Here’s how to report storm debris blocking Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) ditches and streams.
After a storm, it’s crucial to keep HCFCD channels clear of fallen trees and debris to reduce future flood risk. One tree down across a stream can catch other trees that create a log dam, backing water up into neighborhoods and streets.
If you spot any obstructions, please report them immediately.
With most power lines restored, now is the time to start the next step in the recovery process from Hurricane Beryl: clearing creeks and ditches.
In places like Kingwood, many creeks and ditches are in greenbelts. And many blockages may still be difficult to reach because of debris that has fallen on greenbelt trails.
Residents should seek out problems that could affect their homes and report them immediately.
Tree downed by Beryl over Bens Branch near Village Oaks Drivein Kingwood
Reporting Tips
HCFCD maintains more than 2000 miles of channels. So, report problems quickly; you don’t want to be at the end of that line.
Also make sure you clearly identify the location.
Many cell phones and cameras allow you to embed GPS coordinates in images if you turn the function on in settings.
Most drones also attach GPS coordinates to images.
At a minimum, use street addresses and crossroads.
I use a shareware program called PhotoGeoTag that generates a map of a problem’s location from GPS coordinates embedded in a photo like the one above. See below.
Screen Capture from PhotoGeoTag
It’s also important to identify the channel. Many locations won’t have names or street addresses. But they should have channel ID numbers at a minimum.
7/29/24 – Yesterday, I reviewed a thought-provoking, academic study co-authored by Dr. Samuel Brody of Texas A&M about the relative effectiveness of three different forms of flood mitigation. Today, I would like to discuss a related topic – the costs of not preserving floodplains.
Land in a floodplain is cheap. But the initial cost to the buyer/developer does not reflect the subsequent costs homebuyers and tax payers may incur.
Colony Ridge Land, Inc. bought up a series of lots in Huffman next the San Jacinto East Fork. Harris County Appraisal District values the half- to one-acre lots between $10,000 and $20,000. The catch? They were under 38.7 feet of water during Harvey and 33.7 feet during the 1994 flood.
Assuming Colony Ridge develops these properties, the subsequent costs could far outweigh their sales prices. But it won’t be the developer bearing the costs.
I asked ChatGPT to catalog the costs of NOT preserving floodplains. Here’s how it responded.
“Costs of NOT Preserving Floodplains”
ChatGPT: “Not preserving floodplains can result in a variety of costs and consequences, both immediate and long-term. These can be broadly categorized into environmental, economic, and social costs:
Environmental Costs:
Loss of Biodiversity: Floodplains are rich in biodiversity, providing habitats for numerous species. Development can lead to habitat destruction and loss of species.
Decreased Water Quality: Floodplains filter pollutants from water. Without them, pollutants can flow directly into rivers and lakes, degrading water quality.
Erosion and Sedimentation: The natural vegetation in floodplains helps prevent soil erosion. Without this, erosion can increase, leading to sedimentation in water bodies, which can harm aquatic life and reduce water quality.
Economic Costs:
Increased Flood Damage: Without natural floodplains to absorb floodwaters, the risk of flooding in developed areas increases, leading to higher costs in property damage and infrastructure repair.
Higher Flood Insurance Premiums: Increased flood risks can lead to higher insurance premiums for properties in flood-prone areas.
Loss of Ecosystem Services: Floodplains provide various ecosystem services, such as water filtration, carbon sequestration, and recreational opportunities. Losing these can have economic impacts.
Social Costs:
Displacement of Communities: Increased flooding can lead to the displacement of communities, causing social disruption and potentially leading to long-term relocation costs.
Health Impacts: Poor water quality and increased flood events can lead to health issues, such as waterborne diseases and mental health stress due to displacement and property loss.
Loss of Recreational Spaces: Floodplains often provide recreational spaces for communities. Development can lead to the loss of these spaces, reducing quality of life.
Long-Term Consequences:
Climate Change Exacerbation: Floodplains play a role in carbon sequestration. Their destruction can contribute to higher atmospheric CO2 levels, exacerbating climate change.
Sustainable Development Challenges: Unsustainable development in floodplains can hinder long-term sustainable development goals, leading to ongoing environmental and economic challenges.
Intergenerational Equity: Failing to preserve floodplains can impose long-term costs on future generations, including degraded environmental conditions and increased financial burdens.
Mitigation and Preservation Strategies:
Enforcing Zoning Laws: Implementing and enforcing zoning laws that restrict development in floodplain areas.
Restoration Projects: Initiating projects to restore and rehabilitate degraded floodplains.
Public Awareness: Educating the public and policymakers about the importance of floodplains and the consequences of their destruction.
Incentives for Conservation: Providing financial incentives for landowners to preserve and maintain floodplain areas.
The costs of not preserving floodplains are multifaceted and can lead to significant long-term consequences if not addressed through proactive measures.”
Diving Deeper
Clearly, you can do a deep dive into any one of the bullet points above – plus others not shown – and come up with a long list of costs.
ChatGPT didn’t even mention dredging costs, buyout costs or the cost of flood mitigation projects that try to reduce flooding in areas that flood repeatedly.
For instance:
The City of Houston spent $18 million to dredge the mouth bar of the San Jacinto East Fork downstream from the wetlands developed in Colony Ridge.
An article in Nature titled “Assessing the Full Costs of Floodplain Buyouts” by William Curran-Groome, Haylee Haygood, Miyuki Hino, Todd K. BenDor and David Salvesen details 23 pages of costs related to buyouts. They include burdens on government staff involved in buyout funding, acquisitions that can take years, 5-year funding pipelines, and dozens of other transactional costs.
Close to home, it took HCFCD five years to purchase and tear down the Forest Cove townhomes. And it cost the Houston Parks Board $3.5 million to build a segment of the West Fork Greenway that goes about halfway between US59 and Woodland Hills Drive.
I plan to dig deeper into the costs of not preserving floodplains to see if someone has compiled a comprehensive list of taxpayer costs triggered by a floodplain development. More to follow.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/29/24
2526 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.
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7/28/24 – A 2020 academic study in the journal “Cities” quantifies the relative effectiveness of three different ways to mitigate flood losses. They include storage, conveyance and measures designed to promote infiltration.
This research provides insight into preserving wetlands. It also encourages planners and policymakers to incentivize the implementation of storage basins in flood-prone areas.
Measures designed to increase conveyance ranked #2 among the three factors studied.
And increasing infiltration ranked a distant third. In fact, the last approach actually had a negative correlation with flood-loss reduction where/when rainfall exceeded water-retention capacity. “Infiltration-based drainage systems are more effective as a response to small, low-intensity storms,” states the conclusion.
Measures designed to promote infiltration include “hydraulic disconnectedness.” For instance, when runoff from rooftops goes straight into storm sewers via gutters and downspouts, the authors would classify that as “connected.”
However, when rooftop runoff goes into ponds, grassy areas or swales, it is said to be “disconnected” because that gives the runoff a chance to infiltrate.
But compaction during construction can cause a reduction in infiltration rates by as much as 70% to 99%, limiting the viability of this approach in highly urbanized areas.
The study examined 1608 properties in the Buffalo Bayou watershed in Houston between 2009 and 2012 “at a parcel level.” The authors point out that local factors, such as flat topography, clayey soils, high-density development, and climate may limit the application of the results to other regions.
Authors of this thought-provoking, insightful study on the best ways to mitigate flood losses include:
Samuel D. Brody from the Texas A&M Department of Marine Sciences
Wonmin Sohn, Jun-Hyun Kim and Ming-Han Li from the Michigan State School of Planning, Design and Construction.
I asked several local flood-mitigation professionals for their opinions on the most effective forms of flood mitigation. They largely agreed with the study.
One prioritized “conveyance improvements with mitigation detention.” He said, “Get the water to the Bay rather than in our homes. But do so in a way that doesn’t make it worse for anyone else.”
Another listed “regional detention” and “channel improvement projects” separately, but as his top two ways to prevent flood damage.
Importance of Strong Development Regulations
Of course, flood-mitigation professionals have more tools at their disposal than storage, conveyance and infiltration. So I asked a number of them to list their most important tools.
They all emphasized the importance of strong development regulations. One phrased it as “not building where flood risks are high.” Another talked about “development with flood prevention in mind.”
A third said, “Development criteria have been front and center in a lot of conversations recently. Nuanced differences exist from one area to another. And politics always get in the way. But in this region, regardless of location, STRONG development criteria help prevent making things worse. No other way around it.”
Floodplain preservation falls under the heading of “strong development regs.”
“Some claim floodplain preservation and prairie restoration are important components to flood-risk mitigation. They say we need these to make things better. But the fact is that preservation and restoration help keep things from getting worse.”
FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Viewer shows that thousands of homes have been built in the floodplains of Halls Bayou.Stronger development regulations could have prevented much heartbreak.
Buyout Strategies
Most of the topics above address the prevention of flooding. But additional tools come into play when correcting flooding.
Harris County Flood Control District often buys out clusters of repetitively flooded homes in an area. Compared to individual problem properties, clusters give the district an opportunity to build large regional detention detention projects such as the one that spans US59 at Halls Bayou. HCFCD had to buyout whole subdivisions in this area.
Other Important Strategies
Finally, my panel of experts also pointed to several other important flood-mitigation strategies.
Consistent Funding – It’s impossible to build giant stormwater detention basins and widen channels without large sums of money. Nor can you attract state and federal dollars without local matching funds. So it’s important to fund flood control at consistently meaningful levels. Projects can take decades.
Political support/strong leadership – Without the support of city, county and state leaders, projects won’t happen. And they have to be willing to go to taxpayers for the funding. That requires a…
Well thought-out, justifiable plan – The 2018 flood bond passed because it was based on local input from citizens and leaders in every Harris County watershed. Decades of previously conducted flood studies suddenly became actionable with the bond money. The logic of it helped justify projects and build community momentum.
Communication – is important to selling the plan, keeping it sold, and justifying changes along the way.
One could easily argue that without any one of those things, nothing else would happen. We would have no ways to mitigate flood losses.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/28/24
2525 Days since Hurricane Harvey
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7/26/24 – The National Weather Service (NWS) has produced a must-read publication called “The 2024 Official SE Texas Hurricane, Severe Weather Guide.” It puts everything you need to know about dealing with hurricanes and other forms of severe weather that strike this area – into one place. It’s a concise, well-written, easy-to-understand compilation of essential information. And it contains large type for the visually impaired.
All Types of Severe Weather Threats Covered
The Guide contains preparedness and safety tips for dealing with hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, large hail, heat and rip currents. It also includes links to websites that will help you stay informed on the quickly evolving threats. Whether you live inland or near the coast, you must read this 32 page document.
List of Topics
Even long-time Gulf Coast residents will find useful information in the 2024 SE Texas Hurricane, Severe Weather Guide. It contains:
Hurricane Names (for the next five years)
A Readiness Checklist
How to Interpret National Hurricane Center (NHC) Cone Graphics
Background Information about Hurricanes (such as tracks of the 62 hurricanes that have hit the Texas Coast since 1851)
Surf and Rip Currents
How Distant Hurricanes Can Be Deadly
Storm Surge
Inland Reach of Storm Surge in Cat 1, 2 and 3 Storms for Galveston Bay, Matagorda Bay and the Brazoria Coastline
Five Practical Ways to Protect Yourself from Inland Flooding
Tornadoes and Destructive Winds
Mobil Homes in High Winds
Hurricane Preparation (Elevation, Mobil Homes, Landscaping, Roofing, Doors and Windows)
Preparation for Businesses, Marine Areas, Pets
Insurance Tips for Before and After the Storm
Contact Info and Supplies
Hurricane Supply Kit Checklist
Final Checklists
When Storms Are in the Gulf
Actions to Take When Evacuating
Actions to Take if Staying
Best Sources for Forecast Information
Explanation of Terminology and Graphics used by NHC and NWS
How to Set Up Android and Apple Phones to Receive Extreme Weather Alerts
Where to Find Local information
A Tourist Safety Guide
Evacuation Routes (including where to find local maps and actions to take before evacuating)
Evacuation Zip Zones (for five different categories of hurricanes)
How to Register for State of Texas Emergency Assistance
Returning Home (including cleanup, water, disinfection, utilities, generators, sewage)
Emergency Management Contacts for 23 Southeast Texas Counties
Best-In-Class Resource
You could find information about each of these topics with a web search. But this guide puts all the essential information together for you in one place. And the guide is localized for this area.
It’s a best-in-class resource. And it’s free.
For easy future reference, I’m posting a PDF of the Guide on ReduceFlooding.com. You can find it on the Links page – the first link under Preparedness.
Hurricane Supplies Depleted by Beryl? Replenish Now!
As if on cue, I received an email from Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner this afternoon while writing this post. It included a graphic from the NHC about a potential area of interest in the Atlantic. They project that the disturbance, if it develops, will move toward the Gulf.
As of 7/26/24, NHC gives the area only a 20% chance of developing.
However, Lindner warns, “Overall, the recently quiet Atlantic will be shifting toward a much more active phase over the next 7-10 days. That will likely continue into the peak of hurricane season in September.”
He added, “Now is the time to make sure supplies utilized during Beryl are restocked and plans in place for the remainder of this season.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/26/24
2523 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2024-07-26 16:05:402024-07-26 22:44:09Must Read: NWS 2024 SE Texas Hurricane, Severe Weather Guide
7/25/24 Noon – A flood watch and warning continue for the Lake Houston Area with more heavy rain expected. The San Jacinto East Fork and West Fork, Caney Creek and Lake Creek are all at or near flood stage due to even heavier rains earlier in the week.
Flood watches and warnings have been extended until late tonight and “may need be extended into Friday,” according Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner.
Both Lake Conroe and Lake Houston remain well above normal levels and are discharging water.
It’s been a wet year so far. Rainfall year to date is 57% higher than normal at Bush Intercontinental Airport. And while the tropics are currently quiet, sea surface temperatures remain well above average for this time of year.
See more details below.
San Jacinto East Fork
The worst flooding seems to be along the East Fork where water is into the moderate flood stage and still rising. NOAA predicts it will crest at 63.7 feet tomorrow.
Farther upstream at Cleveland, the Fire Department has warned of flooded low-water areas. But the river appears to be cresting.
Caney Creek near Splendora
Caney Creek near Splendora has peaked inches below the moderate flood stage and should start decreasing today.
Lake Creek Above the Woodlands
Lake Creek above The Woodlands is also flirting with flooding due to more than 10 inches of rain in the last three days. However, barring more heavy rainfall, the creek should now recede.
West Fork at US59
All the water that fell near The Woodlands is now working its way downstream to the Lake Houston Area. Minor lowland flooding last night is now receding.
Lake Conroe
The level in Lake Conroe is finally going down, but the SJRA continues to release more than 5,000 Cubic Feet per Second (CFS).
The SJRA reported a level of 201.88 earlier this morning.
Lake Houston
Lake Houston is 1.6 feet higher than normal and discharging 32,435 CFS. Ten thousand CFS can go through the existing flood gates. The rest is going over the spillway.
Rainfall Prediction
The National Weather Service predicts 3-6 inches of rain along the coastline, 2-4″ inches up to I-10, and up to 1.5 inches farther inland.
I’ve already received more than an inch in my rain gage so far today.
Flood Watch Remains in Effect
As a result of more rain falling on ground saturated by heavier rainfall earlier in the week, a Flood Watch remains in effect for Harris, Liberty, Galveston, Chambers and Fort Bend counties.
Rainfall Year-to-Date
So, how does all this rainfall compare to a normal year? The National Weather Service shows this graph for Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Normally, by this day in July, we get around 28 inches of rain. But year to date, we have received 44.27 – 57% more than normal – quite a change from last year’s drought.
Tropical Outlook
The National Hurricane Center currently shows no areas of interest in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico. That’s good news. And they expect none for the next seven days – even better news.
However, forecasters warn that that could turn around in early August. Sea surface temperatures remain well above normal for this time of year.
The main development region between West Africa and the Caribbean remains 1-3 degrees Celsius above average. That translates to 1.8 to 5.4 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale.
So remember to keep those storm drains clear of debris from Beryl! And keep those floaties handy!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/25/24
2522 Days since Hurricane Harvey
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7/24/24 – Note: This guest editorial by Kingwood resident Tony Lanson is timely. The Lake Houston Area is currently under yet another flood watch.
Why are the promised Lake Houston flood gates not completed? Why has the schedule slipped repeatedly? Will they really be constructed by 2028 – the latest target date? That’s 11 years after Harvey and five years later than originally promised. We need them to reduce flood risk.
The threat to our community’s sense of peace and wellbeing has eroded the value proposition for current and prospective Lake Houston residents and businesses.
Repeated Delays
Our elected officials did their job. They responded to an urgent mandate to act. They:
Persevered through years of consultant reports and 11 engineering alternatives.
However, the project now seems stuck in a low gear. Project-level leadership seems to lack urgency to deliver.
Has the Lake Houston Flood Gates project team been challenged to simplify the process and accelerate the schedule? Urgency seems to be missing – even after the May 2024 flood and Hurricane Beryl rekindled old fears and anxieties.
Early Missteps
From 2018 to 2023 the City of Houston and the CWA presided over contract firms, project scoping, design, costing, permitting, bidding and reviews.
However, the City of Houston could find no contractors to bid on the project because of “constructability risk.” Was there no constructability review during five years of engineering?
Thus, engineering and design for the project turned into a “start over.”
The Latest Plan
The new Lake Houston Flood Gates project has 11 tainter gates in the eastern, earthen portion of the dam instead of crest gates on the western portion. But the project’s cost tripled.
Looking N at Lake Houston Dam. New plan would place 11 Tainter gates near red circle.
On May 25, 2024, we learned the project could hopefully begin construction in 2025. Officials hinted at possible completion in 2028.
Each dam project alone was larger than the addition of 11 gates to the Lake Houston Dam. And both dams were completed in two years.
Now, focus on changes to the Wirtz Dam flood gates. In 2023, the LCRA announced it would replace the nine original gates plus one that was added in 1974. That makes 10 gates in total. And each gate is larger than those proposed for Lake Houston. LCRA estimates completion in 2025.
Again, they are doing it in two years compared to Lake Houston’s current 11-year schedule. That should give everyone reason for pause – especially considering that the Wirtz gates are twice as big as the Lake Houston gates.
Each gate will be fabricated on site. The old gates will be replaced individually, requiring coffer dams for each. Yet the Wirtz project will cost half as much as the Lake Houston project.
Need to Improve Project Management
Can’t we do 10 smaller gates in less than three years? Especially when it’s the same gate replicated 10 times. Replication and standardization usually increase efficiency, reduce time, and cut costs.
Is an optimization review or constructability review with prospective contractors planned this time to avoid another “no bid” situation?
Is it time to ask if the Lake Houston Flood Gates project is being managed prudently with best project management practices?
Good project management assures all stakeholders that the best effort is occurring. It sets reasonable expectations. And project transparency with the public goes a long way in generating trust.
More gates on the Lake Houston dam will not make everyone safe in the event of another Harvey. But the gates will prevent people from flooding in smaller storms, which are much more frequent.
Consider, for instance, the early May storm this year. It was a small fraction of Harvey. Yet thousands of homes had floodwater lapping at their foundations.
Expeditious completion of the project would support peace of mind, well-being and prosperity in our community. We need that right now as the community still reels from Hurricane Beryl and contemplates the start of what experts predict will be an abnormally active hurricane season.
Shouldn’t we have gotten ahead of this by now? Who will enforce the urgency to act?
By Tony Lanson, Kingwood Resident
2521 Days since Hurricane Harvey
ReduceFlooding.com will be happy to publish the City’s or Coastal Water Authority’s point of view on this important topic.
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7/23/24 at 7PM – The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a flood watch for much of southeast Texas until at least Wednesday evening. They warn to keep storm drains clear of debris from Hurricane Beryl.
From National Weather Service/Houston as of 7PM 7/3/24
NWS already predicts the East Fork San Jacinto to reach the moderate flood stage. Other bayous and channels could follow, according to Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist.
Perfect Setup for Heavy Rains, Flooding
Heavy storms have pummeled the area north of Lake Houston and Lake Conroe for most of the day and are continuing.
A combination of increasing Gulf moisture, lift from an upper level trough over the region, and slow/training storm motions will produce a threat for heavy to excessive rainfall tonight into Wednesday.
RadarScope Pro Image from 6:38PM on 7/23/24.
Lakes Rapidly Rising
As a result, as of 7 PM, the level of:
Lake Houston has increased almost a foot
Lake Conroe has risen a half foot.
The Coastal Water Authority is discharging 18,613 cubic feet per second (CFS) from Lake Houston. And the SJRA is releasing 4801 CFS from Lake Conroe.
SJRA warns that heavy rainfall potential remains in place for the next two to three days. The Lake Conroe outflow amount could possibly increase overnight if additional rain occurs in the watershed, they say.
Lake Conroe will continue to pass through storm water and runoff received in the Upper San Jacinto River Basin until Lake Conroe returns to normal conservation lake level of 201 feet.
Where to Find the Most Current Information
Monitor:
Real-time information on Lake Conroe at www.sjra.net.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County’s meteorologist had this to say about the flood watch: “Heavy rainfall is currently ongoing over portions of Montgomery County with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms developing over much of the area west of I-45 and north of I-10.”
Ongoing activity should begin to weaken later this evening. However, rainfall amounts over the next 3-5 hours of 2-4 inches in an hour or less will be possible with the heavier storms.
He also expects that we will see thunderstorms that slowly progress inland from the Gulf. These storms will have the potential to produce rainfall rates of 3-5 inches per hour which is raising the flash flood risk for early Wednesday along and south of the I-10 corridor.
“It is possible that much of this activity could remain near the coast or just offshore, but it is close enough to warrant a close watch,” cautions Lindner. “Additional rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches can be expected over much of the area with amounts of 4-6 inches south of I-10.”
Lindner says he would not be surprised to see an isolated 10-inch amount somewhere given the air mass in place.
Monitor the Harris County Flood Warning System for the most current river/bayou flood conditions near you.
Flash flooding will be possible under the heavy rain cores as well as quick rises on area creeks and bayous.
Jeff Lindner, Harris County Meteorologist
East Fork of the San Jacinto River
Heavy rainfall yesterday and again today will produce a significant rise along the river from above Cleveland to Lake Houston starting on Wednesday and lasting into late this week.
The river will rise above flood stage late Wednesday at FM 1485 and above moderate flood levels on Thursday.
Low lying roads near the river will be impacted and FM 1485 will potentially be overtopped. However, the current forecast for the river is well below levels experienced in May of this year, according to Lindner.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/23/24
2520 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Approaching-storms.jpg?fit=1100%2C679&ssl=16791100adminadmin2024-07-23 19:56:002024-07-23 20:23:16Flood Watch Issued for Much of SE Texas Until Wednesday Evening
July 22 2024 – Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) still aims to complete the giant Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin between FM1960 and Cypress Creek just East of the Hardy Toll Road before the end of this year.
Pictures taken 7/22/24 Show Progress
Looking S toward FM1960 from over Mercer Basin. Hardy Toll Road cuts through upper right of frame.Reverse angle looking N toward Cypress Creek in trees just north of the northern basin.Looking West toward Hardy Toll Road at Southern Basin. FM1960 in upper left.
Compare these pictures of the Mercer Basin in February this year when clearing and construction was just getting started.
Fighting the Elements
All things considered – January floods, a derecho, May floods and Hurricane Beryl – contractors seem to be making good progress. Especially if you consider that I’ve already recorded 57 inches of rain in my gage in the first six and a half months of this year – more than we usually get in a full year.
How Big is It?
The Mercer Site covers 58 acres. It will contain twin, connected, dry-bottom basins totaling 512 acre feet.
One acre roughly equals the size of a football field without end zones. So, 512 acre feet would cover an area that large to a depth of 512 feet. That’s approximately the height of Two Allen Center downtown.
Of course, the basin won’t be 512 feet deep. It will likely be around 8 to 10 feet deep because it covers 58 acres minus room for maintenance roads.
History of Project
Harris County finalized acquisition of the property in August 2023. A $15.4 million grant obtained from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2018 stipulates completion before the end of this year.
Additional funding comes from the 2018 Bond Program, which was approved by Harris County voters on August 25, 2018.
Layout and Location
The two maps below show the layout and location of the project.
HCFCD map of Mercer projectMercer is about 8 miles upstream from the US59 bridge over the West Fork.
Cypress Creek joins Spring Creek before reaching US59.
Construction Details
Features include:
Concrete box culverts will equalize water levels between the two compartments. And a spillway will connect the northern basin to Cypress Creek.
A 54” outfall pipe will move water from the basin into Cypress Creek.
A 30’ wide berm will accommodate maintenance and future recreational amenities.
Part of a Bigger Solution
Mercer is one of several stormwater detention basin projects HCFCD is developing in the Cypress Creek watershed.
A regional drainage study for the watershed found that rising floodwaters in Cypress Creek back water up into tributaries and cause flooding there. The tributaries have sufficient stormwater conveyance or drainage capacity. Therefore, stormwater detention basins can help reduce the backwater issue.
The regional drainage study described here recommends nearly 25,000 acre-feet of additional stormwater detention in the watershed.
Mercer by itself won’t help the Lake Houston Area much in a major flood. It’s designed to help primarily homes and businesses in the area which you can see in the photos above.
But every little bit helps.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/22/2024
2519 Days since Hurricane Harvey
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July 21, 2024 – Last week, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) quietly shared this year’s flood-bond update with Commissioners Court. The update came during widespread power and internet outages from Hurricane Beryl that limited its visibility.
Combining the data in this flood-bond update with data from other sources reveals the impact of the County’s political divide and Equity Prioritization Indices. Both have affected projects in the Lake Houston area and Precinct 3 negatively.
But first some good news.
More Partner Funds Now Secured than Required by Original Bond
The total of secured funding now exceeds $5.2 billion. That includes the $2.5 billion approved by voters in 2018 plus $2.7 billion in other funding secured since then.
The additional funds include grants and matching funds from city, state and federal governments plus other local organizations, such as municipal utility districts. It also includes $87 million in Bond ID Z-07 – the Bond Program Reserve, formerly known as the Flood Resilience Trust.
Commissioners Court allocated this money to backstop bond funding before a massive infusion of funds from the General Land Office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2022.
HCFCD says it is working on revising costs to reflect inflation and the rising cost of property acquisition since then. However, it appears that HCFCD did not include inflation-adjusted project estimates in the current update.
Dollars Spent vs Dollars Secured
Regardless, we are now at a point in the bond where available cash covers the original estimates. So looking at dollars spent vs. dollars secured gives us a reasonable feel for how close we are to completing flood-bond projects in various watersheds. See the bar graph below.
Compiled by combining 2024 Bond Update Appendix B on Page 10 with spending data obtained separately via FOIA request.See data in table below.
Brays and Greens are more than 80% complete. Five others are more than 50%.
Meanwhile, 15 others are less than 50%. And of those, 10 are less than 25%. The county’s largest watershed, the San Jacinto, is only 19% complete (“spent”).
The graph above does not include Carpenters Bayou. It was an anomaly at 1762%. The 2021 bond update included only half a million dollars for a study there. But HCFCD has spent almost $9 million so far. Including Carpenters in the bar graph distorted the scale and obscured the differences between the other watersheds. However, I did include it in the table below.
Compiled by combining Bond Update Appendix B on Page 10 with spending data obtained via FOIA request.County-wide projects not included.
Next month will mark the sixth anniversary of flood-bond approval. The bond was originally intended to be a 10-year program. So, totaling all these figures, we are about 40% done in 60% of the time. There’s certainly room for improvement on that front.
Projects in some watersheds are stalled while projects in others near completion. Take, for instance, the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Taylor Gully Projects in the San Jacinto Watershed. The Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis identified them as the top two projects in Kingwood back in 2020.
But not a shovel full of dirt has been turned yet on the Diversion Ditch project. And a $1,000 excavation and removal contract on the Woodridge/Taylor Gully project was terminated last November when only one third complete.
Partisan Changes Negatively Impact Precinct 3
Another thing to look at: changes to projects (Dollar Increases or Decreases; Project Deletions or Additions). While a certain amount of changes are normal when dealing with rough, early estimates, in this case, the changes also reflect a partisan bias.
Harris County has three Democratic commissioners and one Republican – Tom Ramsey in Precinct 3.
Thirty projects affecting the three Democratic Precincts increased by $162.6 million – $54.2 million per precinct on average. But projects in the lone Republican precinct increased only $27 million. Thus, the three Democrats each benefited twice as much from additions as the lone Republican.
Likewise, 12 projects in the three Democratic Precincts decreased by a total of $92.6 million or $30.6 million per precinct on average. But Ramsey’s precinct lost $40.5 million.
Ramsey lost $13.5 million more than he gained.
Ellis, Garcia and Briones each gained about $8 million more than they lost.
When watersheds crossed precinct boundaries, I split dollars evenly among them. For example, if a project increased in value by $10 million and benefited one Republican and one Democratic precinct, I allocated $5 million to each. While that may not be precisely accurate in all cases, more precise data is not readily available.
To see the evolution of the bond fund through various iterations during the last six years, see the Harris County Flood Control District tab on the ReduceFlooding Reports page.
Other Items of Note
I did not include Countywide Expenditures in the calculations above even though they took a large hit. Their decrease shows up in corresponding increases for watershed projects. And I was more interested in how those were skewed.
However, one item definitely deserves future exploration: the $50 million decrease in “Federal Grant Funded Volunteer Home Buyouts.” Typically, the Federal Government grants funds for specific purposes. Where did this money go? The 2024 flood-bond update does not say.
Also of note: HCFCD currently has 20 projects in construction or turnover. The District has spent more than $2 billion in bond and partnership funds out of the $5.2 billion now available.
The latest bond update points out that of 181 original projects, 42 have been completed and closed out.
Equity Being Redefined Again
Separate from the bond update, Commissioners approved an expansion of equity guidelines last week. Item 18 on the agenda discusses an expanded definition of “equity” that will be used to allocate future flood mitigation dollars. It includes three components:
Structural Equity – righting historical wrongs
Procedural Equity – implementing procedures, policies and programs for groups previously not considered.
Socio-emotionally Intelligent Equity – mitigates the impacts of interpersonal, individual, structural, systemic, and institutional racism and sexism.
More news to follow when I figure out how all that will affect flood-control-mitigation dollars which have historically correlated to flood damage more than sexism.
At the very least, the imposition of new metrics on projects will slow down project scoring and implementation. It’s additional overhead burden on already complex processes. But my real fear? More and more of the San Jacinto watershed budget will slip away to other watersheds.
7/19/24 – With 4-5 inches of rain expected in the next few days, storm sewer inlets, ditches, and gutters blocked by tree debris from Beryl could form a secondary crisis. Especially if the downpours become intense enough to cause street flooding that floats debris.
A Widespread Issue
Jeff Miller from Elm Grove Village in Kingwood alerted me to this problem. Miller graciously allowed me to use some photos he sent. I won’t bother to caption them. They all show the same thing: storm debris that could get swept into storm drains or that blocks ditches.
However, I will feature ten from different villages in Kingwood that show how widespread the problem is. I could show a hundred. A drive around Kingwood earlier today confirmed that this problem exists throughout the community.
Photos from 7/19/24
And last, but certainly not least…
The culvert under this drive is totally blocked by debrisfrom a tree that fell on resident’s house.
Some Neighborly Advice
The power outages from Beryl are bad enough. Don’t create another secondary crisis.
Debris in ditches, gutters and storm drain inlets can block orderly drainage and back water up into neighborhoods and homes…especially if the homes are not elevated much above street level.
Help yourself and your neighbors by making sure your debris pile doesn’t pour into the street or block your ditch. Ask tree companies and lawn maintenance providers to pile debris at least a foot back from the curb. Admittedly, that can be hard in the case of ditches. But please try to leave some room for the water to flow around.
Budget Impact Waiting Down the Road
A former Harris County Flood Control District executive confirmed that drains blocked by debris is a common problem. “It is a concern, especially with the rain predicted for the next few days. There is not much anyone can do about it now though. Maybe Public Works can clean the drains later this year after things are back to normal.” Unfortunately, that could take time and money, creating another potential secondary crisis involving the City’s budget.
