Low Cost Flood Sensors

The largest ongoing project within the Flood Coordination Study is the deployment and asset management of 74 Low Cost flood Sensors (LCS) in a seven-county region. This is in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (DHS S&T). Tasks include sensor asset management, aiding with sensor installation and technical support, and mapping high-resolution elevations near sensor locations. A survey of surrounding sensing areas is complete to establish alert thresholds and improve public data visualization within the OneRain sensor platforms. A few sensors are pictured below to show the range of sites that have been chosen for this project. 

                                        

This is flood sensor LU01. The sensor sits off the Neches River behind the Wheelhouse in Port Neches. While the node sits high on the bank, the sensor runs into the Neches River. This system has a built-in rain bucket that measures the intensity of the rainfall. It is also the only system that belongs to Lamar.

                                                    

This is flood sensor NE-01. This sensor sits off Yellow Bayou in Newton off County Road 2053. As shown in the pictures, this sensor sits on a truss that hangs 30 feet over Yellow Bayou. This is 1 of the 4 sensors that are set up in Newton County.

 

Flood Sensor HC01 on Boggy Creek off Park Road in Lumberton TX. The elevation of the sensor is 9.186 ft (MSL). The top of the ditch is 6.10 ft above the sensor, and the bottom of the node is 20.69 feet above the sensor.

This is Flood Sensor CC02 on Whites Bayou off Hankamer Loop Road in Hankamer TX. The elevation of the sensor is 19.4 ft (MSL). The top of the ditch is 5.01 ft above the sensor, and the center of the road is 12.88 ft above the sensor.

 

High-Frequency Radar

The High-Frequency Radar (HFR) project is with an external grant from the Texas GLO under a contract from UT El Paso. High-Frequency Radar networks provide near real-time surface current data that is applicable to coastal hydrodynamic characterizations and enables more: accurate modeling and assessment of pollutant fate and transport and water quality mechanisms. To fill HFRadar coverage gaps, UTEP et al. propose to commission HFR networks in Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake. Lamar is assisting in Year 1 with the installation approvals and site visits.

This map shows the locations of the radar networks on both Galveston Bay on the left side of the map and Pleasure Island on the right side of the map.

 

This displays one of the radar installation sites on Pleasure Island.

 

EPA Grant

The EPA has funded Dr. Qin Qian’s project titled, “Conjunctive Deployment of Distributed Stormwater Infiltration and Bioretention Infrastructures to Mitigate Flooding and Related Non-point Source Pollution in Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas.” Two green infrastructure systems will be built –– one of the two locations will be on campus at Lamar University and the other will be in Port Arthur. We hope to extend the research project to national infrastructure databases and build educational and outreach programs.

Soil boring experiment conducted by Tolunay-Wong Engineer, Inc. at Montrose Park, Port Arthur to collect 12-foot-deep soil samples.

 

Runoff collector installed at Lamar University to collect water samples.

 

NOAA Governance

NOAA Flood Governance is a project through NOAA led by The University of Texas at Austin with other partners. The primary goal of the project is to understand how coastal communities perceive current and future flood hazards, and how local governance networks emerge and are shaped by climate and flood factors. Lamar is assisting with connections to the stakeholders and mapping in the SETx region.

 

This is a land survey map copyrighted by Patillo Higgins in 1898 showing land parcels, roadways, railways, and waterways of Jefferson County. The map is overlaid with the current boundary of Jefferson County represented by a red line. The map that we have been sharing the border with the same neighbors. It also features photographs of the county courthouse and Gladys Cecil.

 

Historical Storm Data

This research consists of validating a compilation of official river stage data at two locations along with unofficial river stage data at four additional locations in between for Hurricane Harvey along the lower Neches River, a vital waterway in the United States. It also includes methods to access averaged rainfall data during this period. The results compare the significant rainfall along the lower river sections during Hurricane Harvey with the affected river levels.

The 6 river gauge locations, tributaries, and sub-watershed boundaries for the lower Neches River.