YES, the tainter gates were open during the storm. Yes they are used during times when high release is needed. In fact, they're looking into possibly installing two more. 

Class action lawsuit in process. 

What a joke. First of all a suite has to brought by similarly situated individuals that on a prima facia basis alleges some wrong doing or negligence on the part of SJ River authority. Then, if it passes that test, a judge has to certify it a class action. It wont even make it that far. 

Now we gotta listen to the BS of Joe Lawyer above.

LMFAO 

There were a lot of affluent homes in KW that got flooded. If you think they are going to sit still and allow the dam to flood again and again and again you are naive. Kingwood Lawyers got flooded and have been save our community from flooding on purpose again.

I agree, the San Jac, Addicks, and Barker dams were released 1) without notifying homeowners so that they could prepare. Instead they were happy to make it through Harvey but woke up the next day with 4 ft of water in their homes. They were NOT in the flood plain at all. 2) the dams were released at record amounts of water not slowly they they have done in the past. 3) They decided not to pre-release water fro the reservoir before the storm because they wanted to "save" the water in Lake Conroe for surrounding businesses in case of a drought. WTF?!4) The dam structures at Barker and Addicks are a 1940 design that failed to work, failed to prevent flooding as it was intended to, actually caused flooding to the tune of 18 billion dollars and needs dire updating. 5) Class Action Lawsuit, Personal Lawsuit, Corporate Lawsuit, whatever it takes!! 

There were a lot of affluent homes in KW that got flooded.

When one lives at river elevation...Its common sense that rivers flood. Affluent homes are just as tragic as impoverished homes.

Food for thought:
Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in .... Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, and the highest point in far northwest Houston is about 125 feet (38 m) in elevation.

link 

I agree, the San Jac, Addicks, and Barker dams were released 1) without notifying homeowners so that they could prepare. Instead they were happy to make it through Harvey but woke up the next day with 4 ft of water in their homes. They were NOT in the flood plain at all. 2) the dams were released at record amounts of water not slowly they they have done in the past. 3) They decided not to pre-release water fro the reservoir before the storm because they wanted to "save" the water in Lake Conroe for surrounding businesses in case of a drought. WTF?!4) The dam structures at Barker and Addicks are a 1940 design that failed to work, failed to prevent flooding as it was intended to, actually caused flooding to the tune of 18 billion dollars and needs dire updating. 5) Class Action Lawsuit, Personal Lawsuit, Corporate Lawsuit, whatever it takes!!?



a bunch of false info here. i was getting emails from dave martin's office indicating exactly what was being released from conroe and when so our city officials were well aware. it was no secret done under the veil of darkness.

do you understand that lake houston is a constant height lake which is what you get with a spillway dam?

the 1994 lawsuit was won by the s.j.r.a. this one will be won by them also. 

3) They decided not to pre-release water fro the reservoir before the storm because they wanted to "save" the water in Lake Conroe for surrounding businesses in case of a drought. WTF?!



this isn't even close to the truth. do you believe every single rumor floating about these days from angry homeowners? try looking at facts. 

I know both areas around KW and the ones in Energy Corridor have both exploded with growth. More concrete upon concrete. Water has to go somewhere. How often do we get the 50" in just a few days?

The addicks and barker reservoir releases were known. I personally have a place there so was watching the streets that very night they did so.

The Conroe dam did not watch it as close so not sure how known it was to all. But. Not sure it would be a surprise. Older part of KW seemed to fair better than some.

Ok, two cents worth... 

I know. I know. This is KU You want me to cite every source for every comment I make. Gosh I wish I had the news articles about not wanting to pre-release the reservoir days before the storm. I will have to search for it when I have time. 

I think the problem with pre-release is that if they are wrong in calculating how much rain we may get we're screwed because it's the city's water supply. Also they can't drop it below the intake level to the purification plant.

In my opinion what caused the flooding is complicated and multifaceted. And those that want to simply blame it on the San Jacinto River Authority just display ignorance. 

this isn't even close to the truth. do you believe every single rumor floating about these days from angry homeowners? try looking at facts.

Present them. 

I think the problem with pre-release is that if they are wrong in calculating how much rain we may get we're screwed because it's the city's water supply. Also they can't drop it below the intake level to the purification plant.

And the prediction was 50" for how many days? They don't provide water for the city. They provide water for Conroe and The Woodlands.

Yeah, yeah, the river needs to be dredged, the Lake Houston needs to be dug out, Costco's cement added to the extra water, too much sand and silt, blah blah blah. But the majority of water came from the dam release AND the 38" of rain SJRA wasn't expecting. 

If I remember correctly Lake Houston does not have a dam to open, they have spillways. Lake Conroe has the dam that is regulated... if Lake Houston had a dam to be controlled it would not flood this area as it is east of KW. 

Dam it to hell.

LMFAO 

"The SJRA released two-and-a-half times more water than they?d ever released before. There is no excuse for not adequately warning in a meaningful way"

man-made flood from the SJRA 

I agree, the San Jac, Addicks, and Barker dams were released 1) without notifying homeowners so that they could prepare.



I can't answer to Addicks or Barker but all the Conroe releases into the San Jac were known by the city. Dave Martin was releasing all the info as it was happening via email notifications and also via his Facebook page.


instead they were happy to make it through Harvey but woke up the next day with 4 ft of water in their homes. They were NOT in the flood plain at all.

The majority of the homes that flooded were indeed in the flood plain whether it be the 500 yr, 100 yr, or the floodway itself. I've analyzed those maps to death.



2) the dams were released at record amounts of water not slowly they they have done in the past.

This is in direct disagreement with the statistics I've seen.


3) They decided not to pre-release water fro the reservoir before the storm because they wanted to "save" the water in Lake Conroe for surrounding businesses in case of a drought. WTF?!

I don't know who came up with that idea but it's way out there.

There is so much misinformation floating around.

The #1 reason the City of Houston flooded as it did was because it received close to 40" of rain in 3 days time; the normal annual rainfall amount. The city is built on rice paddies and isn't called the Bayou City for nothing....the overall elevation is low and concrete/impervious surface is in abundance. Not a good mix.

So many in today's society are all about placing blame and pointing fingers. "It's your fault!"

As for Kingwood, why was this so much worse than the 1994 flood? Look to the developer. The majority of development since then has been in the flood plain. Barrington, Kingwood Greens, Royal Shores, Kings River along the riverside, Kings River Estates, Kings Lake Estates, Kings Crown Estates.

Then there's the commerical development in the river basin, Kings Harbor, and all along Townsend.

All the new development caused it to flood higher and farther into the areas that were flood prone but never flooded to this extent. ie: Kingwood Lakes and Fosters Mill.

And now a developer has major plans for all along Hamblen Rd and Woodland Hills Dr between Deer Ridge and River Grove Parks....for a subdivision, marina, commercial, you name it. Have you guys seen the plans that will begin with soon with the county expanding Hamblen to Woodland Hills, widening Wdld Hills and the connecting the two? This is all public information on HCAD and the City of Houston's websites. 

So you blame developments and growth. I blame ill-timed water release. PotTAYtoes. PoTAHtoes. Either way, changes need to be made to protocol to prevent this from happening again. 

If I remember correctly Lake Houston does not have a dam to open, they have spillways. Lake Conroe has the dam that is regulated... if Lake Houston had a dam to be controlled it would not flood this area as it is east of KW.


Correct. Conroe has gates. If it gets to the point where their spillway will be used, the dam itself which is an earthen dam, will be compromised. If that ever happens, Kingwood in totality will be under water.

Lake Houston, on the other hand, IS a spillway damn thus it maintains a constant height. Because of this fact, dredging the lake or the river doesn't do a darn bit of good. As I originally stated in this topic, the gates were open. All two of them. The city is looking into possibly installing two more gates at this time.

There is a reason Lake Houston must maintain a constant depth. It is the city's water reservoir. The water can't be dropped because of the intake into the purification system for consumption. The intake can't be lowered for numerous reasons, the most obvious being the lower it gets, sediment goes into the intake.



"The SJRA released two-and-a-half times more water than they?d ever released before.



Because it rained twice as much as it ever had before.

Re: your article link...."an-made flood from the SJRA "


Everyone's motives come into question.... "Former Representative Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) who is now running for his previous State Representative, District 15, seat in the March 6, 2018, Republican Primary Election, has become the primary critic of the SJRA. "

Sure. He's telling the people what they want to here...putting the blame elsewhere. 

So you blame developments and growth. I blame ill-timed water release.



Nope. No, I don't. That is just part of the reason. I thought I explained that.

The reasons are multi-faceted, complicated, and numerous. The main reason that I stated was that the area received it's annual rainfall amount in 3 days.

Those that simply want to blame water release levels are naive and ignorant. No offense but that's a fact.

As an aside, you may remember that the 1994 lawsuit was won by the SJRA. 

PotTAYtoes. PoTAHtoes.


LOL it has nothing whatsoever to do with that.

I'm not here to argue but, rather, to discuss the facts. I'm not going to continue going back and forth.



Either way, changes need to be made to protocol to prevent this from happening again.?


Well then address your request to Mother Nature. Or God. Your choice. 

Won't bother arguing with God, but I think we can both agreek it is in the best interest of all that we prevent flooding to the best of our ability rather than cause it then deal with the results after. In the case of Addicks and Barker, the 1940's style of damming water is simply not working. btw those are the people in West Houston that claim they never got warning. San Jac was designed to flood those below the dam as well with the West Fork (San Jac/59 area) to receive the majority of water. Time for an update to prevent flooding at all cost.

Look at the power of the amount of released water from KHOU Daniel Gotera's submission of a private video as it moves the concrete barriers on San Jac/59. It's amazing that someone was there when it happened to catch it on video Aug. 29th in the morning. . Video HERE 

Here is an account from flooded a KW resident about the release of water.

"It was the nighttime release at 2am without advance warning that I'm most upset about. I actually stayed up til 2am that morning and there was no collected water on our street. By 7 am water was halfway up our driveway stranding two cars that ended up flooding and leaving 28" in our home." 

"It was the nighttime release at 2am without advance warning that I'm most upset about. I actually stayed up til 2am that morning and there was no collected water on our street. By 7 am water was halfway up our driveway stranding two cars that ended up flooding and leaving 28" in our home."?



That water rose at 7am, I have no doubt about. It can't possibly be related to a 2am release from Conroe however. That's because another fact is that it takes close to 24 hours for the water to flow from the Lake Conroe dam to Kingwood.

Regarding another probable contributing cause to the flooding..
As everyone knows, the San Jacinto River Authority controls Lake Conroe. However it's the Coastal Water Authority that controls Lake Houston. These two entities do not communicate with one another; not even during flood times. 

These two entities do not communicate with one another; not even during flood times.


This is one area that needs to bbe fixed. That and this:

"SJRA has at least three major problems. First, as an agency whose board comes from gubernatorial appointments as opposed to direct election by local citizens, SJRA seems largely out of touch with the concerns and needs of this community.

Second, SJRA suffers from incestuous relationships with engineering contractors. Halff Associates, the same engineering firm whose vice president is Bobby Jack Adams, Craig Doyal?s best friend and business partner, is one of the primary engineering contractors for SJRA. Adams is the son of longtime SJRA Executive Director Jim Adams who was Houston?s predecessor. Halff is very slowly working on a drainage study, although it?s unclear at this point what such a drainage study will contribute beyond reiterating the fact that water flows downhill into tributaries with which longtime residents of Montgomery County are already very familiar. There?s no reason whatsoever to wait to pay Halff almost two million dollars for a seemingly unnecessary study in order to resolve the third problem, which SJRA should have resolved long ago."

http://thegoldenhammer.net/the-flooding-catastrophe-from-tropical-storm-harvey-was-largely-man-made/ 

Same thing with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District. (And probably the Lone Star Conservation District as well.)

These are all quasi-governmental agencies but who gets the appointments, who they really report to/answer to, and what happens to the massive amounts of cash they generate always appears shady to me. 

I came across this the other day.

City of Houston flooding and storm surge symposium documents and video. 

It's shady and small town stuff common in Houston/Texas.

Do you know the time the dam was released? I never could get a straight answer. 

There is a good intro to the story on Addicks/Barker and flood issue here. HBO VICE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBG6gTcW2_0 

So you blame developments and growth. I blame ill-timed water release. PotTAYtoes. PoTAHtoes. Either way, changes need to be made to protocol to prevent this from happening again.

40-50 odd inches of water came from an apparently climate change enabled storm that plugged up a whole system that is outdated. There is a combination global warming issue, infrastructure, drainage, and over development (++concrete, development along rivers, bayous, and wetlands) problem working in tandem. How they are going to untangle the best approaches to fix and prevent it--I dunno.

If you live in Houston, you might get flooded. Get flood insurance or move. Who knows when the combined forces will be resolved. That's my takeaway.

There are multi million dollar houses along the Buffalo Bayou underwater still. Kingwood was not the only one impacted--- whether Harvey or overfilled dam. We are all part of the same broken system. I'm heartbroken and saddened for the damage and pain this has caused. I look straight ahead on my way home because it's just too much to take in. 

In The Memorial area.

City officials ? who could have ordered evacuations ? said they were told by the Corps that the controlled releases would not cause life-threatening flooding, with only streets expected to be underwater.

http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/West-Houston-resident-ask-why-evacuations-not-12203258.php?utm_content=chron_ap_zonec_hold_v1&ipid=chronapholdreccos&cmpid=fb-desktop 

City officials ? who could have ordered evacuations ?

Where to? Without a boat where were you going to evacuate? Maybe you could get out of the neighborhood, but you couldn't get on the highway. If you were ok, could get to a second floor, would the boat to get you be better used for people higher in a triage situation (sick, one story house, elderly, etc.)?

Honestly, the fact only 70 people died is amazing to me (when 6.5 mill were impacted). So, while it was awful to live through, and terrible people lost their lives at all, the life loss was minimized, which is probably the bottom line in a disaster situation. 

If you live in Houston, you might get flooded. Get flood insurance or move. Who knows when the combined forces will be resolved. That's my takeaway.

There are multi million dollar houses along the Buffalo Bayou underwater still. Kingwood was not the only one impacted--- whether Harvey or overfilled dam. We are all part of the same broken system. I'm heartbroken and saddened for the damage and pain this has caused. I look straight ahead on my way home because it's just too much to take in.?



I hear you honey and agree with you whole heartedly. 

City officials ? who could have ordered evacuations ? said they were told by the Corps that the controlled releases would not cause life-threatening flooding, with only streets expected to be underwater.



Humans are prone to error. Shoot them?

70 Houstonians died? Ist hat true? 

LOL 

You can't release water at 2.5 times the highest ever rate, and at the same time tell us the river will crest two feet lower than it did in 1994. Would have taken different loss mitigation measures if the officials had been honest on how much the water was expected to rise. 

If they planned on releasing enough water to flood my house (though they expected street flooding only with the largest release of water ever at Barker Addicks) I would want to be alerted about the time of day it would be released (surely they knew that?) and told to gather my most precious belongings and leave. Then I would paln accordingly either to evacuate or shelter in place but at least have time to protect my belongings. To leave after the fact would be moot. 

Given that 1994 did this, it makes sense that all the flood zone areas on the river would experience it again, especially with new river front and lake front homes areas close to wetlands and multiple tributaries.

This info was not ever specific to any neighborhood unless they evacuated or were recused (Barrington, Enclave, or Royal Shore on the Mayor) which I assume meant they brought in police personnel to make it happen and tell people where to go.

Everyone was essentially an island in this experience, and I lost phone data because of towers erected and my out of state family attempted to update but could not pinpoint areas as the data changed on the fly--from locating members in Arbor Terrace, and the shelters they went. The KW CC and West San Jac water measures were offline, so there were no measurements reported. But at last report were above the 94 levels.

I do not know if they factored all of the expected overflow from all of the tributaries heading to West Fork, and it wouldn't have mattered, because they still followed protocol supposedly. A map look will show how many interrelated chains flow through the low land from San Jacinto/Lakeland into Kingwood.

Hopefully they can come up with flood mitigation scenarios when that happens, so it won't again.

A heart break. But, as a long bayou, lake and river lover, water will flood, and you can't rely on maps for security. My father lost his whole house, and the experience emptying generations of memories was heartbreaking. But, strangely, I think he had some peace that he no longer had to keep up and could start over.

My brothers scanned a million photos and we all have the albums. There are even places that you can just send your box and they will put it together so save you the heartache. 

There is a plan to widen and lengthen Hamblen Road back to Woodland Hills Dr. I sure as heck hope they take the reoccurring flooding into account as well as proper drainage down there to the river! The plans include raising Hamblen to go over the RxR tracks and a park around 494/Hamblen. 

Sorry for your flood losses Tryingto. We were never in a flood zone until about 10 years ago after Ike. Then they change the zoning and put our mailbox into Zone AE. Then a few years ago into Zone X. Each time, it cost us $$$ to get a new survey done so they knew our elevation and how much to charge us to protect the whole house, not just the mailbox. Never have flooded. This time the water came up 4 ft on to the lawn and came hardly close to flooding the actual mailbox sbutI believe their findings were correct. That is the highest area where water goes. But again, our house was not in danger of flooding. The house is paid off. We won't be buying flood insurance as we are at approx 78ft elevation, or something like that.