Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident, just reported receiving a note from Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). Will Sherman, HCFCD’s Precinct 4 coordinator, indicated the following.
Plans for Taylor Gully
The right-of-way transfer to HCFCD for the upper portion of Taylor Gully (see map below) is scheduled to be on the next Commissioners Court agenda on July 9th.
HCFCD right of way access along Taylor Gully (left) should be complete by July 9.
That portion of Taylor Gully has become badly clogged with sediment due to the construction of Woodridge Village upstream just across the Montgomery County line.
Part of the erosion in the area clearcut for the new Woodridge Village subdivision. Tree line on the left is the Harris/Montgomery County Line. No erosion control measures were in place at the time of this photo during the heavy rains in early May.
Here’s what Taylor Gully looked like on 6/24/19.
Reinforced concrete box culvert on Taylor Gully at the Harris/Montgomery County Line. 10′ high culverts appear to be half clogged with sediment. Harris County is in foreground. Woodridge Village and Montgomery County are in background.Photo by Jeff Miller.
HCFCD plans to do it again “soon” as part of a general debris removal process on multiple channels in Kingwood.
The wider effort should begin this August.
Blockage on lower portion of Taylor Gully. Photo courtesy of Chris Kalman.When banks erode and trees fall into ditches and creeks, the trees can catch other debris floating downstream and form “beaver dams” that back water up into neighborhoods.
Work on Ben’s Branch Expanded
Yesterday, HCFCD extended its work on Ben’s Branch west of Woodland Hills. They excavated the area between North Woodland Hills and the businesses on the south side of North Park Drive (Walgreens, Firestone, McDonalds, etc.).
HCFCD maintenance work along Bens Branch west of Woodland Hills Drive in Kingwood. Photo courtesy of Thomas Blailock.
To Report Blockages Near You
If you are aware of downed trees blocking a channel near you:
Photograph it using a cell phone (most of which embed GPS coordinates in images)
Record the nearest street location and trail-access points
With contributions from Jeff Miller, Thomas Blailock and Chris Kalman
673 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/IMG_2433.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2019-07-03 16:39:352019-07-03 17:07:47HCFCD Schedules Maintenance for Taylor Gully, Other Ditches
Just hours before the May 10 storm hit, HCFCD pulled this giant tree off a downed power line that had fallen into Ben’s Branch during the previous storm. The location was across the street from Bear Branch Elementary.
Flood Control Web Site Updates Include
Major updates include:
Landing page discusses HCFCD post-flood actions completed through May, 2019.
Latest status of dredging project
New pictures of channels taken during May, 2019 storms
New channel assessment reports
Additional Data
If you’re not familiar with the Flood Control web site, you should be. It’s a treasure chest of information. It contains Interactive project maps plus everything you could want to know about:
2018 Flood Bond
County’s drainage network and numbering system (for identification and reporting purposes)
Mowing
County’s flood warning system
Floodplain Reference Marks
Flood insurance
The history of flooding in our area
Community services
And much more.
Openness and Transparency
The web site is just part of the County’s commitment to openness in its business dealings. Explore it and take advantage of it. It’s both deep and broad…loaded with information for residents as well as professionals. Few government agencies go to these lengths to maintain transparency.
Related Site Includes Info about Floodplain Management/Construction
For anyone exploring floodplain construction, the Harris County Engineer’s site is also a gold mine of information. It will help you understand the standards for developers. If you see something that doesn’t look right, this will help you understand whether the developer is playing by the rules or cutting corners.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/6/2019
646 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Tree-Lane.jpg?fit=1495%2C1050&ssl=110501495adminadmin2019-06-06 18:05:002019-06-06 18:08:56Harris County Flood Control Updates Kingwood Portion of Its Website
Bens Branch cuts diagonally through the heart of Kingwood. Project area circled.
Current Conditions on Ben’s Branch
During Harvey, hundreds of homes and businesses flooded near the creek. It contributed to flooding in Kings Forest, Town Center, The Enclave, Kings Harbor, and Kingwood Greens. The project area affects all of those subdivisions, plus Kingwood Village Estates where 12 seniors died, either as a result of injuries sustained during evacuation or the subsequent stress of losing their homes.
Harris County Surveying Crew in Ben’s Branch just west of West Lake Houston Parkway and south of the Kingwood Library. More sediment buildups just east of West Lake Houston Parkway on Ben’s Branch, south of the Enclave and north of the YMCA.
Next Steps for Ben’s Branch
Since the announcement of the project to restore conveyance on Ben’s Branch, HCFCD has been busy negotiating access rights to the stream. The District has also finalized construction plans and bidding specs. According to Beth Walters, a flood control district employee who lives in Kingwood, here’s what to expect next and when.
“We plan to advertise the project five times,” says Walters, “to attract bidders. Ads will appear through June 15.” She also said HCFCD held a mandatory pre-bid meeting for all interested parties.
Eleven potential bidders attended. “Hopefully, we’ll get some good unit prices,” said Jason Brock, the manager of HCFCD’s maintenance engineering department.
Project Award by July 9, Construction to Start Immediately
HCFCD expects to open bids on June 17th and award the project at the commissioner’s court meeting on July 9. Mark your calendars!
The winning bidder will have 250 calendar days, per the contract, to finish the job. That means the project should be finished by next February or March.
Status of Other Kingwood Projects
Yesterday, Commissioners Court approved a Kingwood Area Drainage Assessment Plan. The objectives of the plan are to:
Dermine the current conveyance of all creeks and ditches in the Kingwood area
Measure that against current and projected needs
Make recommendations for improvements.
But first, HCFCD must select a consultant. The project should kick off this summer after consultant selection.
In the meantime, HCFCD is repairing damage due to Harvey at several locations.
1. Project ID G103-38-00-X020 consists of repairs at three (3) locations along G103-38-00:
a. Site 5416 consists of slope failure repair, including excavation of sloughed materials, disposal of unsuitable materials, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1900 feet north of Walnut Ln.
b. Site 5680 consists of erosion repair and pipe replacement including reestablishing channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 250 feet south of Walnut Ln.
c. Site 5682 consists of erosion repair including excavation of sloughed material, reestablishing channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 500 feet northwest of Deer Ridge Estates Blvd.
2. Project ID G103-38-01-X010 consists of repairs at one (1) location along G103-38-01:
a. Site 3228 consists of slope erosion repair including rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 70 feet west of Chestnut Ridge Rd.
3. Project ID G103-41-00-X008 consists of repairs at two (2) locations along G103-41-00:
a. Site 5622 consists of slope erosion repair including lishing channel toelines, excavation of soils to reestablish channel width, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1350 feet south of Kingwood Dr.
b. Site 5622A consists of channel scour and slope repair including filling scouring with a well graded mix, reestablishment of channel toelines, and rebuilding side slopes. The Site is located approximately 1600 feet south of Kingwood Dr.
For more specific information about Flood Control projects in the Kingwood area, including vegetation management, click here.
Posted by Bob Rehak on June 5, 2019
645 Days after Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/KingsCrossing_3_01.jpg?fit=1500%2C663&ssl=16631500adminadmin2019-06-05 10:22:582019-06-05 13:36:30Update on Ben’s Branch and Other Drainage Repair Projects from Flood Control District
Edy and Ricky Cogdill live across the street from Abel Vera on Village Springs Drive. Both the Veras and the Cogdills live at the end of the street. Their properties butts up against the new development on the other side of the Montgomery County line seen in the background of this video. Edy Cogdill shot the video on May 7, 2019. It shows what hydrologists call “overland sheet flow.”
A small part of the 262-acre development that drains toward Elm Grove. Sheet flow from this clear-cut area ran off into Elm Grove. On top of street flooding, it caused house flooding.
Edy Cogdill shot this video will standing on her front porch with an umbrella. As the floodwaters came out of the clear-cut area to their north, the water hit the Cogdill house and started moving sideways. Toward the end of this short video, Edy pans right. You can see the the flow coming out of the new development and rushing down Village Springs Drive past the dead-end barrier.
The water from the development added to street flooding in progress. As a result, homes flooded.
Video courtesy of Edy and Ricky Cogdill on Village Springs Drive in Elm Grove. Shot on May 7, 2019.
Harris County Flood Control Issues Report on Storm
The report says: “130 structures were flooded in the Elm Groove Village subdivision in the northern portions of Kingwood on Tuesday evening. HCFCD staff investigated this area on Wednesday, May 8th and determined that the flooding was potentially caused by development upstream in Montgomery County that sent large volumes of sheetflow into the subdivision and Taylor Gully (G103-80-03.1). The isolated nature of the heavy rainfall on Tuesday afternoon prevented more widespread flooding impacts.”
Lindner also cautioned that the number of affected structures may change; the City of Houston is still verifying the number. Earlier media reports of 400 homes flooding may have overstated the problem.
2- to 50-Year Official Rainfall Rates
The Harris County Flood Control Report on the storm also states that on May 7: “Heavy rainfall rates developed due to slow storm motions over northeast Harris County including the Humble and Kingwood areas. A 30-min rate of 2.9 inches was recorded at US 59 and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and a 1 hour rate of 4.0 inches. A 6-hr rainfall rate of 7.9 inches was recorded at the East Fork of the San Jacinto River and FM 1485. Rainfall rates between the 15-min and 6- hr time periods on Tuesday afternoon and evening averaged between a 2-yr and 50-yr frequency over the extreme northeast portions of Harris into southeast Montgomery Counties. This rainfall was relatively isolated in the far northeast portions of Harris County and the Kingwood area.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/13/2019
622 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/VillageSpingsKeyframe.jpg?fit=900%2C1365&ssl=11365900adminadmin2019-05-13 12:21:322019-05-13 12:50:35Cogdill Video Shows Overland Sheet Flow From Clear-Cut Area Pouring into Elm Grove; HCFCD Issues Report on Flood
On August 25th, voters overwhelmingly approved the Harris County flood bond. The bond didn’t just pass, it passed overwhelmingly. 85.64 percent of the votes were FOR and only 14.36% were against. That made the margin of victory almost 6:1. Near midnight, the county clerk posted these results for the Bond
Breakdown of Vote
Not many people voted. Only 152,305 of 2,285,881 registered voters cast ballots. That’s 6.66%.
Approximately 94,000 people voted by mail or during early voting. Another 57,000 people voted on Election Day, August 25th, the semi-official anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.*
The total number of voters equaled the number of homes in Harris county that were destroyed – about 150,000 – but only half the number of cars that were destroyed – about 300,000. Perhaps everyone just assumed passage and stayed home.
Local Tallies Not Yet Available
Officials have not yet posted results by precinct. Therefore it’s not immediately clear how the Lake Houston Area voted compared to the rest of the county.
Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests the Lake Houston area had higher percentages of voters and positive voters than the rest of the county. One precinct in Kingwood had ten times more voters than an Aldine precinct and only 3% who voted against the bond. We’ll have to wait for the official results to tell more.
Everything Approved for Lake Houston
The turnout may have been disappointing, but the results were not. This will mean critical funding for projects that the Lake Houston Area needs for flood mitigation: more detention, dredging and gates. The bond also includes money to improve long neglected ditches and money to buy out homes that flood repeatedly.
Implementing Priorities
In the year since Harvey, we defined the problems, developed consensus around solutions, and secured funding.
Now starts the hard work. We actually have to implement the plans.
On Friday, August 24, the first of two dredges entered the river for the completion of assembly, The dredge is 27 feet wide, 90 feet long and weighs 270 tons.
Additional Dredging Approved
I’m hoping that additional dredging will be one of the first items on the agenda for the Lake Houston Area. Currently, the Army Corps is about to start dredging 2.1 miles worth of “hot spots” in the river. Twenty-five percent of the cost of that project or about $17.9 million is for mobilization and demobilization. If we can launch a follow-on project to address the mouth bar before that project is completed next April, we may be able to redeploy all the equipment and dredge pipe without incurring all of those mobilization charges again.
Additional Gates Approved
The additional flood gates for Lake Houston will most likely be the next highest priority. Reportedly, the project received a very high score from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and FEMA. Engineering is already underway. However, this is a massive capital project that could easily take several years.
Additional Detention Approved
Adding more upstream detention will require a watershed survey (also in the flood bond budget) to determine the best place or places. Reportedly a vendor has already been selected and is standing by to start work the minute funding is assured.
To see the complete project list, click here and scroll down to the San Jacinto Watershed.
I contacted Matt Zeve tonight to congratulate him on the outcome of the vote. I think he was already hard at work on the projects. Within seconds, I received this response. “We are ready to deliver for everyone in Harris County.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/26/17
362 Days since Hurricane Harvey
*PS: You may note that my anniversary date is a little out of sync with what others are calling the anniversary of Harvey, My calendar started ticking when water started creeping in my neighbors homes, not when the storm first approached Corpus Christi.
00adminadmin2018-08-26 00:50:392018-08-26 00:50:39Harris County Flood Bond Approved by 6:1. What’s Next?
Early voting for the $2.5 billion Harris County Flood Bond Referendum begins August 8. If approved, the County could leverage that money to increase the amount available for flood mitigation. Matching funds from FEMA, HUD, the State, and other sources are available. These grants usually operate on a 75/25 or 90/10 basis, returning $3 to $9 for every dollar put up.
Local Dollars Leverage Matching Funds
If voters approve the $2.5 billion referendum, the bond funds could potentially bring in billions of additional dollars. Here is how funding for Flood Control District projects works. (For a printable PDF, click here.)
Partnership Matching Funds Available for Harris County Flood Control District Projects
Bond money can be used as “seed money” for some types of projects. It qualifies us to receive additional money in the form of grants from other partners such as the Federal Government, State, Coastal Water Authority or the City.
Federal dollars for Harvey flood mitigation efforts are available now, but may go elsewhere if we don’t act. Every city along the Gulf Coast is competing for available matching funds.
Partnership Projects: More Leverage but Less Control
Even though you may not be able to follow all the ins and outs of the diagram above, you should be able to see that many opportunities exist to extend the impact of our own dollars. That’s the good news. The downside is that when you start spending other people’s money, they want to have a say in how you spend it. It’s important that we understand risks as we move forward. To get more money, we must give up some control.
Q: How will projects in the bond proposal be selected and prioritized?
A: Harris County Commissioners Court directed Flood Control District staff to develop list of projects. This is not an exact list of projects that must be or will be built with bond proceeds. It represents a list of projects that would meet the goal of the bond election, which is to both assist with recovery after previous flooding events (including Harvey) and to make our county more resilient for the future.
High on the priority list are construction-ready projects with federal funding partners (such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency) that give the County “the most bang for its flood control buck.”
Q: Can the bond money be used for purposes other than flood risk reduction?
A: No. Under Texas law, bond funds in this election could only be used for the purpose approved by the voters. Bond funds will not be used to fund additional staff positions at the Harris County Flood Control District.
Q: Do bond proceeds have to be used for the specific projects recommended by the Flood Control District?
A: No. Voters will be asked to authorize bonds for flood damage reduction projects, but specific projects may be added to the list of potential projects in the future or projects on the list could be modified based upon public input.
However, officials can only spend bond money on projects supported by the Bond Language. Voters will not be voting on a specific project list, only on the language in the proposal.
Freeing Up Budget to Improve Maintenance
Maintenance is NOT in the bond proposal. Nevertheless, the bond could still improve maintenance in a roundabout way. Here’s how. About half of the Flood Control District’s current $120 million per year budget goes to capital expenditures. If approved, the bond would free up about $60 million currently focused on construction projects.
The other $60 million in the Flood Control District’s budget is devoted to Maintenance and Operations. It is roughly divided as follows: $30 million for salaries and overhead; $10 million for mowing; and $20 million for maintenance.
That $20 million currently devoted to maintaining ditches, bayous and streams, if added to the $60 million that is freed up, would make $80 million that could be devoted to improving maintenance. That means the District’s maintenance budget could quadruple.
Yea or Nay?
On balance, I like how the bond is shaping up and I trust the people in charge of it. I wish that the $50 million allocated for a dredging partnership project was a dedicated $50 million. Then, if the bond proposal passes, we might be able to get the Army Corps to extend the scope of their current dredging to include the giant sand bar at the mouth of the West Fork. Addressing that issue as a change order to the current contract could save years, save dollars, and reduce risk immediately.
Posted on June 23, 2018, by Bob Rehak
328 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-07-23 22:54:402018-07-23 22:56:20How County Bond Funds Could Leverage Additional Dollars
Here is the current list of projects included in the Bond Proposal. Scroll down to page 7 to see those associated with the San Jacinto Watershed as of 6/1/18. Only one item from MY top four is currently on the County’s priority list.
Here are four things that I think would make the biggest impact for this area. Do you agree?
Top Priorities
More river dredging. We must restore the velocity and carrying capacity of the entire river, not just a small portion of the West Fork and not just to pre-Harvey conditions. The Army Corps of Engineers is restoring a 2-mile stretch to pre-Harvey conditions. But we need to dredge deeper and further. And we need to do it on a regular basis. In 2000, Brown & Root recommended dredging and periodic maintenance as the best option they examined to mitigate flooding. Neither was ever done. That’s a huge part of the reason why we face increased flood risk today. Personally, I’d like to see the East and West Forks restored to their 2000 condition.
More floodgates on Lake Houston. Freese and Nichols found that 14 additional gates could have lowered the flood level during Harvey by up to 1.9 feet. That could help reduce flooding both upstream and downstream from the dam. It could also help reduce flooding downstream. By releasing water before a storm hits in a gradual, controlled fashion, you can create more capacity within the lake so you can discharge water at a lower rate as the reservoir fills back up.
More upstream detention. Offset Lake Conroe releases by capturing and holding water elsewhere. Everybody from here to Waller County seems to be lobbying for this. Small dams along the streams and bayous could temporarily hold back flood waters before they reach highly populated areas. Spring and Cypress Creeks are popular candidates. Lake Creek has also been mentioned. Finally, TACA pointed out that sand mines could make excellent detention ponds – my favorite alternative.
Better ditch maintenance. Before Harvey, many of our drainage ditches became silted and clogged with fallen trees. Some, like Ben’s Branch, near the public library, still have islands and standing water in them. Keeping these ditches clear and free flowing should be a high priority at all times to eliminate internal flooding.
Consensus Starting to Emerge
Monday, at separate meetings of the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots Flood Prevention Initiative and the Recover Lake Houston Task Fork, I saw consensus emerging around these flood mitigation measures. Together, these top priorities seem to have the best chance of actually reducing flooding in the Lake Houston area.
What are your top priorities? Whether you agree or disagree with these, please communicate your thoughts to Harris County Flood Control ASAP. The County is actively soliciting ideas for the bond proposal right now.
County bond money can be used to leverage Federal matching funds from FEMA and HUD grants. These grants usually operate on a 75/25 or 90/10 basis, returning $3 to $9 for every dollar put up. If voters approve the$2.5 billion referendum, it could potentially bring in tens of billions of additional dollars. This flow chart explains how the Flood Control District’s funding works.
Federal dollars for Harvey flood mitigation efforts are available now, but may go elsewhere if we don’t act. So it’s important that we:
Make sure the language in the proposed bond accommodates our needs
Pass the bond
Focus the money where it will do the most good
Here is where the proposed bond language stands as of this date. See BondLanguageAsOf6.13.18. It will most likely be modified before voting begins, based on what officials hear from citizens at a series of meetings being held in all 22 watersheds throughout Harris County.
Give the County Your Thoughts
Remember, according the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium, the Lake Houston area historically has received 0% of the region’s flood mitigation dollars, but sustained 14% of the region’s damage during Harvey. Let’s make sure we get our fair share of flood control dollars this time around.
Call 713-684-4107 or mail comments to 9900 Northwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77092, ATTN: Bond Program Communications.
If you missed the FloodWarn Workshop at Kingwood College on 5/1/18, you missed a lot of helpful information. All four FloodWarn Workshop presentations are now posted in one PDF in the reports section of this web site or via this link.
National Weather Service
Rainfall during Hurricane Harvey
Katie Landry-Guyton, Senior Service Hydrologist/Meteorologist from the National Weather Service-Houston/Galveston office, talked about various types of floods, then focused on river flooding. She discussed the various types of forecasts and warnings NWS has to help you understand levels of risk. She also discussed details of how NWS formulates forecasts. For weather wonks and flood victims, it’s a must-see.
Harris County Flood Control
Jeff Lindner, Meteorologist/Director, Hydrologic Operations Division of the Harris County Flood Control District then discussed the hydrology of Harris County. Within this context, he addressed four types of floodplains in the county, the District’s flood warning system (FWS), inundation mapping/ forecasting down to the street level, and expansion of the District’s gage network.
San Jacinto River Authority
Jace Houston, General Manager of the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA), talked about the dam operations at Lake Conroe. Specifically, he explained how they made the decision to start releasing water during Harvey. Houston also introduced the SJRA’s new regional flood management initiative.
FEMA
Rounding out the evening, Diane Cooper of FEMA Floodplain Management and Insurance. Cooper, who has posted several times on this blog, is a Kingwood resident. She focused on flood risk, hazard mapping and flood insurance.
Among the surprising facts cited:
The National Flood Insurance Program processed 26,511 claims as a result of Harvey.
55.2% of those claims came from OUTSIDE of the 100 year flood plain.
Only 17% of Houstonians had flood insurance (about 1 in 6)
30,500 structures were in the 1% risk area (100 year flood plain)
29,000 structure were in the 0.2% risk area (500 year flood plain)
City-wide, Harvey impacted approximately 150,000 structures
That means that more structures were impacted outside the 0.2% Risk Area than inside, approximately 90,000.
Cooper cited this last point as the reason why everyone should have flood insurance whether they are officially in the flood plain or not. This was a common theme all night among all four presenters.
They also pointed out that not all flooding comes from rivers. Much flooding comes from streets. Streets in Kingwood are designed as part of the flood retention system. They can deliver approximately two inches of rainfall per hour through the storm drains to the ditches. When the rainfall rate exceeds that, drains will back up into streets and release the water slowly so as not to overwhelm the ditches.
Moral of the story: even if you’re nowhere near the river or a drainage ditch, you can still flood from your street and, therefore, need flood flood insurance.
FLOODWARN WORKSHOP
MAY 1, 6:30-8:30 PM
KINGWOOD COLLEGE
20,000 KINGWOOD DRIVE
MUSIC BUILDING, ROOM 117
CLOSEST PARKING IS LOT G
HOSTED BY NWS, FEMA, HCFCD, SJRA
TONIGHT, May 1st at 6:30-8:30 p.m., The National Weather Service (NWS), Harris County Flood Control, and FEMA, and the San Jacinto River Authority are hosting a FloodWarn Workshop. They will talk about the types of flooding we see in the Kingwood/Humble area, the watersheds, forecasts, warnings, flood risks, and flood insurance.
Giant sand dunes like this one where the West Fork meets Lake Houston inhibit the flow of the river. Engineers say that sediment is not being carried out into Lake Houston (background) as expected. Areas behind these dunes experienced massive flooding during Harvey.
Organizers hope the event will help people in the Lake Houston Area better understand what goes into forecasts. They will also address their limitations, the risks associated with severe events, and actions to take in response to various types of warnings.
Flood impacts identify what structures, roads, bridges, etc. will flood when the river reaches a specific level. These impacts drive the establishment of the flood categories of Minor, Moderate and Major.
This FloodWarn workshop will be our opportunity to share our flooding concerns with the National Weather Service. If impacts need to be modified or updated, this is the community’s opportunity to provide that feedback.
Plan to attend. Make sure the NWS knows how important accurate and advanced warning forecasts are to you. With accurate forecasts we can be prepared for the next flood.
