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What's Causing Floods Around Kingwood??

What's Causing Floods Around Kingwood??

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by: KingwoodDotCom Active Indicator LED Icon 18 Site Admin  OP 
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 9:10pm  
That's what a lot of citizens would like to know..Including Council Member Dave Martin. He's pushing for the city to study this situation and see what can be done in and around Lake Houston to remedy it. "Over the past year, the Lake Houston and Kingwood areas have experienced three 100-year flood producing rain events, most recently this past Memorial Day weekend, that have left certain areas devastated and scrambling to rebuild. As a result, many questions have been raised about what is different today than in the past that contributes to the major flood stages we have seen.To explain the impact specifically to the Lake Houston area it is important to understand that there are many tributaries that lead into the lake that cause it to rise. Lake Conroe, which many believe is the only body of water that flows south into the lake, is definitely a contributing source, however, there are other bodies of water to our Northwest that also contribute to rising water  levels. Cypress Creek, Lake Creek and Spring Creek, for example, all flow into the West Fork of the San Jacinto River which eventually leads into Lake Houston with its final destination into Galveston Bay.Additionally, it is said to be known that Lake Houston’s capacity is only half of what it was when it was originally built in 1953 due to a buildup of silt on the bottom of the lake. Unless the City of Houston proactively finds a solution to this buildup, residents around the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston will continue to see this pattern of flooding occur during heavy rainstorms like we have seen recently.Combined with our massive growth to our North and Northwest, particularly in Montgomery County, concrete has replaced raw land and this only exacerbates our potential for flooding.As a result, I have encouraged Mayor Sylvester Turner’s new Chief Resiliency Officer and former Houston City Council Member Stephen Costello to study Lake Houston’s Operational Plan, its capacity, the accumulation of silt, as well as the feasibility of dredging the lake. If dredged, the amassing of sediment that has increased since the lake was built could be removed providing more capacity and decreasing the potential for future flooding. I look forward to working with Costello and other key agencies that will need to be involved in the conversations including the city’s Public Works and Engineering Department, the Coastal Water Authority, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and city, state and federal partners.It is imperative that we initiate this study and provide a viable solution that will decrease the impacts we have seen to residential and business properties.To do nothing and expect our area to not flood again is sheer lunacy. Three 100-year floods in 12 months is not a coincidence, it is an event that will continue to happen unless we become proactive with a solution to increase the capacity of Lake Houston, which is the source of drinking water to several cities including Houston.We need to continue to invest in Lake Houston and the surrounding communities and take an aggressive approach rather than a reactive one in a time of need." ~City of Houston Council Member Dave Martin 4951
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Brat Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 9:20pm  
Aside from all the recent development in our area around the river, and up river; I'm sure this is why we are getting these severe floods. I do agree that dredging is a must. Not just for the lake, but the river as well. Dredging both will help alot! Where is the sand/dirt that is dredged gonna go then? Hopefully not for new building in our area along the river. 4951
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Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 9:58pm  
With our clay/sand soil, it's easy to understand some silting of the river and lake.  However, if  you use Google Earth and look at the rivers flowing into the lake, you can see a substantial difference from the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. That's the West Fork flowing left to right into the lake.  The East fork comes in from the north.  Notice the lighter color water coming from the West Fork and compare it to the East Fork.Now, if you follow the West Fork upriver to the other side of Hwy 59/I-69, you'll find several sites that are white.  From what I understand, these are sand-mining operations.  The pump the clay and sand from deep out of the ground.  They let the sand and clay separate in water settling pits, then collect the sand.  Where does the clay and water go?  I suspect that it ends up in the river, causing the lighter colored water in the West Fork.  Just imagine what happens when the river level is high. Those stockpiles of sand and clay will get washed into the river and then the lake.It's not just the West Fork of the San Jacinto, follow the East Fork north just a bit and you find this business just north of Walden Woods. I don't know what type of business this is or what that blue material is, but again, guess what happens when the river level is high.  Dredging the lake and the rivers will definitely help, but that is a mitigation effort.  These businesses need to be investigated to see what, if any, precautions they have to prevent regular run-off into the river AND during high river levels.  4951
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Brat Active Indicator LED Icon 15
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 10:05pm  
@Retired_EngineerSpot on dude! I love you for that post! You're awesome! 4951
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TXCheri Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 10:25pm  
You should be an investigative reporter...Retired Engineer!!!I wonder what that "blue" business is as well!  Have you ever tried to find it on land?Thanks for sharing these. 4951
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TheChad Active Indicator LED Icon 9
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 10:49pm  
A couple of things the HPD Marine Patrol pointed out to me last week while we were patrolling the lake:- They've never seen the river/lake change quite as much as it did this last flood. Like the new beach that was created in the 3rd photo above, and in the one below where the owner lost 30-40ft of their land. We parked there and walked up towards those tanks that caused the hazmat spill a few weeks ago. It's all sand now...And tons of trash, fencing, concrete, etc..-The water is still going over top of the dam/spillway. Usually you can see the top foot or so of concrete.  - There is still a ton of trees in the water. Most are just below the surface where you cannot see them until it's too late. The one below was out in the middle of the lake, just north of the Huffman/Atascocita bridge.  4951
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TXtransplant Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 10:55pm  
Bad planning and overbuilding imo.
 
Before I bought a house here I studied the flood plain maps (and history) online. This data is available with a quick Google search.
 
My old house was on a high spot in ST and to this day has never flooded.
 
Do your homework...peeps.!
 
The same....so sorry (no sarchasm) for those that have lost this year.
4951
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TexasOma Active Indicator LED Icon 14
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 11:02pm  
From the Google Earth pictures that RE posted and the pictures The Chad posted, and with the 3 recent floods, it's obvious there is much more to the flooding situation than just heavy amounts of rain! This should not be just a Kingwood/CoH problem or Harris County problem, this should be addressed by all the counties, cities, communities and agencies along the San Jacinto River.
 
This flooding is not going to just go away, it can't be put on a back burner and our politicians need to band together to start finding a solution and to seek out some of the causes! Maybe investigate these sandpit operations and the one in blue on the map! What is their contribution to the problem and stop whatever it is that's causing their party! 4951
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TXtransplant Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 11:07pm  
From the Google Earth pictures that RE posted and the pictures The Chad posted, and with the 3 recent floods, it's obvious there is much more to the flooding situation than just heavy amounts of rain! This should not be just a Kingwood/CoH problem or Harris County problem, this should be addressed by all the counties, cities, communities and agencies along the San Jacinto River.
 
This flooding is not going to just go away, it can't be put on a back burner and our politicians need to band together to start finding a solution and to seek out some of the causes! Maybe investigate these sandpit operations and the one in blue on the map! What is their contribution to the problem and stop whatever it is that's causing their party!
 
@TexasOma:
 
Unfortunately being downstream we are at the mercy of the whole and not the parts.
 
It is for this reason strongly I won't reside in either a low level area or next to a river that's considered
a watershed.
4951
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KWKayaker Active Indicator LED Icon 1
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 11:12pm  
Here is a very good example:
Impact to townhouses located on the San Jac River in Forest Cove:
 
2008 (Hurricane Ike) the river crested at 62.80 and no water got into the garages. NO WATER impact.
 
2016 (May) the river crested at 61.9 and got 7-8 feet of water in the garages.
 
Year. River crest. Water in garage
2008. 62.80 ft. 0 ft
2016. 61.90 ft. 7 ft

This is an issue that needs to be addressed. 4951
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TXtransplant Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 11:28pm  
Bad planning and overbuilding imo.
 
Before I bought a house here I studied the flood plain maps (and history) online. This data is available with a quick Google search.
 
My old house was on a high spot in ST and to this day has never flooded.
 
Do your homework...peeps.!
 
The same....so sorry (no sarchasm) for those that have lost this year.
 
@brat:
 
Thanks
 
4951
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fcabanski Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 7 years ago   Jun 27, '16 11:53pm  
Water 4951
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Estebanp Active Indicator LED Icon  New Member
~ 7 years ago   Jun 28, '16 7:07am  
I live in Walden Woods. And the blue lake by us has high walls around it. I watched alot of water poor into it during both floods and it held the all the extra water as far as I can tell, I can only see it from my side.
If anything it helped as a retainer. They treat there water hence why it's blue. Kids around the area have swam in it and said they seen fish in the what we call the blue lake.
I would like to know more about the blue lake.
I know it's been blue for over five years that we been back here. 4951
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buffaloglenn Active Indicator LED Icon 11
~ 7 years ago   Jun 28, '16 7:27am  
Those are frac sand mining operations.  They haul the sand once it is sorted and dried to frac wells in the Eagle Ford in central Texas, mostly.  I don't know about the blue lake, but the ones on the West Fork are frac sand businesses.  4951
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buffaloglenn Active Indicator LED Icon 11
~ 7 years ago   Jun 28, '16 7:35am  
Here is a very good example:
Impact to townhouses located on the San Jac River in Forest Cove:
 
2008 (Hurricane Ike) the river crested at 62.80 and no water got into the garages. NO WATER impact.
 
2016 (May) the river crested at 61.9 and got 7-8 feet of water in the garages.
 
Year. River crest. Water in garage
2008. 62.80 ft. 0 ft
2016. 61.90 ft. 7 ft

This is an issue that needs to be addressed.
 
@KWKayaker: Check 1994.  Water was higher, and every home and garage in Forest Cove south of about Magnolia or Sycamore flooded, all of it.  River peaked at about 66 feet at the 59 bridge. 
4951
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Stealth83 Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 7 years ago   Jun 28, '16 7:40am  
Removed By Request 4951
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