Tag Archive for: Woodridge Village Excavation

Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal Contract Ends

(Note: Within an hour of posting this, I received additional information from a source familiar with Federal grants and have updated the section on Funding below.) Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and Sprint Sand & Clay have ended their Woodridge Village excavation and removal (E&R) contract. As of Friday afternoon, 11/24/23, Sprint had removed all of its equipment from the worksite, including the construction trailer at the entrance. See photos below.

Empty entrance on Woodland Hills where construction trailer once stood.
Looking NE at extent of excavation for new detention basin.
Same basin, but looking in opposite direction toward SW.

This will pause construction of additional stormwater detention capacity on Woodridge Village property.

Why did the contract end?

Funding Played Role in E&R Contract Termination

The new stormwater detention basin on HCFCD’s Woodridge Village property was part of a much larger project involving improvements to Taylor Gully. The combined Taylor Gully/Woodridge Village project involved funding from multiple sources:

  • U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw secured federal funding for Taylor Gully improvements in March 2022.
  • The Texas Water Development Board approved additional state funding in May.
  • Last summer, HCFCD also recommended the Taylor Gully/Woodridge project(s) for GLO/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CDBG-MIT funding.

The last comes with a firm, tight deadline for spending the money – Jan. 12, 2027 – three years away. It also comes with other “process” restrictions dictated by the CDBG-MIT funding.

Harris County requested a deadline extension. But because of the holiday, it is not clear whether HUD granted it.

Also, since originally posting this, an expert in Federal grants wrote to say, “The excavation and removal at Woodridge had to stop because Federal funds require a process to be followed. The excavation project that will be funded by CDBG mitigation funds has to follow NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act). It does not allow any activity until NEPA has been cleared. Once the site was officially approved for CDBG mitigation funds, everything had to stop. The agreement with GLO was executed a week or two ago.”

“A similar thing happened to the Sprint excavation and removal at the Dinner Creek Basin,” he added. “It’s one of those sad facts about federal grants. You have to follow their process and everything is done in a linear fashion.”

Flexible E&R Contracts Allow Early Termination

HCFCD’s excavation and removal contracts are very flexible. They let HCFCD get a head start on construction as it worked out financing, design and other project details.

The terms of Sprint’s E&R contract let Sprint excavate up to 500,000 cubic yards of material and sell the dirt on the private market to make a profit. Sprint was meeting its 5,000 cubic-yard/month minimum. They averaged 6,000 to 7,000 cubic yards per month during the last two years.

By the end of October, the company excavated 156,478 cubic yards – about a third of the maximum. However, the additional two-thirds at the current rate would have missed the HUD deadline by at least two years.

If there’s good news here, it’s that:

  • The amount excavated to date already puts the site very close to meeting Atlas-14 requirements. The “head start” worked.
  • Once construction resumes, it could sharply accelerate.

Final HCFCD Recommendations Not Yet Revealed

In December 2022, engineers presented their preliminary plans to the Kingwood community and sought public input on four alternatives. Their recommended alternative included:

  • Expanding a portion of Taylor Gully and lining it with concrete.
  • Building yet another 412 acre-foot stormwater detention basin on Woodridge Village.
  • Replacing the culverts at Rustling Elms with a clear-span bridge.

HCFCD has not yet revealed final construction plans to the community. But it appears that the pot is starting to boil. Stay tuned. More news will follow soon.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/26/23

2280 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Woodridge Village Excavation Rate Increased Slightly in October

During the month of October 2023, Sprint Sand & Clay excavated another 5,754 cubic yards (CY) of dirt from a new stormwater detention basin on Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Woodridge Village property. Compare that to 5,698 cubic yards in September. The new “total to date” is now 156,478 cubic yards. October’s 5,754 CY exceeds Sprint’s monthly minimum of 5,000 CY.

Perry Homes cleared and graded the property for development beginning in 2017. But insufficient stormwater detention capacity contributed to the flooding of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest Villages twice in 2019. HCFCD bought the property from Perry in 2021.

Terms of Excavation and Removal Contract

Sprint began excavation in January of 2022 under an Excavation and Removal Contract (E&R). Their E&R contract gives Sprint the right to remove up to 500,000 cubic yards of material for just $1,000. Sprint then makes its money back by selling the dirt at market rates.

E&R contracts often fluctuate depending on home- and road-building activity nearby. They represent good value for taxpayers because they reduce costs. But they also involve some uncertainty in terms of completion dates.

Where Things Stand at End of October

To date, here’s where things stand in relation to possible goals:

Acre Feet of Stormwater Detention% of Atlas-14 Requirement% of Ultimate
Site Had When Purchased from Perry Homes27170%47%
Has as of 11/1/2336895.6%63.4%
Atlas 14 Requires385100%66%
If Sprint Excavates All 500K Cubic Yards…580150%100%
As of 11/1/23

Rain always slows construction activity and it may have played a role during October.

Pictures of Progress

Here are some before/after pictures (in pairs). They show the progress of construction during October.

Excavation and Removal Progress at Woodridge Village
End of September 2023
End of October 2023

It appears that most of the excavation occurred at the far end. These three shots show the progress made in that area.

Excavation and Removal Progress at Woodridge Village
End of September 2023

End of October 2023, looking NE

End of October 2023 looking SE

Looking back toward the entrance off Woodland Hills…

Excavation and Removal Progress at Woodridge Village
End of September 2023
End of October 2023

How Much Will Be Enough?

HCFCD still has not released the final engineering report for this project. So, we do not know exactly what shape this detention basin will take or what the final volume will be. Regardless, it’s more protection than we had before. And when finished, it will reduce flood risk considerably.

The current rate of excavation when measured in acre feet is about 3.6 per month. That means Sprint would reach the volume required to meet Atlas 14 requirements in about 5 months – the end of the first quarter in 2024. It’s unclear at this time how much HCFCD will have Sprint go beyond that.

NOAA is already working on Atlas 15. Atlas 15 will incorporate the effects of climate change in the national precipitation frequency standards for the first time. NOAA expects estimates to increase. So the size of this detention basin could, too.

Atlas 15 will be the first national precipitation frequency
analysis accounting for climate change.

NOAA expects to release the new data for peer review in 2025 and the final study in 2026. After that, NOAA will update the precipitation frequency estimates no less than once every ten years.

There is no such thing as certainty when predicting the future. The good news? There’s plenty of room on this site to expand stormwater detention volume in the future.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/1/2023

2255 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 1505 since TS Imelda

Woodridge Village Excavation Activity Almost Doubles

Compared to July, Woodridge Village excavation activity almost doubled in August.

As of close of business on September 6, 2023, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) contractor Sprint Sand and Clay has excavated 146,104 cubic yards of material to expand the stormwater detention basin capacity on Woodridge Village.

At the end of July, Sprint had excavated 135, 751 cubic yards. That means the company excavated another 10, 353 cubic yards in August, or 6.4 acre feet.

And that brought the total excavated to date up to 361.6 acre feet, or 94% of the Atlas 14 requirement.

Stepping Up Stormwater Detention Capacity

When Perry Homes sold the site to HCFCD and City of Houston, the site had five detention basins totaling 271 acre feet. The new basin has the potential to more than double that volume.

Think of the expansion of Woodridge Village stormwater-detention-basin capacity in four stages:

  • The starting point, i.e., what the site had when purchased from Perry Homes.
  • An additional amount that Sprint has excavated to date.
  • The Atlas-14 requirement.
  • The contract max (500,000 cubic yards).

Here’s how the various stages look in a table.

Acre Feet of Stormwater Detention% of Atlas-14 Requirement% of Ultimate
Site Had When Purchased from Perry Homes27170%47%
Has as of 9/6/23361.694%62.3%
Atlas 14 Requires385100%66%
If Sprint Excavates All 500K Cubic Feet580150%100%
As of 9/6/23.

I based all calculations on original construction plans, HCFCD monthly reports, Atlas-14 Requirements and Sprint’s contract.

Photos Taken 9/7/2023

Here’s how Woodridge Village excavation activity looks on the ground.

The site was busier today last month. Trucks constantly shuttled in and out.
Looking NE across the new basin and the main part of Woodridge Village
Looking SW toward site entrance, Kingwood Park HS and Woodland Hills Drive
Main thrust of work during August appears to be toward the east.
An excavator loaded several trucks while I watched.

Outline of Excavation

Harris County Commissioners Court approved the contract with Sprint Sand and Clay on July 20, 2021. It obligates Sprint to remove at least 5,000 cubic yards per month. Excavation started on January 27, 2022. 

Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal
Sprint can take material wherever it wants, but must excavate from within the red boundary line.

Sprint will make only $1,000 from its Woodridge Village excavation contract with HCFCD, but will make its profit by selling the dirt at market rates. An engineer familiar with HCFCD operations estimates that if HCFCD had to pay market rates to have that 146,000 cubic yards moved, it would have cost taxpayers between $1.46 million and $2.9 million. He based those numbers on recent bids.

So, the Sprint contract is a good deal for taxpayers, but it carries some uncertainty with it.

If the demand for dirt dries up, excavation could slow or stop.

Next Steps

But simply excavating the dirt isn’t the end of the job. Harris County still needs to slope the sides, plant grass, and tie the new basin into the site’s existing stormwater-detention-basin network. 

HCFCD awarded the engineering project for all that to Halff, based on the company’s qualifications. HCFCD is currently negotiating the scope of the project with Halff.

At the current rate of excavation, Sprint could reach Atlas 14 requirements by the end of the year. But the contractor is still less than a third of the way through its contract maximum of 500,000 cubic yards.

Construction of Taylor Gully conveyance improvements cannot move forward until the appropriate stormwater mitigation on Woodridge Village is in place first. Only one thing is certain at this point. That could still be awhile.

But there is good news. In the meantime, the extra Woodridge Village detention basin capacity will go a long way toward reducing flood risk for people downstream.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/7/23

2200 Days since Hurricane Harvey

In May, Woodridge Village Excavation Total Reached Almost 124,000 Cubic Yards


Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal contract for 500,000 cubic yards with Sprint Sand & Clay is almost one-quarter complete. Sprint excavated approximately another 9,000 cubic yards in May (5.8 acre feet). That’s almost double the monthly minimum and brings the total up to 123,882 cubic yards.

Stormwater from Woodridge Village flooded hundreds of homes twice in 2019. The excavation will provide additional stormwater detention capacity to reduce flood risk downstream in the future.

May/June Photos Show Progress

The first two photos below were taken at the beginning of May and June 2023.

Sprint Sand and Clay Excavation and Removal Contract work at Woodridge Village
Looking ENE. Extent of excavation on May 2, 2023
Looking ENE. Extent of Excavation on June 4, 2023

Up until now, Sprint has been excavating from west to east. Now, they seem to be excavating primarily from south to north.

HCFCD spokesperson Amy Crouser said that, “Essentially, the contractor is free to excavate where they want within the provided footprint.”

Looking east across new focus of excavation.

Where Does Woodridge Village Excavation Go From Here?

Sprint has excavated 76.8 acre feet so far. That brings the current detention capacity (old plus new) to 348 acre feet. That’s 90% of what Woodridge Village needs to meet Atlas-14 requirements.

If Sprint keeps excavating at the current rate, it could reach Atlas-14 requirements before the end of the year.

Here’s how all that looks in a table.

Acre Feet of Stormwater Detention% of Ultimate
Site Had When Purchased from Perry Homes27147%
Has as of 6/4/2334860%
Atlas 14 Requires38566%
If Sprint Excavates All 500K Cubic Feet580100%
Calculations based on original construction plans, HCFCD monthly reports, Atlas-14 Requirements and Sprint contract.

Sprint’s contract calls for excavating UP TO 500,000 cubic yards. Any excavation beyond Atlas-14 needs would create a safety hedge against future needs should they increase. 

Sprint will make only $1,000 from its Woodridge Village excavation contract, but will make its profit by selling the dirt at market rates. It’s a good deal for taxpayers, but carries some uncertainty with it.

A lot of flexibility exists for both parties in an E&R contract. If the demand for dirt dries up and excavation slows, HCFCD and Sprint could modify the E&R contract to complete a smaller detention basin sooner. But I assume it would still meet Atlas 14 requirements at a minimum.

But simply excavating the dirt isn’t the end of the job. Harris County still needs to slope the sides, plant grass, and tie the new basin into the site’s existing stormwater-detention-basin network. 

HCFCD and Harris County Purchasing are currently evaluating consultants’ bids to draw up the final construction plans.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/5/2023

2106 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Woodridge Village Excavation Approaching Atlas-14 Requirement

Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) Woodridge Village Excavation and Removal contract with Sprint Sand & Clay continues progressing nicely. The volume excavated last month shows a continued rebound in activity after a dip last year when the housing market slowed.

As of the end of April, Sprint has completed approximately 23% of its 500,000-cubic-yard contract. More important, excavation could meet Atlas-14 detention requirements by the end of 2023.

Sprint excavated an estimated 11,000 cubic yards in April – more than double the monthly minimum. That brings the total to date to approximately 115,000 cubic yards.

Photos Reveal Excavation in New Direction

Here’s what the status of Woodridge Village excavation looked like on 5/1/2023. For the last year, Sprint has focused on lengthening the basin. Now it is focusing on widening it, too. Note the work taking place in the upper left quadrant of the photo below.

Looking northeast.
Looking southwest toward Kingwood Park High School.
Looking east at current area of excavation.

Typically, HCFCD gives E&R contractors some general boundaries and says, “Start digging.” Sprint makes its money by selling the dirt on the open market. There’s virtually no cost to taxpayers. And usually the bigger the hole in the ground, the better. So, according to a former flood control executive, if Sprint goes beyond 500,000 cubic yards, no one will complain. It reduces flood risk free of charge.

But where is all this headed and why?

Past, Current and Future Capacities

When Perry Homes sold the Woodridge Village property to HCFCD in 2021, it had five stormwater detention basins with a total storage capacity of 271 acre feet. But because Montgomery County issued construction permits based on pre-Atlas-14 requirements, the development was approximately 42% short of meeting current Harris County standards.

Partially as a result of insufficient stormwater detention capacity, up to 600 homes downstream in Kingwood flooded twice in 2019.

After HCFCD bought the property, it hired Sprint to get a head start on Woodridge Village excavation of additional detention capacity while it worked out exact plans for a regional detention basin and Taylor Gully.

Sprint has excavated approximately 71 acre feet so far. That brings the current detention capacity to 342 acre feet.

But HCFCD will ultimately need approximately 385 acre feet of stormwater detention capacity to meet Atlas-14 requirements and it hopes to build even more as a safety hedge against future needs should they increase.

If Sprint excavates the entire 500,000 cubic yards in its contract, that would bring the total stormwater detention capacity up to 580 acre feet. In tabular form, the steps look like this:

Acre Feet of Stormwater Detention% of Ultimate
Site Had When Purchased from Perry Homes27147%
Has as of 5/1/2334259%
Atlas 14 Requires38566%
If Sprint Excavates All 500K Cubic Feet580100%
Calculations based on original construction plans, HCFCD monthly reports, Atlas-14 Requirements and Sprint contract.

Calculations in the last column assume that Sprint excavates all 500,000 cubic yards. But Sprint’s contract calls for excavating UP TO 500,000 cubic yards.

A lot of flexibility exists for both parties in an E&R contract. If the demand for dirt dries up and excavation slows, HCFCD and Sprint could modify the E&R contract to complete a smaller detention basin sooner. But I assume it would still meet Atlas 14 requirements at a minimum.

Based on April performance, Sprint is currently excavating approximately 6 acre feet per month.

If demand for dirt holds, excavation should reach Atlas-14 requirements near the end of 2023.

Still Much More Work to Do

But simply excavating the dirt isn’t the end of the job. Harris County still needs to slope the sides, plant grass, and tie the new basin into the site’s existing stormwater-detention-basin network.

An engineering team is currently working on drawing up final construction plans. Simultaneously, they are looking at how Woodridge Village excavation will impact Taylor Gully needs.

At the moment, no one knows exactly how this project will end. There are simply too many variables. The site could contain one giant stormwater detention basin or several smaller ones.

HCFCD often employs a phased approach with large projects, such as Woodridge/Taylor Gully. Consider for instance, Willow Water Hole on South Post Oak at Highway 90. Or the Lauder Basin on Greens Bayou south of Beltway 8 North.

A phased approach enables residents to start reaping partial benefits sooner, with an eye toward maximizing future risk reduction as circumstances and funding allow.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/2/2023

2072 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 1329 since Imelda

July Update: Woodridge Village Excavation Rate Slows Slightly

The pace of excavation and removal of up to 500,000 cubic yards of soil from Woodridge Village has slowed slightly in recent months. That may be due to rising interest rates, which have slowed housing starts. Contractors use excavated dirt to elevate homesites in new developments. But the Census Bureau says housing starts in June 2022 fell 6.3% below the June 2021 rate.

Woodridge Village Background

Woodridge Village was the failed 670-acre Perry Homes development that twice contributed to flooding hundreds of homes in Kingwood’s Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest Villages in 2019. Harris County and the City of Houston bought the property in 2021 to help reduce flood risk. They plan to do this by building another detention basin.

Perry left the site about 40% short of the floodwater detention capacity needed to meet current Atlas-14 requirements. Since then, Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) entered into an “Excavation and Removal” contract (E&R) with Sprint Sand and Clay to begin removing additional soil. The goal: to get a head start on building an additional detention basin that would meet OR exceed Atlas-14 requirements.

Harris County Commissioners Court approved the contract with Sprint Sand and Clay on July 20, 2021. It obligates Sprint to remove at least 5000 cubic yards per month. Excavation started on January 27, 2022. 

During July, Sprint removed approximately 6,400 cubic yards of dirt.

HCFCD spokesperson Amy Stone

To date, Sprint has removed 48,860 yards of material. That’s 18,860 cubic yards more than the contract minimum for six months. And 1,400 cubic yards more than the minimum for July. So you can see that the rate of removal is dipping slightly.

At almost 50,000 cubic yards for 6 months (or 100,000 yards per year), it would take 5 years for Sprint to reach the maximum. However, by contract, Sprint has 36 months. If Sprint continues to average 6,000 cubic yards per month for another 30 months, it would remove a total of 229,000 cubic yards before the end of the contract term ([30×6000]+ 49,000). 

So at some point, Sprint will have to sprint to catch up if they want to remove all 500,00 cubic yards.

Recent Photos Show Growth of Basin

Here’s what the site looked like before and after July’s excavation activity.

End of June
Woodridge Village E&R as of 6/30/22
Excavation at end of June 2022. Note where the upper right boundary of the pit stops relative to the storm-sewer pipes at far right.

End of July

End of July 2022.
Looking south over eastern edge of pond. Newly excavated area is at left (darker dirt).

About E&R Contracts

E&R contracts provide a head start on construction of detention basins before completion of their final design. 

Sprint has agreed to remove up to half a million cubic yards of soil for only $1000. But it makes its money back by selling the soil for a profit on the open market. This provides virtually free excavation to taxpayers and virtually free raw material to Sprint. HCFCD has spent only $230 on the project so far. But the tradeoffs are speed and certainty.

The property above forms the headwaters of Taylor Gully. When HCFCD finishes its Taylor Gully study, things may change.

Final Needs Contingent on Outcome of Taylor Gully Study

HCFCD hired Idcus, Inc. in mid-2021 to develop up to five conceptual alternatives for modifying Taylor Gully. Scenarios may include:

  • Expanding Detention On Woodridge Village so that no channel improvements are necessary.
  • Determining amount of detention and channel improvements necessary to ensure no adverse impact all the way to Lake Houston.
  • Finding the optimum balance between maximum flood protection and minimum construction costs.
Deliverables include:
  • Channel and basin layouts
  • Estimates of benefits for various levels of storms (100-year, etc.)
  • Right-of-way requirements
  • Cost estimates for right-of-way acquisition, engineering and construction management.
  • Performance metrics, i.e., estimated acreage of land inundation, number of structures in floodplain, number of structures flooded and miles of inundated roadway.
  • A scoring matrix to rank alternatives.
The red dots show location of current excavation relative to entire scope of Idcus project, from yellow polygon on left to end of red line in forest on right.

Idcus should be done with the study soon. In the meantime, residents will have to settle for the virtually free head start we get.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/31/2022

1797 Days since Hurricane Harvey

1182 Days since May 7, 2019

1049 Days since TS Imelda