In the last 16 months the city of Houston and its surrounding counties have had significant rain fall resulting in flooding of Biblical proportions. It is time for the Core of Engineers, State of Texas, Harris County Commissioner and the City of Houston to modify the current water runoff and management system.

Near downtown Houston are the Braes Bayou and the Buffalo Bayou, both designed to contain water from rain runoff. During both the April 2016 flood and Hurricane Harvey both Bayous overflowed and caused excessive damage. It is time to both widen each of the Bayous and increase their depth so that they can hold more water. Think along the lines of the Los Angeles River, wide and deep.

On the west of Houston are the Barker and Addicks Reservoirs, each overflowed with the massive rain in April 2016 and during Hurricane Harvey. Both reservoirs need to be deeper and the height of the sides surrounding them need to be increased so that they will hold more water. During the both floods the Addicks Reservoir has overflowed both time and closed State Highway 6 for several weeks.

When water is to high in Lake Conroe it is released, it flows down stream to the San Jacinto River. During Hurricane Harvey they release so much water at once that the community of Kingwood flooded overnight in a matter of hours. If this is the case, then the San Jacinto River flowing through Kingwood and Humble needs to be dredged out deeper so that it will hold more water.

The bottom line is that the whole system of water runoff in the Houston area must be reevaluated and corrected. Included in this reevaluation should be a plan to review all future developments. To much building too quickly without regards to an adequate plan for the rain runoff will further exacerbate the situation.

It is time to make improvements before the next rain storm or Hurricane.

David R Taylor