With the sun shining, floodwaters receding and attention shifting to another part of the country preparing to do battle with its own giant storm, it’s easy to grow complacent about the knottier and more resistant challenges that confront Houston and southeast Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Now that cleanup and reconstruction are in full swing, we must not lose focus on the long-range view.
If the nation’s fourth-largest city and the surrounding region are to emerge stronger and more resilient, we have to rethink, re-imagine and rebuild with the future in mind. We have to be better prepared for storms to come. And make no mistake: They will come.
This is our “seawall moment,” not unlike a time more than a century ago when our Galveston neighbors responded to the greatest natural disaster in American history by changing their form of municipal government, by literally lifting their city up and by raising a sturdy protective barrier that has stood the test of time. We must be just as farsighted and ambitious. In the spirit of Galveston’s long-range view, we offer a dozen action items that we believe are vital if Houston and the region are to come back stronger, safer and more resilient than ever.
The list isn’t necessarily comprehensive, but we hope it provokes an ongoing conversation among elected officials, business leaders, community activists, social-service providers, academics, charitable foundations, environmentalists, engineers – in short, every resident of the greater Houston area who cares about the future of this vibrant region.
1 Establish a
. regional flood control authority
Floodwaters ignore city-limit signs and county-line markers. We can’t adequately address drainage issues with a mélange of municipal efforts and flood control districts split between local jurisdictions. Instead of dividing these disaster-prevention efforts into provincial fiefdoms, we need a single authority with the power to levy taxes that will take charge of all of our area’s drainage issues. Gov. Abbott should call a special session of the Legislature and set up such an authority.
Although we are skeptical about whether lawmakers obsessed with divisive social issues can turn their attention to urgent needs, establishing this authority requires action from Austin. Our governor and our Legislature need to get this done immediately.
2 Build a third
. reservoir Addicks and Barker dams, reservoirs and spillways, constructed more than 60 years ago, are dangerously inadequate. The U.S. Corps of Engineers rated both as “extremely high-risk” infrastructure years before Harvey. Houston environmental attorney Jim Blackburn maintains that at least one new reservoir should be constructed in northwest Harris County that can help flooding along Cypress Creek, Bear Creek and Buffalo Bayou. He urges the construction of additional upstream locations on virtually every stream in our region.
Harvey shoved us uncomfortably close to catastrophe. We need a third reservoir, and probably more, to avoid unimaginable consequences the next time. Some experts estimate this could be a half-billion-dollar infrastructure project. It is a small price to pay to avoid catastrophe and should be part of any federal relief plan.
3 Build the coastal
. barrier system If Hurricane Ike in 2008 had steered straight up the Houston Ship Channel, its powerful surge would have wrought catastrophic damage not only on the Johnson Space Center and the Bayport Industrial Complex, but also on the nation’s economy. This area is responsible for more than half the nation’s jet fuel and almost a third of its oil-refining capacity. It’s also the leading supplier of energy products to the U.S. military. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has asked President Donald Trump to dedicate $15 billion toward construction of a coastal barrier system that would protect the upper Texas coast from hurricane storm surges. It’s time to stop talking about this project and get to work building it.
4 Buy the Westwood
. Golf Club One of Houston’s worst recurring flood problems may have a relatively simple solution. Phil Bedient, director of the SSPEED Center at Rice for Severe Storm Protection, contends that most of Meyerland would be protected from future flooding if the Westwood Golf Club along Brays Bayou was converted to a storm-water detention space. Harris County flood control officials must acquire this golf club and convert it into a detention pond. They should, if necessary, use condemnation powers.
5 Approve new
. funding streams We need money. A lot of it. Current local budgets are inadequate to cover the costs of the massive infrastructure investment we’ll need to keep this region safe from floods. The Harris County Flood Control District has a capital improvement budget of $60 million per year. Mike Talbott, the district’s former executive director, estimated that we need about $26 billion for necessary infrastructure updates.
Potential funding sources include a Lone Star State version of the Dutch national tax for flooding abatement. The Dutch tax goes into that resourceful nation’s comprehensive and innovative approach to flood protecting.
Other revenue-generating ideas: as we said above, create a regional flood control district to levy new taxes, as Harris County did after the deluges of 1929 and 1935; impose a countywide sales tax dedicated to flood prevention; and, of course, expand the drainage fee the Houston City Council implemented in 2011 for a pay-as-you-go Rebuild Houston infrastructure plan (assuming it survives a state court challenge).
The Legislature should compel the unincorporated areas of Harris County, home to about 2 million people, to establish local municipalities that levy their own sales and property taxes. At the state level, Abbott’s special session agenda must also tap the $10 billion Economic Stabilization Fund, also known, appropriately enough, as the Rainy Day Fund, to help pay for one-time infrastructure expenses. The federal government’s recovery legislation can be a resource to both rebuild what Harvey destroyed and establish new resiliency for regional flooding and storm-surge protection along the coast.
“Like the Dutch,” Blackburn told the Chronicle, “we need to be willing to tax ourselves to raise the needed money. We have a solid industrial base. We have a generally wealthy and vibrant community. We can do this, but not without proper funding.”
6 Require more
. effective land-use regulations
Adopting new regulations at both city and county levels to better control runoff would include restrictions on expanding impervious surfaces, investment in green infrastructure and stronger flood-detention standards. If the county refuses to act, politicians at City Hall should not be reluctant to use their authority in the extra-territorial jurisdiction to impose land-use regulations beyond city limits.
Prairies and wetlands in west and northwest Harris County must be preserved either through direct purchases or deals with landowners. New construction should be subject to higher building-elevation standards perhaps with detention ponds. The ploy of paving over Houston and putting up parking lots that are just under a 10-acre regulatory threshold to avoid mandatory flood-mitigation requirements is the sort of loophole our politicians must close. Houston also must reduce the need for impervious parking lots by lowering or eliminating parking minimums.
7 Reform the
. National Flood Insurance Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must update its flood maps to better reflect the true risk, and cost, of living in a floodplain. Developers have a vested interest in keeping flood zones as small as possible to hide that risk and the eventual expense to owners. People and politicians must push back.
We cannot keep rebuilding homes that flood over and over again. Buyouts must take priority over repairs for “repetitive loss properties,” where the federal insurance program has paid multiple claims within a 10-year span. Congress has to act to prevent federal flood insurance from expiring on Sept. 30, and our representatives can use the opportunity to implement much-needed reforms. Any change to the program should involve forgiving FEMA’s $25 billion debt to the Treasury.
The county and city must fill in the gaps for buyouts of routinely flooded properties not covered by FEMA. Local governments must also work to use reclaimed property in flood zones for both flood mitigation and functional urban greenspace.
8 Insist on a
. transparent Corps of Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers often serves as the most important line of defense between people and floodwaters, but a broken political system leaves far too many in the dark about what the Corps does. Local neighborhoods remain ignorant about Corps projects throughout the region and about the risks and threats posed by floodwaters. Just look at the homeowners surprised to find themselves flooded near Addicks and Barker reservoirs. People who deal with the Corps say that responsiveness varies by region.
Congress fails to maintain stringent oversight or proper funding for the Corps. Our elected officials, particularly U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, have a duty to ensure that the Corps of Engineers is working to keep Houstonians safe.
9 Reinvigorate
. our politics Harvey wasn’t the first. Houston, Harris County and beyond have repeatedly had to deal with assorted natural disasters, including devastating hurricanes, and yet our elected officials are too often unresponsive. At the county level and in other jurisdictions without term limits, we re-elect the same people for years, decades even, despite what seems to be their unwillingness or inability to respond to long-range needs. We urge local political parties to shake things up, recruit new candidates with fresh ideas and an eagerness to rattle the status-quo. We need engaged citizens who vote, who demand that politicians respond to real needs, not transgender bathroom restrictions.
At the federal level, gerrymandered congressional districts are unexpected contributors to flooding problems. The Corps of Engineers takes its direction from Congress, where U.S. Rep. Ted Poe’s tadpole-shaped district stretches from the Addicks Reservoir to Atascocita and his colleague Michael McCaul’s from Austin to the Katy Prairie. These sprawling, ungainly districts are drawn to reelect incumbents, not to reflect the interests of constituents. The politics of place, unfortunately, takes a backseat to partisan primaries. Texas needs a nonpartisan redistricting commission.
Speaking of responsive elected officials, Congress needs to restore earmarks. The tradition may have gotten a bad name over the years, but as our two Green congressmen — Al and Gene — have pointed out, earmarks are a useful mechanism for meeting local flood needs rather than relying on the parochial whims of an often recalcitrant Congress.
10 Protect renters
. In addition to new infrastructure, we have to build economic resilience to help Houstonians, especially renters, weather the financial burden that floods impose. Apartments must be required to offer flexibility on rent payments and late fees during disasters. Leases must be easier to break for renters who endure a natural disaster. Property owners can’t be allowed to discriminate against flood victims who rely on Section 8 vouchers to pay for new housing.
11 Help schools
. rebuild Harvey cost the Houston Independent School District $700 million in damages, Superintendent Richard Carranza says. Abbott should provide HISD the funding it needs to rebuild by calling upon the Legislature for a one-time payment from the Rainy Day Fund.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath should help by waiving the academic accountability ratings for public school districts and charter schools in counties declared disaster areas. A waiver will give ravaged campuses the opportunity to rebuild and to focus on the emotional needs of students. For a while, schools can do without the constant drilling students must endure to pass standardized tests.
12 Establish a
. national emergency website address
We need a national 911-style emergency information web address, a standard and easily remembered internet site where people can find up-to-the-moment intelligence on everything from road closures and rising floodwaters to web cameras and weather radar. FEMA needs to take the lead on this idea, establishing the web address and ensuring that county governments aggregate all their emergency data feeds on their local sites. Residents should rely of state-of-the-art technology and up-to-the-second information from government, not from social media.