Stormwater Detention Basins Archives

Harris County Changes Proposed Project Lists for HUD Funding

In a transmittal to Harris County Commissioners Court today, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) updated commissioners on how it hopes to spend $863 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds.

Two projects in the Kingwood Area remain funding priorities: Taylor Gully Channel Improvements and Woodridge Village Stormwater Detention. However, the stormwater detention, currently listed as an alternate backup project, is being split up into two smaller projects to help improve funding chances for the most critical component. See more details below.

Ins and Outs of Funding

The HUD money comes in two “buckets” with different requirements – Disaster Relief ($322 million) and Mitigation ($541 million). Both buckets fall under HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). CDBG’s flexibility lets people and communities design and implement strategies tailored to their own needs and priorities.

When I last reported on the CDBG lists, the Lake Houston Area had one project in each bucket.

In Disaster Relief, the Woodridge Village Stormwater Detention Basin was “below the line.” That means it was an alternate on the backup list; a primary project would have had to have been canceled for it to receive funding.
In Mitigation, Taylor Gully Improvements were above the line, i.e., primary recommendations.

*Extent of Woodridge excavation when paused before applying to HUD*

Changes Outlined in Transmittal

The latest updated project lists feature five main changes. They affect both Lake Houston Area projects. But first, let me explain the others that are changing, because their financial impact affects everything else.

HCFCD:

Deleted the Riggs Road Stormwater Detention Basin (Part 2) from the recommended DR list, saving $6.5 million.
Transferred the Boudreaux Basin (Phase 1) from the DR list to Mitigation, so that it could benefit from the longer timeline for Mitigation projects. This project is between Willow Creek and SH99 at Huffsmith Kohrville Road. The transfer will free up another $38.6 million on the DR list.
Moved an East TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin from the mitigation list to the DR list. This put $23.8 million back on the DR list.
Removed the Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin from the mitigation list without transferring it to DR.

Thus, you would think approximately $21.3 million was freed up on the DR list. That would theoretically let the Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin move up from “below the funding line.” However, it remains below…at least for now.

Moreover the Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basin has morphed into two projects. One provides the detention required to help mitigate Taylor Gully now. The other provides an extra safety margin as a hedge against future developments.

Splitting the detention up into two smaller pieces gives HCFCD more flexibility and greater confidence that the most important part will get funded.

The Woodridge/Taylor Gully discussion in the document is a bit confusing unless you speak HUD.

Amy Crouser, an HCFCD spokesperson provided this translation. Regarding the two DR detention projects, she said that the detention basin which HCFCD already began excavating (and which they paused in November 2023) remains the top priority.

“The second basin will provide additional regional stormwater detention. Splitting the project helps us ensure the compartment of the Woodridge basin that mitigates Taylor Gully can move forward,” said Crouser.

She concluded, “The ultimate goal is to eventually construct both compartments. This follows our traditional rationale for phasing projects when possible and practicable. Both compartments will be advanced to bid-ready state using local dollars. That will give us the maximum flexibility to advance the projects.”

For More Information

This HCFCD document titled CDBG Program Financial Planning & Performance Management, lays out all the costs, restrictions, deadlines and accountabilities related to all the projects on each list.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/23/24

2429 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Trammell Crow Contractors Expanding Stormwater Detention Basin

After a wet winter that saw sediment carried offsite by stormwater on multiple occasions, contractors are finally installing stormwater drainage on Phase II of the troubled Trammell Crow apartment complex on West Lake Houston Parkway and Kings Park Way.

Aerial photos taken on 03/18/24 show order gradually emerging out of apparent chaos on a construction site piled high with mountains of dirt and pockmarked with giant holes, even as contractors lay drain pipe, pour concrete and begin expanding the Phase I Stormwater Detention Basin. See below.

*Looking S at Phase II of Trammell Crow’s High Street Residential Apartment Complex on West Lake Houston Parkway.*

In the photo above note now the excavator is shaving down the bank of the Trammell Crow Phase I detention basin (foreground).

Expansion of Detention Basin

Plans show that both phases of the 11-foot deep, apartment-complex detention basin will comprise 36.99 acre feet. They also show that the total size of the development is approximately 32.4 acres. That exceeds the minimum requirement of .65 acre feet of detention per acre required by Harris County Flood Control.

*Note extension of detention basin past dotted line and how it corresponds to excavation in photo above.* *Phase I on left, Phase II on right.*

Elsewhere on the Trammell Crow site, contractors are busy installing drainage.

*The corner that flooded so badly last January* *and February, leading to citations from Harris County Engineering.*

After the run-in with Harris County Engineering, the developer was later caught pumping silty stormwater into the street on a Sunday, when inspectors would likely be off work.

Regardless, there have been no floods since, giving contractors time to move forward.

*Father north, contractors are busy prepping and pouring foundations for the apartments.*

*Freshly poured concrete. Notice men smoothing and compacting it.*

At this time, long-range weather forecasts show no major storm fronts for the remainder of the month. That may give Trammell Crow contractors a window to avert more disastrous drainage delays.

Stormwater is the enemy of construction. That’s why most contractors plan for it upfront, rather than trying to deal with it after the fact.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/18/24

2393 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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

Batches 1 and 2 of Cypress Creek Major-Maintenance Projects Completed, More to Come

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has essentially completed Batches 1 and 2 of Cypress Creek major maintenance projects, according to District spokesperson Karen Hastings. On 9/12/22, I photographed the freshly repaired and reseeded channel K131-00-00 (Spring Gully) at Cypresswood Drive, one of the last projects in Batch #1. See the pictures below.

*Looking NW at K131-00-00 (Spring Gully) across Cypresswood Drive in foreground. Location is about a block west of TC Jester.*

Such projects typically involve desilting. That involves removing accumulated sediment that reduces the conveyance of the channel.

*Same tributary from a vantage point a little farther upstream.* *Looking NW.*

*At the split, you can see that repairs extend farther upstream.* Spring Gully goes toward the right; Theiss Gully to the left.

Even though maintenance on Spring Gully may be complete for the time being, additional projects are in the works to provide even more flood relief to the area.

TC Jester Stormwater Detention Basin

Among them is the capital improvement project below. Note the two red ovals in the photo. They loosely represent the locations of what will become two large detention basins on either side of TC Jester.

*Looking SE across Cypresswood Drive. TC Jester cuts across Cypresswood in the upper left and continues S between the circles.*

E&R Contract

E&R stands for Excavation and Removal. HCFCD has owned this property and the property across TC Jester for years. Knowing that someday a detention pond would be built here, HCFCD entered into an E&R contract with a dirt company. Such contracts give dirt companies the right to excavate the dirt and haul it away for pennies a truckload. The company then makes its money by selling the dirt at market rates.

Such contracts also create a quadruple-win situation.

Taxpayers get dirt removed virtually for free.
HCFCD gets a head start on excavation.
The hauling company reduces its costs.
Home- and road-builders reduce their costs.

The main restriction: excavated dirt must be taken outside of the floodplain.

The main drawback: If the market slows, so does excavation.

This contract is very similar, if not identical to the one with Sprint Sand & Clay on the Woodridge Village property in Montgomery County. There, HCFCD hopes to more than double the stormwater detention capacity on the site.

Crenshaw Earmark Will Accelerate Construction

U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw obtained a $9.9 million earmark earlier this year to help build a stormwater detention basin near TC Jester.

Crenshaw is also seeking another $15 million next year to expand stormwater detention basin capacity in the area.

*Area shown in photo above with E&R contract is approximately 40 acres.* *HCAD has owned this since 2003.*

*Area east of TC Jester is almost 100 acres.* *HCAD has owned this since 2015.* *First phase of expansion will include light blue area.*

Together, the projects will mitigate the risk of future riverine flooding by providing a safe place to temporarily store stormwater runoff. That will reduce both the size of the floodplain and the water level within it.

Every cubic yard of dirt removed creates room for a cubic yard of stormwater runoff.

Crenshaw and HCFCD say that approximately 2689 structures are located nearby in the existing 100-year floodplain. The proposed detention basin east of TC Jester could reduce stormwater elevations in a 100-year storm by half a foot. The first phase will remove 87 structures from the 100-year floodplain. When complete, the full detention basin will remove 271 structures from the existing floodplain.

Spending this money now should save money in the long run – money that would otherwise go to more costly post-disaster recovery programs.

*Looking east over TC Jester toward area where HCFCD will build first phase of first detention basin.* *Photo taken 7/24/21.*

More Major Maintenance and Capital Items

In addition to that, HCFCD just started its third batch of major maintenance projects in the Cypress Creek Watershed. HCFCD also expects a fourth and fifth batch. Altogether, HCFCD built $60 million into the 2018 flood bond for Cypress Creek maintenance projects. (See Project CI-012).

Separately, Crenshaw has also requested another $8.25 million to begin building the planned Westador Stormwater Detention Basin farther east along Cypress Creek at Ella Blvd.

None of these projects will provide an instant fix for the entire Cypress Creek watershed. But together they will reduce risk in areas along it.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/15/22

1843 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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