Author: FCLID 2

The First Colony Levee Improvement District No. 2 levee raising project is nearly complete.  We had sent our surveyors out to verify the elevations and found a small area that still needed additional fill to reach the 500-year flood protection level.  They have since brought in the additional fill and the surveyors are being sent out again to make a final inspection.  If the levee meets the required heights, we will immediately release the General Contractor (“GC”) to return the stockpiled topsoil to the top of the levee and then a hydro mulching crew will spread grass seed over the entire levee.  This is the start of the growing season, and we expect the grass to take off.

We would like to thank all the residents backing directly up to the levee during this process and tolerating the construction process.  The GC was instructed from day one, to keep the project neat and orderly and to keep the dump truck drivers under control.  He had water wagons posted to help control dust and street sweepers to clean up the dirt on the streets.  The GC had several meetings with the truck drivers, but a few still failed to heed the speed limit warnings that were given to them.  Temporary dirt speed bumps were installed on the levee and the GC purchased a radar gun to monitor their speed.  Drivers that exceeded the assigned speed limit were fired.  We know living next to a construction project is never fun and so we again thank you for putting up with this very important project.

The result of the recent construction is that our community is far better protected from the flooding that has started to come to Fort Bend County on an annual basis.  There is an enormous difference from where were at the 100-year flood protection level and now at the 500-year level.  We were very concerned about the progress made by some of the other levee Districts in our Sugarstone Perimeter system after Hurricane Harvey and we felt the need to better protect our Commonwealth Community, independent of the Sugarstone perimeter system.  Fort Bend County LID #2 which is the district just north of us has felt the same way and they too have been raising their protection level to the 500-year point.  We tie into their levee and together we form a very secure community.  Additionally, both Districts have increased our pumping capacity to meet the new Atlas 14 rainfall criteria for a 500-year rainfall event.  FCLID which abuts east side of FBCLID#2 has also recently raised their levee to the 500-year level.

We are very thankful for the cooperation of the residents of the Commonwealth during the past 3 months of construction and extremely appreciative for your goodwill.  We feel like we are now in a great position to survive the next high-water event and we have taken many steps to make back-ups to our systems that provide a high level of security for our homes in the Commonwealth.  We know it was a bit painful for those backing up to the levee but its all over and we are in a much better position.

Sincerely,
The Board Members of FCLID#2

First Colony LID#2, (FCLID#2) expects to begin raising the levee surrounding Commonwealth in early December.  We will be adding select fill to the western and southern legs of our Levee. The amount of raising will vary from 6” to 24”.  The different fill amounts are based on the current differences in elevation along the 2 mile stretch of levee.  The western leg will require the most fill dirt.  The very eastern portion of our Levee, the portion that parallels Commonwealth Blvd. from St. Michaels to Palm Royale, is already high enough and will not need to be raised.  We expect to install about 40,000 cubic yards of fill on our Levee.  This will bring our flood protection to at least the 500-year flood level.  Currently we are protected to the 100-year flood elevation.   We have plenty of room to add the additional height and don’t expect to have to remove any existing trees on our Levee easement.  If any trees should need to come down, we are planning to plant new trees in other areas of our community to make up for any trees removed.  The construction access points for the earthmovers and dump trucks to raise the levee are shown on the attached map.

On the northern side of our community, Fort Bend County LID#2 (FBCLID#2) will also be raising their southern levee and will be installing about 69,000 cubic yards of select fill.  There will be some selective tree removal on their levee, as they don’t have as much room and the natural growth of trees over time has encroached on their levee. The construction access points for FBCLID#2 are also shown on the attached map.

You will be seeing the top layer of grass removed and stockpiled next to the levee.  Dump trucks will then bring in select fill and the fill will be placed in lifts or layers and compacted.  This compaction is necessary, and you will feel and hear the compactors rolling across the top of the levee.  After the layers are complete and inspected by surveyors and geoscience techs, the stockpiled topsoil will be reinstalled.  Once all traffic has ceased and the work is completed, we will re-seed the levee to speed up the return of grass growth.  Since we typically re-seed and fertilize every spring, we will have that additional bump to get us into the growing season.  We will have a good stand of grass this summer and the deep root system should return by next summer.

Should you have any further questions, please contact the Operator for FCLID#2, LID Solutions, at 713-935-1044.