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Northpark Will Close at UPRR Tracks One Week from Today for Three Days

2/26/25 – One week from today, Northpark Drive will close for three days – from March 5-7. UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) will maneuver a two-hundred-foot section of track and ties – welded and bolted into a single, massive unit – into place across what will become ten lanes of traffic and two sidewalks.

Section Already Assembled, Ready, Waiting

UPRR has already assembled the massive section in the TxDOT right of way along Loop 494 that parallels the tracks. According to a UPRR consultant…

The rails, ties and hardware should weigh approximately 55,000 pounds.

That’s the average weight of 22 small cars.

The photos below show the assembly and where it will move.

*Assembly area is in old northbound Loop 494 lanes currently scraped to the dirt. Note new section of track near bottom of frame below existing track.* *Northpark is in upper right* *of frame.*

*Steel plates that cradle rails and hold them in position.*

*Looking S along Loop 494 (right). Northpark at top of frame.* *New rail will be centered across Northpark where old rail now crosses it. See below.*

*Side shot shows placement of new section.*

The plan for maneuvering the giant section of track into place has changed several times. The latest indication from UPRR is that they now plan to use four vehicles, one on each corner to lift and place the section.

Benefits of Single Section

The single, long section of track will provide additional stability for the high traffic area, especially where the track crosses over storm sewers, water lines and other underground utilities.

Once placed, the section will span three vehicle crossovers and two sidewalks.

One to replace the existing roadway.
Two where new feeder roads will go
Two 10-foot-wide multi-use pathways outside of each of the two feeder roads.

Next Steps

When the track crew finishes, a different crew will install temporary signals and gate arms. Once the feeder roads are constructed, they will return to install permanent signals and gate arms.

And once the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority’s contractor, Harper Brothers, completes drainage and utility work, they will build two new feeder roads, each containing two lanes, that cross the tracks.

Then, they will abandon the current center lanes so bridge construction can start later this year. The feeder roads will carry all traffic for the duration of bridge construction.

For More Information

See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project web pages. For a history of the project, see these select posts on ReduceFlooding.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/26/25

2638 Days since Hurricane Harvey

HCFCD Picking Up Last of Beryl Debris from Bens Branch

2/25/25 – Today, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) began picking up remaining Hurricane Beryl Debris from Bens Branch in Kingwood. The cleanup effort began on Tree Lane across from Bear Branch Elementary. More than 600 children in grades K-5 attend school there.

The delayed cleanup effort illustrates the need for community leaders and Flood Control to work more closely together and document cleanup efforts, especially after disasters.

The Fog of Disaster

Beryl left a mess all across the Houston area. The massive cleanup effort involved HCFCD, the City of Houston, FEMA, private contractors, CenterPoint and more working months with little sleep. Responsibilities were inevitably bound to get mixed up on occasion and this was one of them.

HCFCD denies the piles of Beryl debris from Bens Branch were theirs, despite the protestations of local leaders who monitored cleanup efforts.

But Eric Heppen, Harris County Precinct 3’s Director of Engineering, said, “We’re past that now. We’re just going to pick up the piles.” Thank you, Commissioner Ramsey. And thank you, HCFCD.

I’m sure that will be a relief to parents who worried about the temptation the piles represented to young boys eager to test their climbing skills. One of the piles crews worked on today easily exceeded six feet in height.

Chris Bloch, a Bear Branch Trail Association (BBTA) board member, led the fight to get HCFCD to clean up piles at ten locations strung out along the forested portion of Bens Branch, which runs through the center of Kingwood.

Thirteen residents who lived near the stream died as a result of flooding during Hurricane Harvey. Ever since then, residents and the BBTA board have been hyper-vigilant about anything that could back water up in the stream. So, it is good to get this behind us.

Remainder of Piles Should Be Gone by Friday

Jessica Lazo, a HCFCD spokesperson for Precinct 3, said that HCFCD crews should remove the remainder of the debris by this Friday, 2/28/25.

The City removed two piles along Cedar Knolls last week. HCFCD will remove the rest.

*First load of two piles near Bens Branch (seen in the background at top of frame) along Tree Lane.*

*The right equipment makes it look so easy.*..

*…but its not.* *Note vines and smaller branches mixed with sections of tree trunks.*

The photo above shows HCFCD working on the second load of Beryl debris from Bens Branch. After the first, the crew had to drive to the other side of the county to drop off the debris for recycling. According to an employee I interviewed onsite during the operation, few places at this time can handle mixed loads like this. By mixed, he meant large-diameter tree trunks and smaller branches.

So this could be a lengthy process. I’ll let you know when they complete the job.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/25/25

2737 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The High Cost of Living Downstream from Sand Mines

2/24/25 – Yesterday, I posted pictures and video of a river of muck hundreds of feet wide that has poured out of Hallett Materials 170-acre settling pond into the San Jacinto West Fork…for a full year. Today, I’ll talk about the high cost of living downstream from that situation.

Hallett Mine — *Click here to see video on YouTube or click on keyframe above.*

But Hallett has even more environmental issues. The West Fork now flows directly through one of the company’s other pits. It also flows through a third pit that Hallett sold to a residential developer just weeks before the dikes on the pit failed.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has not addressed any of those problems. It investigated one issue, ignored two others and issued no fines – despite a directive from Texas Governor Greg Abbott to “take action against sand mining operations violating regulations.”

Up the Down Escalator

It became clear after Harvey, that sand clogging the West Fork had contributed to epic flooding downstream from the sand mines. 16,000 homes and 3,300 businesses flooded in the Humble/Kingwood area.

The Army Corps said sediment had reduced the conveyance of the river up to 90% in places. But even after taxpayers bore almost $200 million of dredging costs, the river still has not returned to pre-Harvey conditions. More sand keeps coming.

Sand miners claim rivers naturally convey sediment. True. But that ignores the contribution of 20 square miles of exposed sediment in sand mines once protected by dense vegetation. Call the logic police.

Should we ignore industrial air pollution because bird poop falls naturally from the sky?

Meanwhile, downstream areas pay the price. Until we fix the problem of leaky sand mines, the river will continue to silt in as fast as we can dredge it.

See the photos below taken today at River Grove Park where the Kingwood Diversion Ditch outfalls to the San Jacinto West Fork.

*Looking upstream. Outfall of Kingwood Diversion Ditch at River Grove Park on right. Compare what it looked like after Harvey.*

Before the Army Corps completed dredging after Harvey, River Grove flooded five times in one six month period. The Corps liberated River Grove in December 2018.

KSA supplemented the Corps dredging and reopened its boat ramp in March 2020. Now, less than five years later, we need serious dredging again. See below.

*Looking downstream. Note color of West Fork in this and succeeding pictures compared to water coming from Diversion Ditch.*

Note: the water level is down slightly for a dam repair project downstream.

*Closer shot shows deepest water is now measured in inches. Reportedly, only kayaks can now get through.*

*However, the sand bars do make a convenient resting place for waterfowl.*

*Overhead shot shows how much gap has filled in.*

Dredging Estimated to Cost More than Half of KSA’s Cash Reserves

Last year, KSA obtained bids to dredge the outfall. However, the cost amounted to more than $800,000, more than half of KSA’s cash reserves at the time.

Since then, in my opinion, the sedimentation has worsened. So, dredging could cost even more now.

And this is just one ditch among many on the West Fork. All the more reason to reduce sediment coming from upstream sand mines.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/24/25

2736 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Hallett Mine Leaking into West Fork for Full Year

2/23/2025 – The mammoth Hallett Sand Mine has been leaking continuously into the San Jacinto West Fork for a year, according to neighbors. I first reported this particular leak on February 9, 2024.

But it’s only one of several problems at the same mine. And the cost of dredging downstream from it is now approaching the annual budget of the TCEQ statewide.

Photos, Video Show Route and Volume of Leak

The leak comes straight out of Hallett’s settling pond and cuts across a service road. The sediment-laden water then flows through wooded property bordering neighbors’ back yards, which it has reportedly invaded from time to time.

From there, the milk-white muck travels to an abandoned sand mine now owned by a real estate developer. That mine’s dike was breached in 2020 after Harvey’s floodwaters severely weakened it in 2017.

As a result of the breach in the neighboring mine, Hallett’s sediment-laden water enters the West Fork without interference, and then travels downstream to Lake Houston, the source of drinking water for more than two million people.

In addition to raising water treatment costs for the City of Houston, such leaks have also been linked to sediment buildups that have reduced the conveyance of the West Fork and contributed to flooding in the Lake Houston Area.

See the pictures below taken today, 2/23/25.

Settling pond on left. Red line indicates path of wastewater through woods, an abandoned mine, and then into the West Fork.

*Montgomery County Appraisal District records show that a Hallett sister company, JR Development, Inc. owns the property where the leak originates.*

To fully appreciate the volume of the wastewater leaking out of the mine, see the video below. It runs a little longer than one minute.

*To play the video via YouTube, click here or on the image above.*

I have also reported on separate leaks from this same pond into the same abandoned mine via additional routes in January 2021 and May 2024.

River Flowing Through Former Hallett Pit Now Owned By Riverwalk Porter LLC

In the same area, sand mining has created more problems. Across the river, a large mile-long sand pit formerly owned by Hallett ruptured shortly after they sold it to a residential developer named Riverwalk Porter LLC last year.

*West Fork San Jacinto enters frame lower right and exits upper left. The large pit on the right used to be owned by Hallett. The river now runs through it, a phenomenon known as “pit capture.”*

It still hasn’t been fixed and the river is no longer navigable without cutting through their private property. That pile of sand in the middle of the photo above is an estimated 8 to 10 feet above the river’s normal water line.

When the TCEQ investigated this pit capture last year, the Commission’s report did not even mention the term “pit capture.”

Neither does the report mention numerous other pit captures elsewhere in the river basin, including another at the Hallett Mine just upstream from this one. The four month investigation did not:

Result in any reprimands, letters of enforcement, or violations.
Refer to any water-quality measurements, even though the complaints concerned water quality.
Address other sand-mine dike beaches and emissions in the same area
Explore downstream impacts.

The TCEQ also failed to address pit captures in its latest Best Management Practices proposed for sand mines in the San Jacinto River Basin.

No wonder the TCEQ is called a “reluctant regulator.” In my opinion, this goes beyond willful blindness to intentional stupidity. The TCEQ’s annual budget is around $300 million. But the cost of dredging downstream from the Hallett mine is pushing $200 million and climbing.

Editorial comment to Governor Abbott: Wouldn’t it be more cost effective just to put TCEQ salaries straight into a perpetual dredging program?

River Still Flowing Through Another Hallett Pit Upstream

Another photo taken today shows that another Hallett sand pit farther north also remains captured by the San Jacinto River. The river has been flowing through the pit rather than around it since at least June of last year.

*River flows from top to bottom of frame through pit.*

TCEQ failed to investigate this pit when it investigated the other pit just a mile downstream.

Posted by Bob Rehak on February 23, 2025

2735 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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

UPRR Getting Rails Ready for Northpark Closure

2/21/25 – The UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) has started preparing rails that it will place in one 200-foot long section across 10 lanes of Northpark Drive traffic.

The closure of Northpark for the installation is still scheduled for March 5-7.

UPRR is prepping the rails in the old northbound lanes of Loop 494 immediately north of Northpark. I can’t wait to see how they maneuver a section this large into place. It will be like trying to lift something the length of 10 20-foot cargo containers placed end to end.

Work to Date on Rail Prep

So far, UPRR has fused individual sections of rail into two long sections and placed them side by side. They have also started to stack railroad ties next to the rails. Presumably, at some point, the rails will be positioned on the ties before they move together.

The 17-second video below dramatizes how long the sections of rail are. The drone is moving almost as fast as the white vehicle that enters the frame a few seconds in.

Video taken afternoon of 2/21/2025

Here’s an overhead perspective that lets you gauge length by the number of cars backed up at the red light.

*Overhead shot shows length of rails between red brackets. Section equals the length of 11-12 vehicles waiting for red light.* *Workers had not yet completed laying all ties to the left end of the rails.*

As I was leaving, another 18-wheeler showed up with more ties.

*Shot from other end shows how flexible solid steel can be in long lengths.* *Note rail on left.*

UPRR appears to have straightened the rail on the right so that workers can line up ties against it.

Welding the track in a single section improves strength and safety by reducing the risk of rails shifting. I will post more details about the track prep as the effort progresses.

The new track will stretch under and across ten full lanes of traffic. Those include:

Three lanes of westbound traffic over a bridge yet to be built
Three lanes of eastbound traffic over the same bridge
Two westbound surface lanes, one for turning north, the other for turning south
Two eastbound surface lanes, one for traffic entering from the north and the other for traffic entering from the south.

Northpark Closed March 5-7, But with U-Turn at Railroad

To put the track in place, UPRR needs to close down Northpark Drive in BOTH directions simultaneously to work with massive cranes.

Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, stressed that the remainder of Northpark Drive will remain open so that people may access businesses.

Just plan on getting across the tracks some way other than Northpark. Contractors will construct a U-turn just before the track closure so that people can get to/from nearby businesses, such as Dunkin’ Donuts.

For More Information

See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project web pages. For a history of the project, see these select posts on ReduceFlooding.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/21/25

2733 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Median Madness Postponed Due to Weather, Now March 8

2/20/25 – Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger has postponed Round 2 of Median Madness because of weather predictions. Instead of February 22, the City will now hold the event on March 8 from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM.

Median Madness is a volunteer event in which Kingwood residents work with City crews to clear vines and underbrush encroaching on Kingwood Drive. The goal: to enhance the beauty of the community and improve traffic safety.

Weather predictions for this Saturday morning call for near freezing temperatures and a high probability of rain. Hence, the postponement.

If You Haven’t Yet Signed Up…

If you missed the first Median Madness event held last November, you missed some fun.

Residents and City Council Members attacked the vines which had been encroaching on traffic and trimmed them back with enthusiasm.

The November event focused on the south side of the median facing Kingwood Lakes. The March event will focus on the north side facing Kings Forest.

The City will close one lane of Kingwood Drive westbound traffic for parking. Please carpool to save space. And remember:

Bring water
Wear gloves
Wear close-toed shoes.

All ages are welcome but those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Sign up for more details and to download a release form at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848A8A823A5FBC70-55227367-median.

Park between Kings Creek Drive and Forest Shores Drive. That’s about a block past Kings Forest Drive and a block short of Shady Run. You’ll see markers when you get there.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/20/2025

2732 Days since Hurricane Harvey

8 Harris County Department Heads Make More Than U.S. President

2/19/25 – Eight Harris County department heads make more in salary than the President of the United States. All are women or minorities. The mega salaries go to the heads of the:

Institute of Forensic Sciences
Toll Road Authority
Engineering Department
Universal Services
Public Health Services
Flood Control District
Office of County Administrator
Office of Management and Budget

Moreover, 17 Harris County department heads make more than U.S. cabinet-level officials such as the Secretaries of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Commerce, etc., in the U.S. Government.

The President of the United States makes $400,000 per year. Members of the President’s Cabinet make close to $250,000 per year.

The salaries of the Harris County department heads vary. See below.

Harris County Department Head Salaries — *For a printable, high-resolution PDF, click here.* *Data obtained via Public Information Request.*

Harris County “Going for Broke”

The U.S. President supervises roughly 3 million employees (as of January 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Yet the head of Harris County Flood Control has roughly 300 and makes more money.

Her $434,137 salary is also $185,000 more than the U.S. Secretary of Defense makes. The Secretary of Defense oversees the nation’s largest department. He coordinates the national defense with more than 1.4 million active-duty service members and 800,000 reserve personnel.

In contrast, the head of the Flood Control District coordinates the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects in Harris County. That’s certainly no small job. But it’s not nearly as large as the national defense.

The head of the Flood Control District got a raise this year of almost $90,000 – approximately one third of the total salary made by the Secretary of Defense. And far larger than what the average Houstonian makes in an entire year.

Is Harris County the land of opportunity or what!!!

The heads of six other Harris County departments received even bigger raises. Several received those raises despite severe, withering criticism of their performance in open Commissioners Court. For example…

Billions of Dollars Being Eroded by Inflation

The latest head of the Flood Control District has roughly $3 billion of 2018 flood-bond/matching-grant dollars at her disposal. Yet Flood Control spending has seen its fourth straight year of decline.

And if adjusted for construction-industry inflation, the spending rate shows she’s producing projects at a slower rate now than the Flood Control District did before flood-bond passage in 2018. Reportedly, her predecessors initiated virtually all of the HCFCD projects now entering the construction phase.

*Discounting the $234.6 million that HCFCD spent in 2024 by cumulative 35% inflation since 2018 roughly equals pre-bond spending in 2017.*

The loss of purchasing power to inflation means that many Flood Bond projects may never get built. And that will most affect people at the bottom of the county’s priority list, such as residents of the San Jacinto River watershed.

Pay More, Get Less

Overall, Harris County has increased taxes (rates x appraisals) 30% in the last two years. That’s 4-5X greater than the rate of inflation. And that included a 63% Flood Control tax increase last year.

So, how does the leader of an organization with plummeting performance get a salary increase for almost $90,000?

It’s all Monopoly money to the Democrats who control Commissioner’s Court. It’s not coming out of their pockets. It’s coming out of yours.

And they’re probably betting on the fact that you won’t realize you’re paying one of their political pals more money than the President of the United States to manage 10,000 times fewer employees.

But hey. We keep re-electing them. Maybe it’s time to get loud.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/19/2025

2731 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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

Looking Back at Abbott Directives to Reduce Flooding in Lake Houston Area

2/18/2025 – Seven years ago, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took an aerial tour of the Lake Houston Area and the San Jacinto River to view the extent of Hurricane Harvey devastation. Afterwards, he met with area leaders and elected officials at the Kingwood Community Center. Together, they announced a list of seven actions that they hoped would make affected communities more resilient to future flooding.

Seven years later, the responsible parties have completed recommended studies. They have also completed dredging and buyouts, and pursued funding. But little else has changed on the ground that would actually reduce flood risk.

Below is a high-level review of the mandates and the progress made toward them.

Seven Actions Identified in Abbott Press Release

Abbott and the officials identified seven actions or directives (quoted below from the press release):

Using Hazard Mitigation Funds, the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) has authorized $3 million to jumpstart the engineering and permitting process to determine where dredging should take place on the San Jacinto River.
Using Hazard Mitigation Funds, TDEM has authorized $2 million for a regional study focused on the San Jacinto River watershed to prevent future flooding.
Using Hazard Mitigation Funds, FEMA has approved over 900 voluntary buyouts in Harris County.
Instructing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to investigate and take action against sand mining operations violating regulations.
Directing the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) to immediately identify what can be done to prevent flood events along the West Fork of the river.
Directing the SJRA to implement immediate and long-term solutions to protect lives and property of Texans living in the watershed.
Directing the SJRA to identify funding to implement a long-term plan that better protects areas downstream of Lake Conroe.

Lots of Studies, Little Action

How many of these initiatives have become reality? Let’s take an inventory.

Dredging Study

Completed. Likewise for most of the dredging that came out of it. Dredging has visibly restored much of the conveyance of the San Jacinto East and West Forks. But to this day, we’re still pumping sand out of the West Fork deposited by Harvey. The City and Army Corps have spent $188 million on dredging since they started after Harvey. Those dollars have actually reduced flood risk.

But the sand keeps coming. That’s why State Rep. Charles Cunningham has introduced a bill to continue the program by creating a Lake Houston Area Dredging and Maintenance District.

Watershed Study

Also completed … in 2020. But no one has implemented any of its recommendations yet. The study identified approximately $3.3 billion worth of upstream reservoirs to reduce water flowing into the Lake Houston Area. But Texas has not allocated nearly that much to fund a flood plan for the entire state.

Voluntary Buyouts

Abbott and the civic leaders called for 900 voluntary buyouts. HCFCD completed buyouts of all Forest Cove townhomes in 2022. County-wide, Harris County Flood Control District had completed 1,150 by July 24, 2024.

Forest Cove Townhomes scheduled for demolition — *Harvey flooded these Forest Cove townhomes to the third floor and swept several complexes off their foundations.*

Action Against Sand Mines that Violate Regulations

Much of the sand clogging the East and West Forks after Harvey came from sand mines. But the TCEQ has done little to prosecute them. In fact, the sand mine situation has gotten worse. During the May 2024 flood, the rivers started flowing through multiple mines, a process called “pit capture.” But a TCEQ report on one of the pit captures failed to even mention the term.

New Sand Mining BMPs needed to control sediment pollution. — *Hallett Mine, West Fork Pit Capture. Notice river running through the mine rather than around it.*

TCEQ did file a lawsuit through the Attorney General against the Triple PG Sand Mine in Porter back in 2019. However, the case has languished and still has yet to come to trial. A Travis County District Court has postponed the trial several times. But the TCEQ says things are now “full steam ahead” for an August 17, 2024 trial.

Bill McCabe of the Lake Houston Flood Prevention Initiative has tracked complaints against sand mines through Public Information Requests. TCEQ has sent him information on approximately 40 mines in the San Jacinto River Basin.

McCabe reports that most “Notices of Violation” from the TCEQ involve failure to file a mine plan (specified in the new Best Management Practices for Mines in the San Jacinto River Watershed). TCEQ issued four “Notices of Enforcement” since early 2022, but only one remains outstanding.

SJRA To Identify Immediate Flood Risk Reduction Strategy on West Fork

After the meeting between Abbott and local leaders, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) identified a “Lake Lowering Strategy” for Lake Conroe that it could implement immediately. The idea: preemptively lower the level of Lake Conroe up to 1.5 feet in the Spring and Fall to create extra storage space, thereby reducing downstream flood risk until the City of Houston could build additional flood gates on Lake Houston.

Unfortunately, Lake Conroe residents didn’t like that idea. As the floodgate project encountered delays caused by funding and the constructibility of the initial crest-gate recommendation, they pushed back. As a result, the Lake-Lowering Policy morphed into an “Active Storm Management Policy.”

Mark Micheletti, an SJRA board member from Kingwood, says the SJRA continues to look for ways to improve its this policy and has added several gages upstream of Lake Conroe to improve inflow estimates. That enables them to better gauge the timing and magnitude of releases during flood events. “We get better with every storm,” said Micheletti.

SJRA to Implement Immediate and Long-Term Solutions

After the Abbott meeting, SJRA immediately pursued the Lake-Lowering Strategy mentioned above.

With an eye to the longer term, it also pursued several studies. It released the San Jacinto River Basin Master Drainage Study in 2020. The study identified ways to reduce a 100-year flood in West Fork watershed by almost 6 feet. But SJRA has not yet constructed any of the recommendations.

SJRA also released its Sediment Removal and Sand Trap Development Study in 2022. No concrete actions have yet resulted from that study.

SJRA to Identify Funding to Implement Long-term Plan

SJRA has no funding source, i.e., taxes, to implement any of the flood-reduction recommendations it has identified to date. It must piggy-back on partners such as COH, Harris County and the Texas Water Development Board. Micheletti says SJRA has applied for several grants, but has few other options.

He suggested re-engineering the way we think about flood projects to get funding commitments immediately after floods when critical political consensus exists.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/18/2025

2730 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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

Some County Department Heads Receive Massive Pay Increases Despite Performance Issues

2/16/2025 – Comparing data recently obtained via a public information request to previous sources available online shows current pay rates and increases for Harris County Department heads. One head now receives more than half of a million dollars per year. Another seven receive more than $400,000 per year.

And some pay increases exceed the entire annual pay of average workers in the United States and Houston. However, recent discussions in Commissioners Court indicate the increases may not be tied to performance.

*Obtained via Public Information Request. For a high-resolution, printable PDF, click here.*

Increases Exceed Average Salaries in U.S. and Houston

In some cases, the amounts of the increases alone exceed what the average American makes in an entire year.

As of 2023, the average annual wage in the United States was $66,622, according to the Social Security Administration. In that same year, the median household income in Houston, Texas, was $62,894, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Individual salaries in Houston vary widely based on factors, such as occupation, experience, and education. For example, according to Gusto.com:

Vice Presidents: Median salary of $125,000.
Product Managers: Median salary of $120,000.
Software Engineers: Median salary of $110,000.
Office Managers: Median salary of $50,000.

Compare those to pay increases received by these Harris County department heads:

Milton Rahman, head of the Engineering Department received an increase of more than $135,000.
Sindhu Menon, head of Universal Services, the county’s IT department, received an increase of more than $110,000.
Leah Barton, the temporary head of Public Health, also received a raise of more than $110,000.
Luis Arturo Sanchez, the chief medical examiner, received an increase of more than $90,000.
Tina Petersen, head of the flood control district, received an increase of almost $90,000.

Public Sector Vs. Private Sector: Differences in Philosophy

I cannot speak to the qualifications of any of the individuals above, nor the merit of their pay increases. But I would note a major philosophical difference between the public and private sectors re: salaries and salary increases.

The private sector usually links pay to performance in order to incentivize employees to work harder.

But in Harris County, the government reportedly wants to bring salaries up to a level that department heads could theoretically make somewhere else. The announced objective seems to be “employee retention.” However…

Pay Increased Despite Performance Issues

Shortly after department heads received the pay increases above, County Commissioners severely and publicly criticized several of those who received them. The issue: inability to deliver 2018 Bond and Subdivision Drainage Projects, exacerbated by 30-35% inflation in construction.

Commissioner Tom Ramsey (Precinct 3) said, “This is a major crisis. I sense no urgency from flood control. I sense no urgency from the county engineer’s office. And I don’t sense any urgency from the county administrator.” Ramsey also said, “We need to go back and take a look at it, but there needs to be an adult in room to be sure that we get honest answers back.”

Commissioner Lesley Briones (Precinct 4) expressed, “Utter dismay. Frustration. Shock.” She emphasized that the county needed to find solutions for both the subdivision drainage projects and the flood bond. “This is not OK,” she said. “And we need to get it done with a sense of urgency.”

Commissioner Rodney Ellis (Precinct 1) said, “This is an abysmal failure to deliver on the bond issue.”

All this happened after the department leaders of Flood Control and Engineering received pay increases of almost $90,000 and more than $135,000 per year respectively.

When I ran my business, if I had an employee whose performance was an “abysmal failure,” I usually had a different response that involved the door.

The pace of spending for flood-bond projects has declined for four straight years.

HCFCD annual spending trend — *Source: FOIA request. After flood bond approval, spending rapidly ramped up. Then the county instituted its Equity Plan and brought in new management.* *Given 30-35% inflation in construction*, *the decline is concerning.*

If adjusted for inflation, the HCFCD spending decline would be steeper than shown above. In fact, discounting last year’s spending by one third for cumulative inflation would make it equal to roughly $150 million. HCFCD spent that in 2017, the year before the Flood Bond passed.

And then there’s Universal Services (US), which has the county’s fourth highest paid leader. US provides IT support to other departments, such as the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). But parts of the Flood Control District website has been broken for months. HCFCD no longer shows the location of active projects.

Flood Control blames that on a failure of Geographic Information System (GIS) software maintained by US. But HCFCD’s Flood-Bond update frequency has also decreased from monthly to annually.

Chumocracy vs. Meritocracy and Tax Increases

County employees frequently complain about political hires without professional qualifications. For instance, Universal Services reportedly has a tradition under the current County Judge of hiring foreigners who have poor programming skills and who can barely speak English.

They place a higher burden on the remaining qualified professionals who find themselves doing a proportionally higher share of the work. They also demoralize remaining skilled professionals who see less talented people making equal pay while doing less.

This “chumocracy,” as Brits call it, is an insidious form of institutional cancer spreading throughout Harris County government. And Harris County leaders have asked Harris County taxpayers to foot the bill for their chumocracy with historic tax increases.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/16/25

2728 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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Mark Your Calendar: Median Madness Round 2, Northpark Closure

2/14/25 – Mark your calendars, Kingwood residents. Two important upcoming events will affect most of you: Median Madness Round 2 and a total Northpark Drive closure lasting 3-days at the UnionPacific Railroad near Loop 494. Here are details of each.

Median Madness Round 2

City Council Member Fred Flickinger has organized another vine trimming event on Kingwood Drive. It’s called Median Madness, Round 2. Please consider volunteering.

Round 1, held last November was a fun success. Dozens of volunteers from all of Kingwood got to vent their pent-up frustrations on vines that were taking over Kingwood Drive. And they did it with a vengeance.

Vine cleanup on Kingwood drive and the power of people working together, Median Madness — *Median Madness Round 1 in November 2024.*

They used chain saws, lopping shears, pruning saws and sheer muscle power to push back the wall of vines on a half mile stretch of median. But the best part beyond the results was the camaraderie that came from neighbors working together to improve their community.

Median Madness Round 2 will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025, between 8:30 AM and 12:00 PM from Kings Creek Drive to Forest Shores Drive. That’s roughly a block past Kings Forest Drive and a block short of Shady Run.

This time parking will be on the westbound lanes (north side) of Kingwood Drive. The organizers request that volunteers carpool.

Please Register HERE for the Event

Remember to bring water and gloves, and to wear closed-toe shoes. Anyone under 16 should be accompanied by an adult.

Once registered, you’ll receive an email with a waiver and helpful tips to prepare for the event. Be sure to complete the waiver and bring a printed copy with you on the day of Median Madness, Saturday, February 22nd.

Northpark Drive Closure March 5-7

As part of the Northpark Drive expansion project, both inbound and both outbound lanes will be closed from March 5-7 at the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks. That’s Wednesday through Friday. We’ve known this was coming for years. Now it’s here.

*UPRR Crews will need to shut down Northpark within the red box for three days to replace existing track with a SINGLE 200-foot-long section of new track.*

The new track will stretch under and across ten full lanes of traffic. Those include:

Three lanes of westbound traffic over a bridge yet to be built
Three lanes of eastbound traffic over the same bridge
Two westbound surface lanes, one for turning north, the other for turning south
Two eastbound surface lanes, one for traffic entering from the north and the other for traffic entering from the south.

To accomplish this feat, they need to close down Northpark Drive in BOTH directions simultaneously to work with massive cranes.

Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, stressed that the remainder of Northpark Drive will remain open so that people may access businesses.

Just plan on getting across the tracks some way other than Northpark. Contractors will construct a U-turn just before the track closure so that people can get to/from nearby businesses, such as Dunkin’ Donuts.

Start planning your detours now.

UPRR has two crews that handle projects like this throughout the entire country. Missing the opening in their schedule would mean waiting for years before they could return.

So pack your patience. Work from home if possible. And if not, plan extra time for your commute.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/14/25

2726 Days since Hurricane Harvey