Tag Archive for: mouth bar

How Government Shutdown Affects All Lake Houston Area Flood Mitigation Projects

Good news: The Emergency West Fork Dredging Project is still active. The government allocated funds for the project before the shutdown. Also, because FEMA designated it an emergency, it enjoys preferred status. Dredges are still dredging.

Bad news: Every other Lake Houston area flood mitigation project that depends on federal dollars is on hold.

  • Watershed study? 10 months and still waiting for approval.
  • Additional gates for Lake Houston? Hit the pause button.
  • More upstream detention. Deep freeze.
  • Additional dredging? Why rush it?

The Really Bad News

I’d say that’s the end of the story, but it’s not. Tonight the Associated Press reports that President Trump warns the shutdown could continue for months or years. Even considering the obvious hyperbole, I shudder to think of employees’ reactions. At a certain point, people put families and futures in front of jobs that pay zero. Maybe Trump could hold out for years. But a GS-7 with a bachelor’s degree and student loans to pay off? Someone making $35K per year?

The reason most people take a pay cut to go into government service is because it’s a steady gig. But yank that paycheck out from under them. Woooooosh! That’s the sound of talent and institutional knowledge creating a vacuum as it sprints out the door.

Rebraining Projects

A prolonged government shutdown will turn the Mo down Low. Lose momentum and you have to spend more energy to regain it. You lose time. You lose money. You lose talent. And when it’s over, you have to rebrain projects. Recruitment. Training. Getting people back up to speed. Clearing out backlogs…that could really last years.

Sweating Details and Bullets

So while the mouth bar project is on hold, dredging behind the mouth bar continues. Officials hoped they could save $18 million in demobilization and remobilization fees by having the mouth bar project ready to start when the Emergency Project finished. But that window is rapidly narrowing. Back in October, when we thought we had six months to work out details, everyone felt comfy and confident. Now with three months left, officials are sweating the details while residents sweat bullets. Here’s why.

Problems Likely to Migrate Downstream

As I discussed in yesterday’s post, River Grove Park has experienced greater-than-usual flooding. Crests usually experienced every other year now happen once every other month. The river has crested over 50 feet six times in 11 months. That’s likely due to the backwater effect created by “Sand Island” (as dredgers have named it). Sand Island virtually blocks off the river creating a backwater effect. See its location relative to River Grove below.

The Army Corps has nicknamed the giant blockage immediately downstream from River Grove Park “Sand Island.”

The next picture shows how this massive dune virtually blocks the entire West Fork. I took the picture two weeks after Harvey. During floods, when water moves quickly, Sand Island has created a ten-foot difference between water upstream and downstream.

Sand Island causes higher-than-normal floods at greater -than -normal frequencies because of backwater effects.

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, the Corps’ prime contractor on this job has finished dredging through the side bar at River Grove . Now they are attacking Sand Island (see below).

The focus of dredging has moved from the side bar at River Grove to Sand Island. Once removed, the flooding problems at River Grove will likely migrate downstream.

As they remove this blockage, downstream residents in Atascocita Point have reported water rising higher in their yards during floods. Once dredgers completely remove Sand Island, flooding problems will likely migrate downstream to the next major blockage, the mouth bar.

The mouth bar virtually blocks the West Fork where it enters Lake Houston. It stretches from Kings Point to Atascocita Point, but is not within the scope of the current dredging project. Expansion of the scope has been halted by the government shutdown.

However, there’s a big difference between Sand Island and the Mouth Bar.

  • Parks, vacant land, and golf courses surround Sand Island.
  • People, kids and homes surround the Mouth Bar.

Let’s pray that the government shutdown ends quickly. In this area, government can really make a huge and important difference – immediately.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/5/2019

494 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Whew! Luck and Aggressive Action Avert Major Flooding

Good to have the Pearl Harbor Day flooding in the rear-view mirror. And good that the worst predictions did not come true. So what happened? Did we just get lucky? Or did something go right for a change? It might have been a little of both.

Here’s what I know at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, about when the flood was expected to crest and flood multiple neighborhoods.

Lake Conroe Releases Have Peaked

According to Jace Houston, General Manager of the SJRA, releases from the Lake Conroe dam have likely peaked. The current release rate of 8181 cfs falls far short of previous floods and short of 9,000 to 11,000 cfs release rates predicted earlier.

Less Rain than Expected

That’s because we got less rainfall than predicted. Most of the area, including Lake Houston and upstream from Lake Conroe, received about 4.5 inches or less instead of the 8 to 10 predicted earlier.  And rain was fairly spread out over time. The heaviest rainfall seems to have happened in The Woodlands with some gages approaching 6 inches.

Aggressive Pre-Release by City

Finally, the City of Houston started releasing water from the Lake Houston Dam two days in advance of the storm. They took the lake level down two feet before the storm and kept releasing water during the storm. Had it not been for that, homes along the shoreline would almost certainly have flooded.

Looking across the flood-swollen San Jacinto at the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Command Site. Had the City not pre-released more than 2 feet of water from Lake Houston, this site would have been inundated.

Trending Steady or Down

At this moment, every stream gage that the SJRA reports upstream from the Lake Houston area is trending down. The peak has passed.

Harris County Flood Control shows that the gages at US59, West Lake Houston Parkway and FM1960 also appear to have peaked.

A photographic tour of the Kingwood area this afternoon showed that the river came out of its banks at River Grove Park and US59 and was on the verge of coming out in many other places. Surprisingly, I saw no flooded homes, not even on Marina Drive in Forest Cove. However, I did hear of many affected by street flooding, especially upstream in Montgomery County.

Still Much Mitigation Work to Do

Ben’s Branch by the Enclave and Kingwood Library had standing water. That should be a reminder that the County needs to make cleaning out this stream a high priority. 

One final point. Late this afternoon, I noticed a huge difference between the gages upstream and downstream from the dredging.

At 59, the West Fork exceeded its banks and peaked at 52 feet.
At West Lake Houston Parkway, the river was well within its banks and peaking around 45 feet.
At FM1960 the river was still well within banks and peaking at 44 feet.

Normally, these gages all read the same elevation. One can partially attribute the differences to spreading of the river. However one must also consider the huge blockages in the river that the Corps has not yet removed. At the moment, one of the biggest is just downstream from River Grove Park. Another, the mouth bar, blocks the river between Kings Point and Atascocita Point.

Even during a flood, the mouth bar (in the middle of this picture) stands out of the water by several feet and blocks the mouth of the West Fork. Water must make its way past this blockage through narrow passages on either side of it. It backs water up throughout the Humble/Kingwood area.
Here’s what the mouth bar looks like from the air, right after Harvey, before grass started growing on it. The area around it averages 1-3 feet deep. The deepest parts of the narrow channel reach 5 feet deep.

The Lake Houston Area lucked out this time due to aggressive action by City officials, a conservative release rate by the SJRA and the kindness of Mother Nature. I hope we don’t press our luck and assume that these blockages make no difference. They do. We need to remove them.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/8/2018

466 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Ted Cruz Throws His Weight Behind Mouth-Bar Campaign with Letter to FEMA

The mouth bar. Sand, in part from the mines, has almost totally blocked the West Fork where it meets Lake Houston. Before/after measurements show that as much as ten feet was deposited in this area during Harvey (five below water/five above).

Ted Cruz has written a letter to FEMA asking for the agency’s help in removing the giant sand bar at the mouth of the San Jacinto River.  In the letter, he calls the mouth bar a danger to property and lives.

Here is the text of his press release:

Sen. Cruz Pens Letter to FEMA Administrator Urging Additional Action on San Jacinto River

‘IN ORDER TO PREVENT FUTURE FLOODING OF PROPERTY AND SAVE LIVES, I URGE YOU TO AMEND THE PROJECT WORKSHEET TO INCLUDE THE WEST FORK MOUTH BAR IN THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT’
December 3, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last week penned a letter to FEMA Administrator Brock Long urging him to amend the scope of the existing FEMA dredging project on the San Jacinto River near Kingwood to include the mouth bar located on the West Fork of the river. Over 1,600 homes flooded in the area during Hurricane Harvey. The mouth bar, which is the biggest blockage in the river that feeds into Lake Houston, was made significantly worse by Harvey.

“In order to prevent future flooding of property and save lives, I urge you to amend the project worksheet to include the West Fork mouth bar in the scope of the project,” Sen. Cruz wrote. “Without such an amendment, surrounding residents are at risk of future flooding and FEMA is missing a key opportunity to leverage its current assets, help the state better prepare for future disasters, and reduce the federal cost of future disasters.”

Read the full letter here and below:

November 28, 2018

The Honorable William B. Long
Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C Street, South West
Washington, D.C. 20472

Dear Administrator Long:

Over the last year, with the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Texas has made enormous strides in recovering and rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey (DR-4332). As the recovery process continues, it is important to ensure that FEMA fully leverages its assets and funding to reduce the taxpayer cost of future disasters and help the state better prepare for future weather events.

One project in particular where this can be accomplished is the emergency dredging of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River—an area where Hurricane Harvey flooded 1,621 homes. The San Jacinto River Dredging Project (W9126G18B0019) is a DR-4332 FEMA Mission Assignment that directs the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to return the river to pre-event conditions. Specifically, this is a debris removal assignment, which includes sediment, with an estimated cost of $61 million.

Although the Army Corps recently began dredging operations on the West Fork of the river, the scope of the project does not include the delta or “mouth bar” that formed in the river and was made significantly worse by Hurricane Harvey. In order to prevent future flooding of property and threat to human life, FEMA should amend the project worksheet so that the scope of the project includes dredging the West Fork mouth bar and surrounding shoal sediments.

Under Section 403 of the Stafford Act, “Federal agencies may . . . provide assistance to meeting immediate threats to life and property resulting from a major disaster,” which includes such activities as debris removal.

The mouth bar on the West Fork is currently constraining in-bank flow conveyance capacity, and local officials have referred to it as “the largest blockage on the river.” The Army Corps confirmed this analysis in a May 2018 Army Corps Value Engineering Study which indicated that “[t]he water [in the river] then slows as it reaches the upper end of Lake Houston dumping its suspended sediments into a delta. The accretion of this delta creates a dam like feature which then increasingly slows water and accretes the delta, compounding the problem.”

The sediment deposited into the river from Hurricane Harvey exacerbated the accretion of the mouth bar. If the West Fork mouth bar is not addressed to restore flow conveyance capacity, then the next rain event will likely result in both public and private property damage from flood waters rising out of the river’s banks. Even a small rain event in March created more flooding than expected as a result of the sediment constraints from Hurricane Harvey.

In order to prevent future flooding of property and save lives, I urge you to amend the project worksheet to include the West Fork mouth bar in the scope of the project. Without such an amendment, surrounding residents are at risk of future flooding and FEMA is missing a key opportunity to leverage its current assets, help the state better prepare for future disasters, and reduce the federal cost of future disasters.

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the people of Texas and for your prompt consideration of my request.

Sincerely,

–––––

This is great news for Humble and Kingwood residents. It comes hot on the heels of a similar letter written earlier by Congressman Ted Poe to the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Perhaps now we will get some action. Let’s pray for a Christmas  miracle.

Kudos to Houston City Council member Dave Martin for setting up a meeting between area residents and Senator Cruz’ staff at which residents helped explain the issues.

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Bob Rehak

462 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Additional Dredging on the Horizon in 2019

Reprinted verbatim from Council Member Dave Martin’s announcement:

The “Mouth Bar,” a giant sand bar that blocks the West Fork of the San Jacinto, backing the river up into Kingwood and Humble. Water depth is generally 1-3 feet around this bar. Max channel depth in places is just 5 feet.

Houston, TX – Council Member Martin would like to make District E residents aware that the City of Houston continues to make progress towards Harvey Recovery with both state and federal agencies. Over the last fifteen months Council Member Martin has been working diligently with Chief Resiliency Officer Stephen Costello, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Governor Abbott, Chief Nim Kidd, as well as the offices of Senator Ted Cruz and Senator John Cornyn towards several initiatives that would have a positive impact on the Lake Houston Area.

Most recently the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has completed the bathymetry study of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River for the City of Houston. Data from this study has been given to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to determine the amount of sediment that resulted from Hurricane Harvey. This information is useful because this study identifies underwater topography allowing the City to understand where the additional sediment brought in by Hurricane Harvey has been deposited in the river and lake as well as changes in depth.

The TWDB continues to survey the entire lake for the Coastal Water Authority (CWA), the agency that contracts with the City for management of the Lake Houston Spillway Dam. The schedule for the TWDB to complete their survey of Lake Houston is Summer 2019. In addition to conducting a bathymetric study the City of Houston is currently reviewing data collected by the ACOE during a recent Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) study which uses light in the form of pulsing lasers to measure the distance from the water’s surface to the bottom of the river and lake. Capacity losses due to sedimentation in the lake as well as East and West Forks of the San Jacinto River will be determined using the LIDAR data along with the completed bathymetric study once the TWDB has completed their survey and report.

The LIDAR study allows the City to map changes in shoreline as well as make digital elevation models. It is this data that is assisting the City and ACOE in determining the amount of sediment that needs to be removed from locations along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River like the “mouthbar” that is located just south of the Deerwood Country Club. The LIDAR Study results will also be used by the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) for the creation of new flood insurance rate maps because of the changing rainfall patterns published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The flood insurance map study will utilize updated LIDAR surveys of the entire county and will take several years to complete, however HCFCD is already hiring consultants to assist with this work.

On October 11, 2018, Council Member Martin met with Governor Abbott’s Executive Staff, TDEM, FEMA, and ACOE in Austin where a lengthy discussion was had about the amount of sediment deposit that will still remain in the San Jacinto River after the current emergency dredging project is completed. The current emergency dredging contract is not scheduled to be complete until the end of April 2019. At this meeting the City’s consultant estimated that after the completion of the existing dredging project that there will be approximately 500,000 cubic yards of additional sediment that needs to be removed from the river known in the community as the “mouthbar”.

This estimate however was based on a comparison between the LIDAR study completed by the ACOE this year and a bathymetric study completed by the TWDB in 2011. The important takeaway from this meeting in October is that FEMA agreed that the additional sediment qualifies as Harvey debris however, the estimate of 500,000 cubic yards was not a true amount directly associated with Hurricane Harvey. The City does not have survey data that is immediately pre and post-Harvey which would provide us a true amount of residual sediment that is a direct result of Hurricane Harvey. The City is currently waiting on the ACOE to complete its analysis of the City’s data.

At the meeting in Austin the ACOE indicated that an additional disposal site would be needed in order to remove the additional material. As a result the City of Houston has been proactive in identifying a site, thanks to the assistance of a local landowner that has property on the south side of the West Fork of the San Jacinto. The land owner has retained an environmental consultant to determine any possible wetland issues that may prevent use of the property for disposal. As of right now it appears the property is a viable site and a formal permit was filed with the ACOE this week.

In summary, the process to have the “mouthbar” removed from the West Fork of the San Jacinto River has been an arduous one. All parties from local, state, and federal agencies have been working together to accurately define the area needed for additional removal so that capacity can be restored to the river and reduce the effects of future flooding. The removal of the “mouthbar” cannot begin until the existing emergency dredging along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River is completed. Since this is a reality the City is doing all that it can to be proactive in securing land as well as permits for the “mouthbar’s” removal once the existing project is completed by the ACOE in April. This will allow the ACOE to keep equipment and crews in place without the need for demobilization and remobilization, saving roughly $18 million.

In observance of Thanksgiving the District E office will be closed Thursday, November 21 and Friday, November 22. The District E team will return to the office on Monday, November 26. Council Member Martin would like to wish all District E residents a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. For more information regarding this release, please contact Council Member Martin’s office at (832) 393-3008or via email at districte@houstontx.gov.

-end-

By Dave Martin’s Office on 11/21/2018

449 Days Since Hurricane Harvey

Second Dredge Starts Dredging

It’s official. There are now two dredges actually dredging on the West Fork. Dredge #2, owned and operated by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, moved downriver from the command site on October 16.

Getting 2-foot Pipe Through Water One Foot Deep

However, the company had not yet reached placement area #2 with the pipeline. Great Lakes had to dredge their way upstream through water less than one-foot deep in places to get to the placement area with five miles of pipeline that is 2 feet in diameter.

Next Steps: Patches and Pressure Testing

After reaching the placement area with pipe, Great Lakes then had to test it. During testing, dredgers slowly increase pressure in pipe as they look for leaks. The most common place to find leaks is at the joints, but sometimes they need to replace entire sections of pipe. The dredgers then make repairs in the water from pontoons loaded with backhoes and welding equipment. Backhoes bring the pipe up from the bottom of the river and position it in the welding machines.

After that, the dredging company had to test the booster pumps and throttles as they started them up. They also perform dye tests to calibrate velocity measurements. This helps ensure that water in each stage is moving at the same rate of speed. Great Lakes and its subcontractor Callan Marine will each use up to three booster pumps to keep five miles of sediment-laden water moving upriver to their respective placement areas.

One of three booster pumps that Great Lakes will use. This one can be seen from the northbound 59 feeder road.

While dredge #1, which started the same process on September 20 is diesel, dredge #2 is electric. Electric dredges run quieter, but take longer to warm up. As my source said, “An electric dredge slowly heats up the equipment to drive the moisture out; water and electricity don’t mix well.”

Now Working 24/7 Until Completion

With all those steps complete, dredging is now in full swing. By this weekend, both dredgers will be working 24/7 until completion.

To help jumpstart dredging, Great Lakes hired Callan Marine as a subcontractor. Callan had equipment available earlier and started this same process on September 20. The diagram below shows how both companies plan to work together.

Dredge #1 started at the halfway point and will work its way east to the end point. Dredge #2 started at River Grove Park and is working its way toward the midpoint.

Great Lakes will start at the western edge of the project area and work its way to the middle. Meanwhile, Callan, which started in the middle will work its way to the project’s end point – east of the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge (by Chimichurri’s).

Callan will send its spoils to placement area #1 while Great Lakes will send its to placement area #2.

No News Yet on Next Phase of Dredging

When City of Houston representatives including City Council Member Dave Martin returned from Austin two weeks ago for a high level meeting about the need to remove the mouth bar, hopes were running high. Decisions makers needed only an environmental survey and a placement area before the mouth bar project could proceed. Reportedly, they had reached agreement in principle on all other requirements including funding. However, the City has made no announcements yet about either the survey or a third placement area.

It took 3.5 months for contractors to fully mobilize for the current project. If FEMA, the Corps, the State, and the City can lock down phase two before mid-April, 2019, taxpayers have a chance to save the cost of another mobilization/demobilization – about $18 million.

It would also save precious time. Without having to remobilize, dredgers would have a chance to cut a channel through the mouth bar before the onset of next hurricane season.

Revised, estimated timeline for first phase of the West Fork Emergency Dredging Project

What About River Grove Boat Launch?

Cutting a channel through the side bar at River Grove will probably be the last thing Great Lakes does as part of this phase of dredging. Dredgers are concerned about boater safety and worry that opening the channel now will increase the number of boats on the river and the chance of accidents.

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Bob Rehak

422 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New Difference Map Confirms Buildup of West Fork Sediment Around Mouth Bar, Underscores Need for Removal

A new “difference map” published by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) shows the rapid build up of sediment in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River where it meets Lake Houston. Difference maps show changes in sediment levels over time.

When Stephen Costello, Chief Resiliency Officer for the City of Houston, presented this map at the Kingwood Town Hall Meeting on October 9, it was to describe three potential phases of West Fork dredging..

Having had several days to review and discuss this map, several other things became clear. See the map and legend below.

West Fork Difference Map. Brown/red/orange/yellow/green areas represent decreases in sediment since last survey. Blue, violet, pink and white represent increases.

Conclusion #1:

The worst sediment buildup in the West Fork is near the mouth…exactly where retired Lake-Houston-area  geologists Tim Garfield and RD Kissling said it was when they raised the alarm about the mouth bar month’s ago.

Conclusion #2:

The problem is much worse than even they suspected. This clearly shows the extent of the West Fork’s mouth bar.  Like an iceberg, the part you see above water is only a small part of the bigger picture.  Vast new sediment deposits extend down to FM1960.

Conclusion #3:

Even Harvey-strength currents could not cut through the mouth bar. Therefore, smaller floods won’t be able to either.

Conclusion #4:

The mouth bar creates a sediment dam in the river that will exacerbate flooding. If the mouth bar area is not dredged, it will cause higher-than-normal flooding on smaller-than-normal rainfall.

Google Earth shows that the area between the mouth bar and FM1960 comprises 1700 acres. According to the difference map, this area received an average of approximately 2 feet of sediment. This means the channel and lake lost 3400 acre feet of capacity in this area.

Conclusion #5:

The mouth bar must be removed immediately. It and adjacent shoal areas get higher with every passing day and storm as water becomes shallower. If the mouth bar is left in place, it will slow the river, causing the area upstream (that is now being dredged) to fill more rapidly than normal with sediment.

Difference Map Proves Mouth Bar Must Go NOW

The mouth-bar area was the focus of the Corps’ survey efforts. They have known for months that it is the major problem. As they stated in Galveston at a meeting I attended, it is the primary driver for backwater and upstream flooding. Their value engineering report also states that in the event of another heavy rainfall, there is a “near certain likelihood” that wide-spread flooding will occur impacting even more homes than before Harvey, due to the river’s inability to pass high volumes of water. See Page 2 for the words engineers almost never use without cause.

We’ve been lucky so far this hurricane season. But minor floods earlier this year on March 28/29 and July 4 proved how serious this problem is. Had the City not lowered the level of Lake Houston for July 4, homes almost certainly would have flooded according to Houston City Council Member Dave Martin.

This Week’s Holdups

At a meeting in Austin last week, the City, Army Corps, FEMA, County and State of Texas all agreed in principle that the mouth bar needs to be removed. Further, if it can be added to the current dredging project, taxpayers can likely save $17 million or more in mobilization fees for a second, separate project at a later date.

Only two hurdles remain: a disposal site for the dredged material and an environmental survey.

A large disposal site is already under review that is much closer to the area of concern than either of the two current sites.

The proposed disposal site’s proximity could save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more.

However, the environmental survey could delay the project beyond April when current dredging is expected to finish. If so, that could also increase flood risk.

Trees on the mouth bar initially led the Corps to exclude the bar from dredging for two reasons: one was environmental, the other legal. According to the Stafford Act, the enabling legislation for FEMA, FEMA funds cannot be spent to fix things that existed before Harvey. The existence of the trees proved that at least part of the mouth bar existed before Harvey.

The “Mouth Bar.” Note the trees on the right end.

Let’s Get Real

If the trees on the island raise an environmental concern, leave the part of the island that existed pre-Harvey. Dredge the channel and other parts of the island first.

This area includes 3-5+ft of Harvey derived sediment which should qualify for FEMA disaster recovery funds under the Stafford Act based on the new TWDB map.

The longer we wait to dredge this island, the more vegetation will grow on it, the more resistant to erosion it will be, and the more expensive it will be to dredge.

Are the Army Corps and FEMA trying to save an invasive species that USDA wants to eradicate?

Close examination from a boat showed the trees in question to be Chinese tallow trees, an invasive species that the USDA has been trying to eradicate from here to Florida. It’s actually poisonous to local animals. If this tree costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in delays and opportunity costs, it will become the new poster child for government waste and folly…especially if Humble, Kingwood and Atascocita flood in the meantime. This is one delay I certainly wouldn’t want my name associated with. That’s the wrong way to go down in history.

This tree on the mouth bar which initially caused the Army Corps to exclude the bar from dredging is a Chinese tallow, an invasive species which the USDA is trying to eradicate. Note the heart-shaped, aspen-like leaves – the tell-tale identifier.

Posted by Bob Rehak on October 14, 2018

411 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Meeting in Austin to Include Mouth Bar in Dredging Scope Ends Well, But Two Hurdles Still Exist

On Thursday, October 11, Council Member Dave Martin attended a follow up meeting to discuss Harvey recovery needs in the Lake Houston area, including the mouth bar. Regulatory agencies including the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), along with staff from Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office and the City of Houston also attended the meeting. At one point, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd reportedly told people he wasn’t going to let them leave until they reached agreement. The meeting lasted nine hours…without lunch. But at the end of the day, we’re a big step closer to removing the giant sand bar blocking the mouth of the San Jacinto River. Here’s how things reportedly played out.

City Requested Expansion of Scope

The City of Houston asked FEMA to give the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) an emergency directive to remove siltation caused by Hurricane Harvey at the mouth of the West Fork of the San Jacinto. Further, to expedite the project and save remobilization fees, the City requested that this work piggyback on the original State of Texas Assistance Request (STAR).

Although  not officially approved yet, regulatory agencies reacted favorably to adding this to the original STAR request. However, two hurdles still exist.

Two Hurdles Remain for Mouth Bar Project

Before the mouth bar can be removed, two more hurdles must be cleared:

  • Identifying and permitting a disposal site
  • Complying with environmental regulations.

TDEM agreed to complete this additional work under an emergency request similar to the one that jumpstarted the initial dredging.

Said Houston City Council Member Dave Martin, “All parties involved are ready to make this work.”

Humble Land a Possibility

Barry Madden, an Humble landowner, with substantial acreage near the river and the mouth bar, has already met with officials about using his property as a potential disposal site. If acceptable, the proximity could save millions of tax dollars. Madden already has “fill” permits in place. So there may really only be one hurdle to clear.

Property owned by Barry Madden just west of Kings Lake Estates and south of the San Jacinto West Fork

Thank You to…

As discussed at the Kingwood Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, October 9, this mouth bar and other Lake Houston area projects could not happen without the continuing efforts of TDEM, in particular Chief W. Nim Kidd;  Governor Abbott’s Chief Operating Officer, Reed Clay; City of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner; Chief Resiliency Officer, Stephen Costello; and Chief Recovery Officer, Marvin Odum.

How You Can Help

Many residents continue to ask Council Member Martin what they can do to help. Council Member Martin encourages residents to send their thanks to several key officials for assisting District E. Please click here for their mailing addresses.

For more information, please contact Council Member Martin’s office at (832) 393-3008 or via email at districte@houstontx.gov.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/12/18

409 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The Mouth Bar: A Dam Behind the Dam

As tonight’s town hall meeting with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Council Member Dave Martin, Chief Resiliency Officer Steve Costello and Chief Recovery Officer Marvin Odum approaches, it’s important to understand that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is NOT currently scheduled to dredge the mouth bar at the confluence of the West Fork and Lake Houston.

The scope of the current West Fork Emergency Dredging Project includes 2.1 miles between River Grove Park and Chimichurri’s. The Corp will remove 1.8 million cubic yards of sand clogging the river in that area. However, they will leave two to three times that much sediment at the mouth of the West Fork – between King’s Point and Atascocita Point…unless something changes soon.

The “Mouth Bar,” a giant sand bar that blocks the West Fork of the San Jacinto, backing the river up into Kingwood and Humble. Water depth is generally 1-3 feet around this bar. Max channel depth in places is just 5-8 feet.

The “mouth bar” which we have talked about extensively in previous posts forms a dam of sorts behind the Lake Houston dam. It backs water up into the heavily populated Humble/Kingwood/Atascocita corridor.

Tim Garfield and RD Kissling, two local retired geologists, first sounded the alarm about this blockage. Since then, many people have been working to bring the mouth bar within the scope of the current project. Garfield and Kissling have also continued to review Corps survey data and developed additional insights.

Tonight Garfield and Kissling shared these thoughts.

  1. You could walk along the red line from Scenic Shores to Kings River Estates, and except for crossing the paleo channel at five to eight feet, you would not even get your shirt wet. It should be approximately 25 feet deep in this area.

    Shallowest path follows red line.

    The Corps survey data is in the background. The red line represents the shallowest points of the lake/river.

  2. Without removing the mouth bar, water will have to flow uphill approximately 40 feet between the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge and Lake Houston.

    Water will have to rise approximately 40 feet between West Lake Houston Parkway and the Mouth Bar to reach Lake Houston. Subtract five or six feet for the deepest parts of the channel on either side of the bar.

  3. If the city dropped the lake level 12 feet overnight – but the mouth bar remained – you would see an earthen dam 6 feet higher than the lake, behind which West Fork floodwater would still back up and flood our neighborhoods.
  4. Adding flood gates without removing the mouth bar will not protect us from flooding.

With those happy thoughts, let’s hope that the City has some good news to share tonight re: removal of the mouth bar. Council Member Martin and others have been working diligently with the County, State, and Federal Governments to include the mouth bar in the current dredging project or fund it as a second project that follows the first closely.

Doing so could save taxpayers $17 million in mobilization costs.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m., at the Kingwood Community Center, 4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood, TX 77345.

Posted by Bob Rehak on October 9, 2018

406 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Announcements Expected at October 9 Town Hall on Additional Dredging, Detention and Floodgates

Houston City Council Member Dave Martin will host a town hall meeting, Tuesday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m., at the Kingwood Community Center, 4102 Rustic Woods, Kingwood, TX 77345. At this meeting, announcement is expected on whether FEMA and the Army Corps will include the mouth bar in the current West Fork dredging project.

The community is invited to attend and hear from city and community representatives about this and a variety of other ongoing projects related to the Kingwood and Lake Houston areas of District E.

Flood Mitigation Update from Costello and Odum

Residents will hear from Stephen Costello, City of Houston Chief Resiliency Officer and Marvin Odum, Chief Recovery Officer, on the progress made to rebuild the City post-Harvey. A spokesperson for Council Member Martin’s office stated that Costello intends to address issues crucial to the Lake Houston area, including additional dredging, upstream detention and floodgates. As part of his discussion, the spokesperson said that Costello will update the community on the status of removal of mouth bar.

The “Mouth Bar,” a giant sand bar that blocks the West Fork of the San Jacinto, backing the river up into Kingwood and Humble. The mouth bar is within the scope of the current Army Corps dredging project, but officials have been trying to get FEMA and the Corps to include it. Water depth is generally 1-3 feet around this bar. Max channel depth in places is just 5 feet.

Experts believe that this giant sand bar at the mouth of Lake Houston is creating a backwater effect that contributes to flooding in the highly populated Humble/Kingwood/West Fork corridor. The bar grew exponentially during Harvey, but is not within scope of the current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Emergency West Fork Dredging Project.

If an expansion of scope or follow-on project cannot be arranged before contractors for the current project leave the river, taxpayers’ $17 million investment in mobilization would be lost. Any future projects would need to re-incur those costs all over again, adding to the total cost of dredging.

Martin has had a series of meetings recently with Governor Abbott, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, FEMA, Senator Cruz, Senator Cornyn and Congressman Poe. However, everyone is tight-lipped about the progress of negotiations. It’s still not clear whether the bar will be removed, and if so, who would remove it, or how it would be paid for.

Turner to Address Ballot Referendums on November 6

This fall’s town hall meeting will also include a presentation from Mayor Sylvester Turner who will speak on the Rebuild Houston and fire salary referendums that will appear on the November 6 ballot. All registered voters within the boundaries of the City are urged to attend.

Other Speakers

Stan Sarman, the Chair of the TIRZ 10 board will provide information on a variety of projects including the Northpark Drive Mobility Improvement Project, and the status of area intersection improvements.  There will be an update on the Lake Houston Debris Removal Project provided by a member of the City of Houston Solid Waste Department Team. State Representative Dan Huberty is confirmed to provide insight on the upcoming legislative session.

Doors Open at 5:30 for Info Tables on Other Projects

For those who arrive early, there will be information tables available starting at 5:30 p.m. staffed by:

  • Harris County Precinct 4 to discuss their upcoming projects in Forest Cove
  • Texas Department of Transportation to educate residents on the expansion of TX Loop 494
  • Houston Parks Board to provide information on the upcoming San Jacinto Greenway Project
  • Houston Department of Neighborhoods
  • Houston Police Department’s Kingwood Division

For More Information

Please contact Council Member Martin’s office at (832) 393-3008 or via email at districte@houstontx.gov.

Posted by Bob Rehak on October 6, 2018

403 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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