Harris County Flood Control District to Begin Maintenance on Taylor Gully

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 19, 2019

Contact: Jessica Beemer (832) 393-3008

Harris County Flood Control District to Begin Maintenance on Taylor Gully

Houston, TX - Houston City Council Member Dave Martin would like to make Kingwood and Lake Houston residents aware the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) has completed a comprehensive field investigation and will begin a desilt project on the upstream portion of Taylor Gully from Bassingham to the Harris County line. The work is expected to be completed by September 2019, weather permitting.

This maintenance project became a priority for Council Member Martin after the May 2019 rain events that flooded over 300 homes in the Kingwood community. During these rain events, intense rainfall rates greatly exceeded internal and primary drainage system capabilities resulting in significant and at times deep street flooding and sheetflow. On May 8, City of Houston contractors, as well as Harris County Flood Control District, investigated their designated drainage systems and determined the flooding was potentially caused by development upstream in Montgomery County that sent large volumes of sheetflow into the Elm Grove subdivision and Taylor Gully (G103-80-03-1).

Due to this area being an orphan channel, HCFCD could not begin corrective maintenance on Taylor Gully until obtaining a Right-of-Way Transfer from the City of Houston. This item was originally scheduled to be on the City Council Agenda the week of July 15, but has been postponed until the Houston City Council Meeting on Wednesday, July 24 at 9:00 a.m. Due to the delay, Council Member Martin requested and was successful in getting a Temporary Right-of-Entry granted on Friday, July 12, to allow Harris County Flood Control District the opportunity to mobilize equipment and begin maintenance as scheduled on Monday, July 15.

This work effort will include desilting the channel, reconstructing the backslope interceptor structures, installing new backslope interceptor pipes, regrading backslope swales, installing new gates and signs, and resetting the covers of the "E type" inlets that have been damaged.

Crews are expected to work during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. This work should not require any lane closures and residents may experience an increase in noise levels during construction hours due to trucks and equipment in the area.

After completing this reach of channel, HCFCD staff will investigate Taylor Gully further downstream, where HCFCD completed a desilt job in the spring of 2019. HCFCD will open up any constrictions and desilt the channel if necessary.

For more information on the project, please contact Harris County Flood Control by visiting this link or calling (713) 684-4000.

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