96 [link removed] John,

Everyone agrees
Houston has a flooding problem. There has been much talk about it, but
very little has been done. Indeed, Houston's own "Flood Czar" admits we
are in no better condition to face the next storm than we were before
Hurricane Harvey. We have to get serious. Did you know that when the
current mayor came into office, his transition team laid out multiple,
tangible things that could be done to eliminate or at least mitigate the
impact of flooding? Almost none were accomplished. We need to be
aggressive and realistic. It's time to do something.

We must remember
that the flooding issue is different all across the city. In Kingwood,
for example, there are very specific issues with regard to the need for
immediate and complete dredging of the Mouth Bar and thereafter
scheduled maintenance dredging; pushing sand miners away from the river
and holding them accountable when they break the rules; and the
installation of flood gates in Lake Houston to properly control the
water releases. When we discuss the west side of town, of course, the
issues are different. There are major capacity issues with regard to the
Barker's and Addick's reservoirs and there are issues with the strength
of the levees; the residents need to know when the flood gates are
opened; building within the planned reservoir runoff should be
forbidden; and there is a need for a third detention area. Of course,
Meyerland is yet another area that has unique issues with regard to
flooding, requiring a unique solution, some of which are discussed
herein.

Setting aside the specific issues that are unique to some
parts of the city, we face three distinct threats from flooding – storm
surge, river flooding, and sheet flow (the technical name for street
flooding.) While we aren't going to be able to fix the problems
overnight, the city can work together with the business community to
achieve long term improvement in short order.

To begin with, it's
important to understand the different nature of the three types of
flooding. Storm surge flooding comes with hurricanes. It's big and
scary; it's also very predictable. The contours of storm surge flooding
are well defined. The National Hurricane Center publishes maps of the
Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH). Within the SLOSH
modeling, they produce a Maximum of Maximums map (MoM.) This map is the
absolute worst-case scenario. Looking at the worst-case scenario tells
us just how bad things can get, but also tells us the small scope of
danger. The human loss and suffering are significant and need to be
mitigated, but, thankfully, the total population exposed to danger is
small when looking at the city as a whole.

River flooding is what
causes our bayous to overflow and brings misery to the city. This is in
part determined by the upstream flow, and partly determined by the
amount of rain falling in and near the city. Addressing this problem
requires looking at both elements of the problem. What can we do when
the big surge of water moves to the city, and what can we do to try and
keep rain that falls near and in the city from causing the waterways to
overflow?

Sheet flow is a different threat. No one is safe from sheet
flow, and sheet flow issues exacerbate river flooding issues if not
dealt with appropriately. The mismanagement of sheet flow impacts all of
us, and we must address this problem in order to both protect homes as
well as reign in costs to mitigating the river flooding issues we face.
It's easy to envision storm surge and river flooding, but when someone
says sheet flow that doesn't bring an image to mind. So, what is sheet
flow? Sheet flow is the technical name to how water moves when it is not
in a defined channel – like a river or bayou. Sheet flow is what causes
street flooding. Sheet flow running into the bayous is what leads to
river flooding. We can't stop the sheet flow upstream from causing us
problems, but we can, and must, address sheet flow issues in the city to
protect homes, minimize traffic and economic disruption, and lessen the
impacts from river flooding.

The rain this May in Kingwood is a good
example of the disaster than can happen when sheet flow is not handled
properly. This recent flooding, which severely impacted the Elm Grove
neighborhood and others, was the result of a developer who failed to
follow the rules. That developer, when clearing and preparing for
development, caused slopes that directly impacted the surrounding
neighborhoods, with no preparation for that impact. But, sheet flow
isn’t just something that impacts communities due to errant developers.
Street flooding from sheet flow happens when the amount of water trying
to enter into the storm drainage system overwhelms the drainage
capacity. The water then backs up into yards and eventually into houses.
Hydrologists and engineers have a formula to explain sheet flow, but
in simple terms the variable called the "S curve" is what determines how
bad sheet flow issues are. The S curve is a measurement of how much and
how fast water flows over the surface. When rain falls, some is absorbed
into the ground, and some flows into the storm drainage system. The S
curve tells us how much, and how fast, the water enters the storm
drainage system. When rain falls, some falls onto grass, some falls into
ditches, and some falls into the concrete jungle. Grass is better for
flow control than ditches, and ditches are better than the curb and
gutter system that lines many of our streets.

This problem can be
addressed in two ways – improving the storm drainage system's capability
to handle sheet flow and reducing the amount and speed in which water is
added into the system. We can address both issues easily; it's just a
matter of having the political will and financial discipline to make the
needed changes.

To begin with, we are paying a drainage fee and an
accompanying ad valorem tax, and we need to make sure that they are
being used only for the intended flood control purpose that was promised
when the voters approved the tax. The drainage fee was approved under
the premise that it would be used to fund drainage improvements and pay
down past drainage debt. These should be the only items on which these
funds are spent. Even then, we need to focus on actions that will have
an immediate impact on sheet flow control over paying down debt.

Long
term planning and project completion are necessary for some aspects of
flood control. However, we also can act on items that will immediately
improve the situation. The storm drainage system has deteriorated,
resulting in lost capacity. Identifying areas where the storm drainage
system has structural damage and areas where the drainage system has
become clogged will lead to an immediate increase in capacity. Just like
a slow draining sink or bathtub, if you can clear the plug, the water
drains faster. Making these repairs and unplugging the clogs increases
the drainage capacity, getting water off our streets faster. This is
actually simple stuff, if we had a leader who focused on it and
aggressively but methodically addressed it.

Draining the streets
faster helps lessen the extent and duration of flooding, but it doesn't
do anything to prevent flooding in the first place. An effective sheet
flow flood control program must address both drainage as well as
prevention. To that end, the city needs to work with local citizens and
businesses to reduce the amount of water that is going into the storm
drainage system in the first place. When elected mayor, I will push the
city to take the following steps:

1) When a business makes
improvements, any proposal that includes flood abatement as a part of
the design can be made as a line item in the proposal during the
permitting process. Any amount line itemed and spent on flood mitigation
activities will receive a dollar for dollar reduction in drainage taxes
the year the flood mitigation improvement occurs.

2) I will direct
our permitting process to give priority to identifying and approving
improvements where the total amount spent on flood mitigation is at
least 15% of the cost of the project. These improvements will be brought
to the front of the line for approval.

3) Since replacing concrete
with natural surfaces both absorbs more rainfall, and slows the speed in
which water flows into the storm drainage system, we will implement a
Beautify Houston program where businesses can be recommended for judging
and the city will select one business a month for recognition of their
effort to beautify their property.

Houston is full of citizens who
care about the city. I've heard stories of people walking the
neighborhoods during Hurricane Harvey and clearing debris from gutters
so that water could again flow freely into the storm drainage system. We
will re-establish the adopt a drain program since many drains remain
“unadopted”. Not only will we make a push to have every drain adopted,
but we will specifically recognize individuals and businesses who are
participating in the program. On the city’s web page, we will
specifically make a link listing every business or individual who has
adopted a drain, and if they have a web page we will link to it. We have
the citizens ready to assist; it’s just a matter of promoting the need
and giving recognition to those who step up to address the problem.
Simply demanding accountability for how the drainage fee is spent,
focusing on actions that have an immediate impact, and engaging with
businesses and individuals who want to be part of the solution will
improve our sheet flow issues. However, sheet flow is only one area that
we need to address. The bigger issues of river flooding and storm surge
protection need to be addressed as well.

The larger expenditures of
river flooding and storm surge control are a much more expensive
proposition. In these areas, we need to look at the success that the
county has had with flood control measures. To begin with, we need to
drive down the time it takes to implement flood mitigation. The best
plans are worthless if they are never implemented. One of the biggest
factors in the delay is the city currently operates under a bond method.
We must have the cash on hand before work begins. It’s time to recognize
we have a stable funding source – the drainage fee – and change the way
we operate for funding these projects. We were promised “pay as you go”
when we voted for the drainage fee. We need to shift to “pay as you go”
operations to begin and complete projects in a timely manner. Rather
than 5 to 8 year projects, since we have a funding source that is “pay
as you go,” we should be accomplishing drainage projects in a 1 to 3
year time span. We have to change the way we are thinking about these
projects.

The requirement to have the cash on hand not only
needlessly delays the initiation of projects, but it also allows the
city to indefinitely forgo some of the expensive needed projects by
directing expenditures in a manner that never allows for the required
cash on hand to accumulate. Rather than simply deny the project, the
city can say that they want to help but that the funds simply aren’t
available. The city can kill a project without ever actually declaring
they do not want to do the project. Switching to a “pay as you go”
method not only allows the city to begin projects that currently cannot
take place, but it holds the city accountable for all proposed projects
rather than allowing the city to kill a project by indefinite inaction.
We must also take care to strengthen our relationship with the Harris
County Flood Control District and the Army Corps of Engineers. Some
projects are simply beyond the reach of the city. We cannot do anything
about rainfall upstream of the city. However, the HCFCD and COE can, and
we need to work with them as a team to make certain we have an
integrated plan on how to address upstream issues. This requires
cooperation, and at times compromise, in order to achieve the desired
end results. Working together with HCFCD and COE also leads to
efficiencies from economies of scale. Integrated cooperation means that
the planning and required environmental impact assessment can be divided
between the city, HCFCD and COE. Working together to plan and cut
through the administrative red tape not only reduces cost, but also
speeds up when work can begin.

Lastly, we need to invigorate thinking
in flood control processes. The city is blessed to have some of the best
and brightest minds working in the private sector. We need to invite
people with geology, engineering, hydrology, and meteorology backgrounds
into a volunteer committee to inject fresh ideas into the flood control
process. To that end, when elected mayor I will solicit volunteers from
the private sector to form a select committee on flood control to offer
ideas on how to address the issues we face. The committee will have
access to public works information and individuals, but they will report
to me, not public works, on what they believe to be the best course of
action to take regarding flood control. This is not a condemnation of
public works, but rather an acknowledgment that “group think” can set in
when an organization has become well established and committed to a
course of action. The goal of the select committee is to offer ideas to
invigorate the process, rather than continue with the “group think” and
management by inertia that can set in with large time-consuming
projects.
Sincerely,
Tony Buzbee
Candidate for Mayor of Houston
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