Tag Archive for: flood maps

TxGIO, DIR StratMap Contracts: Strategic Asset for Texas Communities

3/23/26 – The Texas Water Development Board recently issued a press release about the State’s Geographic Information Office (TxGIO) and Department of Information Resources (DIR) contracts. The concepts discussed in the article affect many growing areas in the San Jacinto watershed, which is plagued by political fragmentation.

Dozens of counties, cities, and utility districts share responsibility for development, drainage, and flood-control. But they update their flood maps infrequently and irregularly. So, engineers and hydrologists often have trouble planning. They have a fragmented, incomplete picture of what’s going on around them.

But these state systems help to change that. Two key takeaways:

  • They pre-qualify a pool of vendors. That shortens the qualification and bidding processes for services they may need, such as LIDAR.
  • Upon completion, studies become part of the public domain – available to everyone who can benefit from them.

The press release, reprinted below, talks about many synergies already discovered with these ingenious systems. They increase collaboration, speed, and cost sharing to improve planning and reduce flood risk.

From TWDB’s Texas Water Newsroom

Left to right: Lidar image of downtown Austin, Texas, aerial view of a neighborhood in Bexar County, and an elevation image of Canyon Lake

Imagine two neighboring communities facing the same challenge.

A small watershed authority in East Texas needs high-resolution elevation data. Recent storms have rewritten floodplain maps, and the old topography simply doesn’t match what residents now experience during heavy rains. Engineers need accurate models. Emergency managers need better evacuation planning. The watershed authority has the expertise to specify the data but lacks the budget to acquire it.

Forty miles away, a county engineering department faces the same problem. New development pressures require updated drainage studies. The county’s flood maps show their age. Engineers spend hours adjusting for known errors rather than designing solutions. They have budget allocated but procurement rules demand a competitive bidding process that will take a year or more to complete.

Both entities will acquire elevation data eventually, but they’ll pay different prices and receive deliverables that may not align at their shared boundaries. This fragmentation describes how Texas communities acquired geospatial data for decades—a siloed process that was slow and inefficient, with few opportunities for collaboration. The old way treated every project as a fresh start rather than a contribution to shared infrastructure.

StratMap Contracts

The Texas Geographic Information Office (TxGIO) and the Department of Information Resources (DIR) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) & Digital Land Surveying Products and Services contracts—known collectively as the StratMap contracts—were developed to be a far more streamlined procurement model.

The StratMap program was originally established in 1997 by Senate Bill 1 to develop consistent statewide digital data layers. Since then, its primary goal has been to acquire and improve digital geographic data for statewide mapping applications, and the program also maintains comprehensive data standard specifications to ensure consistent, high-quality data products across Texas. The TxGIO StratMap program administers and promotes the StratMap contracts, and TxGIO uses those contracts to get the data it needs to develop and maintain consistent statewide digital data layers.

For hydrologists modeling flood risks, engineers designing infrastructure, GIS professionals building applications, and citizens depending on sound governance, the StratMap contracts deliver what communities need most: quality geospatial services, software, and hardware at competitive prices.

How StratMap contracts work

The genius of the StratMap Contracts lies in their simplicity—generally, the state negotiates GIS contracts every five years so that individual communities and governmental entities don’t have to do it themselves. Before signing any potential StratMap vendor contracts, a team of GIS technical experts from TxGIO and DIR contract specialists evaluate every company seeking a StratMap contract based upon their project experience, technology innovation, professional staff, and available resources.

Companies that pass this review earn a place on the DIR Master Contracts list as qualified providers. These pre-approved providers serve Texas state, regional, and local government offices, including river and water authorities, and public education entities. Each approved vendor maintains a Pricing Index on their DIR contract page that lists available products, services, and software alongside pre-negotiated percentage discounts.

The three-step procurement process

Once a community identifies a need, the typical path forward contains three steps:

  1. Review the Pricing Index on the vendor’s DIR contract page to confirm available offerings and discounts.
  2. Obtain a quote directly from the vendor’s listed contact. The quote must reflect the contract’s pre-negotiated discount percentage. If the project is for a state agency and is over $50,000 or requires customization, the community provides a statement of work with the quote and must go through the DIR statement of work process for review and approval—which can take a couple of months.
  3. Issue a purchase order listing the company’s DIR contract number. 

That’s it. No months spent drafting and reviewing contracts. The master contracts already satisfy procurement requirements and enable entities to quickly obtain competitive bids from multiple pre-qualified vendors in one place. For state agencies, additional thresholds govern statement of work requirements and processes. But for most local governments, these three steps represent all the administrative requirements.

Complete geospatial coverage

StratMap Contracts cover the full spectrum of GIS:

  • Hardware: GPS units, handheld lidar units, survey equipment
  • Data acquisition: Aerial photography, lidar, elevation modeling, planimetric mapping, bathymetry
  • Services/Data products: Project management, quality assurance, technical consulting, GIS cloud services
  • Software: GIS platforms, specialized analysis tools, enterprise solutions

Whether a community needs new data, help managing a project, or software to analyze existing information, the contracts provide access to quality vendors who can provide what they need. This streamlined procurement process alone is a huge benefit, but incredible strategic value emerges when communities start collaborating.

TxGIO is a collaboration facilitator

No single city or county sees the full map of geospatial activity across Texas, but TxGIO does. Through quarterly community meetings, TxGIO maintains visibility into which projects are being planned, where overlap may exist, and potential partnerships. When a community notifies TxGIO about a potential project, they don’t simply file the information. TxGIO scans for matches and considers who else might need the data to uncover opportunities that isolated communities may not find on their own. This approach allows communities to discover shared challenges and data requirements and combine their budgets to expand the scope of projects and meet their needs more effectively. 

Cost sharing as standard practice

StratMap actively cultivates collaboration. Communities that use StratMap learn to start every project conversation with a simple question: “Who else might need this?”

Sometimes the answer reveals unexpected partners. A city planning some new parks might connect with a county assessing conservation easements. A groundwater district modeling aquifers might align with a utility mapping critical infrastructure. A school district planning new facilities might coordinate with emergency services designing evacuation routes. Each partnership multiplies the value of every dollar spent and builds relationships that endure beyond individual projects. Collaboration normalizes the idea that geospatial data serves regional needs.

The specification dividend

Partnerships under StratMap deliver another hidden benefit: better specifications.

When multiple entities collaborate on a statement of work, each brings distinct requirements to the table. The watershed authority prioritizes vertical accuracy for flood modeling. The county emphasizes land cover classification for drainage analysis. A participating city cares about planimetric features for infrastructure management.

Vendors receive requirements that reflect diverse, real-world needs rather than a single department’s perspective. The resulting data serves more purposes, satisfies more stakeholders, and delivers greater return on investment. TxGIO staff facilitate these conversations, helping partners balance competing priorities and arrive at specifications that work for everyone. Their experience across dozens of projects informs recommendations that communities couldn’t develop independently. This collaboration pays in immediate cost savings, in better data, and in regional relationships that strengthen Texas communities for years to come.

The compounding value of data in the public domain

For TxGIO StratMap projects, after vendors deliver final products and independent quality assurance confirms their accuracy, the data enters the public domain. TxGIO staff verify deliverables, integrate them into statewide collections, and make them available to everyone.

Traditional procurement treats data as a consumable. A community pays for it, uses it, and eventually replaces it, so its value degrades over time. The StratMap program inverts this model. TxGIO projects add to a growing public repository. Each new dataset increases the repository’s utility, and new users discover applications for that data that the original sponsors never imagined.

And because TxGIO maintains all StratMap deliverables, staff understand what works and what doesn’t. They have worked with more than 80 different agencies in Texas, from river authorities to municipalities, counties, and councils of government. So, TxGIO sees which specifications produce reliable results. They track which vendors consistently deliver quality and can identify emerging technologies that improve accuracy or reduce costs.

This experience informs future statements of work. When the next community plans a project, TxGIO staff recommend specifications refined through dozens of previous efforts. They warn against approaches that failed elsewhere and can suggest others that succeeded. Each project learns from every project that came before, which ensures that every Texas community, regardless of size or budget, can build on the best available information.

StratMap prepares Texas communities for the future

Texas faces challenges in the coming decades, from population growth to flood risks that will require sophisticated modeling and environmental needs that will demand informed management. Communities need accurate geospatial information to navigate these challenges effectively.

The StratMap contracts can help provide the foundational data upon which solutions to those challenges depend.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/23/26

3128 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Trouble Researching Flood Risk of a Home?

1/27/26 – Are you having trouble researching the flood risk of a home? Yours or perhaps one you are considering buying? Worried that your flood risk may have increased over time? If so, the Houston Chronicle wants to hear from you.

The Chronicle is conducting a brief survey about flood risk. Investigative reporter Yilun Cheng found that 65,000 homes have been sold in Houston area floodplains since Harvey.

During Harvey, 154,170 homes in Harris County alone flooded. That was an estimated 9- to 12-percent of all the structures in the county. See page 13 of HCFCD’s final Harvey Report.

Of the 154,170 homes that flooded, 48,850 were within the 1% (100-yr) floodplain, 34,970 within the .2% (500-yr) floodplain, and 70,370 were outside of any floodplain – almost half the total of those within floodplains.

That troubling percentage prompted a re-examination of floodplain assumptions and flood risk after Harvey. The result was a massive effort by Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) to update flood maps. But 8.5 years later, after repeated delays, new maps still haven’t been released. Compare the two timelines below.

2020 screen capture from MAAPnext.org showing release of preliminary maps in early 2022.
Screen captured on 1/27/26. Note also the new narrative about “FEMA is leading the process” in lower right.

And that’s one way you get 65,000 homes sold in floodplains since Harvey. But those are only the floodplains that we know about. That number could easily increase when new maps showing the expanded floodplains are released.

Has Uncertainty Affected Your Flood Risk?

That uncertainty, coupled with the constant need to build, buy or sell homes, could be laying the groundwork for the next natural disaster. The uncertainty makes it difficult to assess a home’s true flood risk and determine whether that’s a risk you’re willing to take.

Are you uninsured? Underinsured? Could you afford flood insurance on top of a mortgage if you suddenly found yourself in a floodplain? Could you afford a total loss if you flooded without insurance?

“Many homeowners don’t learn their property is in a high-risk area until after they purchase it,” said Cheng. “Repeated delays in the release of new flood maps have exacerbated that problem.”

“We’re looking to speak with residents across the Houston metro area, including Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Galveston and other nearby counties. Your story could help others understand the risks and may be featured in our reporting,” says Cheng.

The Chronicle questionnaire has about a half dozen short, factual questions that should take no more than five minutes to answer. Please help. You do not need to subscribe to the Chronicle to participate in the survey.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/27/26

3073 Days since Hurricane Harvey

How Government Secrecy Contributes to Flooding

1/25/26 – One in every five Texans lives in a floodplain, according to the first Texas State Flood Plan. We have the second highest number of repetitive loss properties in the country, according to the Insurance Journal. And 30 states have populations smaller than the number of people living in Texas floodplains.

The number of floodplain dwellers in the San Jacinto watershed alone exceeds the entire populations of 15 states and the District of Columbia. And it’s not all because of rainfall, flat land, or our proximity to the Gulf. Government secrecy compounds those issues.

Purpose of FOIA and TPIA

While governments at all levels pay lip service to transparency, the reality can be quite different. Journalists and concerned citizens frequently have their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) requests denied. Usually, the denials occur when they might embarrass someone in government. Yet that’s exactly why those two acts were passed decades ago. And that’s why we need to rededicate ourselves to openness.

State, County, Municipal Examples

Let me give you three recent examples.

Scarborough Land West of Kingwood

A Dallas-based company called Scarborough bought 5,300 acres at the confluence of Spring, Cypress and Turkey Creeks where they join the San Jacinto West Fork. Virtually all the land is in floodplains or floodways. The developer says the State of Texas is his partner.

Ryko drainage impact study illustration showing outline and floodplains.
Land purchased by Scarborough last year. All but the dark gray areas within the red are in floodplains or the floodway.

The Texas School Land Board invested an undisclosed amount of money for undisclosed terms in the development of the property.

The state has rebuffed attempts to discover why it is investing in the development of such dangerous property.

The Texas General Land Office oversees the School Land Board but has refused to clarify media requests and repeatedly appealed FOIA requests to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton keeps finding reasons to avoid compliance with the spirit of the law.

The state even refused a request from a Texas representative. They demanded the lawmaker sign a non-disclosure agreement. The lawmaker found it so onerous, he said he refused to sign it.

Paxton has announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate. And Dawn Buckingham, GLO Commissioner is running for re-election.

Harris County Flood Maps

The term “caveat emptor” (buyer beware) goes back 2,000 years to Roman times and became firmly embedded in English Common Law during the Middle Ages.

For people to know whether they’re buying land in a floodplain, they need access to current flood maps based on the best available information. But 8.5 years after Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Flood Control District has not released updated flood maps – effectively keeping buyers in the dark about their flood risk.

Houston Chronicle investigative reporter Yilun Cheng found that 65,000 homes have been built in Houston floodplains since Harvey. That number will also certainly grow when the County eventually releases new flood maps.

HCFCD has repeatedly ignored media requests for the new flood maps. The cover story is that their contract with FEMA prohibits release of the flood maps before FEMA vets them. But the County refuses to produce the contract. And other counties throughout Texas routinely publish “draft” maps, with the understanding that they are subject to revision by FEMA.

Romerica Land in Kingwood

Several years ago, Romerica bought more than 300 acres between Kingwood Lake and the San Jacinto West Fork. Virtually all of it lies in floodplains or floodways.

Yet the company has persisted in trying to develop it.

  • First, they wanted to build 25- to 50-story high rises around a marina that would hold boats too big to float on the West Fork.
  • Then, they wanted to build luxury homes on stilts, even though homes built on 25 foot stilts had already flooded.
  • Recently, they announced plans to build a 500,000 square foot, two-hotel complex surrounded by 125 luxury, 8,600 square foot villas.

Even though the most recent plan is on Romerica’s highest ground, the swampland still floods badly and repeatedly.

Romerica in May 2024 Flood
Location of Romerica’s proposed new development in May of 2024

When Sylvester Turner was Mayor, he reportedly instructed Public Works not to approve any building permits for the property. Turner had personally seen how badly that area flooded.

But now Houston Public Works has approved a preliminary drainage survey for the two hotels (including a Fairmont) and 125 massive villas.

Public Works also recommended a plat variance that could limit emergency access. And Public Works denied my FOIA request for Romerica’s drainage analysis and asked the Attorney General (AG) to support their denial. Regardless, I obtained a copy through another resident that Public Works gave the study to.

Refusing my FOIA request was hilarious. In their letter to the AG, an assistant City Attorney cited information I didn’t even request to enhance her chances of keeping the study secret. Public Works even refused to supply a copy of the drainage analysis to Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger.

I have obtained similar drainage studies from Harris, Montgomery and Liberty Counties without such objections.

Illusion of Transparency

Usually, when people have nothing to hide, they quickly volunteer information. When they withhold information, they might have a valid reason. More likely, in my experience, they may have something to hide.

FOIA was passed in 1966 to shift the presumption of government information from secrecy to disclosure. Its core purpose was to give citizens, journalists, and Congress a legal mechanism to see how the government actually operates—rather than relying on voluntary or selective releases.

Before FOIA, government information was disclosed at agency discretion. After FOIA, disclosure became the default.

FOIA passed because Congress concluded that a rapidly expanding federal bureaucracy had become too secretive, too insulated, and too powerful—and that democracy required legally enforceable transparency, not voluntary disclosure.

TPIA passed in 1973 in direct response to the Sharpstown Stock Fraud Scandal. It involved so many officials that public trust in government collapsed. At the time, Texas governments considered transparency a courtesy, not a right.

Newspapers across Texas demanded reform. Voters were openly angry. Lawmakers feared losing office. Reform candidates surged in the 1973 elections. But according to many journalists and activist groups, transparency laws were imposed on a system that never truly wanted them.

Texas recently required creation of a searchable database of letter rulings under House Bill 3033, but as of January 23, 2026, Paxton’s office had only gotten up to 2023. None of the PDFs would open. And HTML files were unavailable.

Screen capture from Rulings website. Site froze when I tried to open first PDF.

According to his office, Paxton received 40,000 appeals of open records requests in 2023 alone. So, there’s no way to determine whether Paxton’s office exhibits a systematic bias for or against TPIA requests. However, 40,000 is a shocking number. It shows how frequently local and county jurisdictions want to keep matters secret.

Why This Matters for Floodplain Development Issues

Texas adopted transparency laws in 1973 for the same reason they matter today:

Decisions affecting land, money, and power tend to drift toward secrecy without legal force.

In floodplain development, appeals of FOIA and TPIA requests commonly cite the privacy of developer studies as the reason for not releasing them. But in my humble opinion once a government official stamps such a study “approved,” the public should have the right to see the basis for the approval. Anything less is government by secrecy.

In the case of flood safety, such secrecy can destroy lives, homes, and life savings. And the statistics in the first two paragraphs of this post prove it.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/25/2026

3071 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

What Happens When Flood Maps Don’t Illustrate True Risk

3/25/25 – Almost eight years after Hurricane Harvey and a massive region-wide effort to update flood maps, FEMA still features maps on its website based on decades-old data that don’t come close to showing true flood risk. The old maps cause confusion among homebuyers who may not understand their limitations. And that helps developers pursue and profit from risky ventures in floodplains.

Three-Year Delay for New Maps and Still Counting

FEMA has yet to release maps based on recent Atlas-14 data developed after Hurricane Harvey. Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) anticipated release of FEMA’s new preliminary maps three years ago and release of the final maps by now. See the timeline below published in 2020.

Source: Screen Capture from Harris County Flood Control District MAAPnext site in 2020.

I requested the release date for the new maps from Harris County and Federal officials. However, they did not respond.

Delays Contribute to Confusion about Safety of New Developments

The delays have contributed to confusion about the safety of new developments near or in floodplains.

Take, for instance, the lawsuit between the City of Houston and one of the area’s largest developers. According to a Texas Supreme Court decision released last Friday, the Signorelli Companies want to develop more than 500 lots near the San Jacinto East Fork as part of The Commons of Lake Houston.

Plats show most of the lots outside the current 100-year floodplain. But floodplains will reportedly expand by 50-100% when the new flood maps come out. At that point, most if not all the lots will likely be deep in the floodplain.

So, the City imposed higher elevation requirements for homes in anticipation of the new flood maps. That triggered a property-rights lawsuit by the developer, which claimed the City’s requirements made the property “undevelopable.”

Sometimes We Just Never Learn

Sometimes, it feels as if we just never learn. I understand a company’s desire to make money from its land. But unsuspecting homebuyers could lose their life savings. Worse, more people could die.

Flood insurance is becoming unaffordable for many. Insurance companies are fleeing high-risk areas.

And we haven’t even mentioned yet the costs of flood mitigation, disaster relief, buyouts, and restoration of the natural ecosystems – that already protect people for free.

In my opinion, for the public good, some land just shouldn’t be built on.

The Commons of Lake Houston Proposal

The flood map for the Commons area on the East Fork was last updated in 2007. It is based on data acquired after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. New Atlas 14 rainfall data is 30-40% higher than previous estimates and represents the current best efforts of scientists.

The map below shows the extent of those 100- and 500-year floodplains in 2007 maps as dotted lines superimposed over a proposed new section of the Commons called the Crossing.

Close up of plat. Floodway is to left of heavy dotted line. 100-year and 500-year floodplains are shown as lighter dotted lines farther right.

Two Pictures Worth 2,000 Woods

These two pictures, sent to me by a nearby resident of an existing home on higher ground in the Commons, illustrate the problem.

First image shows extent of the Harvey flood. Second shows Signorelli’s proposed development. High water mark during Harvey identified as Position 1.

Think such a flood can’t happen again in your lifetime? That Harvey was a thousand-year storm?

It almost happened again in May 2024 during a no-name storm a month before the start of hurricane season. The screen capture below shows historical HCFCD data from a gage just upstream from the Commons. Note the last three entries.

Historical flood heights from Harris County Flood Warning System Gage at East Fork and SH99.

That no-name storm produced flooding almost five feet higher than Imelda and only about four feet lower than Harvey. It was the second highest flood at that location since HCFCD started keeping records!

Will We Repeat Mistakes of the Past?

The thing about floodplains is that they keep growing with upstream development – especially as other developers push into wetlands near rivers and streams. And the area upstream from the Commons is growing very quickly.

At some point (like now), it may make more sense to donate this land to an organization such as the Bayou Land Conservancy, Houston Parks, or Texas Parks and Wildlife. That would offer the developer some tax benefits. That could also help protect the public, protect lenders, help hold down insurance rates, provide recreation, and reduce future mitigation costs. It would even likely add value to homes on higher ground.

Posted by Bob Rehak based on 3/25/25

2765 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Tree Muggers for Tree Huggers: The Irony of Royal Pines

The “Tree Muggers” at the new Royal Pines subdivision in Montgomery County at the north end of West Lake Houston Parkway continue their relentless and remorseless destruction of trees. How ironic considering that the name implies the developer will market homes to Tree Huggers! Perhaps they:

  • Feel the name will blind customers to the reality.
  • Will offer to plant a ceremonial sapling at closing.

Houston Business Journal said Royal Pines will ultimately feature between 350 and 450 homes targeted at first-time home buyers.

Construction Status on 7/30/2022

Here’s what Royal Pines looked like at the end of July 2022.

Dead tree limbs stacked two stories high awaiting removal. Newly cleared area is at top of frame to the left of Country Colony in the upper right.
Higher angle shows proximity to the Triple PG sand mine in the background. White Oak Creek runs between the mine and the subdivision.
Looking NE toward Triple PG sand mine in background. The extent of clearing as of the end of July 2022.
Looking SSE across Royal Pines toward the current terminus of West Lake Houston Parkway.
Looking SW. The distant clearing is Woodridge Village where similar clearcutting contributed to the flooding of hundreds of homes in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest twice in 2019.
Same direction, but closer and higher. Note the contrast with previous development practices that tried to build homes among the trees.

Ever-Widening Clearing

Compare what the development looked like:



Tree Muggers’ Plans

The following links will show you the general plan and layouts for the first three sections:

Old Floodplain Maps Will Put Unsuspecting Buyers at Risk

Note the dotted lines that snake their way through the top of the development. Those represent the 100- and 500-year floodplains.

Notice how a large part of the development is in “Zone X (Shaded).” That’s the area between the limits of the base flood (100-year or 1% annual chance) and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (or 500-year) flood. I counted more than 80 homes in that zone. I also see six already INSIDE the 100-year zone.

Keep in mind that these flood zones are based on PRE-Harvey estimates. FEMA shows that Montgomery County last mapped this area in 2014. When FEMA approves new POST-Harvey flood maps in the next few years, those zones will expand to take in more of the subdivision. 

In Harris County, MAAPnext is revising maps based on higher rainfall probability statistics and current changes in development. And a lot of development has occurred upstream of Royal Pines on White Oak Creek.

MAAPnext advises that, in general, new flood maps will show floodways expand into the 100-year flood zone and the 100-year expanding into 500-year by about 50%.

This is the same problem I talked about yesterday with the Kingland West development in Harris County at the Grand Parkway and the East Fork.

We won World War II in less time than it’s taking to release these new flood maps. Ironically, by the time they’re released, the Tree Muggers will have already invalidated the basis for the new maps. And thus, the cycle of flooding continues.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/30/2022

1797 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Report on September Meeting of Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative

Matt Zeve, Bill Fowler and I each made presentations at the Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention initiative this evening.

Zeve Addresses Flood Bond and Flood Map Updates

Zeve, Director of Operations for Harris County Flood Control District spoke about the recently approved $2.5 billion Harris County Flood Bond and updates to flood maps. He indicated that timetables for projects should be completed within the next several weeks. He also indicated that the county has already approved drainage work in Huffman and fielded numerous questions from the audience about Taylor Gully, Ben’s Branch, upstream detention and more. Zeve expects flood maps to be updated in 2021 and stated that mitigation efforts could affect those, but that homeowners will have a chance to appeal them.

Rehak Presents Updates on Dredging, The Mouth Bar and Sand Mining

Bob Rehak updated residents on .Dredging, The Mouth Bar and Sand Mining. Dredging, he says, officially started today though not in the way that some expected. The first of two dredges launched today, a 270-ton diesel powered dredge. The launch had been delayed by a key part that had to be remanufactured and reshipped, then inclement weather. The tall construction cranes had to shut down every time lightning was heard in the area because they act like lightning rods. When the dredge finally started making it’s way downriver today, a mechanical dredge had to clear the way. The river was 18 inches deep in places but the dredge draws 3.5 feet of water. That’s how bad the sedimentation was; we needed a dredge for the dredge.

Dredging will take place to the left of the white line, but not to the right. Chimichurri’s in Kings Harbor is the dividing line. Those thousands of numbers on the image represent survey points by the Army Corps Average depth around the mouth bar is 1-3 feet. Max depth is 5 feet in some cross sections. Water will actually have to flow uphill about 40 feet to get past the mouth bar.

Dredging will start near Chimichurri’s just east of West Lake Houston Parkway. The Corps and Great Lakes will then work their way back toward River Grove Park. They expect to finish dredging by April 1, next year. Demobilization could take until early May.

Rehak also addressed the issue of the mouth bar and updated residents on political efforts by City, County, State and Federal officials to jumpstart the next phase of dredging before this one ends so that $18 million in mobilization and demobilization fees do not have to be duplicated for a second job. No plans have gelled yet, but Houston City Council Member Dave Martin may have an announcement to make at his Town Hall Meeting on October 9.

The final part of Rehak’s presentation addressed efforts to reduce sedimentation at its source to reduce the cost of dredging over the long run. Potential solutions include upstream detention, sand traps, and legislation or regulation that changes the way sand mines operate. Rehak specifically mentioned that moving sand mines out of the floodway would solve a host of problems.

Grassroots Co-Chair Clarifies Lake-Lowering Policies, Floodgate Possibilities, and Need for Flood Insurance

Bill Fowler, co-chair of the Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative, opened the meeting by updating the community on policies to coordinate the lowering of Lake Conroe and Lake Houston to provide residents with extra protection from flooding when severe weather is expected. Fowler also gave an update on additional flood gates for Lake Houston. Then he discussed flood insurance and the related issue of redrawing flood plain maps which Harvey made obsolete. Copies of Fowler’s presentations can be found here.

Zeve did not work from a presentation. His remarks were supported by material from the Harris County Flood Control District website. He did, however, specifically urge residents to review the ever expanding Kingwood section of the site.

Diverse Audience of Approximately 200

Approximately 200 residents attended the meeting. Surprisingly, about a third of those did not flood during Harvey. The large turnout by non-flooded residents may have had to do with the flood insurance theme. Fowler emphasized that everyone needs flood insurance;

45 percent of the people who flooded in Harvey were outside of the 500-year flood plain and 64% of those did not have flood insurance.

Thanks to Volunteers

Many thanks to Dianne Lansden, also a co-chair for the Lake Houston Area Grassroots Flood Prevention Initiative for coordinating the meeting; Fran Barrack for refreshments and Bill McCabe for sign ins.

Posted by Bob Rehak on September 18, 2018

385 Days since Hurricane Harvey