SJRA Highlands Division

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By: Reed Eichelberger, General Manager

Most readers of the Dock Line have a pretty good understanding of “who” and “what” the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) is. Many have worked with our Lake Conroe Division on dock construction or lake irrigation permits. Blake Kellum, our Lake Conroe Division Manager, is a regular contributor to the Dock Line and a friend to many around the lake. With the many articles written in the Dock Line and newspapers over the last several years about Montgomery County’s groundwater shortage issue, readers are also prob-ably familiar with our Groundwater Reduction Plan (GRP) Division, which is currently in the middle of a $500 million dollar program to build a surface water treatment facility and distribute treated surface water to the main population cen-ters of the county. Mark Smith, our GRP Divi-sion Manager, is also a regular contributor to this publication. A smaller percentage of the reading audience may be aware that the SJRA also pro-

vides wholesale water and wastewater services to the 100,000 people who reside in The Woodlands Township. Under the direction of Tojuana Coo-per, the SJRA’s Woodlands Division Manager, ap-

proximately 45 employees operate and maintain three wastewater treatment facilities, numerous wastewater pump stations, 40 water wells, and miles of associated piping to collect and distribute

This photo was taken during a recent rehabilitation project. The 60-plus year old siphon was bypassed during the construction project so it could be repaired.

Large siphons with pipes ranging from 48 to 60 inches in diameter deliver water under roads, railroad tracks, and other surface features throughout the 25-mile stretch of the canal.

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the water and wastewater. Few readers, however, are probably aware of our fourth division, the Highlands Division, managed by Larry Gregory, Acting Division Manager.

A short history lesson is in order. The SJRA was originally created by an act of the 1937 Texas Legislature as the San Jacinto River Conserva-tion and Reclamation District, with the broad responsibility to improve and protect the soil and water resources in the San Jacinto River wa-tershed (the legislature changed the name to San Jacinto River Authority in 1951). Created as an agency of the state, the SJRA had a mission and purpose, but no funding in the early years. Be-cause the SJRA was unable to levy taxes and had no other funding source, the 1939 Legislature passed the Tax Remission Bill, granting to the SJRA a 50% remission of the ad valorem taxes on all counties within the Authority’s service area.

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The bill was effective for 10 years and gave the Au-thority the funding it needed to start engineering studies on the watershed, and to begin providing soil and water conservation services to the lo-cal property owners. With over 5,000 farms and ranches in the watershed that were in need of help with soil erosion control and rebuilding depleted soils, the task ahead was daunting. However, with the purchase of approximately $50,000 worth of equipment, the effort began.

During the early 1940’s, the Federal Works Agency built an extensive supply system to supply water to the war industry in the Ship Channel area. Consisting of a pumping station on the lower reach of the river and canals on both sides of the river, water was delivered to Humble Oil and Refining’s Baytown refinery, as well as to other important in-dustries to support the efforts of World War II. To assist in this effort, the board of the SJRA passed a resolution on June 4, 1943, assigning to the Federal Works Agency all of the Authorities water rights for the duration of the war and twelve months

thereafter. In return, the Authority received $1.00 per year, and all water rights were to be returned at the end of the designated period. After the war, the City of Houston, the Federal Works Agency, and the SJRA reached an agreement, and on April 25, 1945, the Authority purchased the portion of the canal on the east side of the San Jacinto River, and the City of Houston purchased the canal on the west side. The purchase price of $862,572.78 was paid from bond sales and the tax remission

funds mentioned above.The SJRA was finally in the water business,

with a canal system and reservoir in Highlands, Texas. Shortly after acquiring the canal system, contracts were signed with Humble Oil (Exxon today) to provide 20 million gallons of water per day to their Baytown refinery, and over the years we have provided irrigation water for up to 5,000 acres of rice, soybeans, and grass farms.

Today, the Highlands Division maintains and

Mowing and maintaining the 25-plus miles of canals in the Highlands Division is an integral part of ensuring a consistent, reliable flow of raw water for industrial and municipal customers.

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This photo shows a typical section of canal in the Highlands system.

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operates a pump station on Lake Houston, a canal system running from Lake Houston to a 500-acre reservoir in the Highlands, and additional ca-nals running from the reservoir east to Chevron Chemical and south to Exxon’s Baytown refinery. A number of municipal customers purchase raw water from the canal, including Crosby, Newport, and Barrett Station. Rice farming has all but dis-appeared in the area, but several large grass farms rely on the SJRA for raw water, and industrial users purchase over 70 million gallons of water per day from our canal system – that’s almost as much water as we use in all of Montgomery County. With over 25 miles of canal to maintain, 40-plus road crossings, a large pump station, and industrial customers that require uninterrupted water supply, our Highlands operations run 24/7, 365 days a year. We are currently about a year into a $25 million dollar capital improvement program, which includes rehabilitation of several siphons (underground structures used to cross

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roadways, railroads, and drainage ditches), a new operations center, and much-needed repairs to the reservoir levee. These are all normal repairs considering that most of these facilities were con-structed during World War II.

An interesting fact that many Lake Conroe area residents don’t realize is that Lake Conroe was built with bond funds that were guaranteed by revenue from our contract with Humble Oil and Refining, and our current contracts with Exxon, Chevron, and other industrial customers provide most of the operating revenues the SJRA uses to maintain its operations, including maintaining and operating Lake Conroe.

So, in reality, our fourth division was actu-ally our first division, and was primarily respon-

sible for the revenues that supported the growth that began in the late 1960’s with the planning and building of Lake Conroe, continued in the 1970’s with the water and wastewater facilities to service The Woodlands, and now, in the 2000’s the plan-

ning and building of the necessary water treatment and transmission facilities to solve Montgomery County’s water needs 50 years into the future.

For more information, visit our website at www.sjra.net, and “friend” us on Facebook. u

These photos show the SJRA’s Lake Houston Pump Station constructed during the completion of Lake Houston. Four large pumps ensure the continuous flow of up to 70 million gallons per day of raw water.