Gripes propel township’s study of ponds
Residents complain water levels too low in The Woodlands
The Woodlands will launch a comprehensive study of its 68 ponds for the first time in over 10 years amid residents’ complaints that water levels are too low.
An average of 9 inches of rain fell across The Woodlands from Jan. 24-30, equivalent to 26 percent of the total rainfall the area received in 2022.
The Woodlands Township Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes said many ponds have returned to near-normal levels.
“The design of The Woodlands was for these ponds to actually serve as part of the stormwater collection system, to manage stormwater so the creeks don’t get overextended too fast,” Nunes said. “When a lake or pond (level drops), you’re actually creating capacity for the next rain.”
With Montgomery County safely out of drought territory for the first time in months, there may be a moment’s pause in the pond debate.
But even as severe thunderstorms rolled through the area Jan. 24, a few residents came out to the township’s board meeting Jan. 25 to hash out their grievances.
In a note written to the board, Creekside Park resident Larry Taylor said residents first raised an issue on pond levels in May as Montgomery County entered its most severe drought since 2011. Taylor said the township dragged their feet on addressing pond level concerns in the Creekside Park neighborhood of Wilde Creek.
“The residents of Wilde Creek have had to bear the deplorable sight of the ponds throughout the summer and fall,” Taylor said.
The township maintained its policy to take no action unless ponds fell below 50 percent capacity. Nunes said the township’s lake and pond maintenance contractor, Lake Pro, also tests ponds weekly for healthy levels of nitrogen,
ammonia and oxygen.
Nunes said pond levels fell even lower in the droughts of 2009-2012, when the board first conducted a comprehensive water conservation study. After the study, the board analyzed the township’s water usage and passed limits on pumping from groundwater wells. In 10 years, water use per person dropped by 93 gallons per day, a 43 percent decline, Nunes said in the presentation.
During the 2022 drought, water consumption rose 31 percent from 2021, according to Woodlands Water, the central management agency for The Woodlands’ 10 municipal water districts in Montgomery County. While 50 percent of The Woodlands’ Montgomery County water comes from Lake Conroe, all of the nonrunoff water in the Harris County village of Creekside Park is sourced from groundwater wells.
Pumping from groundwater wells can cause subsidence, or the sinking of the ground because of underground material movement. A U.S. Geological Survey found that The Woodlands lost more than 2 feet of land to subsidence as of 2021.
Subsidence in northern areas of greater Houston has become an increasing concern due to population growth, the survey’s Gulf Coast Studies Chief John Ellis said.
“Subsidence causes a variety of issues, including permanent land loss; increased risk of flooding, particularly near water bodies; and damage of infrastructure,” Ellis said. “As water use has increased in (Montgomery County), subsidence has also increased due to groundwater use and the lowering of water levels in the aquifer.”
Nunes said the township added water to only two critical-level ponds in 2022 due to subsidence and conservation concerns.
“The vicious circle is, you want your ponds to be full, but the makeup source may be causing (subsidence),” Nunes said.
After the recent storm, Taylor, who lives near Lake Paloma, said the lake filled up but that nearby ponds did not fully recover. Taylor proposed siphoning water from the lake to adjacent ponds, like Kayak Ridge, to solve the issue.
The township hired Bleyl Engineering to look at increasing stormwater uptake at Kayak Ridge. The firm identified three proposals, of which the most feasible would be to add six inlets to the pond, which could add up to 1.25 feet of water to the pond in the next five years. The proposal would cost about $100,000.
The board has not approved any further action on Kayak Ridge.
The board did approve the lake and pond study, which will see how ponds are faring compared to its last analysis in 2011. The board also requested more information on subsidence in the area and what could occur if the township were to pump more water from wells.
After the week’s storms, most of Montgomery County should remain drought-free for at least the next three months, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. If excess rain and cool weather were to continue, Nunes said new issues could emerge.
“The new pond-related issues would become, ‘Where do all the fish go?’ ” Nunes said. “But these ponds were all designed specifically to handle water and move water from the overflow structures and down the stream. This is what they’re designed to do.”