9/21/2024 – Is Beryl debris cleared from the stream or channel nearest you yet? Here’s how to report fallen trees when you find them blocking waterways. Hurry. Once the equipment is gone, it will be hard to get it back.
Harris County Flood Control District and FEMA contractors have been hard at work for the last two months removing those blockages. But they have 2500 miles of channels to clear. Some of those miles, like those in Kingwood, are difficult to access and they’re massively clogged with debris.
Ensuring debris is removed involves reporting the precise location of blockages which don’t always have street addresses. If your phone doesn’t embed GPS coordinates in images, identify the location on the channel map in Harris County’s Flood Education Mapping Tool.
In many cases, clearing blockages may also involve negotiating rights of access with contractors across homeowner or trail association property. So make sure you inform your associations, too.
How Debris Creates Hidden Flood Threats
On July 8, Beryl bulldozed its way through Houston. The damage was especially bad in the Lake Houston Area. Trees fell on roofs and power lines everywhere. Many homes still await repair, though power has been restored.
But hidden out of sight, are hundreds, if not thousands of trees that fell into our streams and channels, deep in the woods where most people don’t see them. If left in place, these trees can catch others swept downstream in future floods. And the resulting log dams, can back water up into homes, causing even more damage.
And Beryl left a lot of debris.
Removing 350 Tons from One Channel in One Day
Optimal, a FEMA contractor, said they removed 350 tons of debris from one channel in Kings Forest in one day. The work involved several vehicles. That’s 700,000 pounds.
See the pictures below supplied by Chris Bloch, a Bear Branch Trail Association Director. He took them on on 9/18/24 in Kings Forest and Kingwood Lakes.
The yellow tracked vehicle in the creek cuts logs (right) and wrestles them into another tracked vehicle which hauls them out of the woods.
Here’s what they are up against.
It’s was a messy job. But they removed the threats.
The 12-Ton tracked dump truck hauled the logs and brush to the Kings Forest Pool parking lot.They piled it up for other trucks to take away. It all operated like an assembly line. Or should I say disassembly line?
Some blockages may require bigger equipment which is in shorter supply according to Bloch. In those cases, contractors may have to return later. The main thing is to report all the damage you find to HCFCD now. They still have quite a few Kingwood channel sections to clear. But hurry. Hurricane season is far from over.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/21/24
2580 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240918-Bear-Branch-from-KW-Drive.jpg?fit=1100%2C831&ssl=18311100adminadmin2024-09-21 18:58:502024-09-21 19:15:35Is Beryl Debris Cleared from Your Stream or Channel Yet?
9/20/24 – At City Council Member Fred Flickinger’s town hall meeting last night, discussion of new Lake Houston floodgates consumed a large portion of the meeting. The big news: final design of the gates has started. But design will not finish until the end of 2025. Construction could take another 3-5 years or more. However, enough money is available to get the project started.
During Q&A, several residents expressed surprise and dismay that the project was not further along.
Details of Gates Project from Presentation
Recommendation
The slide below shows the current plan – to add 11 new Tainter gates to the earthen embankment east of the spillway and existing gates. The new gates will bring the total release capacity of the dam up to 80,000 cubic feet per second from 10,000.
Alt 1B in the title of the slide refers to one of several alternatives developed during the preliminary-engineering phase.
Note the gray diagram on the right with the red lettering in the slide above. It shows the gates being installed in a U-shaped structure protruding in front of the existing dam. This eliminates the need for a temporary “coffer” dam in the lake during construction.
Timeline
A review of the timeline when the conceptual plans were first proposed in 2022 showed completion of construction in 2026. Now the City hopes to complete the final design by 2026. Construction could take another 3-5 years beyond that.
Could the schedule slip again? Council Member Flickinger emphasized that FEMA has a final deadline that can’t slip: May 26th of 2026 (18 months from now) for final approval of all the upfront work before construction starts.
However, when FEMA made its initial grant of $50 million for the gates project back in 2019, it said that it required the project to be complete in 3 years, i.e., by 2022.
Complexity Blamed for Delays
Flickinger, who only this year inherited this project, has been trying to accelerate it. He suggested that project complexity and cost uncertainty were the main reasons for delays to date.
The initial recommendation was to add crest gates to the spillway portion of the dam. That would have required lowering the dam several feet before adding gates. However, Public Works could not find any contractors willing to bid on the project. The risk with a 75 year old dam was too high. That required a reboot of the entire project.
With the reboot and a new recommended alternative, came cost uncertainty.
Simultaneously, uncertainty surrounded whether FEMA would support the Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA). Traditionally, FEMA wants benefits to exceed damage repair costs. However on this project costs exceeded benefits – until Dave Martin, Flickinger’s predecessor, convinced FEMA to include “social benefits.”
Social benefits include things like avoidance of disruptions to business, commerce, schools and the area’s tax base. Including those brought the BCA up to 2.88 said Martin in December 2022. Suddenly, that made the project doable again.
The slide below shows how the current costs and funding commitments compare. If we can avoid more delays, there’s a chance we have enough money to complete this project. Otherwise, it’s back to the federal trough.
Projected financial commitments currently exceed projected costs.
But inflation is always a worry. So is overly optimistic estimating, which often happens in the early stages of projects because it generates follow-on work. Plus we’ve had turnover in Houston Public Works with the change in administrations.
Finally, given the number of entities involved (City, Harris County, State, Federal, Coastal Water Authority, engineering companies, legal counsel, etc.), coordination is also an issue.
Example: City Council approval of an inter-local agreement (ILA) on 9/11 with FEMA, Texas Division of Emergency Management, and the Coastal Water Authority. It concerned changes to the scope and recommendations in the project.
The ILA finally cleared the way for the project to move forward. But ILA approval came two months after the Coastal Water Authority approved it. And five months after FEMA and Texas Division of Emergency Management approved it. The City legal department had already approved the changes before they went to CWA, according to Flickinger’s office. So why did we lose half a year before it even got on the Council agenda?
This certainly qualifies as a failure of project management. A single accountable person with the authority to mandate and generate urgency is an opportunity.
I could get no good answers from the City although I have heard concerns expressed about excessive turnover in Public Works associated with new leadership in the department. Regardless, we lost another 6 months. Again. This time, for no good reason.
Flickinger said quite bluntly last night, “We need to do a better job of communicating.”
Appointment of Dan Huberty to CWA Board
In that regard, Mayor Whitmire has appointed Dan Huberty to the Coastal Water Authority Board. Huberty, supported this project since the beginning when he was state rep. He also lives on the lake. So, he will be a valuable advocate. He can help fill that communication gap.
CWA Director Dan Huberty (left) addressed Kingwood Town Hall with Council Member Flickinger (right)
Huberty, like Flickinger, said, “Better communication on activity, status, budget, and schedule is needed.”
Overall, our elected officials emphasized that community participation in the conversation will be important.
Officials also emphasized that community involvement by comments in City Council meetings and in Austin are essential to maintaining urgency.
An estimated 300 people packed the Kingwood Town Hall Meeting
Approximately 300 people attended the Town Hall meeting, which ran 3 hours.
Other Topics, Presenters
Last night’s agenda covered a wide range of topics. In addition to the gates, presentations also included other flood-related topics such as sedimentation, dredging, and sand traps. More on those in another post.
Policing and crime reduction were also discussed. But while fascinating and a large part of the meeting, they are off topic for this blog. So I’ll leave that to others.
At-Large City Council Members Twila Carter and Julian Ramirez also spoke in addition to State Representative Charles Cunningham. So did the heads of several City departments.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kingwood-2024-TOWN-HALL-SLIDES_Page_06-scaled-e1726876828400.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-09-20 19:03:492024-09-21 13:07:08Design Finally Starting on New Lake Houston Floodgates
9/19/24 – On Tuesday 9/17/24, the North Houston Association held a reception for members and the press to promote 27 strategic flood-reduction priorities in the new state flood plan.
The state flood plan contains thousands of recommendations from 15 different river basins around the state. However, the boundaries of the North Houston Association (NHA) fall entirely within the San Jacinto River Basin (Region 6). And NHA represents interests only in the northern part of the basin.
The Association represents business interests primarily in northern Harris and southern Montgomery Counties.
The 27 priorities extend from northern Montgomery County to central Harris County. They also spread from Waller and Grimes Counties on the west to Liberty County on the East. See map below.
Below is a high level summary of each NHA recommendation. For maps and additional details including benefits, funding potential partnerships, and costs, click on the embedded links.
Garret’s Creek Stormwater Detention Basin will provide approximately 16,850 acre-feet of storage capacity to reduce flood risk along Lake Creek and the San Jacinto West Fork.
Caney Creek Stormwater Detention Basin at FM 1097 will provide approximately 13,900 acre-feet of storage capacity to reduce damage downstream. Steep terrain at this site allowed for necessary volume within a smaller footprint which minimizes land acquisition costs.
Little Caney Creek Stormwater Detention will provide approximately 17,500 acre-feet of storage capacity and will reduce flooding along both Lake Creek and the West Fork.
Development of a forecasting tool for Lake Houston.
Caney Creek Stormwater Detention Basin at SH105 will provide approximately 28,090 acre-feet of storage capacity to reduce downstream damage. Again, the steep terrain minimizes land acquisition costs.
River Plantation Channel will widen a 9.3- mile-long stretch of the West Fork to increase conveyance capacity and lower the water surface elevation.
Peach Creek Channelization at I-69 would widen a 4.3-mile-long stretch of the creek to increase conveyance capacity and also provide approximately 800 ac-ft of detention volume.
Spring Creek Woodlands Channel improvements include a 9.7-mile long, 500-feet-wide “benching plan.” It would accommodate increased flow by excavating a series of steps in the floodplain and reduce flood elevations by 3.5 to 8 feet. The project would also provide 12,500 ac-ft of detention volume to mitigate adverse impacts downstream.
Caney Creek Channelization at I-69 would “bench” a 7.8-miles of the creek to increase conveyance capacity. To offset adverse downstream impacts, the program would require approximately 530 ac-ft of detention volume upstream.
Willow Creek Detention Basins include nine areas along Willow Creek totaling 900 acres. Another 450 acres would be acquired for floodplain preservation.
Spring Creek at I-45 channelization would provide a 300-foot-wide benched improvement stretching 6.9 miles. The project would also include approximately 8,000 ac-ft of detention volume upstream of offset potentially adverse impacts downstream.
Little Cypress Creek Frontier Program acquires land for future, regional stormwater mitigation projects such as stormwater detention and conveyance.
Cypress Creek Implementation Plan outlines a comprehensive, watershed-wide approach to flood mitigation including stormwater detention basins, channel improvements, and right-of-way acquisition for floodplain preservation.
Kingwood Benching would widen the West Fork to 3,500 feet starting at the elevation of 42 feet. It will require over 30.5 million cubic yards of excavation over a surface area of 3,527 acres. Mitigating potential downstream impacts will also require approximately 923 ac-ft of detention volume upstream.
Greens Bayou Mid-Reach Program will make numerous channel improvements to provide at least a 10-year level of service within the project area.
Luce Bayou Interagency Coordination. The Luce watershed covers about 227 square miles, of which only 23 square miles are within Harris County. Solving flooding problems here will require cooperation with other counties.
Jackson Bayou. A recently completed comprehensive planning effort included a combination of channel conveyance and stormwater detention improvements. Now the challenge is to make them real.
Cooperative Effort
Any effort as large as this involves many community groups, companies and governmental organizations working together. US Representative Dan Crenshaw, Harris County Commissioners Leslie Briones and Tom Ramsey, Freese Nichols, Halff, Quiddity Engineering, and the SJRA all sponsored Tuesday’s event. But there were many other participants including the Greens Bayou Coalition, the Cypress Creek Flood Coalition, the East Aldine District, North Houston District and more.
Subcommittee members within NHA’s Water Committee who crafted the list above.
Eligibility for Funding from State
Alan Black of Quiddity Engineering and a former Acting Director of the Harris County Flood Control District, explained how NHA compiled its list. In addition to the reasons listed in each link above, he emphasized the importance of funding and the state flood plan.
“Every single one of these projects in this plan are included in the recently completed state flood plan,” he said.
Alan Black, VP of Quiddity Engineering, one of the events sponsors.
“The reason that’s important is that since 2019, the state legislature has appropriated more than $1 billion to the Flood Infrastructure Fund. And recently, in the 2023 legislature, they added criteria that said those funds can’t be spent on anything except projects in the state flood plan. So every one of these projects is eligible for funding through state appropriations,” said Black.
Call to Action
Black also acknowledged that a billion dollars is wholly inadequate to fund all the projects in the state plan. He estimated the $54 billion of projects currently included in the plan could easily double within the next five-year planning cycle.
“So my call to action,” said Black, “is to encourage each of you to talk with your state representatives, your state senators, and say, ‘Continue to provide meaningful investment into the flood infrastructure fund, so we can see these projects come to fruition.'”
9/18/2024 – Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger will host a town hall meeting on Thursday 9/19/24 at the Kingwood Community Center. Doors open at 6PM. The program starts at 6:30.
Houston District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger
The event will feature a series of informational presentations at tables where residents can talk to representatives of various city departments. It will also feature several presentations, followed by Q&A.
Even though the program will be hosted in Kingwood, all residents of the Lake Houston Area including Huffman are welcome to the town hall and will find something of value. The agenda includes topics that apply to everyone, such as status of the Lake Houston Dam Gates Project.
Time, Date, Place
Thursday, September 19th
Program: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Kingwood Community Center
4102 Rustic Woods Drive
Kingwood, Texas 77345
Featured Speakers
Speakers will address issues crucial to the safety and success of the Lake Houston Area. They include:
State Representative Charles Cunningham will kick off the meeting. He will discuss his priorities going into the next legislative session.
Houston At-Large City Council Member Twila Carter will also talk about her priorities.
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey hopes to make the meeting, but will be coming from budget meetings downtown and may not make it if they run over.
New Coastal Water Authority Board Director Dan Huberty will give an update on the project to add more flood gates to the Lake Houston Dam.
Ekaterina Fitos, Houston’s Water Planning Director, will discuss the status of dredging and sand traps, designed to reduce sedimentation and flood risk.
Mark Wilfalk, Houston’s Director of Solid Waste Management, will go over storm debris pickup following Hurricane Beryl. He will cover lessons learned and what they will do differently in the next disaster.
Sergeant Rajesh Sawlani, also with HPD, will talk about crime suppression tactics and strategies being implemented in other parts of the City. He will also cover the growing homeless population in Kingwood.
Booths around the perimeter of the room will feature Houston:
Public Works (water, infrastructure, transportation, drainage, Lake Houston Gates)
The ambitious town hall agenda covers a lot of territory. So, come early. Mingle with neighbors. And ask your questions at the tables if you can. It’s been a year since we last had a town hall meeting with Dave Martin.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/18/2024
2577 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240916-DSC_0438-1.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-09-18 18:20:542024-09-19 10:42:46Don’t Miss Town Hall Meeting Thursday Evening
9/17/24 – Yesterday, five leaders who represent the Lake Houston Area met to discuss the status of local flood-mitigation projects. The representatives included:
U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02)
State Representative Charles Cunningham (TX HD-127)
Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, P.E. (Precinct 3)
Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger (District E)
Dr. Tina Petersen, P.E., Executive Director, Harris County Flood Control District
The combination of leaders from all levels of government underscored the cooperative nature of local flood-mitigation projects. Such projects usually involve federal funding which local sources use to actually build the projects.
Left to Right: Ramsey, Crenshaw, Petersen, Flickinger and Cunningham
Woodridge Village/Taylor Gully History
As the site for their press conference, they chose Woodridge Village in Montgomery County. Woodridge was the failed Perry Homes development that flooded hundreds of homes in Elm Grove twice in 2019. The City of Houston and Harris County eventually purchased the site in 2021 to build a flood-mitigation project on it. The project would help reduce flood risk along Taylor Gully, which drains the site.
Later in 2021, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) signed an excavation and removal (E&R) contract with Sprint Sand and Clay. The contract let Sprint remove up to 500,000 cubic yards of dirt and sell it at market rates. If all 500,000 cubic yards had been removed, it would have doubled the stormwater detention capacity on the site. However, after excavating 156,478 cubic yards, HCFCD terminated the contract in 2023.
The termination coincided with applications for funding to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to mitigate both Woodridge and Taylor Gully.
The E&R contract termination was mandatory under HUD rules. Why? Simple. A project cannot change while it is being estimated and evaluated.
Hosts of the press conference pose for a drone shot in front of the area in Woodridge Village to be excavated. It actually includes more than what you see. Much is out of frame.
Woodridge/Taylor Gully Project Today
The combined Taylor Gully/Woodridge Village project involves funding from multiple sources:
U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw secured federal funding for Taylor Gully improvements in March 2022.
The Texas Water Development Board approved additional state funding.
According to Dr. Tina Petersen, the Flood Control District “should hear soon” about the status of the District’s Woodridge and Taylor Gully applications.
A department spokesperson added, “As of now, we’re looking at combining Taylor Gully and Woodridge to move them forward more quickly. We’re working with the General Land Office on the schedule for this project. And the biggest driver of that schedule is environmental due diligence and permitting work.”
Expand a portion of Taylor Gully and lining it with concrete.
Build yet another stormwater detention basin on Woodridge Village holding 412 acre-feet.
Replace the culverts at Rustling Elms with a clear-span bridge.
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey PE stated that the combined projects will cost $55 million to complete.
Crenshaw-Related Projects
Congressman Dan Crenshaw has a hand in almost all local flood-mitigation projects. He kicked off his part of the program citing some startling statistics. Recently, more than 763,000 Harris County households have requested FEMA assistance totaling $460 million in relief. Among them were the hundreds of homes along Taylor Gully.
US Representative Dan Crenshaw kicked off the press conference.
Crenshaw also alluded to other local flood-mitigation projects:
$222 million used to dredge the San Jacinto River
A new dredging project (see below).
$8 million used to reinforce the existing Lake Houston dam structure
Eight community project funding grants
An early flood-warning system, including a cellular communication program funded by FEMA
News tools to increase more precise calculation of flood risks
Buyouts and home elevations, such as those in Forest Cove.
Crenshaw concluded, “These projects are exactly what the appropriations process and government funding should be supporting: serious, targeted projects that will help communities recover from past storms and protect them from future storms.”
He added, “These projects actually save taxpayer money because we’re avoiding more costly recovery efforts in the future by mitigating the damage before it happens.”
Ramsey and Importance of Maintenance
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ramsey, an engineer by trade, explained the flood-mitigation process. He thanked Crenshaw for funding the studies that are allowing many projects, including the Kingwood Diversion Ditch, to move forward. It, too, is pending final construction funding.
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ramsey addressed county’s role in Kingwood projects and need for more maintenance funding.
Ramsey also provided an overview of Edgewater Park development. After Harvey, the county purchased land next to the West Fork east of US59. The county is turning it into a recreational facility, complete with a boat launch, hiking trails and a dog park. Ramsey said, “It is in final design now. We will be moving to construction. The money has been identified. So that’s an enhancement that we can look forward to.”
Finally, Ramsey underscored the importance of providing more maintenance funding for HCFCD to help remove debris from streams and ditches, such as Bens Branch. He urged voters to approve more maintenance money for HCFCD in the November election. As the amount of land HCFCD must maintain has increased, the money to maintain it has decreased.
State Rep. Charles Cunningham highlighted state funding for more floodgateswhich qualified for matching funds.
“I was pleased to get $50 million for the flood gates in the last session,” he said. That allowed us to get an additional $50 million from FEMA. So, that was $100 million total.”
He also referred to the importance of the first Texas state flood plan. “There are 30 million Texans in the state and the flood plan is addressing the needs of 5.5 million flood-prone people.”
City of Houston District E Council Member Fred Flickinger
The City and its partners have already dredged 4 million cubic yards of sediment since Hurricane Harvey, he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that it is the removal of that sediment that actually kept Kingwood from flooding during this last flood event in May.”
Flickinger said another 800,000 to 1,000,000 cubic yards will soon be removed – once Beryl recovery efforts are out of the way. He said the next dredging program should start in December.
He also expressed hope that the addition of former State Representative Dan Huberty to the Coastal Water Authority Board will help accelerate the addition of more floodgates to the Lake Houston Dam.
Flickinger provided a list of 58 drainage improvement projects totaling $55.8 million since Harvey. They ranged from under $20,000 to more than $30 million. While most have been completed, two are still ongoing. Frankly, most of these flew beneath my radar. But I did cover many of them, such as repairs to the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge.
Petersen: Capital Projects Require More Maintenance Dollars
HCFCD executive director Dr. Tina Petersen alluded to the Woodridge/Taylor Gully Project where the press conference took place. She underscored how the project would increase stormwater detention and channel capacity.
“They (the combined projects) represent substantial investment in the Kingwood area and will reduce the risk of flooding for hundreds of structures in this area,” she said.
Dr. Tina Petersen, executive director of HCFCD
But, she also reminded people that, “Adding storage like this project (Woodridge), will require maintenance work to make sure that our storm systems are functioning as intended.” It was another allusion to the upcoming HCFCD ballot item.
GLO Perspective
HUD funding through the GLO is necessary to finance the Woodridge/Taylor Gully projects. The decision on grant applications has not yet been made. However, a GLO spokesperson emphasized how much better their relationship is with Houston these days under Mayor John Whitmire. “And HCFCD is fantastic to work with,” she added.
But she also emphasized the importance of getting the environmental assessment right for the Woodridge/Taylor Gully project. “We don’t want to fix one problem only to create another downstream. Also, if we do discover a problem during the assessment, we can correct it before it goes into bidding and construction when it would require change orders and new funding approvals.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/17/2024
2576 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240916-DSC_0386.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-09-17 19:47:382024-09-17 20:47:57Leaders Share Status of Local Flood-Mitigation Projects
9/16/24 – As promised, contractors began the first Northpark concrete pour for a major stretch of the road expansion project this morning. They scheduled the pour for 3 AM to 1 PM. And by 9:30 AM they appeared on schedule to finish the first 1,000 feet within the allotted time. See the pics below, all taken on 9/16/24.
Looking west toward area already complete on the south side of Northpark.Looking west. Concrete begins to cure at the entrance to Kings Mill.Looking east.Four concrete trucks were lined up to deliver their loads in assembly-line fashion.Looking East.Workers attacked the concrete like a well-oiled machine. One man guided the trough that delivered the mix, while others spread the concrete, and smoothed it out.Reverse angle shows the team in action as a truck unloads.Closeup of the coordinated team work.
After this first Northpark concrete pour, we should see three more by October 1. See the plan here.
More Visible Progress, Next Stages
According to project manager Ralph De Leon, the underground drainage and utility work is the hardest and slowest part of the project. “So, residents will see much faster progress now,” he said.
Northpark expansion will accommodate population growth and speed up traffic. But it will also create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 Kingwood residents.
The center ditch that used to go down Northpark has now been totally replaced with box culverts. Now contractors are paving over the culverts.
The old lanes will be demolished and replaced by new concrete also.
After Northpark is paved from Russell Palmer Road to Loop 494, the focus will shift to repaving a portion of 494 and then the commercial strip between 494 and the entry ponds at US59.
To help the public plan around construction, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority constantly updates its project page with a three-week “look-ahead” schedule.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240916-DJI_20240916093550_0897_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-09-16 13:56:142024-09-16 13:56:15Pictures of First Northpark Concrete Pour
Recommendations in the San Jacinto River Basin alone (Region 6) total 519. And they’re buried within the larger spreadsheet, making it difficult summarize and compare them, much less see how the money is being distributed locally.
State Flood Plan Costs Staggering
The costs of the state flood plan are staggering. If all projects were implemented statewide tomorrow, they would cost more than $54 billion in 2024 dollars. Those in the San Jacinto Basin would total almost $10 billion.
Three Categories of Recommendations
Recommendations fall into three categories: Evaluations (engineering studies that lay the groundwork for future construction projects); Flood-Mitigation Projects (construction); and Strategies (buyouts, elevations, etc.)
The table below shows the breakdown. Region 6 (the San Jacinto Watershed) contains a lower percentage of flood mitigation projects and higher percentages of Evaluations and Strategies than the rest of the state, which is broken down into 15 regions.
I’m still analyzing all these entries. But already several things have jumped out at me from the standpoint of a Lake Houston Area resident.
Most of our stormwater comes from Montgomery County. But in the Evaluation list, Harris County projects outnumber those in Montgomery County by more than 5 to 1.
And most of the projects in Montgomery County tend to be limited in scope. For instance, Conroe has entries for a downtown master drainage plan, an Avenue M drainage plan, a South 3rd drainage plan and more.
Conroe also broke out separate projects for developing benefit-cost analyses associated with such projects and subdivision drainage projects.
Harris County and Galveston County, on the other hand, tended to look at things from a watershed-wide point of view.
Projects
The state flood plan lists only 69 flood-mitigation construction projects in all of the San Jacinto River Basin. And of those, only eight are upstream of Lake Houston. One is already a non-starter. The land for a detention basin on Spring Creek has already been sold for commercial development.
The remaining seven projects with their priority ranks include:
Caney Creek channel improvements and detention (#52)
Widening the West Fork and shaving down its flood plains (#67)
Peach Creek channel improvements and detention (#72)
Building a 1.6 mile earthen embankment to capture runoff from Winters Bayou in the East Fork watershed far upstream in San Jacinto County (#82).
Lake Creek Detention in Montgomery County (#105)
Improvements to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch (#144)
Cypress Creek detention (#149)
Strategies
It’s hard to see how any of the 654 strategies listed for the San Jacinto Basin would help the Lake Houston Area. Some might keep flooding from getting worse.
For instance:
Coastal Prairie Conservancy proposed a project to conserve more than 1,000 acres in the headwaters of Cypress Creek.
Harris County Flood Control proposed money for buyouts and relocations.
Missing: SJRA, Payment Plan, Integration
Strangely, the 147 pages of 3 point type in the state flood plan make no reference to the San Jacinto River Authority or SJRA.
Yet, as we saw in Harvey and again last May, the SJRA has huge gaps in its monitoring network upstream from Lake Conroe. During floods, these gaps make it difficult to assess how much water is moving toward the dam.
So dam operators tend to err on the side of caution and release more water than they may need to. In May, this contributed to the flooding of hundreds of structures downstream from the dam. To me, more gages would have been an important addition to the list.
It’s also not clear how Texas will pay for all these projects.
But let’s assume it’s a billion dollars. If the legislature voted that every other year, it would take at least a century to build all these projects with inflation factored in.
Finally, it’s not clear how all these projects work together to reduce flood risk, though many mention that they should only be considered after other projects.
Hey, it ain’t perfect. But you have to start somewhere!
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Texas-Flood-Planning-Regions.png?fit=1356%2C1014&ssl=110141356adminadmin2024-09-15 23:08:382024-09-15 23:08:40San Jacinto River Basin Recommendations in State Flood Plan
9/14/24 – Clearing of Beryl debris from Harris County creeks and channels by HCFCD/FEMA contractors continues more than two months after the storm that struck Houston on July 8, 2024.
The cleanup effort has advanced on two fronts: streets and channels. The City of Houston and Harris County precincts (in unincorporated areas) manage street cleanup. Harris County Flood Control District manages the creeks and channels.
I previously reported about the City’s efforts and its debris-tracker website. I also published a story about how to report problems discovered in streams and ditches.
But I really haven’t shown the latter crews in action.
HCFCD/FEMA Crew Clearing Backland Gully
Chris Bloch, a local flood activist, rode along with some Harris County Flood Control Distict/FEMA contractors and grabbed these photos of the equipment they are using. Bloch took the pictures below on Backland Gully in Kings Point.
A marsh buggy, also known as an amphibious excavator, grabs onto tree blocking the channel and……drags it out of creek.
The contractor is clearing trees from numerous channels in the Kingwood Area. His company is also working Bens Branch, Bear Branch, the lowest reach of Taylor Gully, White Oak Creek, Green Tree Ditch, Mills Branch, Caney Creek and more.
The contractor estimated his company has removed 2,000 tons of debris so far, but the number changes hourly.
Immensity of Job
Last week, they finished the area upstream of the Tree Lane Bridge on Bear Branch. But the equipment they used there is too small to handle the size and volume of trees that fell downstream from the bridge given the depth of the channel.
They have their work cut out for them.
See examples below. I took all six photos on 9/13/24 within a quarter mile stretch of Bens Branch downstream from Tree Lane.
Such blockages can catch other debris being swept downstream in storms and back water up, flooding homes.
HCFCD maintains 2500 miles of ditches, bayous and streams. If a quarter mile segment of one looks this bad, one can only imagine how long it will take to finish the job.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/14/24
2573 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 68 since Beryl
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/20240913-Marsh-Buggy-2.jpg?fit=1100%2C676&ssl=16761100adminadmin2024-09-14 16:45:462024-09-14 16:48:25Clearing of Beryl Debris from Creeks and Channels Continues
Northpark Drive construction crews have finished placing rebar in a 1000 foot long stretch on both sides of the entrance to Kings Mill. They will begin pouring concrete there on Monday, 9/16/24 at 3 AM. Concrete trucks will enter and leave the construction zone approximately every six minutes.
Because workers will spread the concrete next to the inbound lanes, traffic will be reduced to one lane until approximately 1 PM. However, both inbound lanes should open for the evening rush hour.
Rebar and forms ready for pour at 3AM Monday. Traffic on right will narrow to one lane to protect workers spreading the concrete.Looking west from Kings Mill Entrance at rebar ready for concrete.
At this time, the construction team has scheduled additional concrete pours for 9/20, 9/27, and 10/1; times and dates subject to change.
Project managers evaluated all-night and all-weekend scenarios for pouring the concrete, but encountered legal restrictions having to do with worker safety and/or cost.
Back-and-Forth Paving Plan
The general plan is for crews to pour one side of one stretch of the road while prepping the other. After they finish the new middle lanes, the old outer lanes will be demolished one side at a time. They will reroute traffic to the middle lanes will reconstructing the old lanes.
At this point, neither inbound nor outbound traffic will be shut down completely, though it will narrow to one lane on the side where concrete is being poured.
Looking east at entire stretch of rebar on right. The next pour will be on other side of road.
More Visible Progress
Ralph De Leon, the project manager, emphasized that most of the wrinkles that the project experienced in the last year have been ironed out at this point. However, one small snag remains re: a switch of fire hydrants and buildings with commercial sprinkler systems on the north side of Northpark.
Several companies and a church are migrating to the City of Houston water system, and it’s apparently taking longer than expected for the City’s billing and meter installation department to catch up with the new infrastructure installation. Worst case: some businesses may get free water for a month or so.
De Leon asked for patience. “People don’t see all the work that’s going on underground, but that’s the real heavy part of the lift,” he said. “People will begin to see a lot more progress on Monday. The above-ground ‘flat work’ that everyone sees goes much faster.”
Major Steps After This
The area between the Diversion Ditch and Russell Palmer Road will be paved as part of Phase II, which includes everything up to and a little bit past Woodland Hills Drive.
Paving crews will next complete the new lanes between Russell Palmer and 494.
Looking NE across 494 and Northpark (right). First junction box has just been buried in lower left. Drainage team must next bore under 494 and railroad tracks.
Next, paving crews will turn their attention to 494.
Loop 494 will get the same alternate side of the road treatment in sections until finished.
Finally, crews will begin work west to US59.
NW corner of Northpark and Loop 494, looking west toward 59
The entry ponds will likely be among the last things completed.
In my last post, I alluded to a total shutdown of Northpark while UnionPacific installed new beds and track across the road. Originally scheduled for sometime in October or November, that will now happen in January or February.
It’s too early to tell when bridge construction over 494 will commence.
For More Information
For schematic diagrams of the paving plan, click here.
As paving moves east to west, crossovers will need to close temporarily. To see the schedule, click here.
9/12/24 – You would think that as more water flows into a ditch, the area under bridges would get larger. But Chris Bloch, a retired Kingwood engineer with an eye for details that affect flooding, made some startling discoveries recently about the areas under four bridges over the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.
Flow areas under two bridges get smaller as you go downstream and flow volume increases.
They constrict flow 30-40% compared to the Kingwood Drive Bridge.
This helps explain flooding problems adjacent to the ditch, he says. Another engineer I interviewed for this article expressed shock. He said, “That can’t be. It’s bewildering.”
The Kingwood Diversion Ditch branches off Bens Branch just north of Northpark Drive by Flowers of Kingwood. Bridges span the ditch in four places: Northpark Drive, Kingwood Drive, Walnut Lane and Deer Springs.
The ditch runs north to south and helps drain the western third of Kingwood. It crosses under Kingwood Drive by the Fire Station. It then continues south to Deer Ridge Park, before turning and outfalling into the San Jacinto West Fork at River Grove Park. See the map below.
Kingwood Diversion Ditch got its name because it diverts water that would otherwise go down Bens Branch. It gives that stormwater an alternate route to the West Fork at bottom of frame.
Not only does the Diversion Ditch carry a percentage of the water from Bens Bench, it also drains streets in several subdivisions along its way to the river.
More and more stormwater empties into it as you move south. But look at the square footage of the areas under the bridges.
Bridge
Opening in SqFt
Northpark
720.8
Kingwood Drive
1,136.5
Walnut Lane
809.7
Deer Springs
689.0
From Kingwood Drive south, the bridge “flow areas” get smaller by approximately 30% and then 40% compared to Kingwood Drive.
Flow area is the size of the opening under the bridge available to convey floodwater without it coming up over the bridge deck.
Pictures of Bridges from Upstream to Down
Here’s what the bridges look like starting upstream, in the same order as the table above. I took all these photos on 9/11/24.
To calculate the square footages, Bloch took physical measurements of depth every two feet from one side of each bridge to the other.
Kingwood Diversion Ditch Bridge at Northpark Drive, looking south.Kingwood Diversion Ditch Bridge at Kingwood Drive, looking NorthKingwood Diversion Ditch Bridge at Walnut Lane looking N, approximately 30% less than Kingwood DriveKingwood Diversion Ditch Bridge at Deer Springs, approximately 40% less than Kingwood Drive.
No wonder many homes and businesses have flooded from the Diversion Ditch!
Flow Area vs. Flow Rates
Of course, flow areas don’t tell the total story, just a large portion of it. Engineers also consider flow rates. But calculating flow rates is more difficult than calculating flow areas.
When water backs up behind a bridge, it can increase pressure which forces more water under, over and around the bridge…faster. Think of spray from a garden hose when you pinch the nozzle with your thumb.
Two problems though:
Water is still backing up to some degree.
The higher pressure causes jetting under the bridge that increases erosion.
For a spectacular example of the damage that jetting can do, look at the Tree Lane Bridge over Bens Branch, slightly east of the Diversion Ditch.
Damage to Tree Lane Bridge over Bens Branch caused by jetting.Photo taken before current repair job started.After repairs started. Note severe erosion downstream from bridge threatening power line corridor. Also note how floodwater downcut underneath 10 inch water line that was once buried.
Engineers perform miracles for us everyday. But sometimes, even their best efforts are no match for Mother Nature when she straps on her Stetson and six shooters. That’s why careful planning, generous safety margins, and coordination between upstream and downstream interests are so crucial.
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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/KW-Div-Ditch-Bridges-copy.jpg?fit=1100%2C746&ssl=17461100adminadmin2024-09-12 20:47:002024-09-12 21:07:21Bewildering Size of Areas under Diversion-Ditch Bridges
