Saturday, December 8, 2018

Fort Worth, DR Horton, and LGI....come get your runoff stormwater....we don't want it!




This is a current view of our backyard and every rain just adds to this body of water.  This water isn't going anywhere either until it's pumped out or evaporates.   

This is a view of our backyard under normal conditions.

Part of our property is in flood plain and we expect it to flood when the Trinity River gets out of its banks.  The river didn't get out though....this is just from runoff from the construction of the 50-acre DR Horton and 100-acre LGI housing developments uphill from us.  And yes, the City of Fort Worth permitted this.  

Where did the City of Fort Worth's engineers think the runoff from these 150 acres, stripped of hundreds of hundreds of years old oak and pecan trees, located on a hill above us would go?  

Well, we asked the City of Fort Worth's engineers this, and believe it or not, they told us what we all already know.....the water is going to run downhill. 

When we asked the City of Fort Worth's engineers why they would permit a project knowing all of that water would be diverted onto the properties downhill, they told us that current code only requires them to consider the velocity of the water coming from a project and that they are not required to look at the volume of the water to be diverted to the property owners downhill.  


So, now we know one of the main reasons areas of Fort Worth which historically did not flood are now flooding.  We also know our infrastructure is inadequate and the City of Fort Worth has no money to fix it, but the City of Fort Worth sure can prevent more flooding by simply requiring engineers to consider volume of runoff when permitting new development.  It's an easy fix City of Fort Worth, and would be much less expensive than a class-action lawsuit from the growing number of Fort Worth property owners devastated by flooding simply because a code needs updating.   

And please, City of Fort Worth, stop patronizing us by continuing to pay Freese & Nichols big money to write reports about why Fort Worth floods and how to fix it!  The City of Fort Worth has been doing this since at least 2006 yet flooding is worse than ever.  Stop the endless talk and meetings about flooding and do something about it already!  And another thing, stop encouraging us to buy flood insurance for properties that didn't flood until the City of Fort Worth permitted construction which now causes our properties to flood! Maybe the City of Fort Worth should pay for our flood insurance if it's going to place our properties in jeopardy of flooding!  Maybe FEMA needs to check out Fort Worth's flood management practices!


So, while we wait for the City of Fort Worth, DR Horton, and LGI to come get their runoff from our property, here are pictures of just some of the damages being caused to our property due to the City of Fort Worth's permit to allow and DR Horton's and LGI's diversion of the natural flow of surface waters.    


Backyard swing.
Back gate.
The barn is now on a peninsula. 
Livestock pens.  
Cows on high ground.
Calf has to swim to get to its mother.