{"id":11133,"date":"2022-12-23T19:08:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T01:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/?p=11133"},"modified":"2022-12-24T11:32:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T17:32:58","slug":"flood-planning-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/?p=11133","title":{"rendered":"Flood Planning Update"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Are Flood Planners Ignoring Legal Requirement To Consider Environmental Impact?<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stormwater Tunnel Inlets:  No Environmental Impact On Streams, Says Flood Control<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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Related: <\/em>         Stormwater Tunnel on Buffalo Bayou Will Not Prevent Flooding<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        Improving Flood Risk Knowledge. Proposing Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        Bayou City Sitrep: What\u2019s Been Happening<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dec. 23, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update Dec. 24: President Biden signs authorization<\/a> for Galveston Bay Surge Protection Plan. Funding not included.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Freeze? Drought? Holiday lights went out? Flood planning goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A regional planning group has voted to send the state a flood plan while expressing concern that failure to assess its environmental impacts could be illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group<\/a> noted at a recent meeting that there were numerous public comments objecting to the environmental impact of projects included in the plan. Many were lodged against channelizing natural streams, among them wooded Spring Creek on the northern border of Harris County, parts of which are under conservation easement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservation easements are actually a flood management strategy. Channelization, or dredging, altering, and straightening streams can increase downstream flood risk and lead to erosion, sedimentation, maintenance, and environmental issues. (pp. 154-155)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criticisms also focused on the abundance of structural or engineering projects compared to nature-based projects and nonstructural strategies. The state\u2019s technical guidelines require a balance of structural and non-structural projects, with an emphasis on natural systems and functions. (pp 87-88)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature-based approaches, or green stormwater infrastructure<\/a>, slow and absorb stormwater runoff before it enters our pipes and streams. (Also improves property values<\/a>, cleans the air and water, improves biodiversity, makes life better, and more.) Scientific studies have shown that nature-based flood management \u2013 using trees, plants, wetlands, prairies, etc. \u2014 is cheaper and more effective than structural engineered projects. (See here<\/a> and here<\/a>.) And here is Save Buffalo Bayou\u2019s previous comment to the flood planning group outlining what other cities and states are doing<\/a> in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planning group, known as Region 6, is one of fifteen localized groups set up by the Texas Water Development Board<\/a> to develop continuing flood plans to be funded by the state. The regional plan includes numerous projects and strategies proposed by governmental or public entities. These are cities, counties, districts draining the watershed emptying into the San Jacinto River, an area extending from Galveston to Huntsville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The group had not yet posted the final approved plan on its website as of publication time. The final plan is to be sent to the state board by Jan. 10, 2023. Here is a link<\/a> to the meeting presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the comments received<\/a> on the draft plan objected to the emphasis on structural or engineered projects, the lack of nature-based projects, and the failure to consider the impacts of proposed channelization of streams and coastal surge protection projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planning committee\u2019s general response to these complaints is that they are \u201cnot endorsing\u201d but just \u201cincluding\u201d the projects in their plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, group member Gene Fisseler pointed out at the recent meeting Dec. 8<\/a> that it was important to make sure that the group adhered to its statutory requirement to evaluate environmental impact under Ch. 362 of the Texas Administrative Code<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group members approved changes to the plan, including adding four City of Houston projects in Kashmere Gardens, Fifth Ward, Sunnyside, and Pleasantville. (pp. 19-22)<\/a> They discussed how to answer environmental concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is an explanation of the draft flood plan<\/a> before it was updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next planning meeting is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2023. The next plan update is due July 14, 2023. There will be further opportunity for the public to comment, Megan Ingram of the Texas Water Development Board said at the hybrid meeting held at the Houston Advanced Research Center in the Woodlands. A recording of the meeting is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flood plan is an ongoing project, to be updated every five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaction of Conservation and Environmental Groups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservation groups, including Bayou Land Conservancy<\/a> and the Coastal Prairie Conservancy<\/a>, as well as numerous individuals, objected to plans to strip, dredge, and channelize natural streams, including those under conservation easement, specifically Spring Creek. They urged the flood planners to drop the San Jacinto River Regional Watershed Master Drainage Plan<\/a> which includes those plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A coalition of environmental groups, including Save Buffalo Bayou, urged the flood planning group and the US Army Corps of Engineers<\/a> to reconsider the environmental impact of the $34 billion coastal barrier and gate system recently approved by the House of Representatives<\/a>. The draft flood plan claimed there was no environmental impact from the Corps\u2019 Galveston Bay Surge Protection plan (known as the Ike Dike). (p. 2050)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the rest of this post.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are Flood Planners Ignoring Legal Requirement To Consider Environmental Impact? Stormwater Tunnel Inlets:  No Environmental Impact On Streams, Says Flood Control Related:          Stormwater Tunnel on Buffalo Bayou Will Not Prevent Flooding                         Improving Flood Risk Knowledge. Proposing Solutions                         Bayou City Sitrep: What\u2019s Been Happening Dec. 23, 2022 Update Dec. 24:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11137,"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11133\/revisions\/11137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.savebuffalobayou.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}