West Fork dredging Archives

May 2025 San Jacinto West Fork Dredging Update

5/1/2025 – My last dredging update was in April. So it’s time for another.

Judging by aerial photos, Callan Marine seems to be making steady progress in its San Jacinto West Fork dredging program for the City of Houston. The dredge has moved farther downstream. And the placement area in Huffman next to the Luce Bayou Inter-Basin Transfer Canal is filling up.

The Story in Pictures

dredge-plan for west fork — *In April, the dredge was located west of #4. Yesterday it ws working between #4 and #5.*

*Looking S toward Lake Houston from above West Fork. Note dredge in distance near tip of Kings Point (left).*

Closer shot shows dredge pipe that pumps spoils to placement area far upstream.

*Men worked on the giant dredge bit as I photographed the scene.*

*From there, spoils travel 3.8 miles to the placement area up Luce Bayou near the Inter-Basin Transfer Canal.*

*West Fork Dredging Spoils Placement Area near Luce IBT Canal (left)*. *Pipe near tree line on left brings water/sediment from lake.*

*Reverse angle shows compartments in maze that slows down incoming water. As water slows, sediment drops out of suspension. Eventually, this will form a base strong and high enough to build homes on.*

*Already, parts of the placement area are solid enough to support heavy equipment.* *The area shown above on the left has reached the height of the dike walls.*

Note how the workers are building out and into the placement area in two directions. They adjust the length and position of the pipes to concentrate the flow where they want to build up the earth. From there, the bulldozers and excavators help compact the material into a solid foundation for beneficial use.

*This image shows the height of the sediment relative to the walls of the pond. Several vertical feet remain in most of the placement area.*

*After most of the sediment has dropped out of suspension, water returns to the lake via the temporary canal (center).*

Status of Cunningham’s Dredging Bill in Austin

Since Hurricane Harvey, we’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars on dredging to play catch up from decades of neglect.

Moving sediment deposited in Lake Houston by erosion is a massive, but necessary project. The lake supplies water for more than 2 million people and has already lost a large percentage of its storage capacity.

That’s why House Bill 1532 by Rep. Charles Cunningham is so important. The bill would create a permanent dredging and maintenance district for the lake.

Dredging also reduces flood risk by restoring conveyance and eliminating sediment blockages.

On April 29, 2025, the House approved HB1532 overwhelmingly. 114 representatives voted for it. 19 voted against. Two voted Present. And one abstained.

Yesterday, the bill moved to the Senate on its slalom through the legislature. You may want to urge Sen. Brandon Creighton to support it.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/1/25

2802 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New West Fork Dredging Program Off to Fast Start

1/15/25 – The City of Houston’s latest West Fork Dredging Program appears to be off to a fast start. Dredging began about a month ago and has already filled up approximately 10 percent of the placement area. The program was originally estimated to last two years.

Before it’s all over, Callan Marine, the contractor, will dredge 876,672 cubic yards of West Fork sediment from 181 acres near the mouth of the West Fork in Lake Houston.

Shortly after sunrise yesterday, Callan Marine’s General Pershing Dredge lifted its bit out of the water temporarily as the dredge was repositioned. Note the FM1960 bridge downstream in the upper right.

Pictures Taken 1/14/25

Yesterday morning, the Callan dredge was anchored off Atascocita Point. Just three weeks ago, it began across the river in Kingwood. The pictures below tell the story.

*Looking N.* *Atascocita Point on left and Kingwood on far side of river. Can you spot the Kings Point water tower?*

Callan will pump slurry to the placement area through that winding 18″ pipe in the photo above. It goes approximately four miles to an area near the Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Canal. See pictures below.

The Amazing Maze

There, Callan separates the water from sand and silt with an ingenious maze. The twists and turns in the maze slow the water down, so sediment drops out of suspension.

Water comes in at the upper right and exits near the same point. Note how the sediment is higher on the wall near the entry, then tapers off. To visually estimate percentage of completion, compare levels on both sides of the diagonal berm in right foreground.

The 35-acre pond currently in use is surrounded by berms approximately 6-8 feet tall that contain the slurry. Callan has room at this same site to build another pond of approximately the same size. The two together will total 70 acres.

*Cleared but unfinished area* *in foreground* *will contain a second pond. Luce Interbasin Transfer Canal on right.*

*Notice how bulldozers have built small temporary walls that channel the slurry away from areas where fill has already reached the full height of the berms.*

*When filled, this area will be high and hard enough to build new homes on.*

Bulldozers spread the sediment out in layers that allow excess water to drain out or evaporate. One dredging expert told me that when dry, the sediment will be hard enough to support foundations and homes.

*Small, low temporary berms within the placement area concentrate the slurry where workers want it to go.*

Water that Doesn’t Evaporate Returns to the Lake

The pictures below track the movement of water within the placement area.

*Slurry shoots in from the dredge almost 4 miles away.*

*Then bulldozers spread out and compact the dirt.*

*Water that doesn’t evaporate eventually makes its way through the maze back to the two pipes (center at bottom)*

*Boards in front of the exit pipes control the level of water in the pond and the rate of outflow.*

*After dirt is separated from the water, any remaining water that doesn’t evaporate re-enters Lake Houston (upper left).*

Comparison with December

To see how much progress Callan has made, compare the pictures above with the one below taken, just three weeks ago.

Beneficial Use

I wonder if that return channel will become a ready-made detention basin when the landowner develops the site. This is an ingenious example of “beneficial use” – turning a problem into a solution.

Up the Down Escalator

Nevertheless, there is a cost associated with dredging. Funding for the program comes from FEMA via U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw. The City will use money left over from previous West Fork Mouth Bar dredging. Crenshaw secured $125 million in federal funding to cover dredging, including phases already completed.

Some of the sediment shown above comes from natural erosion. Some also comes from upstream sand mining.

With 20 square miles of sand mines in a 20-mile reach of the West Fork between I-45 and US59, the average width of exposed sediment during floods is one mile.

Sometimes I compare flooding issues to trying to walk up a down escalator.

In this case, we’ve failed to establish an effective regulatory regime based on a comprehensive set of best management practices for sand mines. And the public is paying the price in terms of increased flood risk and mitigation costs.

If you haven’t already written the TCEQ to register your concerns about their proposed (but inadequate) best management practices for sand mining, please do so. The public comment period ends on January 24. This post contains more about the problems with the TCEQ’s proposed BMPs. Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining has even bigger concerns which I posted about yesterday.

Please mail your concerns to Jess Robinson, MC 175, Office of Legal Services, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Or you may submit them electronically. Comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. on January 24, 2025, and should reference “APO BMP List Proposal.”

So far, only a handful of people have registered public comments. So please help.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/15/25

2696 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.

City Mobilizing for More West Fork Dredging

Mobilization for the next phase of San Jacinto West Fork dredging is underway. The City of Houston and its contractor DRC (a subsidiary of Callan Marine) are already staging equipment in two places on the West Fork.

The program, funded by FEMA, will remove an estimated 800,000 cubic yards of silt and sediment between the original location of the West Fork Mouth Bar and FM1960. The contractor will use primarily hydraulic dredging and the program will take approximately two years, according to District E City Council Member Fred Flickinger.

West Fork Dredging Project Dates Back to Dave Martin Era

Flickinger credits his predecessor, former Council Member Dave Martin, and Chief Recovery Officer Stephen Costello’s tireless efforts in protesting the initial amount proposed for dredging by FEMA back in 2019. FEMA’s initial proposal, based on a four-page, table-top study produced by the Army Corps, called for dredging 283,000 cubic yards.

Martin strongly disagreed with the Corps’ report and appealed it while the City produced its own 94-page technical report. It showed a much higher volume deposited by Harvey. Remember: Harvey funds could not be used to address sediment deposited before Harvey. The City report produced by Tetra Tech relied extensively on core samples. Tetra Tech proved that Harvey laid down the sand in the mouth bar and that the dredging volume should be closer to a million cubic yards.

In August 2020, FEMA and the Corps finally concurred with the City, after extensive discussions and a massive assist from U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw. Crenshaw and others had been pushing FEMA for years for the additional dredging.

Current Status

The new West Fork dredging program should be ready to go within weeks. DRC is currently bringing in the equipment that they will need.

DRC plans to use primarily hydraulic dredging. They will attack the area between where the mouth bar was (south of Scenic Shores in Kings Point) and the FM1960 Bridge. See map below.

*Map from City study showing area of focus.*

*Hydraulic dredge being assembled at old Army Corps mobilization site south of Forest Cove pool. Photo taken 4/1/24.*

*DRC is also starting to stockpile mechanical dredging equipment such as these pontoons on Berry Madden’s property south of River Grove Park (top center).*

This is good news. The new West Fork dredging will help ensure that water doesn’t back up like it did before. It’s not a guarantee against flooding. Dredging is only one part of a multi-faceted mitigation program that also includes more upstream detention and new floodgates on the Lake Houston dam. More news on those topics to follow.

Posted by Bob Rehak

2407 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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