“Interferes with the Recreational Use of the Lake”
Text of Resolution to be considered by MoCo Commissioners on Tuesday, January 14.
What Interference is Really Like
Lake Conroe homeowners who claim their property values have been damaged by lowering the lake a foot or two should see what flood damage is really like.
A little fixer upper on the West Fork in Forest Cove. What an extra 80,000 cubic feet per second going through your living room will do.Kingwood Village Estates, a senior complex, had to be evacuated. Twelve people later died – six from injuries sustained during the evacuation and six from the stress of losing their homes and everything they own. Residents ranged in age from 65-95.This home was more than two miles from the West Fork and had to be gutted to the ceiling. Six of nine buildings at Kingwood College were destroyed. Thousands of students had to be relocated for more than a year while the buildings were disinfected from sewage contamination.
Sand Creek home more than 2 miles from the San Jacinto West Fork during Harvey after Lake Conroe Release.
Evac photo along Hamblen Road the morning after the Lake Conroe release.Union Pacific Railroad Bridge over West Fork knocked out for months.US59 southbound lanes were undercut by scouring, partially the result of the Lake Conroe release. TxDoT spent $20 million and 11 months repairing them. During that entire time, the average commute increased an hour each day for people trying to cross the river in rush hour.To play video, click here.110 homes out of 250 in Kings Forest flooded. This video shows the trash piles days after Harvey. All of these homes were more than two miles from the West Fork. Thousands of other homes between these and the river had their recreational value destroyed.
River Grove Park was covered with more than 4 feet of sand. Most it closed for almost a year. Parts of it are still unusable including the boat dock, which is the only public ramp in Kingwood.
And then, consider Kingwood High School which flooded to the second floor. Four thousand students had to be bused to another high school an hour away for seven months. Students from the two schools shared the same building but in different shifts.
Kingwood High School after the Lake Conroe release.
How You Can Help
Send me your best Harvey pics. Use the Submissions page of this web site. Understand that you give ReduceFlooding.com the right to publish your images. Let’s show Commissioner Meador how the Lake Conroe release interfered with recreation in our community.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/10/2020, with grateful thanks for the contributions from dozens of residents too numerous to mention
864 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/KHS.jpg?fit=1200%2C672&ssl=16721200adminadmin2020-01-10 23:31:082020-01-17 08:55:07MoCo Commissioners to Consider Resolution Opposing Lowering of Lake Conroe; Interferes with Recreation
At its May Board meeting, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) chose not to reconsider its April decision to lower the level of Lake Conroe temporarily at the peak of hurricane season. The board also chose not to put reconsideration of the resolution on its agenda for next month. This now puts the decision about whether to lower Lake Conroe temporarily into the hands of the City of Houston and the Texas Council on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
However, the president of the Lake Conroe Association (LCA), Mike Bleier, urged the board to reconsider its decision and was given unlimited time to present his case. Bleier spoke for more than half an hour. Bleier’s main concerns were the potential impacts on recreation, home values and businesses around Lake Conroe. Several other members of the association spoke in support of reconsideration.
Kingwood Residents Speak in Favor of Lowering
More than a dozen Kingwood residents also attended the meeting. Four spoke in favor of letting the motion stand.
Guy Sconzo, former superintendent of the Humble Independent School District, thanked the board for its decision to lower the lake. Then he talked about the impact of flooding on Lake Houston area infrastructure. His talk addressed massive losses by the school district, Kingwood College, and more.
TxDoT hopes to repair damage to the I-69 bridge by September, more than a year after Harvey. In the meantime, residents endure massive traffic jams.
Robert Westover talked about a flooded retirement community where several elderly residents died due to injuries incurred during high-water rescues and related stress.
Amy Slaughter complemented the board for its decision to lower the lake and explained how it would help insure that people had time to rebuild while other flood mitigation measures were completed.
Dennis Albrecht, who owns homes on both Lake Houston and Lake Conroe also spoke. Albrecht compared the relative impacts of flooding and lower lake levels on home values. Albrecht pointed out that the value of his Lake Conroe home has increased steadily despite lower lake levels at times. He also pointed out the devastating impact of the flood on the value of his Lake Houston home. “There’s no comparison,” said Albrecht.
Many other Kingwood residents attended the meeting to support the SJRA Board’s decision.
When is a lowering not really a lowering?
Bleier said that his members would accept a one foot lowering, but not two. Several Kingwood residents pointed out that evaporation already typically reduces the level of the lake by more than a foot and a half during September. The LCA’s decision to accept a one-foot lowering was, therefore, actually no concession at all; they would likely give up nothing.
Assuming average loss due to evaporation, the actual lowering would amount to only 4.8 inches.
Dianne Lansden, co-chair of the Lake Houston Area Grass Roots flood prevention initiative, and I gave Bleier a tour of the devastation in Humble and Kingwood yesterday. After a two-hour tour, while professing to be sensitive to the needs of downstream residents, Bleier proceeded to tell us the concerns of upstream residents. Among them: his members might not be able to take their boats to lakefront restaurants. (Editorial comment: Spooky shades of Marie-Antoinette!)
Not All Lake Conroe Residents Support LCA
To be sure, not all Lake Conroe residents agree with Bleier. Hundreds of homes on Lake Conroe also flooded during Harvey and reportedly most of the owners also favor a temporary seasonal lowering of the lake level, according to SJRA Board Chairman Lloyd Tisdale.
Lake Lowering Could Still be Nixed
Despite the SJRA board’s decision this morning, Lake Conroe still may not be lowered. To take effect, both the City of Houston and the TCEQ must also agree to lower the lake. The City owns two thirds of the water in the lake. The TCEQ must decide whether any lowering will count as an emergency release or be deducted from the City’s draw rights. If not considered an emergency release, the City may not support the decision to lower the lake.
Uncertainty Surrounding Weather Outlook
Some forecasters are beginning to worry about a possible drought. As of May 22, Drought.gov pointed out that abnormal dryness is currently affecting approximately 13,612,000 people in Texas, which is about 54% of the state’s population.
If we got ten inches of rain from a storm, such as the one entering the Gulf this weekend, that could constitute a 50-year rain at a time when the river is clogged with sand. That could produce a higher-than-normal flood for that amount of rainfall, and re-flood parts of Kingwood and Humble before dredging could even begin.
Personal Recommendation
Personally, I favor lowering the level of the lake. The actual amount of manual lowering, assuming this is an average year, would be only 4.8 inches. Even in the depths of the 2011 drought, the loss of 4.8 inches would have not have been disastrous.
There’s little chance, despite the hyperbolic rhetoric from LCA that 4.8 inches will destroy the Lake Conroe area. And it could help protect the Lake Houston area from another disaster.
In fact, in eight of the last 18 years, Lake Conroe has lost more than two feet of water due to evaporation and the lake is still one of the state’s most desirable destinations for tourists.
LCA Vows to Escalate the Fight
LCA has vowed to press its fight with the City and TCEQ and claims to have enough political support lined up to kill the proposal to lower Lake Conroe temporarily.
So get involved. Urge the TCEQ, Mayor and City Council to TEMPORARILY lower Lake Conroe until other mitigation measures, such as dredging, take effect.
Posted on 5/25/18 by Bob Rehak
269 Days since Hurricane Harvey
00adminadmin2018-05-25 00:52:562020-01-17 10:08:28Results of May SJRA Board Meeting and Decision to Temporarily Lower the Level of Lake Conroe
