Preserve Hidden Lake (Timbergrove neighborhood)

Hello neighbors,

 

As many of you know, there is an effort underway to ensure that flood mitigation in our section of Timbergrove is not compromised by a federally funded project to be conducted by the City of Houston on the Hidden Lake Townhomes. We are seeking to raise neighborhood funds to ensure that our interests in this study are considered (details follow).

 

Here is some background for those of you who were not present at our July 15 meeting, the body of water we now call Hidden Lake was an oxbow of White Oak Bayou when Timbergrove Manor was developed in the 1950's. In the 1960’s and 1970’s when the White Oak bayou was re-routed and lined with concrete, the oxbow was cut off, forming what is now known as Hidden Lake. The body of water is usually unassuming and passive. Most of the water in the lake comes from surface runoff from Timbergrove Manor Section 3 south of 11th street. There is also at least one spring in the pool at the west end of the lake.

 

During significant rainfall events in the greater Houston area, the most notable recent examples being Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Harvey, the White Oak bayou overflows its banks and sheds water back into Hidden Lake and the basin in which the Hidden Lake Townhomes are located, thus providing flood mitigation in our neighborhood. Unfortunately the townhomes, because they are situated within this basin, have flooded at least seven times since 1998. The extent and frequency of these flood events has resulted in repeated flood policy claims from the Townhome owners. This has apparently become problematic for FEMA.

 

As a result, two mitigation studies have been conducted by the City of Houston, both of which concluded the best solution would be for FEMA to conduct a buyout of the properties and allow them to sit dormant in perpetuity. More recently, the City of Houston was awarded a $150,000 grant from FEMA to conduct a third study, again with the objective to determine how best to minimize further flooding claims from owners of the townhomes. This third study is the reason we have adjourned our neighborhood working group.

 

To the best of our knowledge, the COH has not yet awarded the contract for the study, but the procurement process is underway. The current study will consider structural options for minimizing the potential for the townhomes’ flooding as well as the FEMA funded buyout option which would be executed by Harris County. Our concern is that any structural intervention could negatively impact the lake's capacity to mitigate the impacts of future floods in our neighborhood.

 

Additionally, though the two most severe flood events in our recent history, tropical storm Allison and hurricane Harvey, affected only a portion of the homes in Section 3, the concern is that structural disruptions of the role that the Hidden Lake Basin plays in flood mitigation may result in flooding of many more of the homes in Section 3 during future flood events.

 

Since Hidden Lake primarily affects only the homes in the southernmost portion of Section 3, (homes on Glen Oaks, a portion Nashua, Turnpike, and portions of Prince, Bay Oaks, and Worthshire), the working group has elected not to involve the TMNA. However, because public funds are involved, the Super Neighborhood SNC-14 is closely following the initiative.

 

What can we, as property owners in Section 3 of Timbergrove Manor, do? We can band together to stay abreast of developments regarding the study and its findings and recommendations. We can ensure our neighbors know what is going on and how it could affect them. We can inform our City Council Members about our concerns and preferences. Our neighbor, Bryan Danna, enlisted the assistance of Mark Sappington, President of Sappington Engineering, who has significant experience in management of projects like the one involving Hidden Lake. Mr Sappington provided very valuable advice to the working group at our July 15th meeting regarding the most effective strategy for the neighborhood to take.

 

In Mr. Sappington's opinion, if we can arm ourselves with sound technical analyses and data, we might be able to render the project moot before the project moves too far forward. To that end, Mr. Sappington was asked to propose an engagement for his firm to study in more detail the issues surrounding the Hidden Lake study and develop some technical information to support our arguments to suspend further work on the study. He estimates the consulting services rendered by his firm would likely cost around $4,000. The consensus of the attendees of the July 15 meeting was that we, as “Friends of Hidden Lake,” would collectively provide the financial support for the study proposed by Mr. Sappington.

 

This GoFundMe page is an effort to raise the funds for Mr. Sappington's study and for future expenses related to this effort. Please consider donating to the fund to benefit the neighborhood.

 

Thanks very much to all of you!

 

Jason Wiersema

on behalf of the Friends of Hidden Lake