Tag Archive for: Kingwood open house

Flood Digest: Flooding, Planning and More

Below is a digest of seven flood-related items in the news lately.

Dubai Floods 

On April 18, 2024, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates saw the heaviest flooding in 75 years. That’s as far back as their records go. Dubai began data collection efforts in 1949. The floods followed several cloud-seeding flights. They probably did not cause the heavy rain, but many believe they contributed to it. Highways, the airport and large parts of the city were under water.

“By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees 94.7 millimeters (3.73 inches) of rain at Dubai International Airport,” said the AP. Wave after wave of thunderstorms from a strong low-pressure system triggered heavy rains in neighboring Oman that killed 19 people.

Sally Geiss, a former Kingwood resident, sent me a link to a dramatic collection of videos of the flooding on NotTheBee.com.

Regional Flood Planning Group Recommendations

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has approved amendments to the first-ever regional flood plans. They recommend additional solutions to reduce the risk and impact of flooding across the state. The amendments bring the total estimated cost of flood-risk-reduction solutions for all 15 planning regions to more than $54 billion.

Significantly, 30 of the flood-mitigation projects could provide water-supply solutions if implemented.

All of the flood-risk-reduction solutions recommended in the amended regional flood plans should be included in the 2024 State Flood Plan. That will make them eligible for funding through the State’s Flood Infrastructure Fund.

San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group 

The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group – Region 6 is currently underway to solicit a technical consultant for the second planning cycle. 

Harris County will advertise a request for qualifications (RFQ) within the coming weeks. The RFQ selection and process will follow standard Harris County procurement procedures.

Interested? The flood planning group provided this link to monitor opportunities:
https://purchasing.harriscountytx.gov/Services/Online-Solicitation-Opportunities. 

Harris County Purchasing

County Judge Lina Hidalgo held a press conference last week in which she blasted Harris County purchasing procedures. She wants to change them. According to Hidalgo, RFQs for Flood Control, Engineering and the Toll Road Authority are approved without bidding or documentation.

In virtually all cases, Purchasing rubber stamps the recommendations of Commissioners, according to Hidalgo. And she says that 93% of those approved contributed heavily to commissioners.

Here’s a link to her press conference video.

Lina Hidalgo Press Conference on Purchasing

She starts about 15-20 minutes into the video, and there’s a Spanish translation at the end. So it’s not as long as it looks.

Hidalgo based her allegations on a series of audit reports of the purchasing department, which were previously publicized by the Houston Chronicle.

Hidalgo never mentioned her own legal troubles re: the Elevate Strategies contract.

Kingwood Open House

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s office is hosting a Kingwood Open House on Thursday, April 25, 2024 between 6:30 and 8 PM at the Kingwood High School, 2701 Kingwood Drive.

The focus will be on infrastructure improvements and include representatives from Precinct 3, City of Houston, San Jacinto River Authority, and Harris County Flood Control District.

The Woodlands MUD Elections 

In Texas, Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) have the legal authority to partner with other governmental agencies such as the Texas Water Development Board and Harris County Flood Control District for flood-mitigation projects.

Early voting for The Woodlands Municipal Utility District directors begins on April 22 at the Shenandoah Municipal Complex.

In preparation, The Woodlands Township Future Group will sponsor an informative talk by Robert Leilich, Director of the Board of The Woodlands MUD #1 and Erich M Peterson, PE, General Manager of the Woodlands Water Agency. 

Their topic: “All You wanted to Know about Municipal Utility Districts.”

Date: Monday, April 22, 2024

Time: 7 pm to 8 pm

Please copy the link below and paste in a browser to join the presentation via Zoom:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82866382552?pwd=IB2JnUwSD96Tq68oZLygYaNPRTbWT4.1

 Passcode: 346862

The discussion of Municipal Utility Districts will cover:

What is a MUD?

  • What services do MUDs provide The Woodlands?
  • Who determines and directs the activities of a MUD?
  • What is The Woodlands Water Agency (also known as WoodlandsWater) and what is its relationship to MUDs in The Woodlands?

Emergency Habitability Repairs

The City of Houston Planning Department publishes a weekly Permit Activity Report. I usually scan it for development projects in the Lake Houston Area. But in the last few weeks, I have noticed something else that’s highly interesting.

There’s an extremely high correlation between “emergency habitability repairs” and proximity to drainage ditches and bayous with a reputation for flooding, such as Greens Bayou.

In one of the previous reports, I found that 90% of the emergency repairs happened in apartment complexes right on the banks of Greens or within a block of it. 

This should underscore the risk of living close to waterways. Even though the permit applications may not have immediately followed a flood, they may have resulted from problems, such as mold that build up after floods. 

I intend to follow this trend and report more when I have more data.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/18/24

2424 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Kingwood Residents Go One on One with Flood Experts; Huffman Up Next

Yesterday’s open house at the Kingwood Community Center seemed to be a hit. The SJRA, City of Houston, Harris County Flood Control and Montgomery County – all partners conducting the San Jacinto watershed study – had the subject-matter experts actually conducting the study there. The open house format gave residents a chance to interact with them one on one, tell their flood stories, and discuss possible mitigation scenarios.

Difference Between Listening and Learning

As one resident said, “I got more from 45 minutes here than a dozen town hall meetings.” I appreciate the town hall meetings, but he was right.

Quality one-on-one interaction made the difference between listening and learning.

I suspect the professionals there felt the same way. They came seeking input and they got it.

It felt like a collaboration, not a presentation.

For example, I got to quiz Adam Eaton, one of the engineers working to add more gates to the Lake Houston Dam. Finding hard information about this project has been difficult. But Mr. Eaton provided it. See budget, timeline and project milestones below.

Budget, timeline and project milestones for Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project.

Engineers hope to finish design and receive environmental approval by mid-2020. From there, TDEM and FEMA will review the plans and then hopefully release funds for construction. I asked Mr. Eaton whether there was a chance construction could NOT be approved. Answer: It’s possible, but very unlikely.

Details in Big Picture Context

I also talked at length with Matt Zeve, deputy executive director of Harris County Flood Control. Zeve, who has studied channel hydrology all his life, helped me understand why upstream communities don’t automatically benefit from projects that decrease downstream flood levels. He also helped me understand big picture issues, some of which weren’t even on my radar yet. For instance, how the extension of Highway 99 could affect flooding in Liberty County and on the East Fork twenty years from now.

David Parkhill, an author of the Brown & Root report published in 2000 was there, too. They called it a Regional Flood Protection Study back then. But it had the same objectives as the SJR Master Drainage Plan: to identify flood mitigation projects that will make a difference. Mr. Parkhill helped put the current effort in historical context. He was both fascinating and helpful!

Huffman Meeting on Thursday, 3-7:30 at May Community Center

If you missed the Kingwood meeting on Tuesday, I urge you to attend the Huffman meeting tomorrow. It will have all the same information and experts that the Kingwood meeting had. And it will be your last chance to visit an open house in this area until the next round of public comments next Spring.

The quality of input you give in this process will determine the quality of output you get.

  • Thursday, December 19, 2019
  • 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • May Community Center
  • 2100 Wolf Road
  • Huffman, Texas 77336

The open house will include information about the following projects, studies, and efforts:

  • San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan
  • Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis
  • Huffman Area Drainage Analysis
  • Spring Creek Watershed Planning Study
  • Luce Bayou Watershed Planning Study
  • Willow Creek Watershed Planning Study
  • Jackson Bayou Watershed Planning Study
  • Cedar Bayou Tributary Analysis
  • SJRA-led Projects 
  • City of Houston-led Projects
  • Harris County Permit Office
  • Harris County Engineering Department – Recovery and Resiliency Division
  • Hurricane Harvey Repair Efforts
  • Information about services provided by Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County and Montgomery County

The open house will last from 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The format lets attendees arrive and participate at their convenience. No formal presentation will be made. 

Provide Input on Master Drainage Plan

You can comment on the plans at the meeting in Huffman and throughout the duration of the study. 

If you can’t attend in person, mail comments to:

  • Harris County Flood Control District
  • 9900 Northwest Freeway
  • Houston, Texas 77092
  • Attn: San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan

Alternatively, you may submit comments online.

For more information about the San Jacinto Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan, visit www.sanjacstudy.org.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/18/2019

841 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 90 since Imelda