6/16/25 – Not many people understand the value of education and preservation as a flood-mitigation strategies. Leaving land near waterways in its natural state costs a tiny fraction of building giant detention basins after people flood. Plus the natural land provides recreation for people and habitat for wildlife.
The people who built communities like Kingwood and the Woodlands understood that. That’s why we have 300-foot-wide greenbelts along streams like Bens Branch. It’s also why we have giant natural areas like East End Park and the Creekwood Nature Center. They draw an exceptional amount of wildlife to one of the largest cities in America.
But passing that learning on to others requires education.
Connecting with Nature Through Photography
Ansel Adams once said, “If you want to preserve nature, inspire people with its beauty.” I’d take that a step further and add “…while they are young.”
Education and preservation are both crucial flood-mitigation strategies.
So, this morning, I gave a talk about bird photography to a class of young, aspiring photographers at the Creativity Shell in Kingwood.
Years ago before retirement, I built the building that now houses the Creativity Shell. It won national architectural awards for the way it integrated nature with business. I took many of the photos below on the property near Kingwood Park High School. The rest were taken in the surrounding area.
The photos underscore how preservation can bring beauty, contentment, excitement and joy to people who otherwise inhabit a densely populated urban environment. They help people see the subjects, not just as other species, but as individuals struggling to survive, thrive, and raise young of their own.
Photos of Area Wildlife
Two great egrets mirror each other as they preen their feathers.Painted bunting munches on tall-grass seed outside the front door of the Creativity ShellTwo proud parents watch the first of their chicks hatch out of its egg.Mallard on Lake HoustonA gathering of roseate spoonbills. The shape of their long bills lets them efficiently sift through muddy water in swampy areas where they can’t see food clearly. Mating display of great egret.Roseate spoonbill returning to nest.Great egret tilts its wings to slow down before landing on its nest.One species attempts to raid the nest of another and triggers a war.Another display of the great egret. The long, lacy plumes (aigrettes) are raised and displayed during courtship.One roseate spoonbill returns to the nest which the other was guarding.Red-tailed hawk was feasting on a possum outside Creativity ShellBig sticks like these are used to form the foundation of nests that will hold three to four chicks as they grow to adolescence.The vision of a hawk is significantly sharper than humans’. Some estimates suggest they have eight times more resolution. This lets them spot prey up to a mile away in some cases. Roseate spoonbill coming in for a landing.
And for something completely different…
Fawn born on the lawn of the Creativity Shell near the front door.
About the Creativity Shell
The Creativity Shell took over a building I constructed in the early 2000s for my business – Rehak Creative Services. The 20,000 SF facility is divided up into multiple open spaces designed to encourage interaction, sharing and creativity. Virtually every space in the building has a view of nature outside from at least three different angles.
Shelancia Daniel, M.Ed. and executive director, has turned it into a space for encouraging creativity among students of all ages. Offerings include classes/workshops for sewing, textile arts, fiber arts, art, drawing, painting, pottery, photography, media, cooking, culinary arts, knitting, S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, math/media), and so much more.
More than 80 summer-camp students and teachers gathered outside the Creative Shell for a group photo this morning.
The Creativity Shell operates year round. It is a nonprofit organization on a mission to educate and inspire the next generation of makers. It was a privilege and a pleasure to see the light in their young eyes.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/16/25
2848 days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Slide6.jpeg?fit=1100%2C825&ssl=18251100adminadmin2025-06-16 15:39:412025-06-16 15:48:07In Praise of Education, Preservation as Flood-Mitigation Strategies
Who teaches young home buyers about flood risk? No one in my experience.
More than forty years ago, I bought a new house next to a creek in a Dallas suburb. The trees and the view attracted me. Before I put money down, I asked about flooding and was assured that the home was two feet ABOVE the hundred-year flood plain. The homebuilder even showed me a survey and a drainage study, and pointed to the engineers’ stamps. I pulled out my checkbook and made the most tragic, costly decision of my young life.
Within a year, other developers just upstream from me built the Collin Creek Mall and Plano became the fastest growing city in America. With each passing month, rains made the creek swell higher. Then one day after a modest rain, I saw a pickup truck floating down the creek and the water creeped into my house.
Alarmed, I called the City Engineer. He convened a task force that included Garland, Richardson and Plano City Engineers. They asked the Army Corps of Engineers to re-survey the creek. The Corps found that…
…instead of being two feet above the 100-year floodplain, we were now 10 feet below it.
Had I known such dramatic change could happen so quickly, I never would have bought the home. I decided to sell, disclosed the flood risk, and lost a pile of money.
Costly Lessons Learned
That experience taught me several lessons.
Flood forecasting is a very inexact science. Changing conditions – such as upstream development, climate and political priorities – make it so. They are beyond the ability of engineers to predict.
Developers use the surveys and analyses that engineers produce to obtain building permits.
Their documents do not reflect the potential for future change.
Homebuilders, nevertheless, use the engineering documents to reassure future buyers that they are safe.
All along the way, people throughout the value chain make expensive binary decisions based on documents that don’t reflect future flood-risk. Permit or don’t? Invest or don’t? Build or don’t? Lend or don’t?
Flood Risk is Non-Binary, Flood Education Non-Existent
Professionals understand the flood risks involved. Members of the public rarely do. And that’s a powerful argument for flood-risk education and fuller disclosure.
But buy a house with a view of a river! You’ve achieved the American Dream, paid a premium, and the only information people volunteer along the way is a reminder to buy flood insurance.
It’s as if the chance of flooding equals the chance of getting hit by lightning.
But the odds of flooding in a “500-year rain” are 1 in 500 – a thousand times greater. But most home buyers don’t worry about that. So builders keep building in flood plains. And buyers keep buying.
Everyone along the way – land owners, developers, public officials, engineers, and home builders – is financially incentivized to “make the sale.” Growth is good – especially to the people who enable it.
Example: Need for Flood-Risk Education
Below is a photo that shows part of a new development in Porter between Sorters-McClellan Road and the San Jacinto West Fork. At the start of 2019, it was all woods and wetlands bracketed by streams and a drainage ditch. Wetlands and the proximity to floodways increase flood risk.
However, FEMA’s current flood map (see below) was developed in 2014. That was before Harvey. It shows about half of the development (outlined in red) to be in the 100- or 500-year floodplains. But those floodplains will soon expand based on data collected after Harvey. The new flood plains will likely cover most of the site. But is anyone disclosing the current or potential flood risk?
Northpark Woods highlighted in red. Floodplains delineated based on 2014 map which is now being revised and will be released soon.Cross-hatch = floodway. Aqua = 100-year floodplain. Brown = 500-year floodplain.From FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Viewer.
Selling the Dream vs. Disclosing Risk
Young, first-time home buyers will mortgage themselves to the hilt to get a nice home with a water view. But there’s less risk disclosure on this developer’s website than on the back of a candy bar.
New homes here range from $225,000 to more than $300,000 with estimated mortgages starting at about $1,000 per month. The developer claims, “Our homes are where memories are made, families are raised and stories unfold. Our mission is to create thriving, enduring neighborhoods by building new homes with lasting livability.”
The developer’s website also boasts of “close proximity to the West Fork San Jacinto River where locals enjoy swimming, fishing, boating and skiing…” And they brag about nearby championship golf courses, owner financing, online buying, and $95 down. But they never mention flood-risk or even flood insurance once the website that I could find.
People put their life savings in these homes and there’s less disclosure than on a candy bar.
Realistically, that’s not going to change. So “Buyer Beware”! People must educate themselves about flood risk. Start by referring friends and relatives in the market for a home to these posts. They explain where to find reliable, objective information about flooding and flood risk.
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/2022/01/20211231-DJI_0298.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=17991200adminadmin2022-01-16 15:43:062022-01-16 16:20:36Editorial: Need More Disclosure, Education About Flood Risk
