Author Topic: Houston Flood Czar: Stopping Development In 100-Year Floodplain “Not Going To Happen”  (Read 1248 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline thackney

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,267
  • Gender: Male
Houston Flood Czar: Stopping Development In 100-Year Floodplain “Not Going To Happen”
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2019/06/05/335836/houston-flood-czar-stopping-development-in-100-year-floodplain-not-going-to-happen/

...“We just need to think more carefully about where we put that pavement,” Brody said. “I don’t think we need to stop growing, just grow smarter in more appropriate places.”

However, just two weeks ago, Houston City Council approved a new municipal utility district in the 100-year floodplain. That means 620 acres of vacant land will be developed upstream of Addicks Dam, which protects the city from floodwater.

In an interview with News 88.7, Houston’s flood czar, Steve Costello, said that for now the city has no plans to stop building in the 100-year floodplain.

“I know people would like that to happen,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen.”

Brody said other flood-prone areas around the world like the Netherlands are planning for 10,000-year storms. In Houston, officials are still allowing new construction in the path of a 100-year storm.

“I’m often the butt of jokes in meetings all over the country,” Brody said....
Life is fragile, handle with prayer

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
I was going to say the Netherlands does it and does it very well.  If Houstonians are smart and organized they should be able to build safely in those areas.

Offline Victoria33

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,457
  • Gender: Female
"...“We just need to think more carefully about where we put that pavement,” Brody said. “I don’t think we need to stop growing, just grow smarter in more appropriate places.”

Houston is in Harris County.  I speak from experience about flooding in that area as my townhouse is in Montgomery County which meets up with Harris County to the south of Montgomery.  One cannot tell when one has passed the Harris County line into Montgomery County as there is no break of businesses from Harris into Montgomery.

Every time a hurricane comes down 45 from Galveston, Harris County is flooded, and so are parts of Montgomery.  Here is a writing about Harvey Hurricane:

"HARRIS COUNTY HAS NEVER SEEN A STORM LIKE HARVEY. The occurrence of Hurricane Harvey and the devastating flooding that resulted have inspired discussion and concern regarding our county’s drainage infrastructure, as well as our collective ability to withstand such a severe flooding event. Simply put, we have never seen a storm like Harvey."

If you recall, the hurricane dumped a mass amount of water, then the system retreaded and came back and dumped massive amounts of water - 40+ inches of water in Harris County and Montgomery County from Harvey.  In modern history, this had never happened.

So, I am now living north of Dallas but still own my townhouse in Conroe, in Montgomery County.  When I bought that place in 2003, my insurance guy whom I have known for many years, said at the time I did not need flood insurance as my townhouse was in the 100 yr. floodplain, was not going to flood.

I was going nuts when Harvey was dumping that much water - forget the 100 yr. floodplain, it became a 0 floodplain at that point.  I knew right then, I was buying flood insurance when this was over, and hoped I had a house without water up to the roof or without water flooding the downstairs.  I have a man friend who does repairs on the townhouses there; I pay him monthly to check my house for any problem.  He lives in Houston.  When he was able to get to Conroe, I had no water in the house.  A townhouse four down from mine, had water flooding into the house from the back and flowing out their front door.  Again, forget about the 100 yr. floodplain, he had a river of water flowing through his house.  I now have flood insurance on my townhouse; it is a 0 floodplain to me now.

where we put that pavement

Flooding will happen if pavement/concrete covers too much ground - the water cannot be absorbed by the ground if there is no ground there, just concrete.  The greater Houston area is mostly concrete everywhere.  It is also low ground with water wanting to flow into the gulf water that flows along the eastern part of Harris County.  That eastern part next to the gulf water is also an area where chemical and oil processing plants are, to use the gulf water in their plants.

The Houston Flood Czar is correct - he knows too much concrete leads to flooding and building on lower land with not much natural ground, will flood.

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,280
I have lived for over 60 of my years in the Hobby Airport area of southeast Houston. The house I grew up in 100 yards from Sims bayou never flooded. After Harvey I talked to its current owner and it didn't flood. My current home 1 -1/2 mile from Sims bayou has never flooded. When I bought it in 1985 it was in the 100 yr zone and I had to get flood insurance. By the time I paid it off some 19 yrs later the flood maps had been updated and it was no longer in the 100yr zone, so I dropped the flood insurance. In Harvey we got 45 inches over the 5 day period and water only came up about half way up the yard at its worst. Flooding is a way of life. You learn the High Water Routes to travel during flooding conditions. After days of heavy rain, the soil is so saturated that it doesn't matter if it is soil or concrete. It can't absorb any more.  The worry then is high winds blowing the Water Oak trees over.

Offline EdJames

  • Certified Trump Realist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,791
I was going to say the Netherlands does it and does it very well.  If Houstonians are smart and organized they should be able to build safely in those areas.

You are richtig, it can be done with proper planning....

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/6029

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
You are richtig, it can be done with proper planning....

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/6029

I don't know that FEMA falls into that category.   **nononono*


Offline EdJames

  • Certified Trump Realist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,791
I don't know that FEMA falls into that category.   **nononono*

UYou'd be surprised, they actual do some good work in that area....  not necessarily the NFIP (private insurers are offering better policies at much better rates in a lot of areas), but their newer construction codes and guidelines, and high resolution mapping programs are fairly well managed and executed.

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
UYou'd be surprised, they actual do some good work in that area....  not necessarily the NFIP (private insurers are offering better policies at much better rates in a lot of areas), but their newer construction codes and guidelines, and high resolution mapping programs are fairly well managed and executed.

Yes, I would be surprised.  :laugh:

Offline thackney

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,267
  • Gender: Male
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/In-Harvey-s-deluge-most-damaged-homes-were-12794820.php

Hurricane Harvey damaged more than 204,000 homes and apartment buildings in Harris County, almost three-quarters of them outside the federally regulated 100-year flood plain, leaving tens of thousands of homeowners uninsured and unprepared.

The new details come from the most extensive disclosure of flood data yet released by city and county officials. The numbers follow a pattern: More than 55 percent of the homes damaged during the Tax Day storm in 2016 sat outside the 500-year flood plain, as did more than one-third of those during the Memorial Day floods in 2015....

- - - - - -

Buy Flood insurance
Life is fragile, handle with prayer

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/In-Harvey-s-deluge-most-damaged-homes-were-12794820.php

Hurricane Harvey damaged more than 204,000 homes and apartment buildings in Harris County, almost three-quarters of them outside the federally regulated 100-year flood plain, leaving tens of thousands of homeowners uninsured and unprepared.

The new details come from the most extensive disclosure of flood data yet released by city and county officials. The numbers follow a pattern: More than 55 percent of the homes damaged during the Tax Day storm in 2016 sat outside the 500-year flood plain, as did more than one-third of those during the Memorial Day floods in 2015....

- - - - - -

Buy Flood insurance

 :thumbsup:

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,280
Quote
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Report-Less-than-20-percent-of-Harvey-flooded-12861427.php

As many as 190,000 houses – 9 percent of the Houston area's housing stock – experienced flooding in Harvey, the study found.

So if you are one of the 91% of Houston Area home owners whose home was not flooded during Harvey's record breaking flood, should you have flood insurance?

I'm one of them and I don't.

Offline thackney

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,267
  • Gender: Male
So if you are one of the 91% of Houston Area home owners whose home was not flooded during Harvey's record breaking flood, should you have flood insurance?

Yes is the generic answer.  But some locations may have conditions that lead you to another answer.

Quote
I'm one of them and I don't.

You roll your dice and you take your chances.  Our house that flooded had been built in the mid 1970s and had never flooded before.

You should consider that build up in your area, upstream and downstream of your area affect your possibility of flooding.

I suspect most the owners that did flood wish they had insurance.  I was very fortunate that I got nervous when buying ours (in the flood plain) and bumped it up to the maximum coverage, which included replacement cost.
Life is fragile, handle with prayer

Offline EdJames

  • Certified Trump Realist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,791
This tool is useful to see your current and potential updated flood hazard data (preliminary data).  You can see if your area is being changed...

https://www.fema.gov/view-your-communitys-preliminary-flood-hazard-data

Offline Bigun

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 51,331
  • Gender: Male
  • Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God
    • The FairTax Plan
The last time my property flooded a man named Noah was floating around in an ark!  I think I'm safe.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,280
My area's flood map was updated 5/2/2019 and it shows me in Zone X minimal flood hazard.

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
My county isn't listed at all.

Offline Bigun

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 51,331
  • Gender: Male
  • Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God
    • The FairTax Plan
This tool is useful to see your current and potential updated flood hazard data (preliminary data).  You can see if your area is being changed...

https://www.fema.gov/view-your-communitys-preliminary-flood-hazard-data

My county is not listed.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline EdJames

  • Certified Trump Realist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,791
If your county is not listed, that means that there is no preliminary data available.

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,280

Offline thackney

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,267
  • Gender: Male
This tool is useful to see your current and potential updated flood hazard data (preliminary data).  You can see if your area is being changed...

https://www.fema.gov/view-your-communitys-preliminary-flood-hazard-data

I'm confused.  When I enter my location and run the program, instead of identifying the flood hazard zone, all it says is: "purchase a boat".
Life is fragile, handle with prayer

Offline Bigun

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 51,331
  • Gender: Male
  • Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God
    • The FairTax Plan
See if you're listed here:  https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search

Mine says "Minimal flood risk".  Glad to know that! LOL!
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Online Elderberry

  • TBR Contributor
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,280
I'm confused.  When I enter my location and run the program, instead of identifying the flood hazard zone, all it says is: "purchase a boat".

You would of thought it would at least link you to a Marine Navigational Map. :whistle:

Offline Sanguine

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 35,986
  • Gender: Female
  • Ex-member
See if you're listed here:  https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search

Thanks, @Elderberry, I'm in a "minimal" X area.  Good to confirm.

Offline EdJames

  • Certified Trump Realist
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,791
I'm confused.  When I enter my location and run the program, instead of identifying the flood hazard zone, all it says is: "purchase a boat".

 :silly:


(Anyone in any of the "X" zones should be pleased....  not that there are never floods in any "X" zone....  just less likely...)