After Hurricane Harvey, when the Army Corps established its San Jacinto West Fork dredging program, the Corps used an old sand pit off Hamblen Blvd. East in Humble to store the spoils.

Before, During, After, Now Photos

A regular reader emailed me about a large volume of truck activity in the area recently. So I went there today to see what I could see. The pond was half empty again. The mystery deepened. Were they taking dirt out or putting it in?

Trucks Filling Pond Again, Not Emptying It

Closer inspection showed that dozens of dump trucks were depositing dirt. That deepened the mystery even more. How did the pond get half empty with trucks dumping more dirt into it?

A gentleman drove up and engaged me in conversation as I was landing my drone. He introduced himself as the owner of the property and said that a private contractor bought the dirt left by the Corps, thus emptying the pit again.

No Intent to Build Here

I asked if he intended to build on the newly filled area and he said “no.” I also pumped him for information about where the dirt was coming from, but didn’t get anything definitive.

When I took these photos, it was the end of the workday. Trucks were scattering in all directions. The City did not immediately return calls or emails about next steps in its dredging program, if that’s where the dirt came from.

The good news for now: it appears we won’t have more building in the floodplain in this area. More news to follow when I get it.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/26/23 with thanks for the heads up from Eric Hayes

2066 Days since Hurricane Harvey