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MoCo Commissioner Taking Townsen Blvd. Extension Off 2025 Road Bond

Reduce Flooding — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 21:14:37 +0000

4/17/2025 – Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler’s office says he is taking the controversial Townsen Blvd. extension off of the County’s 2025 Road Bond. However, as of 4 P.M. this afternoon, the county’s website does not yet reflect the deletion. The change comes after a Town Hall meeting last night at which the […]

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MoCo Commissioner Taking Townsen Blvd. Extension Off 2025 Road Bond

Reduce Flooding — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 21:14:37 +0000

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Wastelands to Wetlands, Part III: Turning Ideas into Action

Reduce Flooding — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:26:01 +0000

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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West Fork Still Running Through Sand Pits

Reduce Flooding — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 02:32:42 +0000

8/6/24 – During Beryl in July, the San Jacinto West Fork continued to run through at least three abandoned sand pits. Mining companies still own two. A third has been sold to a residential developer for unknown purposes. The river captured the pits earlier this year. “River capture” is a term used by geologists when […]

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Kingwood Diversion Ditch Completely Blocked At River Grove

Reduce Flooding — Mon, 27 May 2024 00:07:48 +0000

5/26/24 – Now that the flood has completely receded, aerial photos show that the Kingwood Diversion Ditch at River Grove Park has become completely blocked by sand again … for the third time in six years. Without serious sand-mine reform (which is an unrealistic dream), dredging will become more frequent and costlier. We’re on an […]

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West and East Forks of San Jacinto Flooding Again

Reduce Flooding — Mon, 20 May 2024 01:02:45 +0000

May 19, 2024 – For the second time this month, the West and East Forks of the San Jacinto River are flooding. The East Fork crested last night about 1.5 below the prediction. However, the West Fork is now cresting at US59. Parts of River Grove Park and the turnaround under US59 are already flooded. […]

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West Fork Sand Mine Sending Sediment Downstream from Settling Pond

Reduce Flooding — Sat, 18 May 2024 02:26:04 +0000

5/17/2024 – The Hallett sand mine on the San Jacinto West Fork appears to have dug a trench across the maintenance road of its settling pond to lower the pond’s level. Murky wastewater is draining into the West Fork while the SJRA is currently releasing 10,875 cubic feet per second (CFS) from Lake Conroe in […]

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Video of Mile-Long Sand Pit Leaking Into West Fork

Reduce Flooding — Mon, 13 May 2024 21:31:33 +0000

Last week, the West Fork San Jacinto rerouted itself through a mile-long sand pit at the five-square mile Hallett Mine in Porter. Some people reported problems understanding how all the images in that post related to each other and where the mine was. To help eliminate confusion, I returned to the site this morning show […]

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SJRA Reducing Lake Conroe Release Rate

Reduce Flooding — Fri, 03 May 2024 05:56:53 +0000

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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Lake Conroe Increasing Release Rate After Torrential Rain

Reduce Flooding — Thu, 02 May 2024 15:54:25 +0000

5/2/24 Noon Update: Since publishing this, Lake Conroe has continued to rise and the SJRA has increased the release rate to 66,100 CFS. – Heavy storms dumped 10-12 inches of rain in isolated areas north of Lake Conroe last night. Most areas experienced 5-7 inches. As a result, Lake Conroe has increased its release rate […]

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Breach at Hallett Mine Expanding

Reduce Flooding — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:35:38 +0000

A breach at the giant Hallett Mine on the San Jacinto West Fork that began in late January or early February is still open and expanding. Two Pairs of Pictures, Two Weeks Apart I first reported the breach on April 10. Below are pictures taken then and today. In the pictures above, note the difference […]

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West Fork Sludge Fest

Reduce Flooding — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:35:04 +0000

The San Jacinto West Fork has turned into a sludge fest again. I took the picture below on 11/11/23. Not since the day that the West Fork turned white have I seen the contrast so dramatic at the confluence with Spring Creek. In that prior case, the cause was obvious. Two sand mines were discharging […]

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Swollen San Jacinto East and West Forks Sweep Through Sand Mines

Reduce Flooding — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:10:13 +0000

As floodwaters worked their way down the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto from last week’s heavy rains, they invaded sand mines on both rivers on Easter Sunday, 2023. Up to 9 inches of rain fell in the headwaters of both rivers during 3 days from 4/5 to 4/7. Atlas-14 rainfall probability statistics […]

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The Hand of Sand Miners on the San Jacinto

Reduce Flooding — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 19:03:37 +0000

The hand of sand miners weighs heavily on the San Jacinto watershed. Not all miners. But many. While exploring the river basin by helicopter last week, the contrast between two scenes struck me: 1) The natural blanket of green in Lake Houston Wilderness Park. 2) Sand mines that lined the banks of the East and […]

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Dredging Now Closer to East Fork Than West

Reduce Flooding — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 21:39:09 +0000

On July 9, the City of Houston announced a plan to dredge its way from the West Fork San Jacinto to the East Fork through a narrow channel south of Royal Shores in Kingwood. Since then, I’ve been tracking the progress. Between July 11 and August 28, the dredging moved about 1,200 feet east, or […]

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Lake Houston Dredging Starts Moving to East Fork

Reduce Flooding — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 22:40:33 +0000

On Thursday last week, Stephen Costello, PE, the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery Officer, gave an update on Lake Houston dredging. Costello said that mechanical dredging was starting to move from the West Fork to the East Fork of the San Jacinto River. Next Phase of Dredging Starting This marks the beginning of the next […]

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Floodgate, Dredging Plans Unveiled

Reduce Flooding — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 21:10:41 +0000

At one of the first large public meetings since Covid began, several hundred people crowded into the Kingwood Community Center last night. They came to see the City unveil floodgate and dredging plans for Lake Houston. Stephen Costello, PE, the City’s Chief Recovery Officer, addressed dredging. And Chris Mueller, PhD, PE, of engineering firm Black […]

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Floodwaters Converging Downstream on Lake Houston

Reduce Flooding — Mon, 03 May 2021 22:23:28 +0000

As of Monday morning, the threat to Lake Conroe had passed, but now floodwaters from the rain soaked northwestern portion of the region are converging on Lake Houston. Here’s a roundup of what’s happening where. Lake Conroe Going Down The San Jacinto River Authority reduced its discharge rate to from 9275 cubic feet per second […]

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West Fork Still Running Siltier Than Spring Creek

Reduce Flooding — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 02:36:29 +0000

After 3.5 years since Harvey and dozens of helicopter flights up and down the West Fork of the San Jacinto, it never ceases to amaze me. Despite sediment gage readings that say more silt is coming from Spring and Cypress Creeks than the West Fork, the West Fork appears siltier the vast majority of the […]

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San Jacinto Master Drainage Plan Uses Gage UPSTREAM from Sand Mines to Estimate West Fork Sedimentation

Reduce Flooding — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 22:17:19 +0000

Appendix F of the San Jacinto River Basin Master Drainage Plan discusses the sediment contribution to Lake Houston of various tributaries. It asserts that Cypress Creek, Spring Creek, and West Fork sub-watersheds are the highest contributors of suspended sediment to Lake Houston, contributing an estimated 38.7 percent, 26.8 percent, and 13.0 percent of the total […]

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