Emmett pushes 15-point plan on flood control
Proposals include the ability to levy taxes to boost infrastructure, updating flood plains, shoring up dams
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Wednesday unveiled 15 recommendations to prevent disasters like Hurricane Harvey, renewing his call for a regional approach to flood control, asking the state for the ability to levy sales taxes to pay for a massive infrastructure overhaul and suggesting an immediate revision of local flood plains to the 500-year storm standard.
He also called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to immediately fund and complete flood control projects on Brays Bayou, White Oak Bayou, Hunting Bayou and Clear Creek, and shore up the aging Addicks and Barker dams on the city’s west side in what likely will require several billions of dollars in investment.
Emmett revealed the recommendations at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in which he called on other local, state and federal agencies — from municipal utility districts to U.S. congressmen — to act before the “sense of urgency created by Harvey” fades.
“We really need to take ownership of flood control,” Emmett said. “We need to take ownership of it at all levels of government.”
The problem, however, will be wrangling buy-in from disparate government agencies. While Harvey’s devastation was widespread — close to 80 people were killed across the state in the deluge and
hundreds of thousands of homes damaged — differing responsibilities already have created hurdles, with funding being a key sticking point.
For example, the call for a third reservoir on the northwest side of the city to capture floodwaters there may necessitate the Army Corps to build and operate the new dam, but it could take years for Congress to agree on and appropriate the funding for it. Emmett on Wednesday called on the state to use money from its “rainy day fund” for the reservoir to speed up the process, and while state lawmakers have expressed a willingness to tap the fund, Gov. Greg Abbott has been reluctant to use it.
Abbott could not be reached for comment Wednesday
Where’s the funding?
Jim Blackburn, an environmental lawyer and codirector of Rice University’s center for Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters, said Emmett’s proposals lack viable funding mechanisms.
“This is an excellent set of proposals,” Blackburn said. “The question is, how is he going to do it?”
Blackburn said in addition to requesting the federal and state government to fund flood control initiatives, Emmett and Houston city officials should commit to raising more funds locally.
A majority of Commissioners Court — including Emmett — has said they would support a bond issue, possibly upwards of $1 billion, to pay for flood control.
Houston officials said they were reviewing Emmett’s proposals, but could not offer further comment.
Emmett said Wednesday he would lobby federal and state officials in Washington, D.C. and Austin to help push his proposals through.
Other local policy makers expressed optimism at Emmett’s proposal. Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said Wednesday that he would like to “visit over the idea” of a regional flood control body that could regulate flood control initiatives on waterways that affect multiple counties — such as Cypress Creek or Spring Creek — to “see if it has merit.”
“What happens in Montgomery County is, obviously, going to have an impact on Harris County,” Doyal said. “I think we need to at least recognize what impact we have on our neighbors.”
Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, the lone Democrat on Commissioners Court, said he appreciated “Emmett’s work on this vital issue” and said the county should create a plan that addresses climate issues and protects low-income and elderly populations.
“We have a rare opportunity to finally address long-standing flooding issues and safeguard our neighborhoods in the face of severe weather patterns that are becoming the new normal,” Ellis said.
Emmett’s 15-point plan also includes developing an improved flood warning system and localized evacuation plan that could utilize volunteer organizations to help first responders and coordinate high-water vehicles and private boats for rescues.
Warning system
Residents in the areas around Addicks and Barker dams have called for a better warning system, a concept the Army Corps investigated and dropped two decades ago.
Other recommendations include the installation of automatic barriers at floodprone underpasses and development of a plan for closing such underpasses — the county has instituted a policy to identify some underpasses where drivers have drowned to block them off with barricades, but Emmett said the effort could go further, especially after a Houston police officer died after driving into high water during Harvey.
Other proposals include asking the state to institute “clear rules” for approval of plats and more comprehensively studying the 22 watersheds in Harris County and modeling where storm water flows. The plan also calls for buying out all homes located in the 100year floodplain or that have flooded repeatedly.
The county already is evaluating whether it should regulate for 500year storms instead of the current 100-year standard, which would result in a larger area to impose regulations. It also has asked the Army Corps to review whether its regulations forcing developers to compensate for paving over the flood-absorbent landscape are strong enough.