Lake Conroe to Kingwood: Look elsewhere for help with flooding

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by  Emily Foxhall Jan. 24, 2020

Homeowners who live along Lake Conroe were mad. They were mad they couldn’t get their boats in the water. Mad their homes might lose value. Mad they were spending thousands to shore up bulkheads that no longer had water pushing against them.

The San Jacinto River Authority, which operates Lake Conroe in Montgomery County, had agreed after Hurricane Harvey to lower the lake by 1 foot in the spring and 2 feet in the fall. Residents around the lake at first tolerated the policy, which was intended to help prevent flooding in places down the river such as storm-battered Kingwood. But, with it up for annual renewal in February, hundreds were now saying enough was enough.

The clash pits suburb against suburb more than two years after Harvey caused catastrophic damage, highlighting how hard it is to find flooding solutions as concern about the risk falls. Lowering Lake Conroe offered a quick way for officials to store more water should heavy rains return. The argument at hand is over how much exactly it helps — and whether it justifies the inconvenience to lakeside residents.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Lake-Conroe-to-Kingwood-Look-elsewhere-for-help-15002906.php

[Victoria33]

@Elderberry
@Cyber Liberty

I was going to move to Conroe to be closer to doctors.  I was living in Cape Royale, Coldspring, Texas, in San Jacinto County next to Montgomery County.  In Coldspring, we had one elderly family type doctor and that was it.

I got a real estate agent in Conroe to help me determine the best place for me to live there.  We went to the area of Lake Conroe; those are mainly private developments next to the river and the houses are upscale houses.  There were also some "you buy it, own it", condominiums.  I could afford to pay cash for a condo but realized the Homeowners Assoc., could raise your monthly POA fee to any amount they wanted and they were wealthy.  I didn't buy there.  Some of those houses flooded in Harvey Hurricane.

I had a Real Estate Broker's state license.  My advice to homeowners was:  Don't buy a house when the subdivision has any form of water in the title.  Some examples are:  "River Plantation" (in Conroe, those houses flooded in hurricane Harvey.), "Brook Haven", "Lakeside", etc.  If you live near water, it wants to go where you are.  Be sure your house is high enough not to be flooded if massive water can get in that area.

I still have a house in Conroe, and it did not flood during Harvey; I knew the insurance agent who insured my house.  When I bought it, he said I did not need flood insurance due to it being in the 100 yr. floodplain.  After Harvey, I thought the floodplain number would change, and I did buy flood insurance. 

Kingwood:
The West Fork of the San Jacinto River feeds water to make Conroe Lake and that water meets up with the East Fork of the San Jacinto River which travels through Coldspring/San Jacinto County.  That massive amount of water goes through Kingwood on its way to the Houston Ship Channel where chemical plants use that fresh water to make various chemicals from oil refining plants there.  Kingwood is going to flood every time the San Jacinto River receives huge amounts of rain.

Story: When I lived in San Jacinto County, 9/11 happened.  Then, I saw military helicopters going overhead heading to somewhere.  Later, I found it was the military going to the dam of the San Jacinto River to protect it.  That is how important the water is to get to the Houston ship channel - the oil refining plants there and onward south to other oil refining plants.  If that water doesn't get there, oil refining, as in gasoline, other products made from oil, stops.  I found these military helicopters are stationed in Montgomery County.

[Cyber Liberty]

@Victoria33  We're 900 feet or so above the Colorado, which is about 3 miles away.  If Hoover ever failed we'd be way up in the air watching it.

[Bigun]

If you don't want your house to flood when it rains don't build or buy one where that is possible.  It ain't rocket science.

[Victoria33]

In the case of Harvey, places flooded that had never flooded before.

[thackney]

The San Jacinto River reaches the Houston Ship Channel Downstream of Hwy 225 Refineries and Chemical plants.

The water in the Houston Ship Channel from Downtown to the San Jacinto Monument is fed from Buffalo Bayou and many small streams and Bayous.

After the San Jacinto River and the Houston Ship Channel Junction the water flows through several Bays until Galveston Bay.

https://www.hcfcd.org/Find-Your-Watershed/San-Jacinto-River

[thackney]

If you don't want your house to flood when it rains don't build or buy one where that is possible.  It ain't rocket science.

Possible?  Possible and probably are hugely different.  See the Noah and his account in the Bible.

[roamer_1]

If you don't want your house to flood when it rains don't build or buy one where that is possible.  It ain't rocket science.

Yep. Water don't stick to hills. Ain't even a bother here, though I am on the flat... There is a coulee out back that is at least 10 ft deep... and on a fair grade.

My last place was down by the river, and a totally different scenario... Every spring we worried for the river coming over, and three time it got to my street. I'll never do that again.

[Elderberry]

In over 60 yrs now neither my Houston childhood home nor my current home have ever flooded. Both are in the Sims Bayou Watershed and both are at an elevation of 37ft ASL(via Google Earth Pro). My childhood home was 100yds from the bayou and my current home is 1 mi. from Sims Bayou. Several times both homes have been surrounded by water, but the highest water has ever been has been over the curb and a few feet into the yard. When I bought my house in 85 it was in the 100 yr. flood plain. Some 15 yrs later the flood maps were changed and  both houses are currently in the 500 yr plain.

That doesn't mean that its not possible that they may flood some time in the future. (like when the ice caps melt)

[Elderberry]

I had a neighbor who grew up on the Mississippi River. From his age when I knew him, he must of been born around 1900. Annual, or more, flooding  was a way of life. Each flood added nutrients to their farm land. They would harvest cork oak logs and build their homes and farm buildings to float. They would guy wire them to stay in place during a flood. He told me during one flood, his sister radioed him that she was afraid that her home was tilting and she was afraid it was going to roll off the logs. Her place was upstream from him so there was no way for him to get to her during a flood. He told her to pray. She came out fine. They depended on the floods. They hated the building of the levies and there were instances of levies being dynamited.

[roamer_1]

I had a neighbor who grew up on the Mississippi River. From his age when I knew him, he must of been born around 1900. Annual, or more, flooding  was a way of life. Each flood added nutrients to their farm land. They would harvest cork oak logs and build their homes and farm buildings to float. They would guy wire them to stay in place during a flood. He told me during one flood, his sister radioed him that she was afraid that her home was tilting and she was afraid it was going to roll off the logs. Her place was upstream from him so there was no way for him to get to her during a flood. He told her to pray. She came out fine. They depended on the floods. They hated the building of the levies and there were instances of levies being dynamited.

It is interesting to go back and look at the styles of construction like that which were functionally sound, and now forgotten in our chunked and formed construction system. I dare say a suburb on the beach in Galveston looks little different than one in Kansas or Colorado, or anywhere else...

Floating buildings in the flood plain. dug-in sod houses in tornado country, houses on stilts in the swamps and on the beaches, cabins made of logs with mighty purlins and rafters in defense of mountain snows...

It is almost like weather is not a factor anymore.

[Bigun]

Yep. Water don't stick to hills. Ain't even a bother here, though I am on the flat... There is a coulee out back that is at least 10 ft deep... and on a fair grade.

My last place was down by the river, and a totally different scenario... Every spring we worried for the river coming over, and three time it got to my street. I'll never do that again.

My house is on a hill not far from where the San Jacinto River forks (on the map @thackney posted above).  I'm around 400' ASL and I'll assure you that if water ever gets into my house due to flooding there will be millions of people South of me swimming for their lives.  We got more than 56" of rain here over three days during Harvey and the only result was the ground being wet and my ponds overflowing.

[roamer_1]

My house is on a hill not far from where the San Jacinto River forks (on the map @thackney posted above).  I'm around 400' ASL and I'll assure you that if water ever gets into my house due to flooding there will be millions of people South of me swimming for their lives.  We got more than 56" of rain here over three days during Harvey and the only result was the ground being wet and my ponds overflowing.

Yep. For me to flood, the whole dang valley would have to flood 20 ft deep before I would have to worry. And that ain't figuring the 60 ft or so the river would have to beat just jumping out of its natural flood plain.

My only worry here is the snow deep enough to mess with my living room windows, which is a constant bother...  There are times I have to shovel out the windows all the way around. Which ain't as bad as it sounds, so long as I can plow it... The only ones I can't get at are on the back, and that's a gable, so not as needy, nor as packed. It sure would have been good thinking to put three more feet of foundation under this old girl. But the bottom of the living room windows, especially the big picture window under the eave is only 2 ft off the ground... Shoot, just what's coming off the roof can be a problem, not to mention 4ft laying natural on the ground. Like I said, it is a bother.

And wind... though this place has withstood a whole lot in its years of service. But if the weather is just so, the wind has a potential magnification coming down out of the canyon, and the very breeze that keeps me cool all summer can turn into a screamer from time to time.

But flood or fire, not a worry at all.

[thackney]

Yep. For me to flood, the whole dang valley would have to flood 20 ft deep before I would have to worry. And that ain't figuring the 60 ft or so the river would have to beat just jumping out of its natural flood plain.

My only worry here is the snow deep enough to mess with my living room windows, which is a constant bother...  There are times I have to shovel out the windows all the way around. Which ain't as bad as it sounds, so long as I can plow it... The only ones I can't get at are on the back, and that's a gable, so not as needy, nor as packed. It sure would have been good thinking to put three more feet of foundation under this old girl. But the bottom of the living room windows, especially the big picture window under the eave is only 2 ft off the ground... Shoot, just what's coming off the roof can be a problem, not to mention 4ft laying natural on the ground. Like I said, it is a bother.

And wind... though this place has withstood a whole lot in its years of service. But if the weather is just so, the wind has a potential magnification coming down out of the canyon, and the very breeze that keeps me cool all summer can turn into a screamer from time to time.

But flood or fire, not a worry at all.

I had some friends in Alaska who used the piled up snow to cool their soft drinks at work.  Open the window, the snow was just below the window.  Set in and cool, pick up a little later and enjoy.

The catch was they were in Valdez and their office was on the second floor.

[roamer_1]

I had some friends in Alaska who used the piled up snow to cool their soft drinks at work.  Open the window, the snow was just below the window.  Set in and cool, pick up a little later and enjoy.

The catch was they were in Valdez and their office was on the second floor.

That does not surprise me.

That cabin I am fixin to build if I can close that property will be 8 ft off the ground... with the entry gable at ground height butted into the up side of the slope... Snow ain't a bother then, and neither are bears.

The barn is the problem then... and the chicken coop and whatnot. All of that has to account for snow... Like a chicken run big enough for all winter, with a real roof over it sitting on posts and headers. And you might have paddocks off the stalls in the barn, but you won't be using em much once the snow slides off the roof the first time... Better have a big pen off the back end that you can keep plowed, or the critters are spending the whole winter inside.

And cows? You gotta plow the lane to get the feed and water out there. it is a chore, that snow is.