Tag Archives: flooding

Latest ReBuild lawsuit dismissed

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

One less thing for the next Mayor to worry about. I hope. A district court judge has ruled in favor of Houston leaders in a 4-year-old lawsuit, countering allegations that Mayor Sylvester Turner and the City Council illegally shortchanged the … Continue reading →

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No federal action to un-screw Houston on Harvey relief funds

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not yet, anyway. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. The federal government is punting for now on enforcing a finding that Texas discriminated against communities of color when it stiffed Houston in distributing flood mitigation funds stemming from Hurricane Harvey. The Department … Continue reading →

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So yeah, climate change is bad for Houston

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some science for you. As Houston continues to grapple with extreme weather conditions, scientists find record-breaking sea level rises in the U.S. Gulf Coast, which could leave cities such as Houston more vulnerable to severe storms and flooding in the coming decades than previously … Continue reading →

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Rep. Jackson Lee makes her Mayoral candidacy official

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here she comes. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee kicked off her campaign for mayor Friday night with a rally on the rooftop of Post Houston, promising to “unlock City Hall” for all residents and embrace their diversity while outlining a municipal agenda to tackle … Continue reading →

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I-45 project is back on

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Though it will still be several years before there is any real construction. Nearly two years to the day that federal officials paused TxDOT’s plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 and downtown Houston’s freeway system, national and state highway leaders have come … Continue reading →

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Here come the new floodplain maps

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Coming soon to tell you if you are now in the floodplain. When Harris County debuts a massive overhaul of its floodplain maps later this year, the Houston area will be the first in the country to rely on a … Continue reading →

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So what’s the deal with that I-45 deal?

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Still to be determined. Houston, Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation have an agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, and a lot of steps to get there. Details big and small remain works in progress and a … Continue reading →

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Texas Department of Agriculture sort of recognizes climate change

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start, I guess. On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it … Continue reading →

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Ike Dike authorization officially passed

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Took a roundabout route to get there, but here we are. With the stroke of a pen, President Joe Biden authorized a $34 billion proposal to build a massive storm surge protection system on the Texas coast and around Galveston … Continue reading →

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New Land Commissioner, same screw job for Houston and Harris County

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t expect any different. I’m still mad about it. When akewayLakeway Republican Dawn Buckingham jumps from the Texas Senate to the helm of the state General Land Office next month, she will inherit control of the state’s Hurricane Harvey recovery, a slow-moving multibillion-dollar … Continue reading →

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Woodland Heights Civic Association opposes I-10 elevation proposal

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my neighborhood, and this is the email they sent out on Thursday about it. In recent weeks the WHCA has challenged TxDOT on their plan to elevate I-10 near our neighborhood between Heights Blvd. and I-45. Due to the … Continue reading →

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We keep on building homes in the floodplains

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s how we roll. When Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston region with a deluge of rain, one of the places where the water escaped its bounds was near a Spring Branch floodway known as Brickhouse Gully, satellite data shows. There, … Continue reading →

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Harris County officially gets its $750 million from the GLO

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

With hopefully more to come, as well as something for Houston. Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an agreement Wednesday with the Texas General Land Office to receive $750 million in federal flood mitigation funding, and called on the agency … Continue reading →

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Maybe we shouldn’t pave over our best rain-absorbing wetlands

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Just a thought. Even just paving over less of them might be wise. At the far west end of Houston along the Katy Freeway, where the concrete city gives way to bigger sky and taller grass, signs advertising new master-planned communities greet … Continue reading →

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Rockport, Dickinson, Port Arthur: Five years after Harvey

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, we’re at “five years after Hurricane Harvey made landfall” time. Here’s a long story about how three smaller towns that were in its path are doing now. Each day, Gary Billy drives past the empty corner lot where his … Continue reading →

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Elevating I-10

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

My antennae are up about this. A state proposal to elevate Interstate 10 near White Oak Bayou is raising concerns among neighbors, who worry about the effects a higher freeway would have on noise and drainage. The $347 million project, … Continue reading →

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GLO threatens to take away more Harvey relief funds from Houston

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, hell no. The state General Land Office says it may have to take over more of the city’s Hurricane Harvey housing relief programs, citing what it says is consistently sluggish progress on a slew of the initiatives. The land office said in a … Continue reading →

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We are getting serious about the flood tunnel idea

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Now the question is how could we pay for this? A network of eight massive storm water tunnels that drain upstream of and into the Houston Ship Channel could be the key to alleviating flooding in Harris County, flood control engineers announced this week. The … Continue reading →

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Harris County ponders a bond election

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

First one in awhile. Harris County leaders will begin discussions Tuesday about whether to add a bond election to the November ballot. The bond would be a hybrid measure to raise money for roads, parks, flood control, and public safety. … Continue reading →

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Now I know the difference between those two Army Corps of Engineers lawsuits

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good timing for me here. A federal appellate court on Thursday reversed an earlier decision that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was not to blame for flooding homes downstream of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs after Hurricane Harvey. The ruling brought new … Continue reading →

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Is there any chance the GLO won’t screw Houston this time around?

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, maybe. Things can happen. I just wouldn’t count on it. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday commended the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for ordering Texas to fix a Hurricane Harvey recovery plan that the federal agency … Continue reading →

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GLO prepares to screw Houston again on Harvey recovery funds

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gird yourselves. Of the more than 300,000 homes in Texas damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, none were in Coryell County. Located 220 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, this small agricultural county was not the place Congress had in … Continue reading →

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A tour of the future Ike Dike

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating stuff. Federal engineers envisioned a massive version of the “Ike Dike” plan to protect the region from hurricane storm surge. It’s currently sitting with lawmakers, who have to decide whether to pay their share of the $29 billion proposal and move the years-long … Continue reading →

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The New Orleans perspective on the Ike Dike

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Kelly Burks-Copes braces herself against the wind and marches past the ruins of Fort San Jacinto, a strategic spot on a sandy, wave-battered point where Spain, France, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the United States have … Continue reading →

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HUD approves updated GLO proposal for Harris County

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting, but there are still a lot of moving pieces out there. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday said it would accept the Texas General Land Office’s proposal to give Harris County $750 million in federal … Continue reading →

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Keep your hands off of the Harvey money, H-GAC

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously. You’ve done enough already. First, a regional council of government officials left Harris County and most of its cities out of a plan to distribute $488 million in federal flood mitigation funds stemming from Hurricane Harvey. As justification, the Houston-Galveston Area Council … Continue reading →

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HUD finds the GLO’s process to screw Houston out of Harvey funds “discriminatory”

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Now get us the funds we deserve. In a decision that could redirect millions of dollars in flood relief to Houston, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found the Texas General Land Office discriminated against minority residents … Continue reading →

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Let’s pay some attention to the Gulf Coast Protection District

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They may raise some tax revenue to help pay for the Ike Dike, so best to know what’s happening with it. Especially since they didn’t exactly go out of their way to make it easy to do that. Danielle Goshen … Continue reading →

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Et tu, H-GAC?

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

WTAF? Houston is slated to get just 2 percent of the regional council’s $488 million tranche for storm mitigation, angering city leaders who say the city consistently has been shorted when it comes to the federal money. The Houston-Galveston Area … Continue reading →

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Houston’s preparations for the next freeze

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We learned from the experience, which I hope will serve us well for the next time. The grid’s near collapse last February had drastic consequences for local governments, none more acute than the challenge water systems confronted in trying to … Continue reading →

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Does Houston get its fair share from Harris County?

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. Do property taxpayers inside the City of Houston subsidize Harris County services? It’s a question that comes up a lot, given the fact that city residents—like their counterparts in the county—pay separate property taxes to the county, but … Continue reading →

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Bypass the GLO

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Heck yeah. All five members of Harris County Commissioners Court signed onto a letter Friday asking the local congressional delegation to ensure that future disaster relief bypasses the state government and goes directly to large counties. The letter is the … Continue reading →

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Feds halt Harvey relief funds over GLO error

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing saga. The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday halted the distribution of $1.95 billion in aid awarded to Texas after Hurricane Harvey because it said the state has failed to send the federal agency required paperwork … Continue reading →

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Maybe flood tunnels really are the answer

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Time for another study. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is revisiting the idea of constructing a large, underground tunnel beneath the city of Houston — part of its efforts since Hurricane Harvey to alleviate the potential for flooding around … Continue reading →

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