Tag Archive for: save the date

Save the Dates: Diversion Ditch, Northpark Phase II Meetings

Save two dates: March 6 and 7 for important public meetings. These meetings represent your chance to provide input on plans that will affect the future of Kingwood and your family’s safety.

  • Wednesday, March 6, 2024, Harris County Flood Control District will hold a virtual meeting to reveal the recommendations for the Kingwood Diversion Ditch Project. That meeting will run from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
  • The following day, TxDOT has announced a meeting from 5-7 PM, Thursday, March 7, 2024, to reveal plans for the next phase of the Northpark Drive Expansion Project. This meeting has both virtual and in-person options.

For more information on each, see below.

Diversion Ditch Meeting

The Kingwood Diversion Ditch runs down the western side of Kingwood from St. Martha’s Catholic Church to Deer Ridge and River Grove Parks. Along the way, it crosses under Northpark Drive, Kingwood Drive, Walnut Lane and Deer Ridge Estates bridges. Affected homeowner and business associations include:

  • Kingwood Place Commercial
  • Northpark Place Commercial
  • North and South Woodland Hills
  • Kings Mill
  • Kings Manor
  • Trailwood
  • Forest Cove
  • Barrington
  • Deer Ridge Estates

Friendswood originally built the Diversion Ditch to take pressure off Bens Branch, hence the Ditch’s name. Ben’s Branch angles diagonally through Kingwood from St. Martha’s Catholic Churches (old and new), past Kingwood High School and Town Center. It reaches the river between Kings Harbor and Fosters Mill.

The Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch are connected, so one affects the other. Together, they affect half of Kingwood.

Bens Branch shown in red. Diversion Ditch is white. Green is proposed outfall into San Jacinto West Fork

The Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis listed improvements to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch as the most important flood-mitigation project in Kingwood. It affects more people than any other drainage project in the area.

HCFCD’s proposed project alternative recommends:

  • Channel conveyance improvements
  • A diversion structure at the intersection of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch to divert stormwater into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch
  • Bridge replacements at Kingwood Drive, Walnut Lane, Deer Ridge Estates Boulevard and the pedestrian bridge at Lake Village Drive
  • A new outfall to the West Fork San Jacinto River

Here is HCFCD’s press release on the meeting. The virtual community engagement meeting will be held on:

March 6, 2024
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Join online at: PublicInput.com/Kingwood2
Or by phone* at 855-925-2801 with Meeting Code: 6701

Even if you are unable to attend the live meeting, residents are encouraged to register for the meeting to receive future project updates. A recorded version of the meeting will be available on the Flood Control District’s website and YouTube channel after the event.

To provide comments, fill out the comment form online at www.hcfcd.org/F-14.

Northpark Drive Expansion Phase II Meeting

TxDOT, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA) and the City of Houston Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone (TIRZ) 10 are soliciting public comments for the next phase of the Northpark Drive Expansion Project.

Phase II will run from slightly west of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to slightly east of Woodland Hills Drive. Part of the mile-long project falls in Montgomery County and part in Harris County.

The purpose of the project is to address current and increasing traffic congestion. Utility and drainage features will also be upgraded.

And to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, the project will include a new pedestrian underpass and 10-foot wide sidewalks that connect to the Kingwood trail system.

The TxDOT announcement provides a few of the details:

  • To improve commute times, the roadway will expand to three lanes in each direction and include turn lanes.
  • To improve safety, lane width will also increase.
  • The proposed reconstruction will include new signals at the Woodland Hills Drive and Hidden Pines Drive.
  • To improve drainage and make Northpark passable in high water events so Kingwood residents have an all-weather evacuation route.

TxDOT does not anticipate impacting any home or business structures at this time. But strips of property that front on the roadway will need to be acquired. For additional details, see this TxDOT page or a schematic drawing on this LHRA page.

Portion of Northpark Phase II through the Northpark Place Commercial Association. Purple represents additional right of way that will need to be acquired.

Don’t miss this meeting, especially if you live, work or go to school in the northern part of Kingwood.

Thursday, March 7, 2024
from 5-7 p.m.
Kingwood Park Community Center
4102 Rustic Woods Dr.
Kingwood, TX 77345

You can provide public comments by mail or email:

All comments on Northpark Phase II must be received or postmarked by Friday, March 22, 2024.

I’ll cover both of these meetings and provide reminders as the dates approach. Your feedback is important. If you have concerns about the plans, these meetings are the time and place to voice them.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/24/24

2370 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Save the Date: Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) will hold a Virtual Community-Engagement Meeting for the Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis project: 10/20 at 6:30 PM.

Study Purpose

The purpose: to inform residents about the status of the project and share findings to date.

The Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis focuses on “evaluating the existing drainage level of service for the 32.3-mile open channel network within the greater Kingwood area and identifying the drainage infrastructure which will improve the network’s level of service.” 

What That Means

The San Jacinto River Master Drainage Study examined the major streams around Kingwood. But this study examined every stream and ditch within Kingwood. From Taylor Gully, Ben’s Branch and the Diversion Ditch on down to the smallest ones.

When originally constructed, engineers designed ditches to convey a 100-year rain without flooding homes or businesses. However, over time, many have filled in with sediment – often so gradually, the process is invisible. Such ditches may need cleaning out. See below.

Ditch between Valley Manor and Twin Grove where it goes under Kingwood Drive. Capacity dramatically reduced by sedimentation and vegetation. Photo courtesy of Chris Bloch.

Also, new upstream development, such as Woodridge Forest and Woodridge Village, may be contributing additional stormwater to ditches during heavy rains. So those ditches may need expansion.

Instead of being able to safely convey a 100-year rain, ditches now might only be able to convey, for example, a 25- or 50-year rain because of such factors.

“Identifying drainage infrastructure which will improve the network’s level of service” means “figuring out what it will take to make them safely convey a 100-year rain again.”

Partially Funded by Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority

The Flood Control District has entered an interlocal agreement with the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (TIRZ 10) to partially fund this drainage study. Bonds approved by Harris County voters on August 25, 2018, have funded the rest.

Public Participation Important

Community engagement is an important component of the Bond Program. You live here. You know where the problems are and how high water gets. Your participation is necessary to ensure your safety. Speak up now BEFORE HCFCD begins implementing the program.

If you know of a problem HCFCD is not addressing, you need to tell them.

The virtual Community-Engagement Meeting will be held on: 

  • Tuesday, October 20, 2020 
  • 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Join online at PublicInput.com/Kingwood
  • Or by phone at 855-925-2801 with Meeting Code: 9541

Meeting Format and Other Details

The meeting will begin with a brief presentation to share project updates, followed by a moderated Q&A session with Flood Control District team members. 

You can submit questions and comments throughout the presentation. Any comments not addressed during the Q&A session will receive a response after the event.

A recorded version of the meeting will be available on the Flood Control District’s website and YouTube channel after the event. 

Meeting accommodations can be made for those with disabilities. If needed, please contact 346-286-4152 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

The Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis Technical Report Executive Summary will be available online prior to the October 20, 2020, Community Engagement Meeting at www.hcfcd.org/F14.

For questions, please contact the Flood Control District at 346-286-4000, or fill out the comment form online at www.hcfcd.org/F14.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/7/2020

1135 Days after Hurricane Harvey