VIDEO – KHOU: Some Houston-area residents blame flooding on nearby developments
by Dave Fehling
HOUSTON—A year ago, in the woods behind a west Houston subdivision, little streams burst out of their banks as over half a foot of rainfall fell, flooding dozens of homes.
At the time, residents were puzzled. They said their subdivision had never flooded before.
But now, many believe nearby redevelopments are to blame.
Fidelis Realty Partners, the developer of a nearby strip mall, said the residents are wrong.
They said the residents want someone to blame, and that their company did exactly what the city told them to when they built the shopping center.
City officials said government engineers determined the new strip mall would not displace water into the neighborhoods and approved it – despite what some of the residents now believe.
Houston and Harris County have both made requirements on developers tougher, so that new office buildings and apartment complexes won’t make flooding worse.
But are those new rules really helping protect neighborhoods?
“The problem is, the engineering community has also learned from the past how to get around the new criteria,” Lawrence Dunbar, an engineer and attorney, said.
Developers pay engineers to come up with drainage plans to comply with city and county regulations.
Those regulations dictate that if a project would increase run-off, the developer may have to build detention ponds.
That, however, drives up the cost of development.
Dunbar said sometimes engineers look for loopholes so developers can evade the tougher regulations.
Ultimately, city officials have to approve those plans.
“And they are probably over-worked, under-paid and they may not have the time to do the thorough review that needs to be done,” Dunbar said.
But Stephen Costello, who heads the Houston City Council’s committee on drainage, said he feels pretty confident about the city’s staff.
And he should know.
“I’ll tell you what I do for a living – I do own an engineering company,” he said.
Costello has spent his career in Houston working for developers preparing drainage reports.
He said the suggestion that engineers would slant reports in a developer’s favor is insulting.
“Our business is health, safety and welfare. That’s our mantra and code of ethics,” Costello said. “We’re subject to lawsuits as well, if we design something that doesn’t meet criteria.”
Back in west Houston, many residents still hold the city responsible and want it to redo the drainage.
And some may get their wish. The city is about to spend $39 million on drainage projects in and around the Memorial City Mall area, where residents say the runoff starts.
The goal is to hold back floodwater, so it doesn’t impact areas downstream.
But once that is done, will it work? Residents may have to wait for the next big storm to find out.
Texas engineering with expertise in flood and drainage issues 