the House of Representatives states that he was born in Odessa, Texas, and that “He is a lifelong conservative Republican, committed husband and father, and a decorated combat veteran. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Texas A&M University and an MS in Strategic Logistics Plans and Management from the Air War University.”

Wilson retired from the Army after serving more than 30 years. Since retiring from the Army, he has leveraged his military experience as an advocate for small businesses.

No Other Bills Filed in House or Senate So Far

Neither Representative Dan Huberty, nor Senator Brandon Creighton, have so far introduced any new legislation affecting sand mining. Wilson’s HB509 appears to be the only bill regulating sand mining filed so far in either the House or Senate as of Christmas Eve, 2018.

As always, these are my opinions on matters of public policy. They are protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the Great State of Texas.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/24/2018

482 Days after Hurricane Harvey

Porter Dam Rapidly Becoming Porter Trench

Two days ago, I posted about the “Porter Dam.” The dam was actually an undersized culvert under a road to nowhere that backed water up for blocks. After the December 7th rain, dozens of properties flooded. Yesterday, demolition of the offending culvert started. The demo gave residents an early Christmas present. I went by there again this morning to check the progress. I saw this.

As of Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018, at 10:15 a.m., the Porter Dam had turned into the Porter Trench. Excavation of the undersized culvert continued.

Hopefully, their removal, will eliminate flooding like you see below after the 4.5 inch rain we had on Dec. 7.

Flooding on East Knox in Porter near Loop 494 after a 4.5″ rain on December 7th. Caused by an undersized culvert that backed water up for blocks. Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.

Mike Eberle of Mike’s Hobby Shop on East Knox sent me these pics at the end of Saturday. They show the progress that the crew made during the day.

Downstream trench at end of Saturday. Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.
Mid-trench at end of Saturday.  Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.
Upstream end of trench at end of day on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.

It’s unclear at this time whether workers will install a larger culvert or just eliminate the Road to Nowhere altogether. I will continue to follow the story.

Street flooding, such as this blockage caused, can devastate homes and businesses every bit as much as river flooding. It only takes an inch of water to cause months worth of repair work.

This morning I learned of several more instances of tragic street flooding in Porter near Sorters Road. Apparently a broken or collapsed storm drain flooded the homes below repeatedly. Montgomery County has not fixed the drain despite repeated pleas from homeowners.

One home owner, a retired Marine, flooded five times in five years. His neighbors, a middle aged couple, flooded ten times in ten years.

Street flooding caused by another bad culvert. Photo courtesy of Tammy Gunnels.

The couple invested more than a quarter million dollars trying to flood-proof their home and virtually wiped out their life savings.

Let’s hope Montgomery County fixes that drain soon…as fast as TexDoT jumped on the Porter Dam problem.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/22, 2018

480 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Christmas Comes Early to Porter Dam Flood Victims

Chalk one up for the little folks. Yesterday I wrote a post about someone who built a Road to Nowhere across a drainage ditch along Loop 494, creating the Porter Dam. An tiny culvert under the road backed water up into properties blocks away. It flooded homes, businesses and a church after the rain on December 7th.

Work crews begin removing the Porter Dam.

Mike Eberle (owner of Lakeside Plumbing, Mike’s Hobby Shop, and Gulf Coast Raceway) and his son led the fight to have the Porter Dam removed. Mike’s son, a contractor, contacted TexDoT, showed them Mike’s pictures of the flooding, and TexDoT responded. By this afternoon, I found workmen with a backhoe and bulldozer removing blacktop and earth.

I could not tell whether the workers represented TexDoT or the owners of the property. They were not eager to talk to me while I had a camera. Their truck had no logo.

Backhoe begins removing the blockage that flooded several blocks of homes and businesses.

Regardless, the good news is that they are removing the Porter Dam. I will follow up again later if the job doesn’t get done.

But for now, it looks like Christmas has come early to the people of Porter, thanks to the efforts of Mike Eberle and his son. And this gift is so big, it won’t fit under the tree.

A much-happier Mike Eberle, in his hobby shop on East Knox Drive in Porter in front of his collection of miniature trains.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/21/2018

479 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Sand Mine Dike Breached 3 Times in 1 Week During Minor Flood

I’ve posted dozens of times about the dangers of mining in floodways. A local canoeist, Don Harbour, Jr., paddled down the West Fork of the San Jacinto twice during the last flood. He says he saw three breaches in one sand mine. The water was moving too fast to get pictures of all three, he says, but he did manage to get several shots. They eloquently illustrate the dangers of mining so close to the river.

Harbour, Jr. says he paddled by this mine on Saturday, December 8, and noticed water rushing into it.

River breaching into mine. Photo courtesy of Don Harbour, Jr.

The following Wednesday, December 12, he paddled down the river again and saw the reverse.

Sand mine sending sediment into river as flood went down. Photo courtesy of Don Harbour, Jr.

On that same trip, he photographed the owners frantically trying to plug the leaks in dangerous conditions.

Repairs to other breaches. Photo courtesy of Don Harbour, Jr.

Altogether, Harbour, Jr. says he saw three breaches in one mine in one week.

I have seen video of a fourth breach at the same mine last August. It appeared as though it was created with a backhoe. Six months later, the TCEQ says it is still investigating the August breach.

When Pro Business Means No Business,
It’s Time to Rethink Mining in Floodways

Breaches allow the escape of sand and silt. They contribute to the buildup of sediment dams in the river. Those then contribute to downstream flooding.

When a rain that averaged only 5 inches across the watershed breaches the dike of one mine three times in one week, it’s time to rethink mining in floodways.

Such dangerous business practices can reduce growth.

  • The growth rate in the Humble ISD this past year dropped from 6% to 1% due to flooding, in part, caused by sedimentation.
  • 44% of the businesses in the Lake Houston Chamber were damaged or destroyed during Harvey.
  • 100% of the businesses in Kingwood Town Center and Kings Harbor were damaged or destroyed.

Move Miners Back from River

We don’t want to drive miners out of state; we just need them to move out of the floodway.

We don’t allow unsafe vehicles on the road. Why do we allow unsafe mining on the river?

Here’s the dike of another mine farther upriver. I took this picture shortly after Harvey. But the same dike breached again during the July 4th flood this year.

Sand mines on the West Fork come right up to the river where floodwaters repeatedly breach dikes.

Texas is the only state that has no minimum setbacks of mines from rivers. In contrast, Alaska allows no mining within 1,000 feet of a public water source. Other states and countries establish erosion hazard zones taking into account factors such as:

Many geologists and engineers believe erosion hazard zones represent a safer approach to determining setbacks.

Posted by Bob Rehak on December 21, 2018

479 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The Porter Dam: Road to Nowhere (Except Flooding)

Mike Eberle, a local entrepreneur owns Lakeside Plumbing, Gulf Coast Raceway and Mike’s Hobby Shop in Porter just off 494 on Knox. He arrived at work on December 8th to find his plumbing business flooded and his other two businesses surrounded by water.

Ditch Backing Up

This time, the culprit wasn’t Harvey or the San Jacinto River; Eberle’s businesses lie more than 3.5 miles from the river. It was someone who built a needless road over a drainage ditch. Because the capacity of the culvert under the road did not match the capacity of culverts farther up the ditch, water backed up for blocks. It flooded surrounding properties including homes, businesses and a church.

Properties flooded by constriction of drainage ditch. Photo by Mike Eberle.
Flooded lot at Gulf Coast Raceway. Mike’s Hobby Shop and Lakeview Plumbing are on same property in background. Photo by Mike Eberle.
Nearly submerged mailboxes show depth of flooding. Photo by Mike Eberle.

The Ditch Constriction

According to Eberle’s son, TexDoT permitted the Road to Nowhere (see below), which Eberle dubbed “The Porter Dam.” Eberle’s son says TexDoT told him that the permit should never have been issued. Supposedly, TexDoT will rip the road out on Friday, December 21. This should make an early and welcome Christmas gift to the neighbors up-ditch who flooded.

The Road to Nowhere crosses a ditch only to end at a detention pond. Photo taken after flood.

On the Road to Nowhere, Eberle looked up the ditch toward his property during the flood. Below is what he saw – water everywhere.

Above the ditch, water backed up for blocks.

Below the ditch…he saw a much different story.

Below the ditch, looking south, the water level was much lower, proving that construction constricted the flow.

Several days after the floodwater receded, you could see why, Note the size of the culverts above the road. In contrast, here’s what the culvert under the Road to Nowhere looks like.

The new culvert has much less capacity.

Property Owner

According to the Montgomery County Appraisal District, the Road to Nowhere is on property owned by Randal A Tr Hendricks, 400 Randal Way in Spring. Hendricks Interests, LLC, also at that address, promotes itself as a developer of residential and commercial properties and has been doing business since 1978. Hendricks currently lists eleven pad sites for sale in the Kroger Center at North Park and 59, slightly south of the Road to Nowhere.

One can only speculate why someone would build a useless road that backed water up onto neighbor’s property.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/20/2018

478 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Corps Finishing Touch-Up Dredging at River Grove, Moving Downriver

Good news for residents. Last week, the Army Corps of Engineers and its contractor, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, finished dredging the area up to the boat dock at River Grove Park. However, because of the size of the hydraulic dredge, it could not quite finish the job. So on Monday, the contractor returned with mechanical dredging equipment to work in the tight drainage ditch area by the boat dock. See the photo below courtesy of Don Harbour.

Mechanical dredging equipment was able to maneuver into the tight location that the hydraulic dredge could not. Photo courtesy of Don Harbour, a local resident.

The Kingwood Service Association also requested the Corps to reduce the angle on the edge of the remaining side bar. Young people frequently played on the bar. Community leaders were concerned that a cave in near the steep edge could cause a bad accident.  

Contractors scraped back edge of sand bar to prevent cave-ins caused by curious kids.

As you can see from the edge of the bar in the photo above, the Corps has addressed that issue. 

This afternoon when I visited the park, I saw a survey boat checking to ensure the contractors had reached the proper depth.

Survey boat checks for proper depth while mechanical dredge stands by.

Multiple Activities Create Hazards for Recreational Boaters

The River Grove area today was busier than Santa’s workshop on Christmas Eve. However, the main focus of dredging activity will soon move east. Dredge #1, operated by subcontractor Callan Marine is now working close to the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge. Dredge #2, operated by Great Lakes, is now operating just east of River Grove (see point #4 in photo below).

The river is busy. Stay off it for your own safety.

From the boat dock today, I saw five different clusters of activity in different areas: 1) survey boat, 2) mechanical dredge, 3) debris removal on far side of river, 4) Hydraulic dredge moving towards the country club, and 5) a back hoe removing vegetation from the triangular sand dune  in the distance.

Both dredges will continue to work their way east until they reach their respective goals. 

Latest Schedule

The Corps’ schedule originally called for completion in mid-April 2019. However, crews have been delayed by recent storms and floods, as well as greater than expected sedimentation in the river. Their most recent schedule calls for completion by April 30 and demobilization during the first two weeks of May.

Status of Mouth Bar Project Still Uncertain

Everyone I talk to hopes FEMA and the Corps will grant approval for a second project that addresses the huge sand bar at the mouth of the West Fork before this project reaches completion. If that does not happen, demobilization and remobilization at a future date would cost about $18 million. 

The “Mouth Bar,” a giant sand bar that blocks the West Fork of the San Jacinto, backing the river up into Kingwood and Humble. The mouth bar is not within the scope of the current Army Corps dredging project, but officials have been trying to get FEMA and the Corps to include it. Water depth is generally 1-3 feet around this bar. Max channel depth in places is just 5 feet.

Sources in Austin expected an announcement weeks ago on the mouth bar. Congressman Ted Poe requested a meeting with the head of the Army Corps to discuss the project. However, the  meeting originally scheduled for November 28th was delayed into next year. That means Congressman-elect Dan Crenshaw will inherit the battle. Meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz has thrown the weight of his office behind the effort to dredge the mouth bar.

Corps to Meet with Super Neighborhood Council Wednesday Night

Eduardo Irigoyen, the project manager of the Emergency West Fork Dredging Project (the dredging currently underway), will meet with the Kingwood Super Neighborhood Council tomorrow night. The meeting at the Kingwood Community Center starts at 7PM. Mr. Irigoyen will update local leaders on the status of the Corps’ project. The meeting is open to the public, but seating is very limited.

Posted by Bob Rehak on December 18, 2018

476 Days since Hurricane Harvey

How Sand Mines Increased Erosion Potential by 33X During Harvey

Yesterday, I posted about how major storms transport the vast majority of the sediment that flushes down rivers. That’s a major reason to have wide buffers between mines and rivers, and to get the mines out of the floodway. One major event, as we have seen, can alter a river and people’s lives forever. However, in Texas we allow sand mining right up to the edge of the river, increasing the potential for erosion.

Scalping 20 Square Miles of Forest Increased Erosion Potential

We all know from science classes that when you remove ground cover, you increase the potential for erosion. That’s exactly what the sand mines upstream from the Humble/Kingwood area have done. They have removed about 20 square miles of ground cover to expose sand. And because virtually all of the mines are in the floodway, they effectively increase the riverbed width during floods by an average of 33X. Here’s the basis for the calculation. 

Exposed Sand in Floodwater is 33X Wider than Natural Riverbed

Between I-45 and I-69 on the West Fork, a distance of 20 miles, we have approximately 20 square miles of sand mines. So we have one square mile of mines per mile.

If you lined all mines up, end to end, you would have a swath exactly one mile wide.

But the river is, on average, only .03 miles wide. Thus, mines widen the effective riverbed width by average of 33X.

By removing all the surface vegetation, miners also increased the potential for erosion during extreme storms, such as Harvey, by 33X. 

To put a mile-wide riverbed in perspective, that’s twice as wide as the muddy Mississippi … in the Delta region. 

Sediment Dams Increase Flood Levels

That helps explain how so much sand piled up virtually overnight during Harvey. The flood was wide enough to inundate the mines. Afterwards, a nearly continuous trail of sand along both shores of the West Fork led directly to the Humble/Kingwood area as the pictures in my gallery show. In many places, this trail was more than 5 feet deep. Here’s what it looked like onshore in River Grove Park.

Note height of sand in River Grove Park relative to parking sign in background.

Plus there was far more sand in the river after the flood than before.  

If the river AND both shores were ALL higher after the storm than before, then it stands to reason that most of that sand had to come from somewhere other the river itself. 

Looking at a satellite image, the barren sand mines dominate the landscape like no other feature in the watershed. The obvious conclusion is that much of the sand came from mines like this …

West Fork Mine Complex one day after the peak of Harvey when floodwaters were already receding. Exposed sand surface increased the potential for erosion.
West Fork Mine Complex day after peak of Harvey when floodwaters were already receding. Exposed sand surface increased potential for erosion relative to river which snakes diagonally through photo. Image courtesy of Google Earth.

… and wound up in places like this.

Sand left behind by Hurricane Harvey on both flanks of the west fork of the San Jacinto River. Looking northeast toward Forest Cove where apartment buildings or townhomes were destroyed. Note sand in treetops in foreground.

Or places like those below, where it formed sediment dams, which the Army Corps says contributed to flooding.

A drainage ditch (center left) that empties the entire western third of Kingwood at River Grove Park was virtually closed off by a sandbar approximately 10 feet high and 1500 feet long. It was deposited during Harvey. An estimated 500+ homes above this point flooded.
A six foot high dune not present before Harvey virtually blocks the West Fork just south of Kingwood Country Club.
A giant sand dune has formed at the mouth of the west fork of the San Jacinto. It is not being addressed by the Army Corps dredging project but should be. Thousands of homes upstream from the blockage flooded during Harvey.

Huge Pre/Post Increases in Deposition Rates Since Sand Mining

In its final report on Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Flood Control District confirms the enormity of the deposition. It says, “Large amounts of debris and heavy sedimentation upwards of 4.0-8.0 ft in some locations have been noted especially along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River.” (See Page 7.)  But how does this compare to the deposition rate before Harvey?

Sedimentation Rate Much Higher than Before Sand Mining 

In 1983, Turner Collie & Braden, an engineering consulting firm, estimated the loss of lake capacity due to sedimentation at 311 acre-feet per year. (See page 9.)

Large-scale sand mining on the West Fork began shortly after that and has grown ever since. On the East Fork, sand mining began in the early 2000s.

The Texas Water Development Board created the difference map below by comparing data collected in 2011 with data collected from March through June of 2018. Remember, three or four of those years were drought years when very little sediment came down river. Virtually all of what you see below happened during the last three years. We can also see from satellite photos  that most of that happened during Harvey.

West Fork Difference Map. Red/orange/yellow/green areas represent decreases in sediment since last survey. Blue, violet and white represent increases.

The map above shows we gained 1.0 to 5.5+ feet of sediment in most of the 3400 acre area between the mouth bar and FM1960. 

Assuming we gained on average about 3 feet per acre, that means the City lost approximately 10,000 acre-feet of storage in this ONE SECTION of the lake in only three years.

Current Rate Estimated 22X Higher

That’s about an 11X increase per year compared to the Turner Collie & Braden study which measured the ENTIRE lake. However, we can also roughly adjust for the difference in lake and sample sizes shown above. Page 9 of the Brown & Root report in 2000 says that the area shown above collects a little less than half (42%) of the sediment flowing into the lake. So we can assume that 11X at least doubles to 22X. (Because there’s more in the bottom portion of the lake than the top.) 

22X is less than 33X, but consistent with earlier observations when you consider that much of the sand was deposited on shores, as you saw in the River Grove photo. 

Caused by Mining or Nature?

Some of this sand also came from urban runoff. And some undoubtedly came from other tributaries, such as Spring and Cypress Creeks, which have fewer mines. Some also came from the East Fork watershed, where there is a huge active sand mine on Caney Creek.  Regardless, 131,000 cfs cut across that statistical mile-wide swath of sand on the West Fork during Harvey. 

Analysis of satellite and aerial photos leads me to believe that the river carried millions of cubic yards of sand and sediment downstream from the mines, including their stockpiles. That sand, I believe, helped to create the blockages shown above, which contributed to flooding throughout the heavily populated Humble and Kingwood areas.

Let’s Get Sand Mines Out of the Floodway

Miners claim that the currents in Harvey were not strong enough to carry sand out of their mines. Several world-leading hydrologists that I have talked to claim the opposite. As one said, “Of course it could.”

That’s why we need to pass legislation moving mines back from the river. We can’t reduce natural sedimentation, but we can reduce man-made sedimentation by putting sand mines out of the reach of rushing floodwaters.

As always, these are my opinions on matters of public policy. They are protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the Great State of Texas.

Posted by Bob Rehak on December 17, 2018

475 Days since Hurricane Harvey