How endless suburban sprawl contributed to Hurricane Harvey's devastation.
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Hurricane Harvey has devastated Houston and a large portion of Southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana. In some areas, Harvey dropped more than 50 inches of rain. Many families and business owners have lost everything. Rebuilding lives and communities will take years, presenting significant challenges as well as opportunities to set Houston on a more sustainable path.

For decades, the Houston metropolitan area has set records for population and economic growth. In 1990, Harris County, which contains Houston and 33 other cities, had a population of 2.8 million residents. Today, the county has more than 4.5 million people.

Most of this growth has come in the form of endless suburban expansion — often within or close to floodplains — spurred by loose development rules and steady highway construction. By constantly pushing development outward, local officials have created a nearly impossible set of challenges for the Harris County Flood Control District.

“By constantly pushing development outward, local officials have created a nearly impossible set of challenges.”

Specifically, low-density growth raises three problems for the District. First, expansion creates more and more land that must be protected while generating less taxable property on a per acre basis than more dense regions. For instance, Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago and is similar in population size, is more than twice as dense as Harris County.

Second, new residential and commercial developments remove trees, prairie grass and other habitat that serves as a natural sponge to soak up rainwater. This natural cover is replaced by hard surfaces like roadways and parking lots that increase the speed and volume of runoff. This means that when major storms hit the region, water more quickly overwhelms the local network of reservoirs, detention ponds and bayous.

Research by the District shows that one acre of prairie grass can absorb enough water to offset the extra storm runoff created by two acres of single-family homes. This is critical because every gallon of water that percolates into the ground is one less gallon the District must capture and eventually drain into the Gulf of Mexico.

Third, the sprawling development pattern around Houston significantly constrains how the District can manage rising water levels due to major storms. In the simplest terms, development removes land that the District might otherwise choose to temporarily flood to protect downstream population centers.

JIM WATSON via Getty Images

In 1940, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a comprehensive flood control plan for Houston. The plan called for the construction of seven major projects that would substantially reduce — though not eliminate — the risk of severe flooding for the population at that time. In the end, the Corps completed only three of these projects as the onset of U.S. involvement in World War II halted nearly all civilian construction projects.

It is tempting to assume that had the Corps completed all seven projects, Houston would be dramatically less vulnerable to major storms. However, this overlooks a more sobering reality: there are limits to the degree that civil engineering can hold back the forces of nature and more extreme weather fueled by climate change. The problem with Houston is not growth but a form of development that for too long has resisted the constraints imposed by regional geography and hydrology. For instance, more than 100,000 homes and businesses sit within a 100-year floodplain, making them especially vulnerable to flooding after major storms.

The catastrophic destruction of Hurricane Harvey demands immediate financial and disaster response support from Washington to help the people of Texas and Louisiana begin to put their lives back together and rebuild in ways that reduce future flood risks.

Once the water subsides and elected officials and community leaders begin looking to the future, it’s time to have a difficult but necessary public conversation about what shape Houston should take in the future. The rebuilding process offers the region an opportunity to learn from its past and make smart investments that will lessen damage caused by the increased flooding that most expect to see in the future. The federal government should not pay for a business-as-usual rebuilding plan that puts people and infrastructure in harm’s way.

No amount of planning could have averted Hurricane Harvey. Yet, with sound and equitable policies and investments, Houston and Southeast Texas can emerge stronger and better prepared while respecting the restraints imposed by the region’s unique geography.

Kevin DeGood is the Director of Infrastructure Policy at the Center for American Progress.

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