Flood Prevention

    When you think about rain in Houston, you think about floods. It does not take long for the streets of Houston to get flooded. This can be a major issue for Houstonians especially for our cars, homes, and our safety. There other environmental and biological dangers in the water such as oil, gasoline, sewage, and even animals. If our city does not construct a plan soon, our city could be in danger. Electricity and gas are also a concern during floods and can be fatal. There are many suggestions and checklists for preparing for floods but no one can really prepare for a flood. Harris County Flood Control District was created in 1937 by the Texas legislature after community leaders petitioned due to the occurrence of floods in 1929 and 1935. The original responsibility of the this flood control district was to oversee rivers, streams, tributaries and flood waters in the Harris County district. Later the district was responsible for reclainmation and drainage of the overflow land of Harris County, the conservation of forests, and regulating storm waters to keep navigable waters navigable. The boundaries of the this district include a community of 3.7 million which includes the City of Houston and 22 primary watersheds.

    One solution for our issues with floods would be to increase the amount of storm water detention basins which are places to store damaging flood waters temporarily until channels can safely carry the waters away. By increasing these storm water detention water basins, we can help eliminate the amount of damage to our homes, vehicles, and our lives. Harris County also adopted the CIP or Capital Improvement Program which is a listing and schedule of current and future flood damage reduction activities. These activities include planning, engineering design, and construction projects. If the rest of the remaining Houston areas were to adopt the same plans for their cities, we could eventually save all of Texas from floods.

    Floods can be very scary and very unpredictable at times. If Harris County is working towards saving most of Houston from floods, then we should encourage others to join in. The link below is a list of Family Flood Preparedness that helps you prepare for future floods and more information about the Harris County Flood Control District. 

http://www.hcfcd.org/tropicalweather/downloads/FamilyFloodPreparePlan2007.pdf

http://hcfcd.org/faqs.html

 



 

Comments

[Bianca Y.]

Everyone knows that the most of the damage caused by hurricane is not the actual hurricane itself,excluding the high winds, but the damage is ultimately caused by the flooding water left beyond after the rain fall. Increasing the amount of storm water detention basins and the CIP is all great solutions to the problem, However I think if the public would just watch where they throw there trash would also make a big difference. What Im trying to say is, flooding is caused because the water is not draining out fast enough which is usually caused by a clogged draining system, typically fill with everyday trash that people just throw in the stree. So if people would watch what they do with their trash and keep the drains cleaned and unclogged flood pervetion would be alot easier.

[Natasha]

There was talk not long ago about having people pay a flood tax, and that money would go to make more drains so it wouldnt flood so much in houston. It was a proposed bill but it didn't pass. I think it should have and we should review it again in the next election. With more drains, houston wouldnt flood so much, and people would save a lot of money from not flooding their cars. Also businesses would do better because their employees and customers would be able to drive in that type of weather.