John Blount, Harris County Engineer In late August, a downgraded tropical storm Harvey, which made landfall as a category 4 hurricane just days before, stalled over southwest Texas causing torrential flooding throughout the region. Unincorporated Harris County alone was inundated with in excess of a trillions gallons of storm water over 4 days, enough to fill the Astrodome 3200 times. In the aftermath of the unprecedented event, local officials were left to shepherd constituents through recovery and back to a sense of normalcy. In this presentation, the county engineer, John Blount, gives a detailed account of the after events of Hurricane Harvey and its effects on the environment, infrastructure and community. Mr. Blount will analyze flood data yet to be released to the public, in order give the audience a perspective of just how devastating Harvey’s flood waters were. This session will breaks down the county facilities destroyed by Hurricane Harvey and John’s vision to respond with resilient solutions instead of temporary fixes because with the frequency and severity of recent storms, this could be the new normal.

1. Office of the County Engineer
John R. Blount, P.E.
June 2018
Hurricane Harvey
A Response to Disaster

2. Agenda
• Public Safety
• Debris Operations
• Private Damage
• Harris County Facilities
• Sustainability Initiatives

3. Day One of Recovery
Priorities:
• Safety of Employees
• Timely Damage Assessments
• Aggressive Recovery Plan
• Continuity of Government
Tuesday August 30th

4.  13,000+ centerline miles of roads maintained
 Average of up to 50,000 vehicles per day
 Majority are local roads
 Wide range of ages, original design criteria
 800+ bridges
 2 ferry boats at Lynchburg
 900+ traffic signals
 500+ school zone flashers
 250 miles +/- of fiber optic cable for ITS and signal
operations
 8 major communications hub buildings
Note: This list does not fully include Harris County Toll Road assets
Harris County
Transportation Asset Summary

5. Immediately following Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Engineering
Department rapidly mobilized to achieve the following key accomplishments:
 Successfully completed over $10 million dollars in repairs to the Lynchburg Ferry in
less 180 days
 Rapidly repaired 12 washed out roads to allow pedestrian/emergency vehicle access
Most Notable: Market Street ($1.8 Million) & Garret Road ($950k)
 Inspected 886 bridges in 2 week, to ensure structural stability and public safety
Most Notable: Clay Road over South Mayde Creek ($310k)
 The HCED was able to quickly respond to and address over 200 Damaged Items
through the use of a flexible and adaptive staff organization
HCED Key Accomplishments
Roads & Bridges

6. Market Street
• Section of Road (250’ x
200’)
• Four-way intersection
washed out.
• Roadway re-opened in
less than 120 days later.
After RepairsBefore Repairs

7. Immediately following Hurricane Harvey, Harris County Engineering
Department rapidly mobilized to achieve the following key accomplishments:
 Successfully completed over $10 million dollars in repairs to the Lynchburg Ferry in
less 180 days
 Rapidly repaired 12 washed out roads to allow pedestrian/emergency vehicle access
Most Notable: Market Street ($1.8 Million) & Garret Road ($950k)
 Inspected 886 bridges in 2 week, to ensure structural stability and public safety
Most Notable: Clay Road over South Mayde Creek ($310k)
 The HCED was able to quickly respond to and address over 200 Damaged Items
through the use of a flexible and adaptive staff organization
HCED Key Accomplishments
Roads & Bridges

8. Clay Rd. over South Mayde Creek
Items Damaged and
Repaired:
• Concrete Slope Paving
Failure
• Debris Build Up
After Repairs
Before Repairs

9. In addition to the key road & bridge accomplishments,
HCED successfully mobilized to inspect and repair traffic
signals across the County, including:
 Completed $2 Million in repairs
 Inspected over 900 signals in 4 days
 Inspected 347 communication locations in 2 weeks
 Replaced 58 damaged signal cabinets
 Repaired/Replaced 95 damaged communication locations
HCED Key Accomplishments
Traffic Signals

10. Desi
HCED Recovery Stats
FHWA
Project #
FEMA
Project #
FHWA
Cost
FEMA
Cost
Roads 6 67 $13,553,036.40 $3,903,978.69
Bridges 11 50 $1,721,574.27 $2,167,492.14
Traffic Signals 69
All Damages were
covered by FHWA
$1,954,288.42
All Damages were
covered by FHWA
Total 86 117 $17,228,899.09 $6,071,470.83
*Figures are current as of 5/21/2018

11. Debris Removal
Above: First pass of the Woodforest subdivision
in Crosby.
Below: Harris County Debris
team at the Tomball DMS site.

12. Debris Removal
Highlights of the
first 20 days
 Started hauling 4 days
after the event
 Hauled the equivalent
of Tax day floods every
two days
 1.2 Million Cubic Yards
Hauled To-Date

13. Debris Removal
August September October November December
1st Pass – 31 days
2nd Pass – 32 days
3rd Pass – 39 days
Highlights
 Started hauling 4 days
after the event
 Hauled the equivalent
of Tax day floods every
two days
 1.2 Million Cubic Yards
Hauled To-Date

14. Unincorporated Harris County
Damage
• 31,982 Flooded – Residential
• 120 Flooded -Commercial
Recovery
• 505,000 structures visually inspected
• 4,300 in-home residential inspections
• 31,000 Residential permits issued Free of Charge
Private Damage

15. • 75,000+ homes were built in subdivisions developed in 2009 and later
utilizing the current infrastructure requirements for drainage and extreme
event flow analysis.
• Of those homes, only 467 flooded during Harvey, or 0.6%
• Zero homes were substantially damaged
Analysis of Homes Built in Subdivision
Development in 2009 and later

17. Freeboard Height vs Flood
Insurance Premium

18. Greater Texas 100 yr Flood Zone
Single Family
A Zones and Shaded X
Zones below BFE
Houston 12”
Harris County 18”
San Antonio Habitable buildings prohibited in SFHA
Bexar County, TX 12”
Fort Worth 24”
Tarrant County, TX 24”
Dallas Habitable buildings prohibited in SFHA
Dallas County, TX 12”
Freeboard Comparisons

19. 100 Year vs 500 Year

20. No Standard Current StandardOld Standard

21. Harris County Floodplain Regulations
Jan 1 2018 Revision

22. Permits Within
Non-Conforming Subdivisions

23. Structural Requirements
Regardless of the class of permit issued (I or II), all Non-Conforming
Subdivisions must show, in addition to any other requirements, the following
elevations are met:
1. If the structure is a single family residence the finished floor shall be a
minimum of 12 inches above the highest adjacent natural grade when measured
10 feet from the edge of the slab or 12 inches above the crown of the adjacent
street which ever results in the highest elevation (An exception may be granted
on sloping properties where the crown requirement is not achievable).
2. If the structure is other than a single family residence the slab shall
have a minimum of 6 inches of exposure to adjacent grade and be at least 12
inches above the crown of the adjacent street (An exception may be granted on
sloping properties where the crown requirements cannot be achieved).
3. To verify this for structures outside the floodplain, a newly created
HC Foundation Certificate will be required.

24.  No fill may be used to elevate structures in the 1 percent or 100-year flood
plain. Structures may be constructed on an open foundation, such as piers, or
on continuous foundation walls with properly sized and located openings. All
foundations are required to be designed by a registered professional engineer.
The drawings shall clearly show compliance with all provisions of these
regulations. Fill may be used in coastal surge zones where flood plain fill
mitigation is not an issue, however the standard for foundations remain the
same.
 All structures shall be designed to withstand a three second gust basic wind
speed of 120 miles per hour. This will ensure structural rigidity, should design
flood elevations be exceeded, or the structure requires elevation in the future.
Additional Requirements

25. All structures in the floodway must now meet the requirements that were
previously only required in the San Jacinto floodway.
I. Foundation Type: The foundation system shall consist of a driven pile or a drilled
pier foundation system
II. Type and Size of Driven Pile: Driven piles shall consist of either twelve (12) inch
(minimum) square pre-stressed concrete piles or fourteen (14) inch (minimum)
diameter steel pipe piles with a closed end.
III. Type and Size of Drilled Pier: Drilled piers shall be eighteen (18) inch diameter
(minimum) and straight-sided (no belled or under-reamed base)
IV. The minimum embedment below natural grade for driven piles and drilled piers
shall be twenty (20) feet
V. The individual piles or piers shall be braced horizontally with reinforced concrete tie
beams connecting the pier/pile caps each way (not diagonally). For piles that extend
above natural grade and act as column supports for the structure, a reinforced
concrete collar shall be cast around each pile at the groundline, and the collars shall
be connected each way with reinforced concrete tie beams
VI. Additional construction requirements
Building in the Floodway

26. Home Buyout Program

27. Additional Highlights
• All requirements specific to the 10 year floodplain have been removed.
• For the purpose of rebuilding after a flood event, any single family residence
that received flood damage, but the finished floor is at or above the 1 percent
or 100-year flood level, cannot be substantially damaged, if they meet the
minimum federal elevation requirement for rebuilding.
• Where a conditional letter of map change has been obtained or will be
obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for property
which has been elevated by the use of fill above the elevation of the 1 percent
or 100-year flood, and detailed plans have been approved by Harris County a
Class I permit will be issued.
• Floodplain fill mitigation requirements do not apply to Coastal Areas where
floodplain fill mitigation is not an issue.
• In areas of combined coastal and riverine flood hazard, floodplain fill
mitigation requirement only applies for the portion of fill placed below the
riverine flood hazard elevation as provided in the FIS or an approved
hydraulic model

28. Return On Investment

29. Raised Floor Systems

30. Residential

31. New Residential Foundations
Helical Pier
Foundation
Permanent Wood
Foundation

32. Durability of Timber Piling
Some well know examples of the durability of timber piling:
• At Ephesus, in what is now Western Turkey, a temple was
constructed around 6000 BC and reconstructed 300 years
later on the original untreated timber pile foundation.
• Near Rochester England, excavations of old Roman roads
revealed timber piles 1900 years old in excellent condition.
• The first masonry London Bridge built in 1176 stood on
untreated elm piles and lasted 600 years
• The Campanile Tower in Venice was rebuilt in 1902 on the
original 1000 year old timber piles which supported the
original structure built in 900 AD.
• The sill excellent condition of piles used for the Circus in
Arles (France), built in 148 AD on wetlands, can be seen in
the museum at the site.
Permanent Wood
Foundation

33. Building In Non-conforming Subdivisions
Return on Investment
• Lower risk of damage during heavy rain event
• Lower flood insurance premium
• Lower cost if elevation is needed in the future
Foundation Type Cost per add’l foot
Concrete block piers $890
Crawlspace with
concrete block walls
$1,850
Crawlspace with
poured concrete walls
$2,155

34. Slab on-grade Elevation
Single-family residential raised to pier and
beam foundation in the Meyerland area
Single-family residential raised to footing and
stem wall foundation in the Meyerland area

35. Commercial
Elevated commercial building in the 100 yr
floodplain with subsurface detention capacity.

36. County Facilities
Quick Response
After the first 6 days of recovery all 180+
Harris County operated buildings were
assessed for damage and all damaged
structures were already repaired or in
proposal process for repairs

37. Criminal Justice Center (CJC)
Pre-Harvey Post-Harvey
Scope
The Criminal Justice Center experienced flooding up to
21 inches in the basement and 2 inches on the first
floor. In addition, the facility had water damages on
multiple floors covering a combined area of
approximately 150,600 square feet.

38. WHAT WILL BE DONE
 Restoration of damaged areas caused Hurricane
Harvey
 Flood Mitigation and Protection measures to protect
the facility from potential future flooding events, in
compliance with newly-adopted flood plain
regulations. Those protective measures include:
o New flood barriers around the CJC and
replacement of existing flood gates in the
basement, first floor and garage parking level.
o Critical building equipment relocated to the
First Floor on platforms 4’ above the finish floor.
o New durable and water-resistant finishes to
reestablish building operations quickly.
 Building Improvements Highlights
o First floor lobby expansion and reconfiguration
to alleviate congestion at Security Screening
and Public Elevator Lobby areas.
o Five new elevators to be added to expand
vertical transportation capacity and
modernization of existing elevators.
TIMETABLE & UPCOMING MILESTONES
 On June 4, 2018 – Phased reopening starts with the
opening of Floors 17, 18, 19, 20, available for some court
functions. Portions of the First Floor Lobby will be
accessible and elevators servicing the available upper
floors will be operational.
 Phased design and construction will continue through at
least 2019.
Criminal Justice Center (CJC)

39. Harris County Jury Assembly
Pre-Harvey Post-Harvey
Scope
Jury Assembly experienced flooding in excess of 108
inches in the basement level and 120 inches in the
adjacent tunnel areas. The area of damaged
encompassed approximately 31,773 square feet. All
flooring, sheetrock walls, furniture, electronics, pipe
insulation, mechanical and electrical equipment in flood
areas was determined to be unsalvageable.

40. WHAT WILL BE DONE
 Flood Mitigation and Protection Highlights
o New flood door/protection at CenterPoint Vault
to address the source of the Flood
o New flood barriers at stair doors
o Replacement of existing flood doors
o Replacement of materials and finishes with
flood resistant options
o Replacement of assembly area seating with
exterior-grade flood resistant options
o New emergency sump pumps
 Building Improvement Highlights
o New enclosed/air-conditioned entry expansion
at street level for 160-person queuing capacity
TIMETABLE
 Performed To-Date
o Complete Building Damage Assessment and
Water Intrusion Forensic Study was
performed to locate the source of flooding for
the building.
o User-group meetings to explore and define
areas of improvements based on current
requirements.
o Numerous Design studies and cost estimates
have been performed to address flood
protection and mitigation strategies as well as
improvements to facility functions.
 Upcoming Milestones
o Design efforts are scheduled to start at the
end of June 2018, and will continue through
the end of the year, with construction
projected to start in February 2019.
o Estimated construction completion is
November 2019
Harris County Jury Assembly

41. Sustainability
Harris County evaluates sustainable practices in all infrastructure projects.
Examples:
 All new county buildings to be LEED certified
 Only comprehensive Low Impact Development (LID) regulation in the
region
 Ongoing sustainable research projects
 Sustainable turf project
 Net Zero test facility
 Long-term storm water quality and quantity testing on Birnamwood
 Upcoming sustainable practices
 Testing products to produce “self detaining roads”
 Developing low cost sustainable single family homes designs for
CSCD

42. Burnett-Bayland Gym
First LEED Platinum Award
on the Texas Gulf Coast

43. Rainwater Harvesting
Solar PV Panels
Kalwall Skylight

44. Harris County’s First LID CIP Project -
Birnamwood Drive
LID Features –
 Engineered Soils in Swales
 Native Landscaping
 Reduced Pipe Sizing
 Rain Tanks and High Pervious Soils
Native vegetation at Birnamwood Dr. Monitoring at Birnamwood Dr.

45. Net Zero Building
 First self-sustaining facility in Harris County
 "Our Great Region 2016 Diligence Award" (Honorable Mention)
Monitoring system at Net Zero building

46. A Vision for the Future
Completion date: Q4 2018
Net Zero Features:
HVAC High-efficient 2-staged geothermal pump system
Electrical LED fixtures w/ LPD design of 0.32 watts/sqft
(70% less than power than allowed by code)
Energy 182 KW Photovoltaic system will generate equal or
more than the energy consumed to achieve
“net-zero” rating
Cost: Approx. $19,000,000
Lid Features:
• Bio-swales
• Storm Water Harvesting
• Wetland Treatment Ponds
• High-Performance Modular Bio-Filtration
System
PCT 4 Admin Service Center

47. Question?
John.Blount@hcpid.org
For additional information contact
Carlos Perez at carlos.perez@hcpid.org