Tag Archive for: Stewart Consulting

Bens Branch Clean-out North of Kingwood Drive Already 40% Complete

As of this morning, Stuart Consulting Group (a project manager for Harris County Flood Control) estimates that clean-out of Bens Branch between Kingwood Drive and Rocky Woods Drive is 40% complete.

1500 Feet Complete from Upstream Starting Point

According to Jose Pedraza who works for Stuart Consulting, the contractor began work at the upstream/Rocky Woods Drive end of the site and is moving downstream. So far, they have completed about 1500 linear feet of work on both sides of the stream.

At the start of the project, surveyors found that accumulated sediment had severely constricted the conveyance of the channel.

Ben’s Branch at start of project in January. The area between the red lines filled with sediment since Friendswood first constructed the ditch in the 1970s.
Looking south from between Rocky Woods and Valley Way Drive. This is how the section above looks today from a drone. Photo taken 3/13/2021. Note Kingwood High School in upper right.
Farther downstream, looking east toward Kingwood Town Center in background. Contractors have just started working on this reach of the stream.
Looking back upstream toward the west and Kingwood High School, you can see same reach from the opposite direction.

Work to Date Has Included…

So far, the contractor has:

  • Conducted excavation and off-site disposal
  • Installed import fill, 3×5 granular fill, and grade 1 riprap
  • Graded channel side slopes on both sides of the channel for 1500 linear feet.

Expected Completion by July 4 or Earlier

Due to weather and other small delays, projected duration of the job increased from 150 to 168 days. Expected completion was extended to July 4, 2021. However, based on recent on-site inspection reports, work is now moving faster. So, with luck, the finish date may be pushed forward into June once more.

Preserving Property, Tax Dollars

Homes on both sides of this stream flooded during Harvey. So did Kingwood High School. The building flooded to the second floor. It suffered $67 million dollars in damages and lost another $10 million in contents.

Hopefully, this project will reduce flood risk. Conveyance of the channel had been reduced from a 100-year level of service to a 2-year level in some places. A 2-year level of service means that the creek will flood in a 2-year rain. The goal of this project is to restore the channel to its original conveyance capacity. That includes straightening, widening and deepening clogged parts of the channel.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/15/2021

1294 Days after Hurricane Harvey