Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller reported tonight that Rebel Contractors was busy widening and deepening a crucial detention pond near homes that flooded in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest. According to Miller, “The pond is starting to assume its final shape with the sloping of the edges.”
Here’s the plan for the pond.
S2 (the second detention pond in the south section of Woodridge Village.
May 8
For comparison, the “pond” looked like this after the storm on May 7…non-existent. For comparison purposes, consider this the BEFORE SHOT.
Photo taken shortly after the flood on May 7 shows the area where S2 detention pond should be had not yet been excavated.Nor was silt fence in place.
May 30
Here’s what it looked like on the afternoon of 5/30/19. This Woodridge Village detention pond should ultimately hold about 50 acre feet of runoff. Had it been excavated before the May 7th rains, many homes might not have flooded. It could have reduced the height of the flood by one whole foot across a 50-acre area.
Photo of S2 taken by Jeff Miller on 5/30/19
Said Miller, “Better late than never.” The video below lets you get a better look at the expansiveness of the pond.
Video by Elm Grove resident Jeff Miller showing S2 pond in Woodridge Village taking shape.
Dirt from this pond and others will build up the rest of the subdivision.
Posted by Bob Rehak on May 30, 2019, with photos and reporting from Jeff Miller
639 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/S2-5.30.19.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=17501000adminadmin2019-05-30 21:53:172019-05-30 21:53:28Better Late Than Never: Large Detention Pond Taking Shape North of Area that Flooded
To date, most of the press coverage about the May 7th flood has focused on Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest to the south of the new Woodridge Village development. However, the flood also affected many homes in Porter to the west of it. This is an interview with Gretchen Dunlap-Smith in Porter whose home was built in 1994. It flooded for the first time – after Woodridge Village started clearcutting and grading the land next to her, and wetlands disappeared.
USGS National Wetlands Inventory shows that government classified much of the northern section of Woodridge as wetlands (dark green overlays).Porter borders Woodridge Village to the west. Smith home located in white circle.
“This Area Never Flooded”
Rehak: Has this area ever flooded before?
Dunlap-Smith: This area never flooded.
Rehak: How far back does “never” go?
Dunlap-Smith: I grew up in the Kingwood area. My parents moved here in late 1976. We had 2.5 acres off of Hueni. My brother built this house in ‘94. So I’ve known this home since its inception. I saw it being built. One house at the end of the block did get water in it, but none of the other houses ever flooded. Ever!
Rehak: What do you think caused the flooding on May 7th?
Dunlap-Smith: (Pointing to bulldozers in the distance) The construction down there. That’s the only thing that’s changed. During Harvey, there was never any fear, threat, or worry in my mind that “I’m going to have water in my home.” Ever! During Harvey, during the Tax Day flood and all the stuff before that…never any concern. This (pointing to the construction again) changed the game.
We used to ride four wheelers on that property so I know there used to be a huge detention ditch and a huge pond. There used to be a natural creek down off of the end that went up to the wood line. From what I’ve been seeing and what I’ve been told, they backfilled all that in. The wetlands disappeared.
Note dirt pushed in ditch along western edge of Woodridge Village.Homes from the north end of this development in Porter all the way down to Mace and Joseph streets flooded, including Dunlap-Smith’s home on Flower Ridge.
Ditches No Longer Drain
Dunlap-Smith: Even now, the ditches don’t drain. Our ditches drained before. They never had standing water in them. You look at the ditches now and you will see green algae and moss growing in them. We never had that before. We could mow our ditches. They were dry, because the water drained. And now it doesn’t do that.
Rehak: Where did the water go before?
Dunlap-Smith: It went to the end of the road and flowed out.
Rehak: And now it’s getting to the end of the road and stopping?
Where drainage from Flower Ridge in Porter joins the new Woodridge Village in Porter.Residents say water now stands so long in altered ditches that it grows algae.
Dunlap-Smith: Right. Now it’s backing up and flooding the street.
Rehak: Were you blocked in on May 7th?
Dunlap-Smith: We got out Tuesday night when the rain receded a little bit…for like 3 hours. The water went down enough to where I felt comfortable going through it with our Nissan Altima.
Ditches Became Invisible in Flood
Rehak: These ditches are kind of…deep. If you didn’t know they were there…!!!
Dunlap-Smith: Yeah! You could really do some damage. Or worse, drown yourself in your car.
Photo by Gretchen Dunlap-Smith from May 7 of Flower Ridge in in Porter.
Rehak: How many homes in your subdivision were affected?
Dunlap-Smith: I don’t have a count. But I know that several homes flooded on our street and other streets in the subdivision.
Rehak: How high did the water get?
Dunlap-Smith: A couple inches in our house. Deeper in others.
Rehak: How much did you lose?
Saved by the Peaches!
Dunlap-Smith: Carpet. I was able to get some furniture up onto soup cans and big jars of peaches.
I put most of our furniture up on stuff like that. Hopefully, I may be able to salvage a couple rooms of carpet. Most of my house was tiled by my brother and sister. So the only rooms that had carpet were my living room and my three bedrooms.
Swamped utility room after the flood. Photo. by Gretchen Dunlap-Smith.
Rehak: Is there any concern that the water got under the tile?
Dunlap-Smith: I talked to a couple people about that. I have two dehumidifiers that have been going non-stop since the day after the flood. Those haven’t quit. I’m dumping them constantly.
Cleaning Up the House Without Flood Insurance
Rehak: How long did it take the water to recede? When you came back the next day was it out?
Dunlap-Smith: It was out of the streets.
Rehak: How about the house?
Dunlap-Smith: No. The house…I had to pull every bit of carpet out. It had not receded.
Rehak: Did you have to squeegee it out?
Dunlap-Smith: That carpet was a soaking wet mess! You see that shop vac behind you? That’s a wet/dry shop vac.
Gretchen Dunlap-Smith tries to save her carpet by drying it on the bed of her truck.
You know, this isn’t a flood zone. When we bought the home, we weren’t required to have flood insurance. We called our agent after the flood and he said we weren’t covered, but we could get coverage for four or five hundred dollars per year. But it wouldn’t activate for 30 days.
“You Sunk Us”
Dunlap-Smith: My neighbor told me that they were down there digging a ditch line, trying to open up the drainage again from the damage they had done. But you’ve already damaged natural drainage. You changed and affected how the flow goes. So I don’t care what you do now. You sunk us.
Rehak: Their plan shows a huge detention pond up in the northwestern corner of this land that they clearcut. And then there’s a linear ditch running inside their property all the way down to the bottom.
Where N1 detention pond and drainage ditch should have been before flood. Excavation still had not started weeks after flood.This area used to be wetlands before the developer “improved” the drainage.
Dunlap-Smith: Right. But that ditch is not there. And if you look down Ivy Ridge, every home has trash in front because every one of them flooded.
Trash pile at end of Ivy Ridge. Looking east toward new developmentwhere drainage used to go.
“They Will Never Build on that Property”
The gentleman behind us, when he bought his house, told us there was an easement on that property. He was told they would never build on that property and not to worry. And here they are (pointing to construction).
Rehak: I’ve heard that same story from a dozen different people!
Dunlap-Smith: You get told something and you take it as gospel truth. And you run with it. You don’t check. You don’t research it. You just believe it because they’ve been honest up until now. Which is unfortunate.
Rehak: Do you have any idea what the financial loss is so far?
Counting Her Blessings, Minus the PTSD
Dunlap-Smith: Not really. Honestly, I counted my blessings. It could have been a lot worse. I saw what those people in Elm Grove were hit with. And my husband lost everything in the ’94 flood, including his whole family home. He lived right behind where Reeves furniture used to be on 59. It’s an antique store now. He lived on Treasure Lane. In ’89 there was a flood. They lost everything. But then the one in ’94 really did them in.
As far as the financial? I’m grateful. I know it could have been worse. But I know there’s been a huge emotional cost. It triggered PTSD in my husband.
Rehak: How?
Praying as the Water Rose
Dunlap-Smith: My husband is 6’4”. Not a little guy. He dwarfs me. Works for the Harris County Sherriff’s office. Takes down inmates every day. He’s not a timid guy.
When water was coming in the house, he sat down with his head in his hands and had tears. And I’ve never seen him cry.
We both were under stress. Water’s coming in our house. I have our dogs in a kennel. And I realized then…oh my gosh. The dogs are standing in water inside their kennels. So I moved them up. My husband and I were both getting a little snippy, which isn’t in our nature. There we were. Standing up to our ankles in water in the middle of our living room. He grabbed my hand and I grabbed his, and it’s like, “OK, right here. Right now. We’re praying. Stop. We have to see this for what it is not. It’s not as bad as it could be. And now he’s seeing that.
That Sour Smell
Rehak: Are you going to have to pull out wallboard and electrical?
Dunlap-Smith: I don’t think so. That’s why I said, “I’m counting my blessings.”
Rehak: Floorboards?
Dunlap-Smith: (sighs heavily). Probably. After the first three or four days, I could smell the sour. There was a heavy sour smell. Not so much mildew, but sour.
May 15th was the deadline to dispute our taxes and ours went up like $10,000. So I’m disputing them. I fired off a letter. (She begins reciting complaints in the letter.) “Are we going to be in a flood plain now?” “Are we going to require flood insurance?” We’re not a high-income neighborhood. We don’t have money to throw at that stuff.
Rehak: What kind of assistance have you gotten from Montgomery County so far?
Dunlap-Smith: I would like to get those sticky floor tiles at cost or at a highly discounted rate. I don’t know. I would like to get a dehumidifier because they’re not doing squat about this or taking accountability. My husband and I don’t have credit cards that we can buy things with.
We bought two dehumidifiers out of our pocket. That was nearly 500 dollars. You’re living paycheck to paycheck and you want to fix your house back. My Aunt told me to call Red Cross. But I’m not going to take money out of somebody’s hands that I can see needs it more than I do. I’m not going to do that.
Wants Developer to Restore Drainage
Rehak: Let me rephrase the question. In regard to your development, what would you like to see Montgomery County and the developer do?
Dunlap-Smith: For starters, come in and dig out the ditches. Maybe lower the streets to create more capacity for the water before it gets into our homes.
Rehak: And in regard to that new development going in over there?
Dunlap-Smith: I would love to see the County force the developer to create a true, correct drainage ditch.
Rehak: Do you think the county is even aware that you flooded?
Dunlap-Smith: No. They sent out a message on Twitter saying, “Contact us if you had any flooding.” I don’t think they have any clue.
We had water backing up and leaking from our toilet. Our tub was filling up with this noxious looking water and a septic smell. It was brown.
No, I don’t think the county knows that it happened in a place that it’s never happened before. The developer says they aren’t the culprit. But they changed the drainage. And they’ve gone too far to turn back.
Rehak: You can’t put back nature the way it was.
Dunlap-Smith: Agreed. I wish the county could force them to create drainage. This flooding will happen again if things stay as they are.
Reluctant to Water Plants
Rehak: How do you feel about your future here?
Note: As with other flood victims I have interviewed, curiously, Ms. Dunlap-Smith thinks in terms of tomorrow, not next year.
Dunlap-Smith: We have a little joke here. Every time I water my plants, it rains. For some people it’s washing their cars. But I told my husband this morning that, “I’m afraid to water my plants.” So … if that tells you anything. (Laughing) I’d rather let the plants die.
Jason Webster and Kimberly Spurlock, two local lawyers, have teamed up to represent Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest (NKF) flood victims. On May 7th, video captured floodwater streaming out of the 268-acre site north and west of those two subdivisions. The contractor had already clearcut most of the land for the developer’s new Woodridge Village. However, the contractor had not yet excavated the key detention pond next to the people who flooded. As a result, it appears that runoff from the mostly clay soils in the new development compounded street flooding already in progress. That’s when the volume of water became more than the streets could handle and hundreds of homes flooded.
Third Wave of Lawsuits Filed Last Week
The third wave of lawsuits filed by Webster and Spurlock against defendants Figure Four Partners, LTD; PSWA, Inc.; and Rebel Contractors, Inc. brings the total of plaintiffs they represent to more than 200.
This is not a class action suit. Each plaintiff suffered different amounts of damage. It is a series of individual lawsuits. Here is the first wave of plaintiffs, the second, the third and the basis for the claims.
The lawsuits allege negligence, negligence per se, gross negligence, nuisance, and violation of Section 11.086 of the Texas Water Code. Plaintiffs seek exemplary damages and a permanent injunction among other things.
According to numerous residents, the contractor also filled in existing streams and wetlands while grading the property. Partially as a result, homes that never flooded before suddenly flooded during what Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner characterized as a 2-year to 50-year rain event. Plans show that if the detention ponds had been constructed, they should have held a 100-year rain.
Next Steps in Lawsuits
District court record searches indicate that no other law firm has yet filed suit against these defendants for the Elm Grove and NKF flooding. However, they may. At least two other law firms have held meetings with residents.
Meanwhile, the court has scheduled oral arguments for the temporary injunction against Figure Four Partners, LTD; PSWA, Inc.; and Rebel Contractors for July 8 at 2:30 PM in the 11th Judicial District Court. This is for the second batch of plaintiffs.
Previous Problems Surface for Rebel Contractors
A search of Harris County District Court records found a separate lawsuit against Rebel Contractors for a different incident. Harris County and the State of Texas (on behalf of the TCEQ) sued the company for its practice of burning trees while clearing land. The plaintiffs claimed the practice added to air pollution and harmed health. The County and State won an injunction against Rebel Contractors. Rebel agreed to stop its burning.
“Rainxiety” Sets In
A new term is floating around: rainxiety. That’s the anxiety flood victims feel whenever rain is forecast. Dozens of residents have told me that they sweat, their hearts race, and they begin to panic whenever it rains. One even begins humming Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” That should become the theme song for Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest.
“Still the rain kept pourin’, Fallin’ on my ears. And I wonder, Still I wonder Who’ll stop the rain.” By John Fogarty
All thoughts expressed in this post represent my opinions on matters of public policy and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP statute of the Great State of Texas.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/29/2019 with help from Jeff Miller
638 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ElmGroveFlood_01_11.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=110001500adminadmin2019-05-29 20:19:172019-05-31 07:07:02More than 40 Additional Plaintiffs Join Webster, Spurlock Lawsuits Against Woodridge Developers and Contractor for May 7th Flooding
Hundreds of residents in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest, south of the new Woodridge Village development, flooded last week. Everyone says they never flooded before the contractor started clearcutting and grading the property. So what changed? Clearcutting removed all the plants and ponds that slowed the water’s velocity. It also exposed a highly impervious clay soil base, so slick when wet, that it offered very little resistance to flow. That accelerated stormwaters toward Elm Grove, where detention ponds had yet to be built and, according to residents, the developer had filled in natural drainage features.
Geologist Finds Impervious Clay
I asked a retired top geologist from one of the world’s largest oil companies to describe the soil composition. The answer? At least 50% clay. “Because clay grains are very small (<2 microns), plate shaped and tightly bonded, water does not easily or quickly move through or into clay-dominant sediments without the help of plant roots.” Thus, there’s much more runoff than absorption, especially after clearcutting and grading.
To check that assumption, he dug a hole and filled it with water from a bucket.
The water took 15 minutes to go down one-half inch.
Absorption rate indicates low permeabilityand high runoff rates.Note the ponding water halfway up the stake, still sitting on the surface from week-old rains.
Still Had Standing Water Eight Days after Rain
He continued. “The presence of many puddles of standing water from week-old rains indicate that clay-dominant sediment like I sampled is wide spread across the site as it is throughout our fluvial flood plain setting – except locally where sandy channel fills are also present.”
Standing water remained on the site, days after the last rain, indicating a high clay content.
What a Photo Can Tell: Decoding Erosion Patterns
I also asked him to analyze this photo below and tell me whether it changed his opinion of soil composition. The photo was taken directly north of the box culvert installed by the developer near Taylor Gulley. The area was several blocks from where he sampled soil.
Several days after this photo was taken the contractor excavated this area to form a retention pond that should have been there before the flood.
When the geologist saw the photo above, he said:
The erosion itself indicates a high rate of water runoff and minimal absorption.
Steep edges imply cohesion typically associated with clay. Sand or less cohesive soils would slump.
Standing water proves low percolation rate. Only clay rich sediments would hold water like that for more than a few hours.
What Contractor Should Have Known
The contractor developing the site had to know the soil was impervious. They had worked it for a year or more and had to see standing water on numerous occasions that reportedly caused delays. Still, they did several things that increased flood risk for downstream residents – before they completed site detention. For instance, they:
Basically, they increased the slope of land, reduced the friction that vegetation provides, and accelerated runoff toward an area that they knew could flood, across soil that they knew was impervious…before finishing the detention work.
Photo by Jeff Miller on 5/16/2019, more than a week after the Elm Grove flood, shows developer starting to excavate the detention pond near the portion of Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest that Flooded.
Had all the detention been installed before the storm hit, Elm Grove and surrounding areas should not have flooded.
Hydrologist’s Claims at Odds with Performance
The hydrologist’s conclusion (see page 3 of the 59 page report) states that on-site detention should hold up to a hundred-year rain. But the Harris County meteorologist estimates that on the day Elm Grove flooded, the area received at most a 50-year rain. Maybe everything wasn’t working as planned after all. Maybe the developer should have changed its approach too construction. Developing detention sooner could have reduced flood risk.
Posted by Bob Rehak with help from Jeff Miller on 5/20/2019
629 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190518_135415.jpeg?fit=622%2C1280&ssl=11280622adminadmin2019-05-20 21:34:252019-05-20 21:34:51Impervious Clay in Clear-Cut Area Accelerated Runoff Toward Elm Grove Before Detention Fully Developed
Street flooding in Elm Grove and North Kingwood Forest…
… turned into home flooding when sheet flow from the Woodridge Village was added to the street flooding on May 7 flood
Taylor Gully near the peak. Shortly after this shot was taken it overflowed into the park on the opposite bank, upper right.
Scene along Village Springs in Elm Grove after the May 7 flood.At least 196 homes in the neighborhood flooded.Abel Vera now lives in a world without walls.
It May Be Time to Rethink That Assertion, LJA!
In the conclusion of the cover letter of the report dated 8/28/18, Phyllis Mbewe, the project manager of hydrology and hydraulics for LJA Engineering guarantees Dan Wild, Montgomery County’s assistant engineer, that there will be:
No downstream impacts to Taylor Gully water surface elevations
No adverse drainage impacts to neighboring communities (such as Elm Grove or North Kingwood Forest).
She says, “…the proposed development of the 268-acre tract creates no adverse drainage impacts for events up to and including the 100-year event.”
If you are an engineer or hydrologist, please help. Review these plans and give me your thoughts. You may remain anonymous if you wish. Please email me through the contact page of this web site. 196 families really need your help. The house you save may be your own…the next time around.
Posted by Bob Rehak on May 16, 2019
625 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Rescue-Truck.jpg?fit=1500%2C729&ssl=17291500adminadmin2019-05-15 21:45:572019-05-16 08:28:36LJA Engineering Report Says “No Adverse Drainage Impacts” to Neighboring Developments or Taylor Gully
