![]() ![]() These figures will help them determine what elevation to build to, how much detention to require and where to draw the boundaries of new floodplain maps. We can't do that.' And I'm like, ‘Well why not?'" Dunbar said.īe that as it may, engineers will now spend years and lots of money to update systems to reflect Atlas 14 rainfall estimates. "They're like, ‘Well yeah, Larry, but gee, if we use 35 inches of rain for the 100-year and we do our floodplain maps, look at all the property that's going to be in the 100-year floodplain, my goodness, across Harris County. It's not necessarily a popular perspective, Dunbar said. ![]() If the Houston area really wanted to plan for a 100-year storm, he said, officials would require developers to design drainage and detention for at least 30 inches of rainfall. "What do we believe is the current amount of rain that we would expect now on average to see once every 100 years - a 1% chance every year - what is that amount of rain? It's probably not 16 to 18. "If I were designing my own house, designing my own detention pond," Dunbar said, "I sure wouldn't be using Atlas 14 rain."ĭunbar said the Atlas 14 estimates would have to be doubled in order to plan effectively for the storms the region is currently getting. But some experts say they wouldn't necessarily use Atlas 14 estimates to plan for the future, like engineering consultant and attorney Larry Dunbar with Rice University's SSPEED Center. The National Weather Service has said that increased rainfall in recent years is part of the new numbers. Fort Bend County's new regulations based on Atlas 14 estimates just went into effect on January 1. After the new Texas estimates were released in 2018, Montgomery County updated their regulations effective January 2019 and Harris County followed in July. Like the rest of the Houston area, they're basing their decisions on a massive nationwide study from the National Weather Service called Atlas 14, which updated rainfall estimates for regions all across the country. ![]() We get a lot of comments about that."Ĭhris Paul/Houston Public Media Engineer Mark Vogler of the Fort Bend County Drainage District "They end up cooperating with us but again they want to make sure what they have to do everybody has to do and we do have very detailed requirements and very significant requirements. We're in business to protect the public," Vogler said. Those guys are in business to make money. "We get a lot of pushback from developers and engineers. The county already has a reputation for implementing strict requirements, like more stringent allowable runoff rates compared to Harris County or Montgomery County. The purpose of having drainage criteria is to keep development from flooding neighboring properties, Fort Bend County Engineer Mark Vogler said. But according to some experts, the new estimates would need to be doubled in order to be effective for planning purposes and they could be "obsolete on arrival." They're now requiring developers to plan for more rainfall - a 30% increase over their prior estimates, which were based on rainfall data from 1960. Recreational amenities within Kingdom Heights include six (6) pocket parks, amenity lakes, walking trails and a recreation center and swimming pool.Fort Bend County officials are the latest in the Houston area to implement stricter development requirements to prevent flooding, with new regulations that went into effect on January 1. As of October 2019, Kingdom Heights contained 789 houses completed or under construction. Development of Kingdom Heights began in 2007. 176 (“MUD 176”), the boundaries of which substantially overlap the District. Storm sewer drainage for Kingdom Heights to the District’s outfall facilities is provided by Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. The District is being developed as Kingdom Heights, a predominantly single family community with some commercial usages. The District lies entirely within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Richmond. The District presently contains approximately 595 acres of land located in the northeast portion of Fort Bend County approximately 28 miles southwest from downtown Houston, Texas. The District is empowered, among other things, to purchase, construct, operate and maintain all improvements and utilities necessary for providing flood plain reclamation, flood protection, detention and outfall drainage. The District is a conservation and reclamation district created by order of the Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas on August 28, 2007. ![]()
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