Perry Archives - Reduce Flooding

Perry Homes’ current contractors have excavated 3X more detention pond volume in ten weeks than the previous contractors did in virtually two years. During this past week, they finished excavating three ponds on the northern section of Woodridge Village. Together, they comprise 77% of the total detention volume for the whole site.

Excavation Done, but Finish Work Remains

That doesn’t mean they’re totally done with the ponds. Recent aerial photos show that they still have much finish work to do. That includes:

Shaping the sides
Creating backslope swales
Installing pipes to funnel water from the swales into the ponds and channels
Ensuring water can flow out of Adams Oaks in Porter on the west side of the subdivision into Taylor Gully as it previously did
Creating concrete “pilot channels” in the center of the ponds and larger channels
Planting grass along the sides of the slopes to reduce erosion
Installing outflow control in several places to hold back floodwaters
Building maintenance roads around the ponds

Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller, who monitors the progress of construction daily, says crews are already hard at work on many of those tasks.

Ponds NOT Expanded Beyond Initial Plans

Miller has compared the width and depth of ponds to the initial plans and verified that the ponds are being built to original specifications. Since the ponds were designed to meet pre-Atlas 14 rainfall requirements, that means the site will still hold 30-40% less runoff than needed to meet current regulations.

Still, surrounding residents in Porter, North Kingwood Forest and Elm Grove who flooded twice last year will find three large ponds on the northern section a welcome addition. They provide some measure of extra protection. Residents will have four times more upstream detention volume than they had during Imelda.

Racing Against Risk

With the peak of hurricane season now less than two months away, Perry Homes is in a race against risk. The company may regret the six months of virtual inactivity between the completion of pond S2 and the start of work on ponds N1, N2, and N3 in early April.

The faster pace of current construction puts pressure on Harris County and the City of Houston to complete an offer if an offer will be made. Elm Grove residents lobbied the City and County to purchase the property and build a regional flood detention facility. They center would also help protect downstream residents on the East Fork and Lake Houston.

However, at a Kingwood Town Hall Meeting in February, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced that the City would not participate in a deal. He said it was the County’s responsibility.

In April, the County announced that it would consider purchasing the land if the City contributed land in lieu of cash to cover half the purchase price.

Then in May, the County increased its demands. The County now wants the City to contribute land in lieu of cash to cover half the purchase AND construction costs for creating additional detention.

County and City Clamp Down on Communications

Since then, the County has clamped down on communications regarding this subject. Rumors suggest that all parties are still trying to make a deal happen. But the County has denied all FOIA requests and referred them to the Texas Attorney General for a ruling on their denials. That often happens when negotiations are in progress, according to a knowledgeable source.

What Happens Next?

At the contractor’s current rate of progress, it’s entirely possible that contractors will complete all work on detention ponds in July.

The City and County blew through a May 15 deadline that Perry put on the deal. But a “For Sale” sign at the Woodland Hills entrance remains on the property.

With approximately $14 million dollars invested in the property, with hurricane season here, with lawsuits pending, and knowing that the amount of detention is insufficient to hold a 100-year rain, Kathy Perry must be sweating bombshells.

Ms. Perry may be hoping for a City/County offer, but she can’t be counting on one. If she were, she could have sold the dirt coming out of those detention ponds. Instead, however, she’s building up land elsewhere on the site to keep her options open and develop the site if a deal falls through.

That dirt will have to be moved again at taxpayer expense if the county builds additional detention ponds.

Pictures of Site as of 6/19/2020

Here’s what the site looked like as of 6/19/2020.

*Looking NW from over Taylor Gully toward Pond N2, the largest on the property.*

*The connecting channel between N1 at the top of the frame and N2 along the western edge of the property has been excavated.* *Note the pilot channel that contractors have started* *in the distance.*

At Mace Street in Porter, contractors created a concrete face for the twin culverts on the upstream side, but not yet on the downstream side. Note the earthen dam holding water back while contractors complete the pilot channel running off the bottom of the frame.

*Above Mace Street, contractors are still putting in pipes between the channel and backslope swales.*

*The Webb street entrance to the site has been removed to connect N1 (out of frame on the top) with N2 (out of frame on the lower left).*

*Looking South at N3, which runs down the eastern edge of the property.*

*More pipes are being put in to channel water from backslope swales to the pond so water won’t erode the face of the pond. Not the rills already cut in the dirt.*

*Looking SE. The southern half of N3 where it connects with Taylor Gully in the upper right.*

*N3’s connection to Taylor Gully is now wide open. It’s not clear how this connection will be completed to release the water at a slow controlled rate.*

*The two culverts under the bridge over Taylor Gully should slow the water from N2 (upper right) and N1 (out of frame) down.*

Need for Grass if Deal Not Reached Quickly

Note how the grass on the southern side of the gully has all died. That raises a question. If Perry, the City and County do not complete a purchase agreement soon, will Perry plant grass on the northern section to slow runoff. Right now, it’s all hard-packed dirt.

*Most of northern section is hard packed dirt which increases runoff rate.*

Planting grass over an area this large would be a big investment and might get in the way of construction if Perry decides to develop the land. But it will reduce flood and legal risks.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/20/2020

726 Days after Hurricane Harvey and 275 after Imelda

A week after J. Carey Gray, a lawyer representing Perry Homes’ subsidiaries and contractors, promised the Mayor of Houston that his clients would move as quickly as possible to complete Woodridge detention ponds, there still has been no excavation activity at the job site. And in fact, according to Jeff Miller, an Elm Grove resident who visited the site today, much of the material and equipment that had been on site are now gone.

Lack of Detention Implicated in Two Floods

Twice in four months, Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest flooded severely when water from Perry Homes’ troubled Woodridge Village development overflowed into the streets of those communities immediately south and east of Woodridge.

Before the May flood, Perry had clearcut virtually the entire 268 acres, but installed only 7% of the detention.
Before the September flood, they had substantially completed only one more pond, bringing the total to 23% of the planned detention.

*Percentage capacity of the five planned detention ponds on the Woodridge Village construction site as measured in acre feet. To date, only S1 and S2 are substantially complete.*

So it’s not too surprising that the completed detention ponds overflowed in heavy rains.

It was like trying to store 100 gallons of water in a 23 gallon container.

Excavation Work on Detention Ponds Stopped for Two Months

Where’s Larry the Cable Guy when you need him? He could “git-r-done.”

As the pictures below show, there’s one piece of excavation equipment on the northern portion of the site and it hasn’t moved for about a month.

Looking west at northwestern section of Woodridge Village from helicopter more than a month ago, on 9/21/2019, two days after Imelda. Note the yellow excavator with its bucket resting on the ground in the middle of the frame toward the tree line on the right.

Note the same excavator in the same place in the same position at the left of the frame. Photo taken 10/16/2019 from opposite direction, looking east.The foreground is where detention pond N1 should be. But the pond has not yet been started. *According to the LJA Engineering report, it should have been excavated as part of the first phase of development.*

Eight days later, you can see the same equipment still in the same place. However, it appears that two other pieces are now parked with it.

*Photo taken by Jeff Miller on 10/22/2019 shows excavator in same photo it was photographed in on 9/21/2019*, *a month earlier.*

Only Modest Repair Work on Ponds Since August

Resident Jeff Miller reported that an excavator removed some eroded sediment out of one completed pond (S1) after Imelda. Below is the photo he took on 10/6/2019. However, this was repair work, not new excavation work.

*Photo of S1 Repair Work taken on 10/6/2019 by Jeff Miller. S1 was the first pond completed.*

Four Detention Ponds Promised as Part of Phase 1

According to the LJA Engineering Drainage Impact Analysis, Table 3, Phase 1 of this development was to have FOUR detention ponds installed: N-1 and N-2 (regraded pilot channel) on the north, S-1 and S-2 on the South.

However, no new detention capacity exists on the northern section which has the steepest slope and the largest surface area. It was to provide 77% of the total detention.

N-1 and N-2 should provide 62% of the detention capacity. However, N-1 doesn’t exist. N-2 is not fully excavated. And N-3, which will provide another 15% is only a distant dream.

Hundreds of Families Remain at Risk

The lack of progress on detention places hundreds of families at risk as we slog our way through another 5 weeks of hurricane season. The season ends on November 30. But flood-weary residents also remain wary of non-tropical storms, such as Tax Day, Memorial Day, and May 7th this year. In the moist, Gulf-coast region, heavy storms can strike any time of year.

J. Carey Gray’s Promise

Last week, J. Carey Gray, Attorney at Law, made a promise to the City of Houston’s top lawyer, Mayor Sylvester Turner. Gray said, “To the extent possible, we will attempt to begin each project as quickly as plans can be completed and approved.”

Now, there’s an iron-clad contract if I ever saw one! However, as of October 22, 2019, no residents that I consulted around the site had seen any workers recently. Mr. J. Carey Gray, Attorney at Law, dated his letter October 17th.

According to resident Nancy Vera who lives immediately south of the construction site, there has been no recent construction activity anywhere on the site that she or her family can see.

Gretchen Smith who can see the site from her front yard in Porter has seen no workers.

Jeff Miller visits the site almost daily to check progress or non-progress of work. He had not seen any workers lately either. Moreover, he said that much of the materials and heavy equipment that had been stored on site appear to be gone.

Maybe Mr. Gray needs to consult with Larry, the Cable Guy.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/23/2019, with help from Jeff Miller, Nancy Vera, and Gretchen Dunlap-Smith

785 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 34 since Imelda

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

Tag Archive for: Perry

Perry Contractors Now Focusing on Finish Work for Detention Ponds