Posted on January 11, 2018
By Mihir Zaveri, Houston Chronicle
In a more regional approach to flood control, Harris and Montgomery counties are pursuing a study that could re-evaluate how reservoirs along the San Jacinto River are operated, an apparent response to Hurricane Harvey when massive water releases inundated thousands of homes and prompted a string of lawsuits.
The Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to work with its neighboring county to seek a flood protection planning grant from the Texas Water Development Board to study the 4,500-square-mile region that drains into the San Jacinto River watershed.
“We have a problem that’s regionwide, and we have the public support, and I think the political support to actually work together to get a big project done,” said Matthew Zeve, director of operations at the Harris County Flood Control District, which is leading the effort.
The study could examine the possibility of lowering water levels in lakes Conroe and Houston in advance of big storms like Harvey to forgo devastating releases into the river, Harris County officials said.
The effort could also review how both counties warn residents of incoming floodwaters along the San Jacinto and its tributaries, including Cypress Creek and Spring Creek, as well as the possibility of dredging Lake Houston, the city’s primary water supply, and increasing its capacity to hold floodwaters.
Houston City Councilman Dave Martin, who represents Kingwood and other areas in northeast Houston and who has been among the fiercest critics of the decision to release water into the river during Harvey, welcomed the study.
“It’s the first time I’m hearing of anything over these last five months when it seems like nothing is happening,” Martin said.
Vulnerabilities exposed
Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said he would not support permanently lowering Lake Conroe’s water level, but would be open to other options that could help people get out of harm’s way during major storms. He said the Montgomery County Commissioners Court would likely vote on an agreement between the counties in two weeks.
“The floodwaters don’t know where Montgomery and Harris County start and stop,” he said. “All of our drainage basins head south toward Harris County.”
Zeve said the grant could come as early as summer. The final study would include the San Jacinto River Authority and other local entities as partners. It is still undetermined how much the study would cost.
The move by the Harris County Commissioners Court signals a more regional approach to flood control in the wake of Harvey, which dropped more than 51 inches of rain on parts of the county, left dozens dead and flooded hundreds of thousands of structures.
Many major Houston area waterways, like the San Jacinto River, cross jurisdictional borders. Cypress Creek extends from Waller County to Harris County and the river. Harris County’s border with Liberty County is partly determined by Cedar Bayou, and its border with Brazoria County by Clear Creek.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently seeking authorization from Congress to study drainage, development patterns and extreme weather across the entire nine-county Houston metropolitan region.
Last fall, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett called for the creation of a regional flood control district that would include Harris and the surrounding counties.
Regional vulnerabilities were particularly highlighted during Harvey along the line separating Montgomery and Harris counties. The San Jacinto River Authority, which manages the Lake Conroe dam in Montgomery County, feared a dam failure and released 106 billion gallons of water into the river, starting at 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 27.
A wall of water crashed through Kingwood, Humble and other Harris County communities, taking many off-guard. Many contend the water could have been released more gradually ahead of the storm to prevent damages downstream.
“The fact that they maintained the water levels as high as they did as long as they did – if we could have released that water in advance of Harvey coming, it would have helped,” Emmett said.
He said the study with Montgomery County “allows two counties to work together to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Dredging Lake Houston
Hundreds of homeowners have now sued the river authority, claiming that the releases constituted an intentional taking of their properties by flooding and causing damage that includes repair costs, as well as loss of property values or business income.
“We will review the lawsuits thoroughly and respond accordingly, maintaining our responsibility to be careful stewards of the public funds entrusted to us to complete our work on behalf of our fellow Texans,” said Jace Houston, general manager of the river authority.
“Similar claims were brought against the SJRA after severe storms caused flooding in Montgomery County in October of 1994. SJRA was successful in having these lawsuits quickly dismissed for good reason: the flooding was neither caused nor made worse by the SJRA’s operation of the Lake Conroe dam.”
Martin, the Houston councilman, has called for the river authority to reduce the standing water level of Lake Conroe by 3 feet. He said people who live downstream of Lake Conroe should have a say in how the river authority is managed.
He is also pushing for the dredging of Lake Houston, which has collected silt over the years from the 4,500 square miles that drain into the San Jacinto River and eventually the lake – one option the study could key in on.
What exactly will be included in the study is still to-be-determined. Any lowering of lake levels would have to be balanced with their mission to supply Houston-area residents with water. Zeve said, for example, lowering the Lake Houston water level by 6 feet would deplete the lake’s water supply by 46 percent. The lake is the primary water supply for the city.
The river authority’s general manager called the future study one of its “most promising new efforts” following Harvey.
“This undertaking has the potential to result in recommended projects that could have a significant regional benefit,” he said.
Source: Houston Chronicle
