Fort Bend County Levee Improvement District 17

News

Courtesy Reminder: Due Date for Taxes is January 31, 2018

Your Fort Bend County LID 17 and your MUD Taxes must be paid by 01/31/2018 to avoid penalties and interest. You should have received tax bills from both your LID 17 and your MUD. If you do not escrow your taxes with your mortgage company and you have not received a tax bill, please contact the tax office at (281) 499-1223 or visit their website at www.taxtech.net. It is important that you pay these two separate bills on time to avoid mandatory State law imposed penalties and interest.

Open Community Meeting

Presented by: Fort Bend County Levee Improvement District No. 17
Monday, October 16, 2017 at 6:30 p.m.

University Branch Library
14010 University Boulevard, Sugar Land, Texas

The storm drainage system and LID Facilities
Past rain events and LID operations
Hurricane Harvey and its impact on this District
Lessons learned from recent events
Resident comments

The meeting will adjourn at 8:15PM to comply with FB University Branch Library rules.

Special Session Scheduled

September 1, 2017 at 3:00 pm
The Fort Bend County Commissioner’s Court has special sessions scheduled for Saturday, September 2 and Monday, September 4 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss the impact of the disaster declaration on August 24 as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

District Update

September 1, 2017 at 9:00 am

Good Morning Neighbors,

Outside our levee system, early this morning, the river briefly rose to 55.19 at the Richmond gauge. As of 10:00am, the National Weather Service issued a revised forecast that shows the river has crested and is now beginning a slow fall which will continue through the weekend. The water level we see on our levee in the picture below of Pump Station #1 represents the peak level.

Internally our pumps continue to operate as needed to expel the rainwater that fell within the District. As the water is pumped out, our lake levels will return to near normal.

Our system was tested by rainfall and water elevations that were beyond the normal design parameters and has functioned exceptionally well. Your LID board will discuss this event, system operations and any lessons learned at future meetings.

Thank you to our board members, consultants and operators for their commitment to our safety through this challenging event.

Useful Links

August 30, 2017 at 6:00 pm

National Weather Service: https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=hgx&gage=rmot2

Judge Hebert River Flooding Video Update Wednesday Morning August 30, 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cNnA2kFtVs&feature=youtu.be

Good News!

August 30, 2017 at 10:30 am

The National Weather Service has decreased the Brazos River peak to 56′ at the Richmond gauge. Best news of the day. We are still in emergency operations though until the river starts receding and are continuing to pump water out via the two pump stations.

If you evacuated please do not return until you can confirm via either TXDOT or Fort Bend County official road information websites that you can safely make your way back. We encourage everyone who evacuated to stay out until the County or City issues an all clear. If you remain in Telfair please stay safe.

District Update

August 29, 2017 at 6:00 pm

All in all compared to other Fort Bend County subdivisions, Telfair is fairing well. We have had a lot of street flooding, but no reports of structural flooding. Water is slowly receding, and we are pumping down the system as quickly as we can. Our operator LMS is working full time feverishly to protect us. Our Streets should be dry sometime tomorrow and a day or two more to drain down the lakes to normal levels.

Thanks to all for being patient with us and allowing our operators time to work instead of answering questions. We’ve tried to provide you with regular updates as we can.

If you haven’t seen on the Fort Bend County OEM website the forecast for crest of the Brazos River has been reduced to 57.5′ instead of 59′ at the Richmond garage. This is great news.

Evening Update

August 28, 2017 at 10:00 pm

Good evening Telfair neighbors, it’s late in the day but our operator has been working to protect us from this unproven, devastating flood. The flood levels are at 800+ year levels. We are one of the few areas in Fort Bend County not to be ordered to evacuate. Our system is currently operating as it is supposed to. The pumps are on,. You may notice our lakes are filling up and some streets have ponding, as designed. When the rain stops, our pumps will have a chance to catch up and lower the water level in our lakes north and south of I-69.

We are all very anxious and concerned. Comparatively, we are a small entity with limited resources. We will post as we can but please refer to the City of Sugar Land website for emergency updates.

You should make decision for your family as to whether you should voluntarily evacuate. But you should make the decision soon as possible as roads may become impassable. Please refer to the city, county or state (TxDOT) websites for road closures.

Voluntary Evacuation Remains

August 28, 2017 at 5:00 pm

Per Fort Bend County Judge Hebert, FBL 17 (“District”) remains under a voluntary evacuation. The District continues to monitor the levees and facilities in the District. At this time, all facilities are functioning as designed. The National Weather Service is projecting the Brazos River will crest at 59’. This is a record level and it cannot be predicted how this level will impact Telfair, although it is believed the levee will not be overtopped at the projected height. It is imperative that you consider your individual situation when making a determination as to whether to evacuate. We will update the District’s website with any material changes, but we encourage you to visit Fort Bend County OEM and the City of Sugar Land websites for further information.

Notice to Telfair Residents

August 27, 2017 at 9:30 pm

Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert has just issued a call for voluntary evacuations of several subdivisions in Fort Bend County. The Brazos River projections received by Fort Bend County from the National Weather Service indicate the level of the River at the City of Richmond gauge will rise to 59′. These are unprecedented levels. Based on observations and staking of water levels against the Telfair levee in the May 2016 flood events, we believe the River will not overtop the Telfair levee; however, at those levels New Territory Blvd into Telfair from New Territory must be closed by the City of Sugar Land or Fort Bend County in order to protect water from entering Telfair via New Territory Blvd. If the road cannot be closed, there will be a levee breach if the Brazos River level reaches a height of 59′ at the Richmond gauge. We have asked the County and City to make preparations for supplies in this event.

We cannot guarantee or easily predict levels of rainfall or the Brazos River levels. If you believe your family will be better off following the Judge’s proclamation for voluntary evacuation, please make appropriate plans. Our operators are doing whatever they can do to protect our community but the forces of the Brazos River are difficult to contain.

Please stay tune to local media and the Fort Bend County OEM site for further information.

Notice to Telfair Residents

August 27, 2017 at 2:15 pm

Fort Bend County has declared mandatory evacuation for homes right along the Brazos River. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE TELFAIR. TELFAIR IS PROTECTED BY THE Fort Bend County LID No. 17 LEVEE.

Our drainage system is designed to protect us from Brazos River flooding. The River is rising, but is not yet at levels of the May 2016 flood. Our pump stations are operating to take water outside Telfair. You will see higher levels than normal in our lake, but that is how the detention lakes are designed. Please continue to check our website as well as the City of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County emergency operations website.

Tropical Storm Harvey Update

August 27, 2017 at 9:30am

Telfair residents, Please continue to follow tropical storm Harvey updates on the FBC OEM and City of Sugar Land OEM websites.

The LID 17 will post as it can but please understand our operators are extremely busy working in the field on emergency operations keeping us as dry as possible.

Our residents can be assured that the drainage system is working as designed. In this type of rain event over the last 48 hours, we expected to have higher than normal levels in our lakes. Our system is designed to first, fill up and overtop the lakes, then our streets are designed to take storm water before water gets into homes. Telfair received a significant amount of rain overnight and it will take some time for that water to be discharged into Ditch H (the big ditch that goes out to the Brazos River). The forecast appears to show a break this afternoon which will allow for the lakes to drain to Ditch H and potentially get back closer to normal levels.

We have storm water pump stations to pump water from within Telfair to outside the levee. As of now, our pump stations are in normal operations.

Further, our levee is designed to keep water from the Brazos River out of Telfair. For now, the River levels have not risen to flooding heights, but there are projections to rise to levels comparable to those in the May 2016 flood event. During that event, no water from the Brazos River breached our levee. We are continuing to work with Fort Bend County OEM to monitor the Brazos River levels. Please track the County’s website for updates on the River levels.

Please staying in your home during the rains unless you need to get out for an emergency. Roads are becoming impassable to cars as it continues to rain. When you venture out and your car gets stuck and need assistance, it dilutes the emergency manpower needed to deal with medical emergencies. Sugar Land police are out in Telfair now trying to tow cars. Our operator and emergency personnel need the streets for their flood fighting. Please stay off the streets except for emergency purposes.

Update from LMS

August 26, 2017
Most of you are probably keeping up with weather reports, but we wanted you to know our operator LMS is working closely with Fort Bend County and the City of Sugar Land to monitor the situation and is in emergency preparedness operations. We also are monitoring the Brazos River as it will start to rise over the next week. LMS will be pumping at our storm water pump stations as needed and do their best to keep our internal drainage levels at a minimum. Our streets are designed to carry some storm water to enable our storm water pump stations to catch up as may be needed in the next few days. There is a high possibility that winds may significant increase in the upcoming days and some areas may lose power. Debris could be a factor if the winds pick up and LMS is prepared to manage this as is possible. LMS will have tree trucks staged to help clear roads and pump stations should we need it. Our goal is to keep clear areas as needed, but not haul away debris during the event. If you see storm debris throughout your district we will coordinate with the City or County to handle clean up once the event is over.

LMS will be working round the clock to do everything they can for us and handle each problem as it arises.

Please be patient as we all try to handle the storm as best we can.

For additional up-to-date information, residents of the Telfair community may sign up for the City of Sugar Land’s emergency notification system by using the following link: http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/emergency. This system allows the City to communicate with residents via public telephone networks, text messages, as well as email.

You may also visit the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management at http://fbcoem.org/for additional information and to sign up for updates.

Board of Directors

David Lawrence, President
Ng Fook “Francis” Ming, Vice President / Assistant Secretary
David Gornet, Secretary / Assistant Vice President

Board Meetings

The Board generally meets on the second Thursday of the month at the offices of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP, 3200 Southwest Freeway, Suite 2600, Houston, TX 77027.

(click to enlarge map)

Board Meeting Agendas

2018 | 2017

2018-02-08
2018-01-04