The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: corbe on July 09, 2018, 07:35:01 pm
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Is a massive tunnel system the answer to Houston’s flood woes?
Other Texas cities have built underground channels to divert stormwater. Experts say it might not be the right way to go for Houston, but that it's still worth exploring.
by Natalia Alamdari July 6, 2018 12 AM
(https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/Xec0XiLvjD4UqHjRMJC17TIDkiA=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(80)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/16d6d028b80fbae93bd0d3395bd78acb/1997_SA_River_Flood_Tunnel.jpg)
In 1997, workers construct the San Antonio River Tunnel, which diverts floodwaters beneath the city.  San Antonio River Authority
Picture this: Another massive rainstorm overtakes Houston, but instead of inundating homes and businesses, much of the floodwater funnels into a massive underground tunnel system that whisks it away to the Houston Ship Channel.
It may sound far-fetched, but it's one concept on the table as the Harris County Flood Control District begins to explore more creative flood control methods after Hurricane Harvey, when the Houston area became the site of the worst rainstorm in American history.
Major rainstorms that brought widespread flooding to the region on Wednesday served as the latest reminder of how flood-prone the area is.
The district hasn't offered many specifics on the proposal; it only just got the green light from county commissioners to apply for a federal grant to study the feasibility of digging miles of channels underneath the nation's third largest county.
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https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/06/hurricane-harvey-floods-houston-water-tunnel/ (https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/06/hurricane-harvey-floods-houston-water-tunnel/)
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Drilled 100 to 200 feet underground, the underground channels act as temporary storage for floodwater during intense rainstorms
Unlike San Antonio, an underground tunnel below Houston at this depth would already be filled with water. It would be well below sea level. It would be a constant, massive effort and expense to keep it dry and far too likely to be too small for a coastal hurricane event.
Our high water table is the reason basements are almost unheard of in this area.
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I got one word for Texas........Stilts!
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0e/19/e6/0e19e61be088cb703bc71760531489d7.jpg)
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I got one word for Texas........Stilts!
Some of the Houston neighborhoods are doing that, or essential raising a house to put in an above-ground basement.
(http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/ktrk/images/cms/automation/vod/2045098_1280x720.jpg)
The problem is most of the homes are built on slab foundation rather than something like pier and beam. Lot less money to raise the latter. Most slab foundation homes run 6 figures to raise. Some of the bigger ones are running $300k.
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I got one word for Texas........Stilts!
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0e/19/e6/0e19e61be088cb703bc71760531489d7.jpg)
Guess which city this is:
(http://forgotten-ny.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/23.stilts-506x380.jpg)
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Guess which city this is:
(http://forgotten-ny.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/23.stilts-506x380.jpg)
Those aren't stilts. Those are toothpicks.
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Unlike San Antonio, an underground tunnel below Houston at this depth would already be filled with water. It would be well below sea level. It would be a constant, massive effort and expense to keep it dry and far too likely to be too small for a coastal hurricane event.
Our high water table is the reason basements are almost unheard of in this area.
I agree @thackney San Antonio drilling into Limestone is a lot different/cheaper than Houston drilling into Mud.
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/libapps/accounts/96635/images/physiographic-map-of-texas-1996.jpg)
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Pumps like in New Orleans make more sense in Houston that do tunnels.
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No! Next question.
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It might work but what if people get trapped in them? Or am I over thinking it be causing I’m
Thinking of the Thai boys trapped in the cave?
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It had been discussed in the past, that the flood control district build a tunnel, directly into the ship channel, or, perhaps Galveston bay (which is where the ship channel would lead, anyway).
This tunnel would connect to the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, so what happen to buffalo Bayou, where the houses were flooded with released water from them, wouldn't happen again.
When first proposed, it made more sense, but now, too much development in the pathway of where the tunnel would be built.
A 3rd reservoir seems more feasible now.
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It might work but what if people get trapped in them? Or am I over thinking it be causing I’m
Thinking of the Thai boys trapped in the cave?
@Freya
The tunnels are for the transport of flood waters to the Houston ship channel not for little boys and their coaches.
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The tunnels are for the transport of flood waters to the Houston ship channel not for little boys and their coaches.
The bigger, little boys, will find a way to get into them and explore.
We used to explore the larger storm sewers.