The Woodlands Edition - November 2019

ENVIRONMENT

HISTORICAL STREAM ELEVATION POINTS SINCE 2015

Spring Creek at Kuykendahl Road

Spring Creek at I-45

A RISING C O N C E R N In the past three years, stream elevation levels approaching the 500-year flood level have occurred on several points on Spring Creek in south Montgomery County.

Tax Day flood APRIL 18, 2016 Memorial Day flood MAY 27, 2016 Hurricane Harvey AUG. 27, 2016

104.1 ft. 108.5 ft. 111.4 ft.

134 ft. 140.1 ft. 140.8 ft. 141.4 ft. 500-year flood elevation point:

JUNE 2018

Spring Creek at Kuykendahl Road

Spring Creek at I-45

DEC. 2018

111.6 ft.

SOURCE:HARRISCOUNTYFLOODCONTROLDISTRICT/COMMUNITY IMPACTNEWSPAPER

Spring Creek reservoir study moves ahead with 100K interlocal funding agreement BY VANESSA HOLT

Bruce Rieser, a member of The Woodlands Town- ship board of directors and its drainage task force, said the study is the rst step, but it could take years to complete the project if one is found. “If [a site is found,] the next step is funding the full study … and once that study is complete, then the heavy liing begins where we have to nd the funding necessary to do whatever we come up with. That could be anywhere from [ million] to million. If one or more reservoirs is con- structed, it will almost certainly take longer than a decade,” Rieser said. Rieser said he believes there is no short-term solution for Spring Creek. “In my view, it’s really imperative that we start to toughen up design standards and increase deten- tion north and west of us. It’s just common sense— we’ve got to stop dumping water into Spring Creek,” he said. Areas such as Creekside Park, Herald Oaks and Timber Lakes Timber Ridge—which ooded during Harvey—could be at risk for ooding until a solution is found if a similar event were to happen, Rieser said. Chuck Gilman, the director of water resources and ood management for San Jacinto River Authority, said while the SJRA is not involved in funding the study, it has been involved with regional planning eorts since Spring Creek empties into the San Jacinto River, and it will oer support to the eort. “We’re more or less assisting [HCFCD] and the large regional study and providing any assistance needed.”

aer Hurricane Harvey in . Sites along Spring Creek during Hurricane Harvey recorded high-water levels within an inch of -year ood levels and also reached high levels during April and May , according to HCFCD records. However, funds for the reservoir study were not included in the HCFCD plan aer a billion bond referendum was passed by Harris County voters in . Furthermore, a . million grant application for projects, including the reservoir study submitted to the Texas Water Development Board in July , was denied in December. “THE EFFORT IS PRIMARILY TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ONE ORMORE SITESWHERE STORMWATER STORAGEWILL BE CONSTRUCTED THATWOULD PROVIDE AMEANINGFUL IMPACT TO THE SPRING CREEKWATERSHED.” —JIM STINSON, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE WOODLANDS WATER The search for suitable sites north and west of The Woodlands will use a combination of aerial imagery and eld reconnaissance, Stinson said. The various MUD boards will report on their ndings as the study progresses, he said. Future action could come as a result of these stud- ies, and additional funding or collaboration with other entities such as Montgomery County could be pursued, Stinson said. “If there are no stormwater storage sites that can provide the meaningful reduction in Spring Creek, then where else do we go?” Stinson said.

Aer several previous eorts to obtain funding for a reservoir siting study along Spring Creek failed, the project kicked o Oct. following an interlocal agreement between several The Woodlands-area utility districts. The , study will be funded by The Woodlands Municipal Utility District No. ; Montgomery County MUDs Nos. , , and ; and Harris-Montgomery Counties MUD No. . It will investigate possible detention sites within the Spring Creek watershed to reduce ooding in The Woodlands area, according to ocials working on the project. The project was approved by Harris County Commissioners Court on Sept. . Harris County approval was needed because the MUDs are working with Harris County Flood Control District to conduct the study, said Jim Stinson, the general manager of The Woodlands Water, the entity overseeing The Woodlands-area MUDs. Stinson said the main goals of the study are to look for one or more areas suitable for storm water storage, to determine the site’s storage potential and to determine the potential for lowering Spring Creek’s elevation during peak storm events. “The eort is primarily to determine if there are one or more sites where stormwater storage will be constructed that would provide a meaningful impact to the Spring Creek watershed, particularly in The Woodlands area,” Stinson said. Stinson said the concept for the project was iden- tied in a larger study done by the governor’s oce

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The Woodlands edition • November 2019