We have an important update on the much awaited restoration of the Flatbank Diversion Channel. As you might be aware, there is erosion damage that has occurred over the past several months at multiple locations in this channel, which could eventually threaten our levee’s integrity. The Flatbank Diversion Channel is the water body that we cross over on the east side of LID 19 as we go towards Sienna on LJ parkway. LID 19’s board and consultants have been in constant touch with Fort Bend County drainage district to get this project started post Harvey. Finally, the Drainage District has contracted with Lecon to start the project on Tuesday, September 6, weather permitting, and it is anticipated to be completed within 6 months with funds from FEMA and the county. LID 19 consultants are engaged extensively with the county to ensure that the LID 19 levees are properly accessed, monitoring in place to detect any compression of LID19 levees, and have complete access to the levees in case of any emergency operations. The construction may require periodic road closures of LJ Parkway over the Sienna bridge over this 6 months of project. Please drive carefully through these partial closures and avoid the bridge during that time when possible. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out via https://www.fblid19.com/contact-us/.

Here is the notice from the county with more details about this project: “The Fort Bend County Drainage District has hired Lecon Inc. as the contractor to complete the  Flatbank Channel restoration project. Construction will begin September 6, 2022. Lecon has 182 days to complete the job. The project will consist of  removing the existing unstable soils at the damaged locations. Rock riprap will then be installed at the toe of the slope to prevent erosion along the toe. The slope will then be backfilled and compacted. The disturbed areas shall then be top soiled and vegetated.”

Steep Bank Pump Station Expansion Update

The construction of the expansion to the Steep Bank Creek Storm Water Pump Station is progressing.  The current capacity of the pump station is 80,000 gallons per minute. The expansion will add 150,000 gallons per minute of additional capacity.  The project was on schedule to be completed in June of 2022. However, global supply chain issues with electrical equipment necessary for the completion and operation of the expansion have caused the project’s completion to be pushed to August or September 2022 based on current estimates.  Equipment that used to be available in days is taking weeks and equipment that took weeks is taking months for delivery.

The pump station is currently available to pump 80,000 gallons per minute and the District’s mobile pumps with a total capacity of 81,000 gallons per minute have remained deployed and are available for use should they be needed.  The mobile pumps will remain deployed until the expansion of the pump station is complete, and possibly beyond.

Lost Creek Pump Station Update

Fort Bend County LID 19 applied for and received a  zero % interest rate loan from Texas Water Development Board (TWBD) for the planning, design, and construction of the new storm water pump station in the Steep Bank Creek service area. First Colony LID, and Fort Bend County MUD 115 participated in sharing the financial burden of this project. We are very grateful for this participation.

The pump station will provide an additional 200,000 gallons per minute of capacity to the Steep Bank Creek service area, with backup power for the system to be used in case of the grid power failure.  The geotechnical investigation and survey work are completed.  The environmental work associated with the project has been completed and is being reviewed by the TWDB.  Design, including mechanical, structural and electrical, are currently underway and anticipate 90% completion by the end of the summer 2022.  Following plan reviews by the TWDB, County and City of Missouri City, we plan to publicly bid the project in 1Q 2023 and construction to follow shortly after that.  It is estimated that construction will take 18 months once started.

As we all know, the Flat Bank Channel (which you cross over a bridge when you drive from LJ Parkway to Sienna) has suffered many areas of erosion over the past few years. So far these do not pose any imminent danger to our levee system. However, these erosion locations need to be repaired, for the safety of the levee system. Although the Channel is owned and maintained by Fort Bend County Drainage District (FBCDD), LID 19’s Board of Directors has been paying close attention to this issue.

According to FBCDD, the delays in the repair work have largely been attributable to federal funding and approvals fort the project.  Below is a rough timeline of events, as reported by FBCDD:

A large reason for the delay is due to the initial recommendation for the use of Scourlok gabion baskets by FEMA. Engineers worked with the Scourlok manufacturer and a soils engineer to determine that FEMA’s initial design to use Scourlok was found to be overly expensive due to the amount of excavation and back fill required. Additionally, the lower limits of excavation could have jeopardized the integrity of the levee. A geologic investigation and soils analysis determined that a revised design to eliminate the Scourlok baskets, flatten the side slopes, decrease the excavation, and use rock riprap to stabilize the toe.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Flat Bank Channel project, please contact the FBCDD or submit an inquiry on LID 19’s website.