Archives

Searching for fun things to do in Dallas this holiday season? It’s the most wonderful time of the year to be a tourist in your own hometown! Enjoy the holiday season lights, sights, and activities throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We have compiled a short list of things to do… Read More

Jones|Carter

Looking for fun things to do in Houston this holiday season? It’s the most wonderful time of the year to be a tourist in your hometown! Enjoy the holiday season lights, sights, and activities throughout the Houston area. We have compiled a short list of things to do over the… Read More

Jones|Carter

The need for the water industry to evolve has never been greater. Organizations now have the capability to shift from their current state of only monitoring historic performance into a more proactive approach. New sensors, technologies, and applications are available to help with proactive monitoring, managing, and eventually automating many… Read More

Freddie Guerra

Benefits of an RMA Serves as a tool to help solve transportation problems by bringing new funding sources and new approaches for developing projects Provides local governments more control in transportation planning Helps build transportation projects sooner, which brings traffic congestion relief faster Improves mobility and increases safety for motorists… Read More

Jones|Carter

It’s been 57 years since Texas has updated rainfall precipitation estimates According to the estimates, a 100-year rain event in Harris County is now thought to be closer to a 25-year rain event FEMA National Flood Insurance Program will update accordingly Atlas 14 Developed by the National… Read More

Jones|Carter

Drones are changing the way the world works, which includes the development of infrastructure and housing through surveying and engineering projects. The Jones|Carter Survey team frequently uses drones for aerial photogrammetry to take shots for boundary surveys, topographic surveys, and as-built survey. There are numerous ways drones have changed the… Read More

Jibrael Ahmad, RLPS, CFM

Jones|Carter Culture: Mary Barton– Ronald McDonald House  We are proud to have team members that understand the importance of giving back to the communities where we live and work. Many Jones|Carter team members are active in their communities not… Read More

Jones|Carter

The City of Houston’s floodplain regulations went into effect on September 1st, 2018. Below is a high-level overview of the effective changes. Regulated Area Previously, Houston’s code applied to property in the 100-year floodplain. The new revisions include the 500-year floodplain. Elevation The existing Chapter 19 regulations required… Read More

Jones|Carter

George Bernard Shaw is credited with the quote, “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Too often in our personal and professional lives, miscommunication happens. Miscommunications often lead to frustration. It is easy for individuals to have the illusion that they have communicated… Read More

Kevin Krahn, PE

100 -Year Flood Explained: Over the last several years there have been numerous 100-year or greater floods in Texas. This includes Austin’s Onion Creek on Halloween of 2013, the Blanco River in Wimberley over the 2015 Memorial Day weekend, Houston’s Tax Day flood in April of 2016, and Hurricane Harvey… Read More

Scott Saenger, PE, CFM

On August 24, 2018, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will release the draft Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) General Permit No. TXR040000, commonly known as the Small MS4 (Phase II) General Permit, for public comment. The permit regulates both stormwater and certain non-stormwater discharges from publicly owned… Read More

Liz Garcia Stone, CPESC

Michael Gurka, PE

RailPort Business Park is a 1,700-acre industrial development in Midlothian, Texas, located 25 miles southwest of Dallas. The business park provides an optimum geographical position and amenities suited to large-scale distribution and manufacturing operations. Listen to Bryan Kennedy from our Land Development team and Mark Holliday from our Municipal and… Read More

Bryan Kennedy, PE

In early July, 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced they would fund nearly $5 billion for disaster recovery projects throughout Texas, focused mainly on the southeast where Hurricane Harvey did the most damage. The bulk of the funds, almost $4 billion, will go toward improving existing levees… Read More

Jones|Carter

Jones|Carter Project Manager, Tim Newton, PE, sat down to discuss the recent FM 70 project win, how he will lead the J|C team, and how he will incorporate the input from the public to make sure those who live in the area will stay informed. Congratulations on… Read More

Jones|Carter

Contrary to how it may sound, a 100-year rainfall event is not something that happens every 100 years. Rather, it means that there is a one percent chance that a certain amount of rain will fall in a particular location over a set amount of time in a given year. Read More

Scott Saenger, PE, CFM

Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) $2.5 Billion Bond Election for Flood Risk Reduction The Harris County Commissioners Court has proposed a $2.5 billion bond election to take place on August 25, 2018, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Registered voters will be asked to vote on the bonds, which… Read More

Jones|Carter

The City of Houston’s Redevelopment and Drainage Task Force has recommended updates to the current City of Houston Infrastructure Design Manual Chapter 9 and Chapter 13 Design Standards. These Design Standards impact detention, sheet flow, fill, and encroachments in the City right-of-way. The City is considering accepting the recommended… Read More

Jones|Carter

Click Image for Full Size PDF Show full text... Potential FEMA Flood Map Changes Harris County, as well as other local jurisdictions, are weighing the possibility of updating FEMA flood maps in their area. Below is an overview… Read More

Jones|Carter

Jones|Carter has been awarded three noteworthy TxDOT projects over the last several months. We are honored to lead these projects as the prime firm. Our goal is to not only strengthen our relationship with TxDOT but also to utilize our local knowledge to provide the communities where we live and… Read More

Jones|Carter

In early April, the City of Houston adopted amendments to the Chapter 19 Floodplain Ordinance. On May 29, 2018, The City of Houston Floodplain Management Office (FMO) released Chapter 19 Floodplain Guidelines. The purpose of the Guidelines is to establish effective procedures for implementing the Ordinance. May 29th began… Read More

Jones|Carter

Texas Governor Greg Abbott proclaimed May 21-25, 2018 Flood Awareness Week. Most Texans have experienced flooding, often in major ways. Events like the Memorial Day and Halloween floods in 2015, Hurricanes Ike and Harvey in 2008 and 2017 respectively, and Tropical storm Allison in 2001 have made a major impact. Read More

Jones|Carter

What is Atlas 14? Atlas 14 is an ongoing study used to analyze historical rainfall data in order to update statistical hypothetical rainfall events in Texas. In certain circumstances the statistical events are used to analyze waterways and help design stormwater infrastructure. Based on historical data, Atlas 14 will assign… Read More

Kyle Blank, PE, CFM

Heather Goodpasture, PE, CFM

A study commissioned by the Brazos River Authority (BRA) to better understand the effects of large rain events and provide comprehensive regional drainage criteria for the lower Brazos River watershed was recently completed. The study began in 2015 and was funded by a Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Flood Protection… Read More

Stephen Reiter, PE

We sat down with Jones|Carter’s Sean McMillan, Electrical Division Manager, who is also a certified Cybersecurity Expert, to talk about the recent cyberattack on Atlanta and what other cities need to be aware of about the attack. What exactly happened to the City of Atlanta? The City of Atlanta was the… Read More

Sean McMillan, PE

Houston City Council has passed revisions to the Chapter 19 Floodplain Ordinance that will go into effect September 1st, 2018. The updated regulations require a minimum elevation at the 500-year floodplain level plus two feet. This short video explains the recent floodplain regulations revisions passed by the City of Houston,… Read More

Jones|Carter

Houston City Council voted last Wednesday and approved revisions to the Chapter 19 Floodplain Ordinance. There are several key aspects to this revision that will affect future development within incorporated areas of the City of Houston. Regulated Area Previously, Houston’s code applied to property in the 100-year floodplain. The… Read More

James Jones, PE

  Following revision to the City of Houston’s floodplain regulations we will host a workshop, led by Jones|Carter’s drainage experts, to discuss the impact of the new Harris County and City of Houston floodplain regulations on both existing and future development projects. This event will include breakout sessions for specific… Read More

Jones|Carter

UPDATE: 04/04/18 The Chapter 19 Floodplain revisions proposed by the City of Houston have been passed and will go in the effect as of September 1st, 2018. We will be sharing more details about the revisions and the amendments UPDATE: 03/28/18 The Floodplain revisions have been postponed again until Wednesday,… Read More

Jones|Carter

Harris County has issued revisions to their Floodplain Regulations, which will impact future developments in the unincorporated areas of Harris County, Texas.  Included below is a copy of the current Harris County Floodplain Regulations as well as a Harris County Floodplain Regulation Quick Reference Guide that summarizes the new… Read More

Jones|Carter

LiDAR, also known as Terrestrial Scanning, is a technique our survey teams use on a variety of projects including industrial developments, municipal, and TxDOT projects as well as any other situation where the technology fits the requirements of the job. The two scanners we use are the SX –… Read More

Doug Bramwell, PE, RPLS

A straightforward roadway project quickly becomes more complicated when Houston flooding interferes. Hear from the engineers in our Municipal and District Services department about how they were able to continue and complete the project, which now serves as an additional hurricane evacuation route. Read More

Darren Willis, PE

This project incorporated and combined aerial mapping and photogrammetry with aerial LiDAR, conventional surveying, and GPS surveying. The team also used GIS data, taking the tax map info along with deed research and deed plotting, and used that for planning where they would take cross sections to verify all… Read More

Doug Bramwell, PE, RPLS

Fighting traffic in Houston can be tough, and paying a toll to sit in traffic is not fun. Before this project began, there was a consistent 2 to 3 mile slow-down northbound on the Hardy Toll Road near FM 1960 because of a lane drop, causing the lanes to… Read More

Rob Maxwell, PE

This project took the Jones|Carter survey team to a 1400 linear foot bridge stretching across the Colorado River in La Grange. Conventional surveying methods were used to obtain the top-of-bank and channel measurements of the river on both sides, as well as the embankments and the exact bride location. Read More

Doug Bramwell, PE, RPLS

Our Land Development team is proud to have helped construct Texas’ first Crystal Clear Lagoon with white sand beaches located in Northeast Houston. The lagoon covers of over 1.5 acres and is home to 3,000 lots in a master planned community. One of the biggest challenges that the project… Read More

Bryan Kennedy, PE

This technology goes by several different names. Drones, SUAS, and UAVs are all essentially the same thing. They are simply a vehicle that houses equipment which, in this case, is either a camera or a LiDAR scanner. Drones allow us to use photogrammetry which uses photos from a high… Read More

Doug Bramwell, PE, RPLS

Probably some of the young surveyors are thinking what is this guy talking about! How are these three words related! I am in the last or close to the last generation of surveyors that spent any significant amount of time using a surveyor’s chain (No, not the Gunter’s chain –… Read More

Carlos Cotton, PE, RPLS

In a recent article published by Michael Bloom and Steve Stagner, “Boomtown, Flood Town Reconsidered: An Engineer’s View”, got me thinking about flood planning and drainage solutions in the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. My thanks to Michael… Read More

Scott Saenger, PE, CFM