Houston, Texas, county seat of Harris County, is the fourth most-populous city and the fifth most-populous Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States. The city is built on swampland on the low-lying coastal plain of Southeast Texas, on "black gumbo," clay-based soil, among the least absorbent of soil types. Its location puts it in the path of hurricanes and tropical storms.
The geographic and geologic characteristics of the region limited its ability to absorb water even in its natural state. Construction of highways, parking lots and buildings has further limited its capacity to absorb water. Since 2010, more than 7,000 residential buildings have been constructed in Harris County on land designated as a 100-year floodplain. Incredibly, Houston is the nation's largest city with no zoning laws.
Houston originated in 1836 due to its proximity to Galveston Bay. It grew as a port and railroad hub, augmented by oil discovery in 1901. It continued to grow throughout the 20th century with the impressive Texas Medical Center, and ship building during WWII. With NASA's Johnson Space Center, home of Mission Control Center, Houston acquired the nickname of the "Space City." You name it, Houston has it - business, culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, international trade - the Port of Houston ranks first in American waterborne tonnage and second in total cargo tonnage handled.
Houston bills itself as "the city with no limits," conveying the promise of unparalleled opportunity. But all that man-made wonder could not prevent it from suffering ravages of nature.
Houston is not alone in concentrating economic activity on hazardous, flood-prone areas. Floodplains are natural features along banks and mouths of major rivers that were early modes of transportation. It was inevitable that flood-prone cities such as New Orleans and Houston would become militarily and economically strategic sites.
By definition, floodplains are subject to periodic flooding. Does that mean that development should not occur on such sites? No, pressure for commercial activity on these sites is enormous. But modifications must be made and precautions taken to reduce inevitable flood damages. There are inevitable trade-offs, with accompanying public policy issues and political controversy, that go with it.
For example, the usual solution to enable housing and the benefits of commercial activity on floodplains are engineering structures, including dams and reservoirs to contain and regulate runoff, and levees to contain water within streambanks.
In addition to financial costs, there are other costs. For example, reservoirs inundate land behind the dam. The tradeoff between these costs and the benefits therefrom must be evaluated. These decisions ultimately become political.
A further problem with engineering solutions is that worst-case scenarios cannot be predicted with precision. Capacity of dams and reservoirs can be exceeded. Levees are periodically over-topped during worst-case storms. Structures occasionally fail, even with the best engineering technology. Nevertheless, engineering structures play an important role in flood control.
Engineering solutions are designed to keep floods away from people. An alternative or complimentary strategy is to keep people away from floods. This is where regulations including zoning and building codes come in. Hazardous kinds of economic activity can be limited to areas where flooding would not cause danger to health and safety. These also obviously involve tradeoffs and political controversy.
A combination of engineering and regulatory policy would be to mandate regulations for houses, such as elevated structures to specified heights above street level. This would obviously increase costs, as well as provoke controversy and accusation of "infringement of property rights."
Houston has relied exclusively on engineering solutions including reservoirs, concrete channels and lined bayous. Texas A&M's director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores asserts that "Houston is the Wild West of development, so any mention of regulation creates a hostile reaction from people who see regulation as an infringement on property rights and a deterrent to economic growth."
Hurricane Harvey is the third major storm to hit Houston in recent years. While 50 inches of rain would be too much for any city, and would cause flooding even under natural conditions, it's clear that the "wild west" approach, no regulations, no zoning, along with its geological and geographic features leaves Houston as a "sitting duck" for disaster. Add to this the predictions of scientists that climate change will bring storms of increasing intensity in the future.
The Arkemy Chemical plant in nearby Crosby has experienced some explosions - plant personnel insist it's "eruptions, not explosions." Was there no economically feasible location for that plant outside the floodplain? Rules under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would have mandated additional safety rules were blocked by Trump's EPA administrator. And, how about those GOP Texas Congressmen, and both Texas Senators, who have opposed regulations, while receiving huge sums of money from the chemical industry?
According to the Washington Post, 400 Harris county homeowners who had suffered flood damage three times during the past five years brought a class-action lawsuit to the county. The county disputed the homeowners' claim that developers had free rein. The Texas high court concluded that the residents failed to link development of the watershed with flooding of their homes.
Naturally, developers see the incentive to build low-cost homes that would be "easier to sell." But when flooding occurs, the developer who opposed regulations will have the money and be long gone.
The conflict between individual freedom, and curtailing some freedoms for the collective good, is as old as society itself. The dynamic city of Houston has experienced explosive economic and population growth. No doubt, this "wild west, anti-government" philosophy has contributed to the boom. But not without cost.
Houston is among the nation's most polluted cities, ranking 12th on the "Most Polluted Cities by Ozone" list. Hurricane Harvey is but the latest reminder of the downside of no-holds-barred boosterism.
Anti-regulation and untrammeled "freedom" makes tempting and seductive political campaign rhetoric. But its practice has perils, including putting Houston, the world's 30th largest economy, at ultimate risk.
- John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Fridays in the Monroe Times.
The geographic and geologic characteristics of the region limited its ability to absorb water even in its natural state. Construction of highways, parking lots and buildings has further limited its capacity to absorb water. Since 2010, more than 7,000 residential buildings have been constructed in Harris County on land designated as a 100-year floodplain. Incredibly, Houston is the nation's largest city with no zoning laws.
Houston originated in 1836 due to its proximity to Galveston Bay. It grew as a port and railroad hub, augmented by oil discovery in 1901. It continued to grow throughout the 20th century with the impressive Texas Medical Center, and ship building during WWII. With NASA's Johnson Space Center, home of Mission Control Center, Houston acquired the nickname of the "Space City." You name it, Houston has it - business, culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, international trade - the Port of Houston ranks first in American waterborne tonnage and second in total cargo tonnage handled.
Houston bills itself as "the city with no limits," conveying the promise of unparalleled opportunity. But all that man-made wonder could not prevent it from suffering ravages of nature.
Houston is not alone in concentrating economic activity on hazardous, flood-prone areas. Floodplains are natural features along banks and mouths of major rivers that were early modes of transportation. It was inevitable that flood-prone cities such as New Orleans and Houston would become militarily and economically strategic sites.
By definition, floodplains are subject to periodic flooding. Does that mean that development should not occur on such sites? No, pressure for commercial activity on these sites is enormous. But modifications must be made and precautions taken to reduce inevitable flood damages. There are inevitable trade-offs, with accompanying public policy issues and political controversy, that go with it.
For example, the usual solution to enable housing and the benefits of commercial activity on floodplains are engineering structures, including dams and reservoirs to contain and regulate runoff, and levees to contain water within streambanks.
In addition to financial costs, there are other costs. For example, reservoirs inundate land behind the dam. The tradeoff between these costs and the benefits therefrom must be evaluated. These decisions ultimately become political.
A further problem with engineering solutions is that worst-case scenarios cannot be predicted with precision. Capacity of dams and reservoirs can be exceeded. Levees are periodically over-topped during worst-case storms. Structures occasionally fail, even with the best engineering technology. Nevertheless, engineering structures play an important role in flood control.
Engineering solutions are designed to keep floods away from people. An alternative or complimentary strategy is to keep people away from floods. This is where regulations including zoning and building codes come in. Hazardous kinds of economic activity can be limited to areas where flooding would not cause danger to health and safety. These also obviously involve tradeoffs and political controversy.
A combination of engineering and regulatory policy would be to mandate regulations for houses, such as elevated structures to specified heights above street level. This would obviously increase costs, as well as provoke controversy and accusation of "infringement of property rights."
Houston has relied exclusively on engineering solutions including reservoirs, concrete channels and lined bayous. Texas A&M's director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores asserts that "Houston is the Wild West of development, so any mention of regulation creates a hostile reaction from people who see regulation as an infringement on property rights and a deterrent to economic growth."
Hurricane Harvey is the third major storm to hit Houston in recent years. While 50 inches of rain would be too much for any city, and would cause flooding even under natural conditions, it's clear that the "wild west" approach, no regulations, no zoning, along with its geological and geographic features leaves Houston as a "sitting duck" for disaster. Add to this the predictions of scientists that climate change will bring storms of increasing intensity in the future.
The Arkemy Chemical plant in nearby Crosby has experienced some explosions - plant personnel insist it's "eruptions, not explosions." Was there no economically feasible location for that plant outside the floodplain? Rules under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would have mandated additional safety rules were blocked by Trump's EPA administrator. And, how about those GOP Texas Congressmen, and both Texas Senators, who have opposed regulations, while receiving huge sums of money from the chemical industry?
According to the Washington Post, 400 Harris county homeowners who had suffered flood damage three times during the past five years brought a class-action lawsuit to the county. The county disputed the homeowners' claim that developers had free rein. The Texas high court concluded that the residents failed to link development of the watershed with flooding of their homes.
Naturally, developers see the incentive to build low-cost homes that would be "easier to sell." But when flooding occurs, the developer who opposed regulations will have the money and be long gone.
The conflict between individual freedom, and curtailing some freedoms for the collective good, is as old as society itself. The dynamic city of Houston has experienced explosive economic and population growth. No doubt, this "wild west, anti-government" philosophy has contributed to the boom. But not without cost.
Houston is among the nation's most polluted cities, ranking 12th on the "Most Polluted Cities by Ozone" list. Hurricane Harvey is but the latest reminder of the downside of no-holds-barred boosterism.
Anti-regulation and untrammeled "freedom" makes tempting and seductive political campaign rhetoric. But its practice has perils, including putting Houston, the world's 30th largest economy, at ultimate risk.
- John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Fridays in the Monroe Times.
