Rosemary Fain and Archie Savage live on three acres in Magnolia Estates, in far northeast Harris County just a block from the Liberty County line, about halfway between Luce Bayou and the San Jacinto East Fork. They’re more than two miles from each and never flooded before the development of Colony Ridge, one mile north. Since then, during both Harvey and Imelda, East Fork floodwater rose so high that it came through their property and started flowing down toward Luce Bayou. The water damaged their home, barn, garage, workshop, pool, hot tub, well, septic system, chicken coop and more. But they were lucky compared to neighbors who had homes swept off foundations. This interview discusses their attempts to recover and their advice for others.
Rehak: How long have you all lived here?
Fain: Archie’s lived here since 1995. I joined him in 2015.
Never Flooded Before Harvey
Rehak: Did the property ever flood before Hurricane Harvey?
Fain: No, not at all.
Rehak: OK. How far are you from the East Fork of the San Jacinto?
Fain: More thantwo miles.
And Then Came Harvey
Rehak: What happened during Harvey?
Fain: Well, we knew that the hurricane was coming. And we did as much as we could to prepare for high winds. But how could we prepare for that much water? We never expected that much. It just…it looked like a river.
It looked like we were sitting in the middle of a river.
Rosemary Fain
We had people calling from all over the country to make sure we were OK. Then we lost power. Power lines went down at Magnolia Boulevard and Plum Grove Road and there were kids riding four wheelers in the water!
I have video of the water. It was coming from the East Fork and running into that gully that goes to Luces Bayou. And it was just a torrent. It was just an absolutetorrent.
Video of Hurricane Harvey in Magnolia Estates courtesy of Rosemary Fain
On FM1485, people were loading boats to go down Huffman/Cleveland Road and rescue people that had their homes washed completely off foundations. And the East Fork … Oh, my God, way up here. Way up here!
After, on FM1485, people with tractors were pulling cows out of the ditches.
Rehak: You’re kidding.
Fain: No.
Rehak: Dead cows?
Fain: A lot … dead. They found an awful lot of carcasses down in the culvert.
Imelda “Much, Much Worse”
Two years later, Imelda came along. And it was worse! Much, much worse. Kids were kayaking out on the street. That’s how bad it was.
Kayaking down the street in front of Fain’s house during Imelda
Rehak: Wow.
Fain: Archie had made it to work that morning and I called him and asked, “Do I need to start getting blankets and comforters to put in front of the door? And he says, “Honey, it’s water. Nothing’s going to stop it. If it’s coming in, it’s coming in.” And that’s when it came right up to the top step. It was within inches of coming in the house.
Video of Tropical Storm Imelda in Magnolia Estates courtesy of Rosemary Fain
Rehak: Did it undermine the corner of your house?
Fain: It messed up more than that.
Rehak: Catalog the losses for me. You lost some machinery in your wood shop.
Fain: We lost the jumper pump in our well house. Our septic system flooded. We had damage to the pier and beam foundation under our kitchen and dining room, where the foundation later collapsed – between Christmas and New Years of 2020. We had no idea how bad it was.
Part of damage caused by delayed collapse of one corner of house after Imelda
Corner of the house in kitchen that bore the brunt of Imelda’s floodwaters.
The pier-and-beam foundation and kitchen floor have to be completely replaced, as well as the bottom kitchen cabinets. We lost the motor and the heater to the hot tub, and the hot tub footings shifted, causing the hot tub to crack. We lost the motor to the pool. Our chicken and pigeon coops had to be demolished.
The neighbors behind us lost their sheep pens, but there were no sheep there at the time.
Neighbors sheep pens destroyed by Imelda.
And there’s now black mold in the well house and the garage shop.
Black mold in well house.
And, you know, by law we can’t sell this place with the black mold issues. So, what do we do?
We can’t afford to fix it and we can’t afford to move. This house is paid for. It’s our investment for retirement. But we can’t afford to fix what needs to be fixed and sell it.
Insurance doesn’t cover black mold.
Who would have thought we’d need flood insurance this far from the river? We have it now. But we didn’t when the floods hit.
Poorly Drained Soils Now Much Worse
Rehak: What can you tell me about the soils around here? Were they a factor?
Fain: It’s all clay-based.
Rehak: How does it drain?
Savage: Not well. These properties, if there’s a lot of water, they’ll hold it a good while to where it should percolate down. But it doesn’t. It cannot go through clay. Harvey deposited a lot of silt. Since Harvey, it just seems like the ground is constantly saturated even during the summer. And, if you dig down two … two and a half feet, it gets really, really messy.
Clay-based soil throughout area drains poorly.
Rehak: When you first moved here, did you go up Plum Grove Road and explore?
Savage: You could tell that it was a low-lying area.
Rehak: A lot of palmettos up there?
Savage: Yeah.
Loss of Thousands of Acres of Forest, Wetlands with Colony Ridge
Fain: The first time I came out here, it was a very pleasant, beautiful little drive. I was really impressed with the canopy of the trees and this whole area. And I’m telling you, it just is such a shame what it’s come to. It was all woods and all trees, and now it’s just nothing but tore up roads and mud.
Rehak: How did the changes coincide with development of Colony Ridge?
Fain: We never flooded before Colony Ridge.All the problems came after they started clearing trees. I remember all the logging trucks coming up and down Plum Grove Road. And then in 2017, Harvey hit and it was just horrendous.
Rehak: Do you feel that if the development hadn’t happened you would have been safer?
Fain: Definitely. It was scary. I mean, I wish we had taken our little flat bottom boat and tied it to that tree.
Slow Recovery and Then More Disaster
Rehak: How has the recovery been?
Fain: FEMA came out and they cut us a check for $357.
Rehak: $357!
Fain: And there is nothing available for Imelda. Project Recovery … I’ve called them twice, emailed them, and they haven’t responded at all.
Rehak: Are you in the City of Houston?
Fain: No, this is New Caney. But we’re in Harris County. The Liberty County line is about a block east.
Rehak: Tell me more about the damage to the corner of your house?
Fain: We just didn’t know the extent of the damage under our house after Imelda. We were just thankful that it didn’t get in. Then all of a sudden the whole corner of the house collapsed more than a year after the storm.
One day between Christmas and New Years of 2020, I walked into the kitchen to get dog food and I saw the whole corner of the house had collapsed. I went, “Oh, my God, oh, my God, Archie! There’s something going on in the kitchen.”
Close up of corner of the house that collapsed suddenly 15 months after Imelda.
We started pulling the flooring and floorboards away. I marked the wall and it’s gotten much worse since. We just had no idea what the extent of the damage was.
And now it looks like the window has closed for any assistance. So we’re having to repair this essentially on our own. Insurance will cover some of it, but they’re not going to cover all of it.
Refrigerator resides in front entry hall until repairs to kitchen can be made.
Disabled and Trying to Recover With One Income
Rehak: You’re disabled now?
Fain: Yes,I can’t work anymore.
Rehak: How has the COVID situation affected Archie’s job?
Fain: He’s been lucky. They cut him back to forty hours. There’s no overtime, but he’s been very fortunate to keep his job through all this.
Rehak: He’s the sole breadwinner. That has to make doing all these repairs tougher.
Fain: Oh yeah!
Rehak: Is there anything else around here, besides Colony Ridge, that may have affected flooding?
Fain: Not in our neighborhood. There are no new homes going in at all. It’s been built out for a long time.
Doesn’t Want to Move, But Can’t Afford to Fix
Rehak: If you could sell this house right now without taking too much of a loss on it, what would you do? Would you find another place in the country?
Fain: We’re so close to retirement, we don’t really want to move. But if we did, it would definitely be to a place in the country. And away from anywhere with a hurricane, tropical storm or any of that.
Rehak: Until you’ve gone through a few of them, it’s hard to imagine the destruction.
Fain: Well, I’ve been through two in five years now, Harvey and Imelda. I’d never been through one before.
Rehak: Did this place flood during Tropical Storm Allison?
Fain: No. Archie told me that he could see the trees leaning, leaning, leaning in front. And then he went to the back and he’d see them lean in the other direction. But it didn’t flood.
Rehak: What about during Ike?
Fain: Same thing. Wind, but no water near the house.
Advice to Others
Rehak: If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?
Fain: If you see development going on around you or your neighborhood … get involved. Make sure they understand they’re being watched. If they don’t do things right with their drainage, it could ruin your neighborhood and ruin your home and ruin your life.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/17/2021 based on an Interview with Rosemary Fain and Archie Savage
1237 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Fain-Kayak.jpg?fit=1200%2C916&ssl=19161200adminadmin2021-01-17 10:13:392021-01-22 19:06:30Rosemay Fain’s Harvey and Imelda Stories
The case of Emil C. Shebelbon, II v. Upstream Holdings, LLC ET AL (Montgomery County Cause No. 15-10-10710) provides fascinating new insights into how sand mines can affect flooding. This case is NOT about broken dikes, unauthorized discharges of sediment-laden water, or mines inundated by super-storms such as Hurricane Harvey. It involves the opposite of all those things. Yet it still has implications for state regulations – or lack thereof. Specifically, I’m talking about setbacks of mines from rivers, lack of best management practices, reclamation of mines after the completion of mining and monitoring of floodway development.
All of the mines around Shebelbon’s property (bottom center) lie completely within the West Fork floodway (cross-hatched area). Development in floodways should not impede flow.
Defendants in this case appear to have filled in or walled off more than 200 acres of floodway property north of Shebelbon. That should have raised eyebrows from Washington to Conroe City Hall, but didn’t.
Two sand mines north of Shebelbon occupy more than 200 acres of floodway. The one closest to I-45 has been abandoned without remediation. Mining debris still litters the site. Shebelbon’s property lies immediately to the south, across the river.
Plaintiff’s Property Did Not Fill Floodway
The plaintiff in this case, Emil Shebelbon, purchased approximately 200 acres of land on the southwest corner of the San Jacinto West Fork and I-45 North about 20 years ago. He operates a motorsports facility there with dirt tracks and jumps for cyclists. Most of his land is in the floodway at the original level. He did not bring in fill. However, he did push some dirt into mounds to create the jumps. Very little impervious cover exists. It resembles a park. If you were going to build a business in the floodway, this is one of the few you might consider. It does not obstruct floodwater.
Increase in Flood Frequency, Depth and Erosion
When Shebelbon bought his land, everything north of him was farm, ranch or forest land. Then one mine came in and another. They expanded and started building up their property or walling it off from the floodway with dikes.
Shebelbon soon started to notice an increase in the depth and frequency of floods. He also started to lose land to erosion during statistically small floods.
Allegations in Lawsuit
Shebelbon’s lawsuit alleges that:
Mines blocked half of the floodway, forcing their flood water south onto his property, a violation of state law.
Cutting the floodway width in half forced floodwaters up to 3-4 feet higher on his property.
The increased flow in a smaller area increased the velocity of floodwaters.
That increased what hydrologists call “sheer stress,” the force necessary to start erosion.
Modeling showed shear stresses increased upwards of 0.5 pounds per square foot. The hydrologists claim that’s enough to cause substantial land and bank erosion near and within the Shebelbon Property. That, in turn, widened the river, eroding Shebelbon’s property, they say. Shebelbon estimates he lost seven acres due to erosion caused by constriction of the floodway (see photos below).
The mine north of Shebelbon’s property on the San Jacinto West Fork. Shebelbon’s property is out of frame to the right, underneath the nose of the helicopter. To visualize the height of the dikes, compare activity in the red circle with the following photo.A dredging expert estimates that the height of the berm at this point is 50-60 feet based on the size of the dredge. Note: this photo and the one above were taken on April 21, 2020, more than a year after the hydrologist’s study. Dikes here are likely taller than 2018 LIDAR data in the study indicates.
Federal, state, county, and city regulations all prohibit restricting the conveyance of floodways. So how did this get permitted? That will be the subject of another post.
Court documents show that the mines deny any connection to Shebelbon’s damages. They issued simple, general denials and are fighting Shebelbon tooth and nail.
Surprising Expert Witness Testimony
Shebelbon, however, has produced hundreds of pages of expert witness testimony to support his claims. This 197-page document downloaded from the Montgomery County Clerk’s office contains the testimony of several experts. For this post, I’m focusing on Exhibit E-22: Flood Impacts from Surrounding Activities, prepared by Dr. David T. Williams and Dr. Gerald Blackler. Their testimony and credentials run from pages 19 to 101 of the PDF. (Caution: 19 mb download.)
Surprisingly, experts for the plaintiff found that the problem is most visible in smaller floods, i.e., less than 18-year floods. 100-year floods can overtop dikes and spread out. But smaller floods cannot.
Despite hundreds of posts on the relationship between sand mining and flooding, I have not previously focused on the phenomenon described by these experts. But every flood expert I talk to – at local, county and state levels – says their findings make perfect sense.
Looking west.Compare height of dikes on right with river bank on left by Shebelbon’s property.Photo 11/2/2020. Also note how little flood storage capacity is left in ponds.This abandoned sand mine virtually blocks TxDoT’s auxiliary bridge on the north side of the river (upper right).TxDoT commonly uses such auxiliary bridges to convey water in floodplains.Photo 11/2/2020.
Public-Policy Concerns Raised by Shebelbon
Shebelbon’s case has not yet gone to trial. But I see similar situations every time I get in a helicopter. Together, they raise some disturbing public-policy issues. For instance:
Do we need greater setbacks of mines from rivers? Greater setbacks would allow greater expansion of floodwaters and help protect neighboring properties.
Do we need a comprehensive set of best management practices for sand mines that cover reclamation and abandonment? Restoring the natural floodplain instead of leaving an elevated mine next to the freeway might have prevented some of Mr. Shelbelbon’s damages.
What happens when local officials turn a blind eye to those apparently violating regulations? Is there a higher authority to enforce compliance – short of expensive lawsuits?
Hopefully, the TCEQ or State Legislature can address these questions. But it won’t happen without public pressure.
I would simply ask.
Why should miners’ property rights outweigh those of a neighboring business or resident?
Food for thought as we approach the upcoming legislative session!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/4/2020
1163 Days after 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20200421-RJR_0628.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=18001200adminadmin2020-11-03 22:42:522020-11-04 10:58:45Expert Witnesses Model Surprising Flood Risks in Sand Mine Lawsuit
This is the story of a first responder who helped rescue dozens of families during Harvey. His own home later flooded during Imelda. Then he was the one calling for help. But that’s just the start of this gripping story. A house he rented (next to Woodridge Village) had flooded months earlier in May 2019, but Camillo Properties, the management company, said it had not. Within days of moving in last September, it flooded again. And that was after being in the emergency room most of the previous night with his stepson, who was diagnosed with pneumonia. Then the management company sued him for non-payment of rent – which he had paid. You don’t want to stand next to this guy in a lightning storm. Despite all his troubles, though, he says his relationship with his fiancé is stronger than ever. For job reasons, he needs to remain anonymous. I will refer to him only as John.
Rescue of Friend Turns into 12-Hour Marathon
Rehak: You had worked for a fire department in Montgomery County before Harvey. During the storm, you got a call from a terrified friend in the Barrington who was trapped in rising floodwaters. Tell me what happened.
John: Six to eight hours before calling me, she posted to Facebook saying she was in her living room, watching a movie, sipping wine, and “Everything is normal.” Then she called at 2 a.m. asking if I had any contacts who could rescue her.
Every back-channel contact was overwhelmed. So, I went down there in my Jeep to see if I could make it in. When I arrived, it was a lot deeper than I thought. Then a gentleman showed up with a huge aluminum boat – the kind that HFD uses for water rescues.
He said, “Hey, I’ve got a couple of friends back here, too. Let’s go see what we can find.” This was just before dawn. We got everyone into the boat. Then we started looking and realized, “It’s not just a few people who didn’t evacuate.” There were hundreds upon hundreds back there.
That’s about when rescue organizations started showing up. Eventually, there were dozens of boats pulling people out.
Rehak: How many times did you go back in?
John: I couldn’t say. But I didn’t leave till about four that afternoon.
Rehak: You evacuated people for 12 hours!
John: We had to stop when we ran low on fuel.
Rehak: Could you estimate the speed of the current in the Barrington?
John: No. But I’ll tell you that it got real hairy, real quick, even with a 150 horsepower motor.
Delayed Emotional Impact and Navigating Hidden Dangers
Rehak: What was it like emotionally as the day wore on?
John: After the fact, it was like…”Holy crap! How many people just lost everything that they had?” But at the time, we were too busy to think about it.
Coast Guard Rescue in Barrington filmed by Johnduring boat rescue.
John: Coast Guard Seahawks were doing hoist rescues in areas boats couldn’t get to. And we were dodging submerged obstacles. We hit a couple of communal mailboxes. Those aren’t typical hazards you think about when operating a boat.
Rehak: Were there any other dangers that made things hairy?
John: Desperate people. Many weren’t thinking clearly. Some families didn’t want to leave, including those with kids.
Rehak: Were they in two-story homes?
John: Yes. But they had no access to resources past the initial push. Food, fresh water, working toilets.
Rehak: It was unsafe.
John: And water was creeping up to power meters. CenterPoint had not yet killed the area.
Rehak: Were there cars under water, too?
John: Oh, yeah. You could barely see the tops of some.
Rehak: Any other stories stand out in your mind?
John: Some families with kids had to make decisions about who would get in the lifeboat first and who would stay behind. It was heartbreaking.
“No. No. No. That House Never Flooded”
Rehak: Let’s talk about YOUR flood experience now in September of 2019 during Imelda.
John: We had been leasing an apartment at the front of Kingwood. The lease was coming up for renewal. So, we started looking at houses to lease and found one in North Kingwood Forest. It looked brand new even though the neighborhood was several years old. Looking back, that should’ve been a red flag.
Camillio owned many properties on the street where John lived. Photo taken 12/22/2019, after homes had been repaired from Imelda on 9/19/2019.
Rehak: What attracted you?
John: It had more space. It was affordable, and there were many young families with kids. We applied, were approved within a couple of days, and set a move in date. As luck would have it, that turned out to be just SEVEN days before Imelda.
Rehak: Your pictures looked as though you weren’t even fully unpacked when the flood hit.
Still unpacking after move when flood hit.
John: We had only unpacked essentials. And we had just done a big Costco run with cases of water, six-packs of chili, everything you need to stock a pantry. And then…
Rehak: Before you signed the lease, did you ask whether this place flooded before?
John: Unfortunately, we asked just after signing. My dad talked to our neighbor next door when we were moving in. She asked him whether they told us that the house had flooded in May.
View of street from John’s garage during Imelda
Rehak: Surprise!
John: So, I called the landlord and asked, “Did that house ever flood?” I was told, “Oh, no, no, no. That never flooded. Only the other side of the neighborhood flooded.”
8 days after the flood
Relocation to Spring Triggers Landlord Lawsuit
Rehak: Did that become a point of contention between you and the owners?
John: Not immediately. The landlord offered us another place in Spring. It seemed like they were trying to be accommodating. So, I didn’t really call out their lie at the time.
Rehak: What happened later to change your mind?
John: Towards the end of October, beginning of November, we got a letter from them saying that we had not paid our rent at the Spring location. Of course, we had, so I called them and said, “Hey, this is an error.” I sent them copies of bank statements showing the rent payments cleared. We had even paid through their online portal. They said, “OK, we’ll look into it.”
Fast forward, two weeks later, a Constable serves us with an eviction lawsuit. This was a couple months after losing 70 percent of everything we owned.
Rehak: What did you do?
John: I contacted an attorney friend and he began calling them. They fed him the same line, “Oh, we will need to look into it.”
My attorney called me two days before court and said, “I have not gotten any response from them. We’ll have to go to court.”
There, we met Camillo’s representative from Nationwide Evictions. We showed her our bank statements. But their paperwork showed only a move in and then nothing being paid. The judge found our evidence overwhelming and ruled in our favor. That was the end of that. But it left a sour taste.
At that point, I thought to myself, “As soon as our lease is up and we can get away from this management company, we’re going to.” And we did.
Impact on Relationship
Rehak:. You have a fiancé who is a paramedic. How did this affect your relationship?
John: I tell people, “After two moves in 10 days, on top of a flood, you’re either going to split up or you’re going to last a lifetime. We’re still together!
Trip to Emergency Room Night Before Imelda
John: To top it off, the night before Imelda, he developed pneumonia. We were in the Kingwood Emergency Room with him until the wee hours. Fast-Forward to 9:30 or 10 the next morning. My fiancé woke me up and said, “We’re flooding.”
View out front door when John woke up.
Rehak: What went through your mind?
John: I felt this has got to be a nightmare. That’s what she told to me later – that I rolled out of bed half awake and said, “This has got to be a nightmare.” Then I stepped down into water. That woke me up real fast!
Water flowing between John’s house and neighbor’s during Imelda.
From Pneumonia to “Water Park”
John: You’d think my stepson would have been sad or scared. But like a typical 4-year old, he thought it was a freakin’ WATER PARK! I can’t help but think that contributed to his pneumonia. It took him two weeks to get over that. There were a lot of sleep-deprived nights for us. We were mentally drained.
Rehak: So, on top of the flood, you’ve got a sick kid during your second move in two weeks! How did the people at your workplace react?
John: They came together. I have to say. They gave me time off work. They established a “go fund me.” Financially, they took care of us. They did right by us.
“Start Taking Out Fence Pickets”
Rehak: Tell me more about what happened during the Imelda flood after you woke up.
John: We reached out to family and friends and started stacking things on couches, countertops, anything to get stuff up off the floor. Then we called Camillo and said, “We are actively flooding. What do we do?”
She said to start taking out fence pickets to allow the water to flow around the house versus through the house. That’s when I suspected that they knew this house had a tendency to flood. Otherwise, why would you say, “Take out fence pickets”?
Fence slats removed from neighbor’s house in May 7th flood. Photo taken May 24, 2019.
Water Coming From Back, Not Street
Rehak: Your video shows water flowing quickly from the back yard toward the street. How deep was the water in your back yard?
John: About a foot above my knees. It was that much higher in the back than on the street side. There was sand and silt throughout the house after the water receded.
Sand and silt in garage as flood receded.
Rehak: That didn’t come from the street.
House where John lived in relation to Woodridge Village construction in background. Photo taken 7/15/2020. Note fence repairs. Every home in this photo flooded.
John: Nope. There was only one place it could have come from.The 268-acres they had just cleared next to us.
Woodridge Village on 11/4/2019. Arrow shows approximate location of John’s home. In this photo you can feel the slope in the land that funneled water toward Taylor Gulley behind the twin culverts near the far tree line.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/18/2020
1054 Days after 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_7350.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-07-18 07:45:222020-07-19 20:12:43The First Responder During Harvey Who Flooded During Imelda
Rosemay Fain’s Harvey and Imelda Stories
Rosemary Fain and Archie Savage live on three acres in Magnolia Estates, in far northeast Harris County just a block from the Liberty County line, about halfway between Luce Bayou and the San Jacinto East Fork. They’re more than two miles from each and never flooded before the development of Colony Ridge, one mile north. Since then, during both Harvey and Imelda, East Fork floodwater rose so high that it came through their property and started flowing down toward Luce Bayou. The water damaged their home, barn, garage, workshop, pool, hot tub, well, septic system, chicken coop and more. But they were lucky compared to neighbors who had homes swept off foundations. This interview discusses their attempts to recover and their advice for others.
Rehak: How long have you all lived here?
Fain: Archie’s lived here since 1995. I joined him in 2015.
Never Flooded Before Harvey
Rehak: Did the property ever flood before Hurricane Harvey?
Fain: No, not at all.
Rehak: OK. How far are you from the East Fork of the San Jacinto?
Fain: More than two miles.
And Then Came Harvey
Rehak: What happened during Harvey?
Fain: Well, we knew that the hurricane was coming. And we did as much as we could to prepare for high winds. But how could we prepare for that much water? We never expected that much. It just…it looked like a river.
We had people calling from all over the country to make sure we were OK. Then we lost power. Power lines went down at Magnolia Boulevard and Plum Grove Road and there were kids riding four wheelers in the water!
I have video of the water. It was coming from the East Fork and running into that gully that goes to Luces Bayou. And it was just a torrent. It was just an absolute torrent.
On FM1485, people were loading boats to go down Huffman/Cleveland Road and rescue people that had their homes washed completely off foundations. And the East Fork … Oh, my God, way up here. Way up here!
After, on FM1485, people with tractors were pulling cows out of the ditches.
Rehak: You’re kidding.
Fain: No.
Rehak: Dead cows?
Fain: A lot … dead. They found an awful lot of carcasses down in the culvert.
Imelda “Much, Much Worse”
Two years later, Imelda came along. And it was worse! Much, much worse. Kids were kayaking out on the street. That’s how bad it was.
Rehak: Wow.
Fain: Archie had made it to work that morning and I called him and asked, “Do I need to start getting blankets and comforters to put in front of the door? And he says, “Honey, it’s water. Nothing’s going to stop it. If it’s coming in, it’s coming in.” And that’s when it came right up to the top step. It was within inches of coming in the house.
Rehak: Did it undermine the corner of your house?
Fain: It messed up more than that.
Rehak: Catalog the losses for me. You lost some machinery in your wood shop.
Fain: We lost the jumper pump in our well house. Our septic system flooded. We had damage to the pier and beam foundation under our kitchen and dining room, where the foundation later collapsed – between Christmas and New Years of 2020. We had no idea how bad it was.
The pier-and-beam foundation and kitchen floor have to be completely replaced, as well as the bottom kitchen cabinets. We lost the motor and the heater to the hot tub, and the hot tub footings shifted, causing the hot tub to crack. We lost the motor to the pool. Our chicken and pigeon coops had to be demolished.
The neighbors behind us lost their sheep pens, but there were no sheep there at the time.
And there’s now black mold in the well house and the garage shop.
And, you know, by law we can’t sell this place with the black mold issues. So, what do we do?
We can’t afford to fix it and we can’t afford to move. This house is paid for. It’s our investment for retirement. But we can’t afford to fix what needs to be fixed and sell it.
Insurance doesn’t cover black mold.
Who would have thought we’d need flood insurance this far from the river? We have it now. But we didn’t when the floods hit.
Poorly Drained Soils Now Much Worse
Rehak: What can you tell me about the soils around here? Were they a factor?
Fain: It’s all clay-based.
Rehak: How does it drain?
Savage: Not well. These properties, if there’s a lot of water, they’ll hold it a good while to where it should percolate down. But it doesn’t. It cannot go through clay. Harvey deposited a lot of silt. Since Harvey, it just seems like the ground is constantly saturated even during the summer. And, if you dig down two … two and a half feet, it gets really, really messy.
Rehak: When you first moved here, did you go up Plum Grove Road and explore?
Savage: You could tell that it was a low-lying area.
Rehak: A lot of palmettos up there?
Savage: Yeah.
Loss of Thousands of Acres of Forest, Wetlands with Colony Ridge
Fain: The first time I came out here, it was a very pleasant, beautiful little drive. I was really impressed with the canopy of the trees and this whole area. And I’m telling you, it just is such a shame what it’s come to. It was all woods and all trees, and now it’s just nothing but tore up roads and mud.
Rehak: How did the changes coincide with development of Colony Ridge?
Fain: We never flooded before Colony Ridge. All the problems came after they started clearing trees. I remember all the logging trucks coming up and down Plum Grove Road. And then in 2017, Harvey hit and it was just horrendous.
Rehak: Do you feel that if the development hadn’t happened you would have been safer?
Fain: Definitely. It was scary. I mean, I wish we had taken our little flat bottom boat and tied it to that tree.
Slow Recovery and Then More Disaster
Rehak: How has the recovery been?
Fain: FEMA came out and they cut us a check for $357.
Rehak: $357!
Fain: And there is nothing available for Imelda. Project Recovery … I’ve called them twice, emailed them, and they haven’t responded at all.
Rehak: Are you in the City of Houston?
Fain: No, this is New Caney. But we’re in Harris County. The Liberty County line is about a block east.
Rehak: Tell me more about the damage to the corner of your house?
Fain: We just didn’t know the extent of the damage under our house after Imelda. We were just thankful that it didn’t get in. Then all of a sudden the whole corner of the house collapsed more than a year after the storm.
One day between Christmas and New Years of 2020, I walked into the kitchen to get dog food and I saw the whole corner of the house had collapsed. I went, “Oh, my God, oh, my God, Archie! There’s something going on in the kitchen.”
We started pulling the flooring and floorboards away. I marked the wall and it’s gotten much worse since. We just had no idea what the extent of the damage was.
And now it looks like the window has closed for any assistance. So we’re having to repair this essentially on our own. Insurance will cover some of it, but they’re not going to cover all of it.
Disabled and Trying to Recover With One Income
Rehak: You’re disabled now?
Fain: Yes, I can’t work anymore.
Rehak: How has the COVID situation affected Archie’s job?
Fain: He’s been lucky. They cut him back to forty hours. There’s no overtime, but he’s been very fortunate to keep his job through all this.
Rehak: He’s the sole breadwinner. That has to make doing all these repairs tougher.
Fain: Oh yeah!
Rehak: Is there anything else around here, besides Colony Ridge, that may have affected flooding?
Fain: Not in our neighborhood. There are no new homes going in at all. It’s been built out for a long time.
Doesn’t Want to Move, But Can’t Afford to Fix
Rehak: If you could sell this house right now without taking too much of a loss on it, what would you do? Would you find another place in the country?
Fain: We’re so close to retirement, we don’t really want to move. But if we did, it would definitely be to a place in the country. And away from anywhere with a hurricane, tropical storm or any of that.
Rehak: Until you’ve gone through a few of them, it’s hard to imagine the destruction.
Fain: Well, I’ve been through two in five years now, Harvey and Imelda. I’d never been through one before.
Rehak: Did this place flood during Tropical Storm Allison?
Fain: No. Archie told me that he could see the trees leaning, leaning, leaning in front. And then he went to the back and he’d see them lean in the other direction. But it didn’t flood.
Rehak: What about during Ike?
Fain: Same thing. Wind, but no water near the house.
Advice to Others
Rehak: If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?
Fain: If you see development going on around you or your neighborhood … get involved. Make sure they understand they’re being watched. If they don’t do things right with their drainage, it could ruin your neighborhood and ruin your home and ruin your life.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/17/2021 based on an Interview with Rosemary Fain and Archie Savage
1237 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Expert Witnesses Model Surprising Flood Risks in Sand Mine Lawsuit
The case of Emil C. Shebelbon, II v. Upstream Holdings, LLC ET AL (Montgomery County Cause No. 15-10-10710) provides fascinating new insights into how sand mines can affect flooding. This case is NOT about broken dikes, unauthorized discharges of sediment-laden water, or mines inundated by super-storms such as Hurricane Harvey. It involves the opposite of all those things. Yet it still has implications for state regulations – or lack thereof. Specifically, I’m talking about setbacks of mines from rivers, lack of best management practices, reclamation of mines after the completion of mining and monitoring of floodway development.
Defendants in this case appear to have filled in or walled off more than 200 acres of floodway property north of Shebelbon. That should have raised eyebrows from Washington to Conroe City Hall, but didn’t.
Plaintiff’s Property Did Not Fill Floodway
The plaintiff in this case, Emil Shebelbon, purchased approximately 200 acres of land on the southwest corner of the San Jacinto West Fork and I-45 North about 20 years ago. He operates a motorsports facility there with dirt tracks and jumps for cyclists. Most of his land is in the floodway at the original level. He did not bring in fill. However, he did push some dirt into mounds to create the jumps. Very little impervious cover exists. It resembles a park. If you were going to build a business in the floodway, this is one of the few you might consider. It does not obstruct floodwater.
Increase in Flood Frequency, Depth and Erosion
When Shebelbon bought his land, everything north of him was farm, ranch or forest land. Then one mine came in and another. They expanded and started building up their property or walling it off from the floodway with dikes.
Shebelbon soon started to notice an increase in the depth and frequency of floods. He also started to lose land to erosion during statistically small floods.
Allegations in Lawsuit
Shebelbon’s lawsuit alleges that:
Modeling showed shear stresses increased upwards of 0.5 pounds per square foot. The hydrologists claim that’s enough to cause substantial land and bank erosion near and within the Shebelbon Property. That, in turn, widened the river, eroding Shebelbon’s property, they say. Shebelbon estimates he lost seven acres due to erosion caused by constriction of the floodway (see photos below).
Court documents show that the mines deny any connection to Shebelbon’s damages. They issued simple, general denials and are fighting Shebelbon tooth and nail.
Surprising Expert Witness Testimony
Shebelbon, however, has produced hundreds of pages of expert witness testimony to support his claims. This 197-page document downloaded from the Montgomery County Clerk’s office contains the testimony of several experts. For this post, I’m focusing on Exhibit E-22: Flood Impacts from Surrounding Activities, prepared by Dr. David T. Williams and Dr. Gerald Blackler. Their testimony and credentials run from pages 19 to 101 of the PDF. (Caution: 19 mb download.)
Despite hundreds of posts on the relationship between sand mining and flooding, I have not previously focused on the phenomenon described by these experts. But every flood expert I talk to – at local, county and state levels – says their findings make perfect sense.
Public-Policy Concerns Raised by Shebelbon
Shebelbon’s case has not yet gone to trial. But I see similar situations every time I get in a helicopter. Together, they raise some disturbing public-policy issues. For instance:
Hopefully, the TCEQ or State Legislature can address these questions. But it won’t happen without public pressure.
I would simply ask.
Food for thought as we approach the upcoming legislative session!
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/4/2020
1163 Days after 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.
The First Responder During Harvey Who Flooded During Imelda
This is the story of a first responder who helped rescue dozens of families during Harvey. His own home later flooded during Imelda. Then he was the one calling for help. But that’s just the start of this gripping story. A house he rented (next to Woodridge Village) had flooded months earlier in May 2019, but Camillo Properties, the management company, said it had not. Within days of moving in last September, it flooded again. And that was after being in the emergency room most of the previous night with his stepson, who was diagnosed with pneumonia. Then the management company sued him for non-payment of rent – which he had paid. You don’t want to stand next to this guy in a lightning storm. Despite all his troubles, though, he says his relationship with his fiancé is stronger than ever. For job reasons, he needs to remain anonymous. I will refer to him only as John.
Rescue of Friend Turns into 12-Hour Marathon
Rehak: You had worked for a fire department in Montgomery County before Harvey. During the storm, you got a call from a terrified friend in the Barrington who was trapped in rising floodwaters. Tell me what happened.
John: Six to eight hours before calling me, she posted to Facebook saying she was in her living room, watching a movie, sipping wine, and “Everything is normal.” Then she called at 2 a.m. asking if I had any contacts who could rescue her.
Every back-channel contact was overwhelmed. So, I went down there in my Jeep to see if I could make it in. When I arrived, it was a lot deeper than I thought. Then a gentleman showed up with a huge aluminum boat – the kind that HFD uses for water rescues.
He said, “Hey, I’ve got a couple of friends back here, too. Let’s go see what we can find.” This was just before dawn. We got everyone into the boat. Then we started looking and realized, “It’s not just a few people who didn’t evacuate.” There were hundreds upon hundreds back there.
That’s about when rescue organizations started showing up. Eventually, there were dozens of boats pulling people out.
Rehak: How many times did you go back in?
John: I couldn’t say. But I didn’t leave till about four that afternoon.
Rehak: You evacuated people for 12 hours!
John: We had to stop when we ran low on fuel.
Rehak: Could you estimate the speed of the current in the Barrington?
John: No. But I’ll tell you that it got real hairy, real quick, even with a 150 horsepower motor.
Delayed Emotional Impact and Navigating Hidden Dangers
Rehak: What was it like emotionally as the day wore on?
John: After the fact, it was like…”Holy crap! How many people just lost everything that they had?” But at the time, we were too busy to think about it.
John: Coast Guard Seahawks were doing hoist rescues in areas boats couldn’t get to. And we were dodging submerged obstacles. We hit a couple of communal mailboxes. Those aren’t typical hazards you think about when operating a boat.
Rehak: Were there any other dangers that made things hairy?
John: Desperate people. Many weren’t thinking clearly. Some families didn’t want to leave, including those with kids.
Rehak: Were they in two-story homes?
John: Yes. But they had no access to resources past the initial push. Food, fresh water, working toilets.
Rehak: It was unsafe.
John: And water was creeping up to power meters. CenterPoint had not yet killed the area.
Rehak: Were there cars under water, too?
John: Oh, yeah. You could barely see the tops of some.
Rehak: Any other stories stand out in your mind?
John: Some families with kids had to make decisions about who would get in the lifeboat first and who would stay behind. It was heartbreaking.
“No. No. No. That House Never Flooded”
Rehak: Let’s talk about YOUR flood experience now in September of 2019 during Imelda.
John: We had been leasing an apartment at the front of Kingwood. The lease was coming up for renewal. So, we started looking at houses to lease and found one in North Kingwood Forest. It looked brand new even though the neighborhood was several years old. Looking back, that should’ve been a red flag.
Rehak: What attracted you?
John: It had more space. It was affordable, and there were many young families with kids. We applied, were approved within a couple of days, and set a move in date. As luck would have it, that turned out to be just SEVEN days before Imelda.
Rehak: Your pictures looked as though you weren’t even fully unpacked when the flood hit.
John: We had only unpacked essentials. And we had just done a big Costco run with cases of water, six-packs of chili, everything you need to stock a pantry. And then…
Rehak: Before you signed the lease, did you ask whether this place flooded before?
John: Unfortunately, we asked just after signing. My dad talked to our neighbor next door when we were moving in. She asked him whether they told us that the house had flooded in May.
Rehak: Surprise!
John: So, I called the landlord and asked, “Did that house ever flood?” I was told, “Oh, no, no, no. That never flooded. Only the other side of the neighborhood flooded.”
Relocation to Spring Triggers Landlord Lawsuit
Rehak: Did that become a point of contention between you and the owners?
John: Not immediately. The landlord offered us another place in Spring. It seemed like they were trying to be accommodating. So, I didn’t really call out their lie at the time.
Rehak: What happened later to change your mind?
John: Towards the end of October, beginning of November, we got a letter from them saying that we had not paid our rent at the Spring location. Of course, we had, so I called them and said, “Hey, this is an error.” I sent them copies of bank statements showing the rent payments cleared. We had even paid through their online portal. They said, “OK, we’ll look into it.”
Fast forward, two weeks later, a Constable serves us with an eviction lawsuit. This was a couple months after losing 70 percent of everything we owned.
Rehak: What did you do?
John: I contacted an attorney friend and he began calling them. They fed him the same line, “Oh, we will need to look into it.”
My attorney called me two days before court and said, “I have not gotten any response from them. We’ll have to go to court.”
There, we met Camillo’s representative from Nationwide Evictions. We showed her our bank statements. But their paperwork showed only a move in and then nothing being paid. The judge found our evidence overwhelming and ruled in our favor. That was the end of that. But it left a sour taste.
At that point, I thought to myself, “As soon as our lease is up and we can get away from this management company, we’re going to.” And we did.
Impact on Relationship
Rehak:. You have a fiancé who is a paramedic. How did this affect your relationship?
John: I tell people, “After two moves in 10 days, on top of a flood, you’re either going to split up or you’re going to last a lifetime. We’re still together!
Trip to Emergency Room Night Before Imelda
John: To top it off, the night before Imelda, he developed pneumonia. We were in the Kingwood Emergency Room with him until the wee hours. Fast-Forward to 9:30 or 10 the next morning. My fiancé woke me up and said, “We’re flooding.”
Rehak: What went through your mind?
John: I felt this has got to be a nightmare. That’s what she told to me later – that I rolled out of bed half awake and said, “This has got to be a nightmare.” Then I stepped down into water. That woke me up real fast!
From Pneumonia to “Water Park”
John: You’d think my stepson would have been sad or scared. But like a typical 4-year old, he thought it was a freakin’ WATER PARK! I can’t help but think that contributed to his pneumonia. It took him two weeks to get over that. There were a lot of sleep-deprived nights for us. We were mentally drained.
Rehak: So, on top of the flood, you’ve got a sick kid during your second move in two weeks! How did the people at your workplace react?
John: They came together. I have to say. They gave me time off work. They established a “go fund me.” Financially, they took care of us. They did right by us.
“Start Taking Out Fence Pickets”
Rehak: Tell me more about what happened during the Imelda flood after you woke up.
John: We reached out to family and friends and started stacking things on couches, countertops, anything to get stuff up off the floor. Then we called Camillo and said, “We are actively flooding. What do we do?”
She said to start taking out fence pickets to allow the water to flow around the house versus through the house. That’s when I suspected that they knew this house had a tendency to flood. Otherwise, why would you say, “Take out fence pickets”?
Water Coming From Back, Not Street
Rehak: Your video shows water flowing quickly from the back yard toward the street. How deep was the water in your back yard?
John: About a foot above my knees. It was that much higher in the back than on the street side. There was sand and silt throughout the house after the water receded.
Rehak: That didn’t come from the street.
John: Nope. There was only one place it could have come from. The 268-acres they had just cleared next to us.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/18/2020
1054 Days after 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.