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TCEQ Approves SJRA and City Plan to Temporarily Lower Lake Conroe

This morning, I received a press release announcing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) had approved the joint decision by the City of Houston and the San Jacinto River Authority to temporarily lower the level of Lake Conroe during the peak of hurricane season. The lake will be lowered by two feet from 201 mean feet about sea level (msl) to 199 msl between mid-August and the end of September. This will provide buffer against flooding while the Army Corps of Engineers removes excess sediment from the West Fork deposited by Hurricane Harvey that is exacerbating flooding. Because this has legal implications and the Lake Conroe Association fought the lowering, I’m reprinting the entire text of the press release below…with special thanks to Houston City Council Member Dave Martin, Mayor Sylvester Turner, and SJRA Board Members Kaaren Cambio and Mark Micheletti who lobbied long and hard for this. Also to all the Lake Houston and Lake Conroe residents who made the trek to testify about this issue to the SJRA board.

Text of Press Release

CITY AND SJRA RECEIVE APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TEMPORARY FLOOD MITIGATION PROPOSAL FOR LAKE HOUSTON AND LAKE CONROE

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will use “enforcement discretion” if flood mitigation releases for Lake Houston and Lake Conroe exceed annual water rights

HOUSTON, TEXAS – Hurricane Harvey deposited tremendous amounts of silt in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. The silt physically changed the river’s ability to safely pass flows during storms and created the need for a significant dredging project to restore the river’s capacity. As a temporary flood mitigation solution, the City of Houston and the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) proposed a temporary, joint reservoir operations strategy for Lake Houston and Lake Conroe. The temporary flood mitigation would be in place for up to two years or until the dredging project is completed.

The proposed strategy involves the pre-release of water from Lake Houston immediately prior to certain storms and the seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe’s water level during the Spring and Fall.

A significant hurdle to final consideration of the proposed temporary strategy was a decision by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on how releases of water from the two reservoirs would be “accounted for” by the state. TCEQ issues permits that limit how much water can be diverted each year from water supply reservoirs like Lake Houston and Lake Conroe.

The proposal from Houston and SJRA highlights the difficulty of balancing the state’s long-term need for reliable water supplies with the short-term goal of protecting public health and safety while emergency measures are implemented to reduce flood risks.

In a letter to the City of Houston and SJRA on Friday, June 15, 2018, the TCEQ expressed its intent to use enforcement discretion to allow the two agencies to move forward with finalizing their temporary flood mitigation strategy.

The letter states that “if flood mitigation releases . . . result in an exceedance of the annual permitted amounts for diversion or release by SJRA of the City of Houston, the TCEQ Executive Director will exercise enforcement discretion with respect to such exceedance.” The TCEQ’s decision acknowledges the importance of accounting for all diversions from the state’s water supply reservoirs, but it also recognizes the emergency nature of the flood mitigation work being conducted in the San Jacinto River.

The City of Houston and SJRA express their sincere appreciation to the leadership and staff at the TCEQ for their thoughtful consideration of the unique flood challenges that our region is facing. We look forward to finalizing the details of our proposed joint reservoir operations strategy. Additional details on the project including a timeline will be provided as they become available.

ABOUT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS

Houston Public Works (www.HoustonPublicWorks.org) is responsible for streets and drainage, production and distribution of water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and permitting and regulation of public and private construction covering a 627-square mile service area. Houston Public Works is accredited by the American Public Works Association. Facebook & Twitter:@HoustonPWE

ABOUT SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY

Created by the Texas Legislature in 1937, the San Jacinto River Authority is a government agency whose mission is to develop, conserve, and protect the water resources of the San Jacinto River basin. Covering all or part of seven counties, the organization’s jurisdiction includes the entire San Jacinto River watershed, excluding Harris County. SJRA is one of two dozen river authorities in Texas, and like other river authorities, its primary purpose is to implement long-term, regional projects related to water management and development. For more information, visit www.sjra.net.

Surprise in Final Harvey Report

Yesterday, I published on this website the 32-page Final Hurricane Harvey Flood Report from Harris County Flood Control. Today someone asked me, “What was the biggest surprise in it?” Talk about pressure! Harris County packed lots of meat into those 32 pages! I pondered the question all morning and connected the following dots.

Five Times the Average Flow of Niagra Falls

For me, the biggest surprises were the volume of water going over the Lake Houston Dam and where it came from. At the peak of the storm, the amount of water going over the dam exceeded the volume ofNiagra Falls on an average day by 5X. The final figures actually show more water than previously thought going over the spillway: 491,800 cubic feet per second (cfs) vs. 450,000 cfs previously estimated, an increase of almost 10 percent.

More Flow From East Fork than West

When you look at where all that water came from, there was another surprise. More came from the East Fork than the West! See page 12.

In the East Fork numbers, include Peach Creek, Caney Creek and Luce Bayou; In the West Fork numbers, include Spring Creek and Cypress Creek.

One Third of West Fork Flow Came From Lake Conroe Dam Release

Roughly 240,000 cfs came down the West Fork. Seventy-nine thousand cfs came from the release at the Lake Conroe Dam, according to SJRA estimates. So ONE THIRD of the water coming down the West Fork at its peak was from the release. That’s important for the following reason.

Previously, SJRA indicated the Conroe release was approximately 15 percent of all the water going into Lake Houston. While technically true, this observation clouds the picture of what happened on the West Fork. The West Fork sustained 2.5x more damage than the East Fork and the main body of the lake COMBINED. (See Page 14). Survivor interviews suggest that much of that damage did not happen until the release from Lake Conroe!

Conclusion: Multiple Mitigation Measures Needed

That extra 79,000 cfs underscores the need to:

Temporarily lower the level of Lake Conroe during the peak of hurricane season
Enhance the carrying capacity and velocity of the West Fork through dredging
Add upstream retention that helps offset Lake Conroe releases
Add flood gates to Lake Houston.

The last item would increase the release rate of the Lake Houston dam during a major storm. The additional discharge capacity of the ten gates proposed by Mayor Turner could easily equal the 80,000 cfs discharged from Lake Conroe, eliminating a bottleneck on the river.

Of course, if we get another Harvey, many people will flood. No surprise there. But these measures should help reduce the damage, and perhaps eliminate it when we have smaller events, such as the Tax and Memorial Day Floods of 2015 and 2016.

Posted 6/5/2018 by Bob Rehak

280 Days since Hurricane Harvey

FloodWarn Workshop Presentations Now Online

If you missed the FloodWarn Workshop at Kingwood College on 5/1/18, you missed a lot of helpful information. All four FloodWarn Workshop presentations are now posted in one PDF in the reports section of this web site or via this link.

National Weather Service

Rainfall during Hurricane Harvey

Katie Landry-Guyton, Senior Service Hydrologist/Meteorologist from the National Weather Service-Houston/Galveston office, talked about various types of floods, then focused on river flooding. She discussed the various types of forecasts and warnings NWS has to help you understand levels of risk. She also discussed details of how NWS formulates forecasts. For weather wonks and flood victims, it’s a must-see.

Harris County Flood Control

Jeff Lindner, Meteorologist/Director, Hydrologic Operations Division of the Harris County Flood Control District then discussed the hydrology of Harris County. Within this context, he addressed four types of floodplains in the county, the District’s flood warning system (FWS), inundation mapping/ forecasting down to the street level, and expansion of the District’s gage network.

San Jacinto River Authority

Jace Houston, General Manager of the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA), talked about the dam operations at Lake Conroe. Specifically, he explained how they made the decision to start releasing water during Harvey. Houston also introduced the SJRA’s new regional flood management initiative.

FEMA

Rounding out the evening, Diane Cooper of FEMA Floodplain Management and Insurance. Cooper, who has posted several times on this blog, is a Kingwood resident. She focused on flood risk, hazard mapping and flood insurance.

Among the surprising facts cited:

The National Flood Insurance Program processed 26,511 claims as a result of Harvey.
55.2% of those claims came from OUTSIDE of the 100 year flood plain.
Only 17% of Houstonians had flood insurance (about 1 in 6)
30,500 structures were in the 1% risk area (100 year flood plain)
29,000 structure were in the 0.2% risk area (500 year flood plain)
City-wide, Harvey impacted approximately 150,000 structures
That means that more structures were impacted outside the 0.2% Risk Area than inside, approximately 90,000.

Cooper cited this last point as the reason why everyone should have flood insurance whether they are officially in the flood plain or not. This was a common theme all night among all four presenters.

They also pointed out that not all flooding comes from rivers. Much flooding comes from streets. Streets in Kingwood are designed as part of the flood retention system. They can deliver approximately two inches of rainfall per hour through the storm drains to the ditches. When the rainfall rate exceeds that, drains will back up into streets and release the water slowly so as not to overwhelm the ditches.

Moral of the story: even if you’re nowhere near the river or a drainage ditch, you can still flood from your street and, therefore, need flood flood insurance.

For more interesting tidbits, download and review all four FloodWarn Workshop Presentations.

Posted May 2, 2018

246 Days Since Hurricane Harvey

Want Lake Conroe Lowered? Stay Involved!

Last Thursday, the SJRA board voted unanimously to temporarily lower the level of Lake Conroe between one and two feet during peak flood months. Great news…if you live in the Lake Houston area.

Residents downstream of the dam applauded the move; upstream residents had concerns. On Friday, the Conroe Courier ran an article about the lowering. Not quite half of the 1300 word article discussed the efforts of two Lake Conroe homeowners who were organizing protests and letter writing campaigns against lowering the level of the lake.

The article did not quote any of the Kingwood residents who trekked to Lake Conroe to speak in favor of the motion. Nor did it mention any of the ongoing downstream recovery efforts. Thus, it left the impression that Lake Conroe boat owners were being inconvenienced without cause.

I felt the article deserved a response, so I wrote a letter to the editor which, thankfully, they published Monday night. It describes why a temporary lowering of Lake Conroe is our only defense against flooding for the moment. Until such time as the San Jacinto is dredged to restore its carrying capacity and more flood gates can be added to Lake Houston, we need an additional buffer against flooding. Lowering Lake Conroe is the quickest, easiest way to provide that.

It’s important that Montgomery County residents understand the privations that Harris County residents still live with because of Harvey. It’s also important that we work together to protect lives, livelihoods and property on both sides of the Lake Conroe Dam.

We should not be enemies in the recovery effort. Together, our voices are stronger. We can bring about change faster. All of our lives can return to normal sooner.

Here’s the original Conroe Courier article.

Here’s my letter to the editor that tries to put the motion in perspective and build bridges to Lake Conroe homeowners.

It’s important for Lake Houston Area residents to understand that lowering the level of Lake Conroe is not a sealed deal yet. Both the City of Houston, which owns two-thirds of the water in the lake, and the TCEQ, which oversees how water in the lake is accounted for, must both approve the SJRA Board’s motion. Until that happens, Lake Houston area residents must remain vigilant and involved. Take nothing for granted.

Posted by Bob Rehak

May 1, 2018, 245 Days Since Hurricane Harvey

DON’T FORGET FLOOD WORKSHOP TONIGHT!

PLEASE COME!

FLOODWARN WORKSHOP
MAY 1, 6:30-8:30 PM
KINGWOOD COLLEGE
20,000 KINGWOOD DRIVE
MUSIC BUILDING, ROOM 117
CLOSEST PARKING IS LOT G
HOSTED BY NWS, FEMA, HCFCD, SJRA

TONIGHT, May 1st at 6:30-8:30 p.m., The National Weather Service (NWS), Harris County Flood Control, and FEMA, and the San Jacinto River Authority are hosting a FloodWarn Workshop. They will talk about the types of flooding we see in the Kingwood/Humble area, the watersheds, forecasts, warnings, flood risks, and flood insurance.

Giant sand dunes like this one where the West Fork meets Lake Houston inhibit the flow of the river. Engineers say that sediment is not being carried out into Lake Houston (background) as expected. Areas behind these dunes experienced massive flooding during Harvey.

Organizers hope the event will help people in the Lake Houston Area better understand what goes into forecasts. They will also address their limitations, the risks associated with severe events, and actions to take in response to various types of warnings.

The NWS has posted the event on its Facebook page: The event is free and open to the public at Lone Star College – Kingwood at 20,000 Kingwood Dr., Kingwood, TX.

The National Weather Service provides forecasts and river flood warnings for the river gage at the San Jacinto River at Humble. Based on the readings there and elsewhere, the Weather Service forecasts “flood impacts.”

Flood impacts identify what structures, roads, bridges, etc. will flood when the river reaches a specific level. These impacts drive the establishment of the flood categories of Minor, Moderate and Major.

This FloodWarn workshop will be our opportunity to share our flooding concerns with the National Weather Service. If impacts need to be modified or updated, this is the community’s opportunity to provide that feedback.

Plan to attend. Make sure the NWS knows how important accurate and advanced warning forecasts are to you. With accurate forecasts we can be prepared for the next flood.

Three New SJRA Flood-Management Actions

SJRA Flood Gate at Lake Conroe

In a motion approved at its 4/26/2018 board meeting, the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) officially entered the flood management business. The SJRA board also introduced the man, Chuck Gilman, who will head its new Flood Management Division. In a third major decision, the SJRA board voted to seasonally lower the level of Lake Conroe to help provide a larger buffer against future flooding.

New SJRA Flood Management Division Established

The SJRA board tasked its new flood management division with identifying “projects and other actions that may be undertaken by the Authority to address flood events along the San Jacinto River and protect the lives and property of Texans living within the watershed.” The FloodManagement Division will also identify sources of funding for such projects and implement them. The SJRA Flood Management Division will examine both immediate and long-term solutions that address flooding along the San Jacinto.

The SJRA has already begun work on an area-wide study of such possibilities. They include, according to board members, additional detention, more gages to enhance flood warning capabilities farther upstream, and a new system to help predict when floods will crest at various places within the watershed.

Chuck Gilman named new Director of Flood Management

Charles R. “Chuck” Gilman, Jr., P.E., will head the new division as Director of Flood Management. Gilman has more than 20 years of experience in civil engineering.

“We are extremely pleased to be adding someone of Chuck’s caliber and experience,” noted Jace Houston, SJRA’s general manager.

Jason Stuebe, Humble city manager, agreed with Houston’s assessment. “I think he will really understand the flooding issues facing our region and be able to help develop meaningful solutions.”

Before joining the SJRA, Gilman served as Deputy Chief Manager of the City of College Station and Interim City Manager. During his time at College Station, he also served as the Assistant Director of Water Services, Director of Capital Projects, and Director of Public Works. His administrative expertise pertains to utilities, transportation, drainage, emergency planning and response, planning and zoning, and legislative and governmental affairs.

Gilman is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and holds a Project Management Professional Certification from the Project Management Institute.

Seasonal Lowering of Lake Conroe

At its 4/26/2018 meeting, the SJRA Board also voted to temporarily lower Lake Conroe on a seasonal basis. Lowering the lake will help comply with Governor Abbott’s directive to minimize downstream flooding.

Said Mark Micheletti, one of the two new SJRA board members from Kingwood, “This is major initiative and it will provide temporary relief until permanent solutions are in place.”

Normally, the SJRA maintains the level of Lake Conroe at 201 feet above mean sea level (MSL).The board voted to lower Lake Conroe by one foot to 200 MSL from April 1 through May 31. The board also voted to lower the lake between August and October, the peak of hurricane season. Lowering would start on August 1, with a target of 200 MSL. SJRA would lower it another foot – to 199 MSL – between September 1 and October 31. It is unclear at this time whether additional rain that fell in late October would be released or whether it would be retained to begin bringing the lake back up to its normal level.

In summary, this keeps the lake one foot below normal in the spring, one foot below normal during August and an average of two feet below normal for most of September and October. This plan will be reviewed annually in February to make adjustments as needed.

At the Board Meeting, four Kingwood residents and a representative of the Lake Conroe Area Homeowners Association, all spoke in favor of temporary seasonal adjustments to the lake level as a way to mitigate flooding.

Not Yet a Done Deal

Kaaren Cambio, the other new SJRA board member from Kingwood, said, “The plan is contingent on approval from other bodies. The TCEQ must allow an exception for the diversion of water and the City of Houston will need to approve this initiative. Nevertheless, until permanent measures can be implemented, winning the SJRA board’s approval to lower the lake is a major step in the right direction.”

By Bob Rehak

Posted April 27, 2018, 241 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Montgomery County, Harris County Flood Control and SJRA Working on Funding Agreement for Flood Control

(April 17, 2018) Montgomery County, Harris County Flood Control District and the San Jacinto River Authority are finalizing an agreement for a $2.5 million study that will improve the region’s flood notification capabilities and identify specific flood control projects.

The Harris County Flood Control District submitted the grant application to the Texas Division of Emergency Management on April 16^th.

Thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott, up to $1.875 million in federal funds could be allocated for the study if the grant is awarded through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. It requires a 25 percent match; if the full $2.5 million is received, the local match would be $625,000. Montgomery county, SJRA and Harris County Flood Control would share that matching cost.

“With this study we will gain a better knowledge of our Montgomery County streams and watersheds, a more complete flood warning system, and the ability to identify specific projects that could reduce the risk of flooding in the future,” Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said.

Where Water Came From During Harvey

The goals of the study are to:

Prepare a plan to integrate flood warning information from HCFCD, SJRA, MCO, and COH into a shared system that can be utilized by all parties to make informed decisions; it includes expanding the flood warning system network.
Coordinate with flood responders including Harris County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Montgomery County OEM, SJRA, City of Houston, and potentially others, such as the Harris County Flood Control District’s Hydrologic Operations Department, to develop a consistent communications protocol and action plan.
Recommend strategies to reduce flood risk and prepare a plan to implement the recommendations. Flood damage reduction options will likely include large regional detention ponds, channel improvements, vegetation and sedimentation removal, and property buy-outs.
Develop programs and/or materials that educate the decision makers and the public on the extent of the San Jacinto River Basin, general drainage patterns, maintenance programs for the San Jacinto River and its tributaries, potential flood reduction projects, and information relating to major flooding in the San Jacinto River watershed.

The proposed study would examine the entire San Jacinto River watershed, including Cypress Creek, Spring Creek, Peach Creek, Caney Creek, Lake Creek, the east and west forks of the San Jacinto and others. Review the scope of the project here.

If this cooperative project gets underway soon, it will mean that survey work on the East Fork of the San Jacinto can begin while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges the West Fork between I-69 and Lake Houston. Concurrent work will speed up flood mitigation.

Posted April 20, 2018, 234 Days Since Hurricane Harvey