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SJRA Wins Appeal Against Downstream Homeowners in Federal Court

October 20, 2025 – On October 16, 2025, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals ruled that the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) enjoyed governmental immunity in one set of “takings” claims arising out of Hurricane Harvey. The three-judge panel reversed a ruling by the 152nd District Court in Harris County. The new ruling said that the […]

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SJRA, Conroe Settle Lawsuit after Nine Years

8/15/25 – The San Jacinto River Authority and City of Conroe issued a joint press release about the settlement this morning of their nine-year legal battle over water rates. This press release just came in. I’ve added subheads to help highlight key points. Otherwise, the text between the lines is verbatim: SJRA Directors Unanimously Approve […]

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SJRA Unveils 10-Year Flood-Mitigation Plan

8/4/2025 – The San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) has unveiled a ten-year flood-mitigation plan for the river basin. For the most part, it’s built around continuations of previous efforts. Regardless, it’s interesting to see what SJRA hopes to focus on in the future. The plan contains eight main elements: Let’s look at each. Spring Creek […]

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Wastelands to Wetlands, Part III: Turning Ideas into Action

3/31/25 – In the first two parts of this “Wastelands to Wetlands” series, I presented a vision for restoration of the San Jacinto West Fork and listed all the various parties who have an interest in the effort and could help. But how do you coordinate them? Who would take responsibility/authority for ensuring restoration? And […]

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Appellate Court Dismisses Homeowners’ Claims in SJRA Takings Case

11/30/24 – On November 26, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas dismissed homeowners’ claims in the long-running SJRA Takings Case. The case arose from Hurricane Harvey flood damage. Downstream homeowners alleged that San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) releases from Lake Conroe significantly exacerbated their flooding. The resulting damage, they claimed, […]

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Details of Lake Conroe Contract between SJRA, City

8/21/24 – The City of Houston approved a new Lake Conroe contract with the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) last September. For those interested in a deep dive, I’ve posted the entire 48-page document on my Reports Page under the San Jacinto River Authority tab. For everyone else, I’ve posted a brief summary below. It […]

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“Seasonal” Lake Lowering Out. “Active Storm Management” In.

The San Jacinto River Authority and City of Houston have abandoned their automatic “seasonal” lake lowering policy. The seasonal program lowered Lake Conroe automatically to fixed levels during the rainiest parts of the year (April/May and August/September, i.e., the peak of hurricane season). They have replaced seasonal lowering with a new program called “active storm […]

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How SJRA Set Lake Conroe Release Rates During May Storm

5/24/24 – The SJRA board reviewed a presentation yesterday about Lake Conroe release rates during the early May storm this year. Sadly, while some people flooded, far fewer flooded than in Harvey, despite the fact that the peak inflow to Lake Conroe was higher during this storm than it was in Harvey. Better management of […]

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SJRA Reducing Lake Conroe Release Rate

May 3, 2024 – As of 10 PM last night, the level of Lake Conroe had declined slightly for several hours. That indicates inflows are now less than outflows. Accordingly, San Jacinto River Authority Board Member Mark Micheletti worked out an agreement with the SJRA General Manager to start reducing the lake’s release rate. By […]

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