Over the weekend, Rachel Taylor, a Lake Houston area resident who lives near the mouth bar sent me the video below. It shows an idle dredge near its starting point. The video, plus reports from boaters, fueled speculation that the mouth bar dredging had concluded. That fact was confirmed this afternoon by Houston City Council Member Dave Martin. His office issued a press release stating that FEMA had finished dredging 500,000 cubic yards of sediment from the San Jacinto West Fork Mouth Bar.
Lake Houston area resident Rachel Taylor shot this video of the Great Lakes Dredge on 9/8/2019. The dredge had returned to its starting point, fueling speculation that it had completed its mission assignment.
Said Council Member Dave Martin, “The Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) mission assignment modification to address partial removal of the San Jacinto River West Fork mouth-bar has concluded.” The mission assignment authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to remove an additional 497,400 cubic yards of debris from the West Fork near its confluence with Lake Houston. As of September 3, 2019, USACE removed 500,000 cubic yards of debris from the mouth-bar.
However, Martin never accepted the amount of debris included in the mission modification and continues to fight that number to this day.
Running, Year-Long Argument Over Volume
Council Member Martin and the City of Houston, through Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello, argued for almost a year to remove more sediment, believing that 500,000 cubic yards was much too low. But their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
According to Martin, FEMA cannot explain how 497,400 cubic yards was calculated, even while the City of Houston has provided verifiable scientific data showing the volume deposited by Harvey near the mouth bar was 1.4 million cubic yards.
During a meeting in June, 2019, FEMA representatives verified the City’s estimate was sound. That lead Martin to believe another contract extension was feasible. In August, FEMA representatives again stated, “Your (City of Houston) data is NOT bad data”, leaving Martin with lingering questions as to why no additional modification had been granted.
As a result of the most recent meeting held in Austin, Texas, with representatives from FEMA, USACE, Texas Division of Emergency Management, City of Houston, and Governor Greg Abbott’s office, Council Member Martin along with Mayor Sylvester Turner have sent a letter to our Federal Congressional Delegation requesting action be taken to address the Hurricane Harvey debris remaining in the mouth-bar. This letter urges Senator John Cornyn, Senator Ted Cruz, Chairman Kevin Brady, and Congressman Dan Crenshaw to continue to support recovery of our area through requesting an additional mission modification from FEMA. It would enable dredging another one million cubic yards of sediment related to Hurricane Harvey.
Overall, dredging in the San Jacinto removed more than 2 million cubic yards of sediment. That will help reduce the effects of potential future flooding, but it will not restore the conveyance of the river.
Granting a second mission modification allows the use of existing pre-positioned resources as well as an estimated savings of nearly $20 million for mobilization.
The City of Houston has secured a third disposal site, Barry Madden’s property south of the river, that has already received USACE permits for another 500,000 cubic yards of sediment disposal.
Request from Council Member Martin
Martin asks residents who support the request for additional dredging to contact their federal representatives. Martin says he remains committed to removing additional sediment in the mouth-bar and will continue to fight for additional dredging at that location.
Why We Still Have A Problem
Last weekend, boaters, canoeists and kayakers reported that water depth in the mouth bar was only 3-5 feet deep. Even though the Corps has so far refused to release its plans or survey results, that’s very close to the estimate I calculated when dividing 500,000 cubic yards by the acreage within the dredge area.
However, boaters also report the water upstream from the mouth bar is almost 40 feet deep in places.
This will herd water into an underwater box canyon.
As water hits that wall, it will also slow down, dropping more sediment out of suspension faster. That, in turn, will accelerate re-deposition and quickly fill in the area that FEMA just spent $90 million dredging. What a tragic waste of tax dollars!
Benefits of Additional Dredging
Creating a consistently wide and deep channel through the mouth bar that connects upstream areas with the Lake beyond FM1960 will reduce flood damages to properties regionally and provide for increased resilience to transportation systems, water treatment systems, public/private utilities, emergency response facilities, petrochemical industries, and other critical infrastructure, in the West Fork, San Jacinto River Watershed, plus Harris, Montgomery, and Liberty Counties.
Last year, the Corps estimated the flood protection benefits to be on the order of $200 billion.
FEMA regulations allow the agency to restore a river to a prior good condition if a risk to health and human safety exists.
Given that petrochemical industries in the region produce a significant amount of the nation’s petroleum-based energy products, reducing flood risks to these plants and their workers who reside in flood-prone areas will provide greater resiliency and a National security benefit.
Environmental benefits include reduced risks to water treatment plants from flooded sand mines and chemical spills which are threats to human health and safety. Non-monetary benefits include reduced risks to life, especially among residents with insufficient means.
Secrecy surrounds current dredging plans for the mouth bar of the San Jacinto West Fork. We know that the Corps will finish removing 500,000 cubic yards next week. However…
Unkowns at This Time
… we don’t know exactly where they are removing sediment, how wide the area is, how deep it is, and whether they will cut a channel through the sediment dam or just shave some off the top.
Mouth Bar of the San Jacinto West Fork immediately after Harvey
The Corps’ refusal to divulge plans puts residents in a bind. How can we know whether they have restored conveyance and safety? We must take their word. We don’t even have a post-dredge survey showing us how they intend to leave the river.
Two Prominent Geologist Suggest Objectives
With those caveats in mind, I asked Tim Garfield and RD Kissling what objectives they would set to restore conveyance and safety. Garfield and Kissling are two prominent area geologists who first brought the mouth-bar problems to the public’s attention. Between them, they have more than 80 years of oil field experience at the highest levels, studying river basins around the world.
Here’s how they responded: “Our overriding objectives are simple:
Restore flow conveyance of the west fork into Lake Houston
Survey the entire area being dredged for depth upon completion.
Extend the upstream dredging which ended near Kings Harbor through the mouth bar area. Said another way, don’t make water flow uphill. Eliminate the ramp.
Continue the 400’ wide, approximately 20′ deep channel past the SMB until it connects into the relict channel where it is 20’ deep or deeper near the FM1960 bridge.
Develop and implement a plan for regular maintenance dredging.
Define responsibilities, budget and source of funding for future dredging.
Define a schedule of regular depth surveys in order to determine where sediments are re-accumulating and to have a better baseline for future storm events.
Build and utilize 2D- or 3D-models to help guide future dredging decisions.
Resolve disposal issues. Identify long-term placement areas and potential partnerships with industry.”
Who Will Achieve Desired Results?
These objectives make sense to me. They describe what the river used to look like before the mouth bar set up and contributed to flooding 7,000 homes and businesses. They also describe what we need to do to keep the problem from recurring. If the Corps doesn’t achieve the desired result, I hope the City, Harris County and State can. You can help by urging elected representatives to get FEMA to designate the mouth bar sediment as Category A.
Corps May Share Results When Dredging Complete
According to Congressman Dan Crenshaw’s office, the Corps has finally agreed to share with outside sources the 1D HEC-RAS model it built. Reportedly, the Corps sent a copy of the model and data to Stephen Costello, the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery Officer. Crenshaw’s office is also trying to obtain the Corps’ dredging plans and make them public.
It will be interesting to see how the Corps’ dredging results line up with Garfield’s and Kissling’s objectives.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/31/2019
732 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Harvey-SanJac_437-cropped-e1546679917368.jpg?fit=1500%2C622&ssl=16221500adminadmin2019-08-31 14:21:182019-08-31 14:28:21Lake Houston Area Geologists Propose Dredging Objectives to Restore Conveyance, Safety
Having barely scratched the surface of the mouth bar of the San Jacinto West Fork, FEMA and the Army Corps will pack up their gear next week and call their job done. Last-ditch pleas by the City of Houston, Harris County and the State of Texas to get the federal government to extend its dredging program have fallen on deaf ears, perhaps because of the shifting of disaster relief funds to the construction of migrant detention facilities.
Mouth bar of the West Fork shortly after start of supplemental dredging. Photo courtesy of BCAeronautics.
Regardless, the bottom line is this: the Corps and FEMA will leave millions of cubic yards of sediment in place without restoring conveyance of the West Fork to a prior good condition.
The pullout caps months of arguments over how much sediment Harvey deposited. The City estimated 1.4 million cubic yards and the Corps 500,000.
According to City Council Member Dave Martin, the Corps agreed Harvey deposited 1.4 million cubic yards of sediment in the river near the mouth bar. The Corps also agreed, said Martin, that there was nothing wrong with the Tetra Tech study that arrived at that total.
Waffling by Corps
As late as last Friday, Martin said, the Corps agreed to write a letter to FEMA, recommending dredging more than the 500,000 cubic yards. The letter would say that almost a million cubic yards of Harvey-related sediment remained in the river and should be removed. However, at a meeting in Austin this Tuesday, the Corps revealed that FEMA told it not to write the letter. The Corps now intends to demobilize equipment as soon as it finishes dredging 500,000 cubic yards from the mouth bar. That should only take until next week.
With the year-long dredging program now almost complete and perhaps less than a quarter of the sediment removed that is required to restore the natural flow of the river, what will happen next? We have some hope.
The Corps has finally approved Berry Madden’s property as a storage site for 500,000 cubic yards. That should be enough to get the next phase of the program started while the City seeks additional storage sites.
The City has committed to a maintenance dredging program according to Martin.
The State and Harris County have earmarked $30 million and $10 million respectively to continue dredging.
Tell them that you support the Category A designation and see the mouth bar removal as crucial to public safety with a letter like the one below.
Sample Letter
Subject: PLEASE CLASSIFY MOUTH BAR REMNANTS AS CATEGORY A
Dear _____________:
Thank you for helping to make dredging of the San Jacinto West Fork a priority. It will help reduce flooding, protect property, save lives, and improve public safety.
However, part of the existing mouth-bar located at the confluence of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston remains.
I’m writing to enlist your support in urging the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to designate that remaining debris as Category A for reimbursement.
Category A designation will allow the City of Houston to:
Utilize existing resources and pre-positioned contracts
Save nearly $20 million associated with mobilization
Protect life, property and safety
Field data collected by the City of Houston and provided to FEMA demonstrates that the remaining debris was directly associated with Hurricane Harvey. As of August 20, 2019, the City of Houston has proactively secured a third United States Army Corps of Engineers permitted disposal site needed for the additional debris.
Your assistance is crucial to rehabilitate the San Jacinto River to its prior good condition. Please urge FEMA to grant this Category A designation. It will let the City of Houston continue rebuilding from Harvey.
Sincerely,
INSERT
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/30/2019with drone photo from BCAeronautics
731 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/BCAeronautics-Mouth-Bar-1.jpg?fit=1500%2C1125&ssl=111251500adminadmin2019-08-30 00:41:112019-08-30 00:46:32FEMA/Corps To Stop Dredging Mouth Bar Before Finishing Job; What You Can Do
ReduceFlooding.com has obtained a copy of the study withheld by the Army Corps that the Corps used to justify dredging only 500,000 cubic yards from the mouth bar of the San Jacinto West Fork. The Corps refused to supply it in response to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in June. However, the City of Houston did supply the Corps document in response to a similar FOIA request. Now, thanks to Council Member Dave Martin, the public has an opportunity to compare the two studies side by side for the first time.
Kings River resident near mouth bar wading in knee deep water almost to West Fork channel marker. Caution: do not let children attempt this. Pockets of deeper water may exist that could cause drowning. Picture taken eight days ago. The island being excavated in the distance has since been removed; see last image in post.
After reviewing the Corps document, I can see why the Corps refused to supply it. It has more holes in it than a West Texas stop sign.
History of Controversy
For almost a year, the City and the Army Corps have argued over how much sediment was deposited in the mouth bar of the San Jacinto river by Hurricane Harvey. That determines how much dredging FEMA will fund. Initially, the City recommended working with two Texas Water Development Board sedimentation surveys conducted in 2011 and 2018. But no measurements exist from the period immediately BEFORE Harvey – only AFTER. So the Corps rejected that idea.
The Stockton Protocol combines ultra-high-resolution CHIRP seismic data with core sampling. The seismic identifies layer thickness and the core sampling identifies layer composition. (Note: the process is somewhat like the oil field practice of confirming seismic with core samples from exploratory wells.) The hope: that by analyzing changes in sediment composition (such as color, grain size, roundness, hardness, etc.), researchers can differentiate Harvey sediment from other floods and then measure it accurately.
Core sample from Tetra Tech Study. Different colors and consistencies indicate sediment came from different floods.
The Army Corps recommended a Texas A&M Galveston professor, Dr. Timothy Dellapenna, to do the research. However, the City of Houston and A&M could not agree on contract terms. Therefore, the City hired Tetra Tech, to perform the research that Dr. Dellapena outlined.
At the end of the day, even with 500,000 cubic yards, those two estimates still vary by almost 3X. According to Houston City Council Member Dave Martin, the Corps never explained why they rejected the Tetra Tech analysis.
The Corps simply accepted its own results and started dredging without public explanation or input. The Corps document raises many questions that may or may not have valid answers.
The USGS gauge used by the Corps for its analysis stopped working during the peak of Harveywhen most sediment would have been moving. The Corps report did not acknowledge this.
Corps Analysis Requires Explanations Never Supplied
Why did the Corps:
Base its analysis on a gage at US59 that stopped functioning during the peak of Harvey, when most sediment was moving?
Assume Harvey distributed sediment in the same patterns over the same distances as lesser storms?
Ignore build up of sediment from Tax Day and Memorial Day storms at the mouth bar as a factor that could have increased the percentage of sediment falling out of suspension during Harvey?
Not consider bank erosion downstream from the gage, relying instead on standard charts for “bed-load transport” for sandy rivers?
Ignore approximately 20 square miles of sand mines in the West Fork floodway where loose sand and silt were inundated by 131,000 cubic feet of water per second, unlike previous storms?
Use a 1-D instead of a 2- or 3-D model for this complex environment?
Not publicly disclose model inputs/outputs and data for peer review and validation?
Initially reject the use of two TWDB surveys, then reverse course and base all of their findings on them – without explaining why?
Exclude extreme data from their study, even though Harvey was one of the most extreme rainfall events in U.S. history?
Mislabel all charts, graphs and photos in its report?
Refuse to disclose their report in response to a FOIA request, contrary to official Army policy?
Omit the organization’s name and the author’s name from the report?
Treat the volume that Tetra Tech found related to Harvey in the mouth bar area alone as if it represented the total volume deposited in the entire West Fork by Harvey?
Corps Rejects Use of TWDB Surveys, Then Bases Own Analysis On Them
To estimate Harvey-related volume, the City initially proposed analyzing two Texas Water Development Board sedimentation surveys from 2011 and 2018.
The Corps rejected that idea, suggested the Stockton Protocol, rejected those findings, then based its own analysis on the two TWDB surveys it rejected earlier. This is like following a Three-Card Monte game!
Basically, the Corps tried to estimate the amount of sediment that Harvey’s flow could theoretically carry. That would depend on velocity and sediment size/weight. But the gage at US 59 stopped recording at the peak of Harvey. So they also had to estimate the discharge (volume of flow in cubic feet per second [cfs]). Then they used industry-standard curves to estimate sediment transport based on estimated discharge. But they discarded rates over 45,000 CFS because they produced unexpectedly high values.
They also ignored the presence of mile-wide sand mines upstream. The river ruptured the dikes of those mines and captured the pits during Harvey.
West Fork Sand Mine Complex inundated by Harvey. This reach of the river is normally about 150 feet wide.On this day, the day AFTER Harvey’s peak, the flow was more than a mile wide.
When the industry-standard sediment transport curves yielded unacceptably high results, the Corps resorted to a simple 1-D model (developed earlier for another purpose) to calculate the sediment load, because flows beyond 45,000 cubic feet per second “produced sediment loads far beyond a reasonable range.”
Corps Assumes Harvey Transported Same Percentage To Mouth Bar as Other Storms
One potentially fatal assumption: The Corps assumes that Harvey transported the same percentage of its sediment load to the mouth bar as all other storms between 2011 and 2018. Said another way, they assume that Harvey behaved LIKE all other storms. Yet not all those floods inundated sand mines.
Moreover, had the Corps measured river bank erosion at intervals between 2011 and 2018, they would have found that virtually all of it occurred during Harvey and very little occurred during Tax Day, Memorial Day and other storms.
Quantum Leap in Erosion Not Factored In
Harvey’s erosive power was NOT proportional to other storms, as the photos below show. River banks eroded more than a hundred feet during Harvey in many places. Yet the Corps report never even mentions erosion.
In 2011, the distance from the ridgeline of this home on Riverbend Drive to the West Fork was 326 feet.
On 1/23/2017, after the Tax and Memorial Day Floods, the distance had decreased only 2 feet.
This shows how much shoreline Harvey ALONE eroded. The yellow line is exactly the same length as after the 2016 floods.
After Harvey, the new distance to the river bank was 216 feet – 108 feet less.
The Tax and Memorial Day Floods combined eroded this river bank by 2 feet. Harvey alone eroded it another 108 feet – 50 times more!
Photographic analysis shows similar quantum leaps in erosion related to Harvey elsewhere along the West Fork.
Another home west of River Grove Park lost 27 feet between 2011 and early 2017, but 111 feet in Harvey.
River Grove Park lost 0 feet from 2011 to early 2017, but 74-feet in Harvey.
Romerica lost 62 feet between 2011 and early 2017, but 144 feet in Harvey.
Net: In four days, Harvey eroded from 2X to 75X more sediment than all other storms during the previous six years. It did NOT act proportionally.
The shearing force of 240,000 cubic feet per second coming down the West Fork literally pulled thousands of trees out by their roots and dislodged sediment disproportionately compared to previous floods (see below). The Gallery page of this web site clearly shows the extent of this devastation. It contains 450 images taken from a helicopter on 9/14/2017, two weeks after Harvey.
Hurricane Harvey ripped trees out by their roots to a degree that previous storms did not. This increased erosion exponentially compared to other storms.
Corps Assumes Mouth Bar Growth Did Not Affect Percentage Deposited by Harvey
The Army Corps also assumes that Harvey transported the same fraction of the total sediment load (20%) to the mouth bar that all storms did between 2011 and 2018. That’s a dubious assumption for several reasons:
Previous storms progressively built a wall across the mouth of the West Fork that grew higher and higher during the study period.
As it grew, that wall increasingly slowed water down and likely accelerated the rate of deposition behind it (which helps explain why the Corps had to dredge its way to the mouth bar).
This constant 20% contradicts numerous anecdotal reports from lakeside residents and boaters claiming that Harvey carried vastlymore sediment to the mouth bar (and their yards/docks) than previous storms. The wife of the resident wading across the river in the image above told me that, on a scale of 1 to 5, the Tax and Memorial Days floods deposited sediment in her yard equal to a 1. But Harvey, she said, was a 6. In other words, off the scale.
No wonder the Corps didn’t want the public looking at this!
Taxpayers Deserve Independent Scientific Review
Professionals rarely like to have their conclusions questioned. However, those who have confidence in their conclusions welcome peer and public review. They encourage second opinions and provide all of their data for review. They also welcome the opportunity to explain and defend their results. None of those things happened in this case.
Instead, the Corps concealed its results as if this involved national security, not public safety. Why? That may be the biggest question of all associated with this project.
The Corps has an excellent, hard-earned reputation. This study undermines it.
As mentioned above, the Tetra Tech study may also have flaws, but the Corps never revealed what its concerns were.
Only one thing is certain. Public safety rests on wildly differing studies. Taxpayers deserve an independent scientific review to resolve the differences between these two studies. The City concurs with the findings in this post and also calls for an independent scientific review. The Corps could not be reached for comment; their new public affairs officer does not list her phone number.
Dredging will likely end next week, with the Corps proclaiming it has restored the conveyance of the river to pre-Harvey conditions (when they have no pre-Harvey measurements).
So we need an independent scientific review to happen quickly. Email you Congressmen and Senators immediately.
Corps Plans Still Being Kept from Public
The Corps still has not released its dredging plans, despite a FOIA request made in June when mouth bar dredging started.
If that is an accurate assessment, the Corps would leave a sediment wall under the water approximately 30-35 feet high and 1-2 miles long in the mouth of the West Fork.
Congressman Dan Crenshaw reviews progress of dredging operation on Friday, August 16. Looking southwest towards Atascocita. Notice how the small island in the first image above has now been removed. The mouth bar itself will remain in place, most of it underwater nowwhere it is invisible to the public.
Others Scrambling to Pick Up the Pieces
It may look like the Corps has dredged. But it also looks like the Corps will leave 80-90% of the mouth bar in place. Remember, sand bars are like ice bergs in the sense that what you see above water is small compared to the amount you can’t see below water.
At this point, City, County, State and Federal leaders are scrambling to put together a plan to address the rest of the sediment. Some of that sediment is clearly pre-Harvey. I will discuss options for removal of that portion and maintenance dredging in a future post.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/2019
721 Days after Hurricane Harvey
As in previous posts on this subject, I promise the Corps that I will print their rebuttal verbatim if they disagree with any of the points in this post.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/USGS.08069500.140334.00065..20170829.20170830..0..pres_.gif.png?fit=580%2C430&ssl=1430580adminadmin2019-08-20 16:14:592019-08-21 11:07:08Recently Obtained Documents Raise Questions about Amount of Sediment in Mouth Bar Due to Harvey
The Army Corps has released a new summary of its progress on dredging the mouth bar. The report indicates that Great Lakes, the contractor is now 70% complete. They have dredged 350,000 out of 500,000 cubic yards.
Great Lakes started dredging the mouth bar on June 25th, 2019, as part of a $17,085,861 extension of the original contract (FEMA mission assignment SWD-30).
Current area of operation is the blue area on the far right. Sediment removed from that area is being pumped 10 miles back upstream to Placement Area #2, a sand mine near Kingwood College, on the far left.
Between the start of mouth bar dredging and August 12, Great Lakes dredged an average of 6,363 cubic yards per day. If they can keep that pace up, they should be done by approximately Labor Day – three months ahead of schedule. That’s HALF the predicted time.
Remainder of Project Still Not Decided
What comes next? That still has not been finalized. City, County and State officials have been meeting in the background to determine that. The Army Corps still has not accepted or rejected Berry Madden’s property as a third placement area. And the $30 million appropriated by the State for mouth bar dredging won’t even become available until September 1st.
RD Kissling and Tim Garfield, two local geologists who first brought the mouth bar issue to the public’s attention, estimate that 500,000 cubic yards is about one-fourth of the total sediment that must be removed to fully restore conveyance of the West Fork.
How Shallow is It?
The Corps has not yet released (or even developed) plans for mouth bar dredging. We do know the volume they intend to remove, and the general area they intend to remove it from. However, they have refused to divulge how much of a dent their efforts will make in solving the problem.
This photo of a Kings River resident wading across the river shows how shallow it is near the orange channel marker.This resident says boats “beach” behind his property almost every day.Note: Deeper pockets may exist, especially near dredging equipment. The risk of drowning is real. Do not let children attempt this.Photo taken Sunday, August 10, 2019.The resident made it almost to the channel marker without getting his shorts wet.Shot taken with 6X telephoto lens.The lake/river within this area averages two to three feet deep. 500,000 cubic yards would lower the average level by another three feet as this calculation shows.
Problem With Stopping after 500,000 CY
The problem with stopping after the Corps finishes its 500,000 cubic yards is that the river behind this area is much deeper. Where the Corps stopped dredging just past Kings Harbor, the river is now 25-30 feet deep. And places are even deeper according to fishermen. That means water coming downriver will be forced to flow uphill in this area. That will force it to slow down and more sediment will rapidly drop out of suspension. Some experts have suggested dredging a deep channel through this area to help restore full conveyance of the river. However, the Army Corps intends to stop after 500,000 cubic yards.
“Q: What is USACE Galveston District’s plan for the rest of the mouth bar?“
“A. There is no additional work planned for the mouth bar. The current plan for the modification addressing material near the mouth bar can be found on the placemat. USACE Galveston District has no authority to conduct any additional work in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River or Lake Houston. The San Jacinto River is not an authorized federal waterway, the Corps of Engineers dredging operations are currently limited to dredging Harvey-related material. The ongoing work under the contract modification will remove the remainder of material attributable directly to Hurricane Harvey. The sedimentation from recurring annual flows are not within USACE Galveston District’s mission assignment from FEMA. Water flows on the West Fork of San Jacinto River were restored to pre-Harvey levels in December 2018.”
“Q: Who can the public contact for additional concerns with the maintenance of the San Jacinto River?“
“A. For concerns with the maintenance of the San Jacinto River, please contact Harris County Flood Control District, the San Jacinto River Authority and the City of Houston.”
Punt!
Meanwhile the City is still arguing with the Corps about how they arrived at 500,000 cubic yards. More on that later. I have obtained the Corps’ estimate through a FOIA request to the City of Houston. It raises many questions that I am still trying to sort through. More on that later.
Posted by Bob Rehak on August 14, 2019
715 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/MouthBar_01_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-08-14 13:46:172019-08-14 13:46:28Army Corps Now 70% Complete with Its Portion of Mouth Bar Dredging
The Army Corps has refused to release documents that explain key decisions, delays and plans related to West Fork mouth bar dredging, and a potential placement area for the spoils. At issue are the Corps’ decisions to dredge only 500,000 cubic yards from the area of the mouth bar and to delay approval of the City’s proposed placement area for long-term dredging.
As a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request related to these decisions, I also learned that the Corps:
Is dredging near the mouth bar without a plan
Is almost done with the mouth bar project and hopes to have a plan before it finishes
Has repeatedly delayed a decision on a new placement area that could have saved millions of tax dollars.
Meanwhile, the Corps continues sending sediment to a mine that leaks it back into the river. That mine – in the floodway – has a dubious environmental record at best. This seems to be a case of Government Gone Wild.
Dueling Studies Offer Different Opinions of Harvey-related Mouth Bar Volume
The City of Houston and Army Corps have reportedly argued for a year or more about how much sediment Harvey deposited in the mouth bar. Late last year, FEMA required the City to perform a core-sample study using something called the Stockton Protocol. The City hired Tetra Tech to do it. And Tetra Tech concluded Harvey deposited 1.4 million cubic yards. Here is their study.
The Corps, however, evidently did not buy the results. The Corps conducted another study for FEMA using a different protocol. It concluded Harvey deposited 500,000 cubic yards.
The Corps, however, refused to release the results of that study for public review.
FEMA and the Corps went ahead and hired Great Lakes to dredge that volume from the mouth bar. That job is now more than half complete.
While inventorying the documents that the Corps DID send me, I also discovered that they are now dredging the mouth bar area – without a plan. I know this because I requested the plan and they did not supply it. A Corps representative then explained that they are still working on the plan. They hope to have it done before they complete the $17 million job.
At the current price of diesel (about $3/gallon), that’s about $15,000 per day for fuel alone. More than $100,000 per week. And more than $400,000 per month. Waaaaay more than the limit on my gas cards. So what does the Corps get for all that?
A year ago, this same mine was caught on camera deliberately sending its process water straight into the West Fork.
Video provided to ReduceFlooding.Com. Source wishes to remain anonymous.
Yet, while approving this site, the Corps reportedly has environmental concerns over a much closer disposal site that would require less fuel and fewer boosters. It’s also on higher ground and out of the floodway. It’s Berry Madden’s property in Humble immediately west of Kings Lake Estates between the West Fork and 1960.
Five different proposed placement areas on Madden property avoid wetlands (the cross-hatched areas).
The Corps may or may not have good reasons for disliking the property, but they won’t reveal them whatever they are.
After more than a year of environmental and archeological studies costing Madden more than $100,000, the Corps still has not approved or rejected his property. Nor have they explained delays in approving or rejecting it. The documents that the Corps DID supply show that they are throwing one obstacle after another in Madden’s path. Despite the fact that he’s on higher ground and farther from the river than the current placement area.
Meanwhile, the Corps subsidizes the sub-optimal sand mine/placement area above. Go figure!
Potential Setback for Future Dredging
One of the consequences of NOT having an approved site to store additional spoils is that it could delay future phases of dredging. Those potentially include:
Additional mouth bar dredging
59 to River Grove Park
Maintenance dredging
Mouths of ditches such as Ben’s Branch
FOIA Scorecard
I filed my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Army Corps 50 days ago. I requested:
Their plans for mouth-bar dredging
Conference reports of meetings where the mouth bar was discussed
Documents relating to the approval of Berry Madden’s property in Humble as a potential storage site.
About a month ago, they requested a clarification. “What do you mean by ‘plans’?” Seriously! The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needed to have the concept of plans explained????!!!
After more delays and excuses, five days ago, I received a compact disk in the mail with approximately 800 total pages of material. The Corps:
OMITTED any mouth-bar plans.
OMITTED the Corps study that contradicted the Tetra Tech study.
WITHHELD 118 pages of material that could have explained their decision.
REDACTED key correspondence relating to Madden’s property.
SUBSTITUTED dredging status reports from contractor meetings for conference reports of meetings among City, State and Federal officials where decisions about the mouth bar were considered.
Government Gone Wild
After several phone calls in which I tried to cajole them into supplying the Corps’ study, I received another email from the Corps. It said that they considered my original FOIA request closed. They then asked me to submit another one for the same material that I requested in June. They seem to be treating this as a national-security issue, not a public-safety issue. Why?
Unfortunately, that does not allow informed discussion among the public, whose safety is at stake. Nor does it recognize the fact that they have already made a decision, i.e, to dredge 500,000 cubic yards and have half-completed the project. So how does this qualify as “pre-decisional”?
That leaves the State, County, City and the public in the lurch. Maybe a Congressional investigation could sort this out. That’s what it will take.
At this point, it’s not clear how, when or if the mouth-bar job will be finished. Five hundred thousand cubic yards is a small fraction of what needs to be removed to restore conveyance to the river.
It’s also not clear how many more hurdles the Corps will put in the way of a placement area farther from the river on higher ground. Or why.
A curtain of secrecy has descended upon this job. I will continue to follow the story. The public has a right to know.
Open Offer to Corps to Rebut Criticisms
If the Corps feels I have criticized it unjustly, I invite a spokesperson to explain the Corps point of view. I promise to reprint the rebuttal verbatim.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/9/2019
710 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts in this post represent my opinions on matters of public interest and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ACEO.jpg?fit=1500%2C1069&ssl=110691500adminadmin2019-08-08 23:19:482019-08-09 16:25:54Government Gone Wild: Army Corp Refuses to Release Dredging Documents that Explain Decisions, Delays
These two images, taken almost two years apart, show one of the most dramatic improvements to West Fork conveyance – the removal of a giant blockage that the Army Corps nicknamed Sand Island.
Sand Island mysteriously appeared during Harvey almost overnight and virtually blocked the entire West Fork of the San Jacinto. Today, the blockage is gone as the before/after photos below show.
Taking Time to Reflect on Accomplishments
This is what Sand Island looked like two weeks after Harvey. It appeared virtually overnight. I took this shot from a helicopter.
Facing east. Sand Island blocks the entire west fork of the San Jacinto. The Kingwood Country Club is in the upper left portion of the photo. Shot from a helicopter on 9/14/2017.
Bayou Land Conservancy Provides the “After” Photo
Suzanne Simpson, Land Stewardship Director for the Bayou Land Conservancy, was doing a wetlands inventory with her drone near River Grove Park this morning. She captured a similar shot below of the same area.
After more than a year of dredging, Sand Island is finally gone. The Army Corps and Great Lakes have restored conveyance on this portion of the San Jacinto West Fork, immediately downstream from River Grove Park.Shot by Suzanne Simpson with a drone on 7/18/2019.
A Job Well Done
This pair of images shows the dramatic improvement in conveyance to this portion of the river. Kudos to the Army Corps and their contractors, especially Great Lakes, which managed this portion of dredging.
Clearing the river of blockages like these should have a dramatic impact on conveyance and help reduce future flooding.
Great Lakes is now working on the mouth bar farther downriver, while Callan Marine is dredging the area near Kings Harbor. Only the mouth bar was/is a bigger blockage on the West Fork than Sand Island.
Additional thanks go to FEMA for funding the project, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, former Congressmen Ted Poe, and the City of Houston.
Since dredging started almost a year ago, the Corps has removed 1.8 million cubic yards of sediment. That’s enough sand to fill the Astrodome.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/18/2019
688 Days After Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DJI_0033.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-07-18 21:37:382019-07-18 21:41:01Now You See It; Now You Don’t. Second Biggest Blockage on West Fork GONE!
It appears that dredging of the mouth bar of the San Jacinto West Fork has officially begun. Two weeks ago, I reported that the Great Lakes dredge had maneuvered into position. Then this weekend, residents started sending me pictures taken from the river showing equipment in operation.
Mouth Bar Imagery from RD Kissling
RD Kissling, a Lake Houston area resident and geologist, who first helped bring the mouth bar to the public’s attention sent me the photo and video below last week. “The dredge is up and running,” he said.
The image with the canoe below, Kissling said, “This is me standing in shin deep water about 200 yards south of the exposed mouth bar, looking north towards the bar and Scenic Shores. There is another small channel about 20 yards south of me then the bar shoals again.”
Lake Houston Area geologist RD Kissling standing in shin-deep water 200 yards south of the mouth bar. This image, more than any other I have seen, dramatizes how critical the need for dredging has become...and how hilarious the Romerica proposal is to build a marina for more than 600 40-foot yachts.Video shot by RD Kissling from the southernmost exposed portion of the mouth bar. Starts looking west towards the dredge then swings around to the east.
Mouth Bar Images from Today Shot by Jeff Kristoff
Then Jeff Kristoff, a Kingwood resident, sent me the pictures below today. They show an excavator on the upstream end of the bar and dredging equipment immediately south of the bar. It appears there may be two excavators breaking up vegetative growth and sediment. Farther upstream, near River Grove Park, dredgers reportedly ran into submerged logs that had been covered by sand.
The loops in the pipelines will allow the dredge to maneuver up and downstream as it works.Note first of two excavators in background breaking up vegetation at edge of mouth bar.Excavators can also be used to more or lift pipe for repairs.
Ultimate Plans Still Not Announced Yet
Exactly where or how much the Corps and its partners plan to dredge has not yet been announced. The Corps last issued a press release for the project on June 10, three weeks ago, and has not yet responded to a Freedom-of-Information-Act request for the dredging plans.
Because it’s hard to believe that the U.S. Army would move on a project this large without a plan, I can only conclude that all parties have not yet reached an agreement on volume and a permit for placement of the sediment.
For the time being, it looks as though the Corps will use Placement Area 2 on Sorters Road…at least initially. Pumping ALL of the sediment 10 miles upstream would hike the cost hugely because it would require at least 5 booster pumps. Each uses 1000 gallons of diesel per day.
For speculation on where and how much they might dredge, see this post.
Posted by Bob Rehak on July 4, 2019, with images and video from RD Kissling and Jeff Kristoff
674 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Kristoff-Mouth-Bar-4-copy-2.jpg?fit=1500%2C704&ssl=17041500adminadmin2019-07-03 21:40:422019-07-03 21:40:53Mouth Bar Dredging Begins
From the date on the USFWS letter, February 28, it appears that USFWS arrived at its recommendation even before the close of the public comment period on March 1.
The applicant understated the likely impact on waters and wetlands resulting from fill material, raised buildings, infrastructure development and construction activities. They called the applicant’s proposal “misleading.”
USFWS expressed concerns about:
Bird strikes and mortalities associated with the high-rise buildings
The loss of highly functioning forested wetlands
Significant reduction in biological functions, particularly those related to fish and wildlife habitat
Water quality issues
A marina district built entirely within the floodway
The absence of appropriate stormwater management
Failure to fully disclose impacts on wetlands and surrounding properties
Inconsistencies in access road descriptions
Failure to fully disclose the project’s footprint impacts
Failure to provide an analysis of practicable alternatives to the proposed wetland and stream fill
Failure to demonstrate that the project meets the requirements of the EPA’s CWA 404(b)(1) guidelines
An incomplete compensatory mitigation plan
Improper assessment of the high level of functions of the onsite aquatic resources and surrounding upland habitats
An inadequate bald eagle survey
Disturbance and loss of bald eagle habitat.
Conclusion and Recommendation of USFWS
The USFWS recommended “permit denial due to the application’s deficiencies.”
Reaction
I’m happy that a government agency validated the concerns of residents, especially the numerous deficiencies that became so glaringly obvious during the public comment period. Example: when I asked one of the engineers at the March 18th public meeting where all the fill would be put, he couldn’t tell me. It seemed like a simple, but important question. Turns out it was.
Jill Boullion, Executive Director of the Bayou Land Conservancy said, “The Bayou Land Conservancy is gratified that US Fish & Wildlife service has confirmed our opinion that the Romerica project site is ecologically rich and diverse. It is, in its natural state, already providing the community immeasurable services. We believe the highest good for the community is to preserve this valuable resource, not develop it.”
Romerica’s spokesperson, Leah Howard Manlove, contacted me earlier this week to say that the Romerica team would meet next week to discuss their options and a plan of action. At this point, Romerica has two options: answer all the questions and concerns raised during the public comment period or quietly let the project die.
Posted by Bob Rehak on May 10, 2019
619 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy and are protected under 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/2019/04/DSC06408.jpg?fit=2031%2C1648&ssl=116482031adminadmin2019-05-10 16:07:302019-05-10 19:51:28U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Urged Corps to Deny Romerica Permit
I visited Placement Area 1 this morning . Muck was shooting out of the “diffuser pipe” at 470 cubic yards per hour. That’s enough to fill up 47 dump trucks every hour! A truly impressive sight. So I grabbed my Nikon D5 and started clicking. Only after downloading the images did I realize that I had the shutter set to 1/8000th of a second.
Liquid Looks Like Glass at 1/8000th
Normally, when shooting flowing water, you want to use shutter speeds in the range of 1/8th to 1/60th of a second. Slower speeds blur the liquid and create a sense of motion. The faster speed, however, froze the motion and made the liquid look like glass.
In photography, sometimes mistakes make the shot. This may have been one of those times. As I stared at the effluent, I became transfixed by the thousands of bursting bubbles within it. You can also see how the further the “spray” gets from the pipe, the bursting bubbles begin to reform into smaller droplets.
Effect of Diffusion Pipe
Dredgers call this a diffusion pipe because of those rings on the end of it. They allow the dredger to control the spread of the effluent. By adjusting the spread, they can make it shoot out far like a fire hose or spread out wide.
In this case, they had it set to “wide” so that it would be more controllable.
Diffuser pipe at Placement Area #1 shooting out effluent at 470 cubic yards per minute. Shot with a Nikon D5 at 1/8000th of a second.A slightly wider shot shows sand piling up. All the water in the effluent finds its way back into the river after sediment drops out of suspension and it is filtered by gravity.This shot shows three separate activities: a) the pit being filled, b) an excavator moving sand out of the flow, and c) loading a sand truck which will haul it away.
Now Selling Sand from Placement Area #1
A worker told me that early last week, the pit owner started selling sand from the site to an asphalt company. At the present rate, they are hauling it away about half as fast as the pit is being filled. This will help create extra storage area in the pit should the US Army Corps of Engineers choose to use it for the next phase of dredging – the mouth bar.
Max Flow Rates
As impressive as this flow is, I’m told it can go even higher – up to about 1,000 cubic yards per hour. The rate depends on factors such as the density and hardness of the spoils, as well as the distance they are pumped.
Details Still Being Worked Out on Mouth Bar
Still no official word yet on details of Phase 2 – the mouth bar project. The Corps is still evaluating placement areas. It could be that they need to permit more than one to contain the entire mouth bar. However, they also need to move quickly to make sure the dredgers don’t move on to another job.
Because of the lengthy amount of time permitting a placement area can take, the Corps may try to buy time by directing spoils to one or both of the current placement areas which are already permitted.
The more sand that pit owners can sell, the more capacity they will have, and the faster phase two of West Fork dredging can start.
FEMA will not pay to remove the entire mouth bar. FEMA has been working with the Corps and the City of Houston to determine how much of the mouth bar was due to Harvey. By statute, that’s all FEMA can pay to remove.
Variables Complicate Decisions
The City, State and Harris County will have to pay to remove the rest. That’s part of the contingency planning at this point. No details have yet been released about how all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle will fit together.
Planners are now trying to optimize for at least ten variables that I have heard discussed.
Volume due to Harvey
Time required to dredge it
Available storage in existing placement areas
Additional cost to move it to those placement areas (pipe, booster pumps, fuel, etc.)
Productivity loss due to additional distance from mouth bar
Cost versus amount funded by FEMA
Placement areas and cost for any volume FEMA does not fund
Time required to permit new placement area(s)
Where money will come from to cover what FEMA does not cover
When additional funds will be available
Not simple! We can only wish that they could make the decision in 1/8000th of a second.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/2019
611 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PA1-5.2.19-CU_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C1007&ssl=110071500adminadmin2019-05-02 16:44:452019-05-02 16:47:37What 470 Cubic Yards of Muck Per Hour Looks Like at 1/8000th of a Second
