Climate change, runaway development worsen Houston floods

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Taxonomy

• Climate Change
• Flood Modeling
• Climate Change Resilience
• Flood damage
• Flood prediction
• Flood Insurance

1 Comment

1. This article is fraught with so many misstatements.

   First the soil type is sandy loam to poorly graded sand for the most part. Climatologist are also now predicting a global mini ice age in the next 30 years, so which is it. Houston has just come out of a 10 year drought, so how does that explain the 7% increase in humidity stated in this article? Houston is not unregulated in building permits, but the permit application process is streamlined and not as onerous as many highly regulated communities. This has created a booming economy and low unemployment with-in a state that has one of the best economies of the country, it not the world due to the lack of overburdening regulatory government. Detention ponds are not concrete lined. By design, the detention ponds are designed to promote detention and percolation into the ground water to help alleviate the ground water subsidence issues.

   The article uses quotes from non-experts stating opinion with no factual back up. Anytime you bring in quotes from impacted citizens you are going to get a jaundiced view presented. The Sierra Club is another entity where one does not look to get an unbiased view. The Sierra Club attempt to block road construction had noting to do with flood concerns. The article fails to mention that Houston is located only a few feet above sea level and along the gulf coast where it is prone to hurricane and tropical storm related flooding. It is no wonder that with the city being the 4th largest in the country, and located in hurricane impacted zone, that there would be a higher level of flood impacted properties covered by FEMA. The article also fails to mention that the buy outs were due to ground subsidence issues and not due to weather related flooding.

   The Texas Water Board monitors rainfall and evaporation for all sectors of the state. The claims of climate impacted increases are not borne out in the data and are not statistically valid http://www.twdb.texas.gov/surfacewater/conditions/evaporation/index.asp

   It is a shame that those with an agenda present half truths and innuendo to push that agenda.