By Ken Kramer
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, a “water column” is “a vertical section of water from the surface to the bottom of the sea, a lake, a river, etc.” However, “The Water Column” is a new monthly feature of the Bayou Banner written by me, the volunteer Water Resources Chair for the Lone Star (Texas state) Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Since “retiring” in 2012 after 23 years as the Lone Star Chapter Director (and a previous 7 years as the Chapter’s state lobbyist), my environmental advocacy focus has been on water resources. My wife and I now live in rural Austin County, which is part of the Houston Regional Sierra Club Group. Having grown up in Houston and attended graduate school at Rice, I have a strong personal interest in the quality of life in the Houston area, of which water in all its facets is a critical part.
A key water issue in the Houston area is flooding, of course. That’s why this month’s column focuses on new opportunities in flood management. This past spring the Texas Legislature enacted significant new legislation on flood project funding and state & regional flood planning. The Legislature has also proposed a new state constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters this November, will establish another flood infrastructure fund.
Space does not allow a full explanation of these new measures in this inaugural “Water Column.” However, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) – the agency primarily responsible for carrying out the flood legislation – has prepared an informative overview of the new laws (Flood “Frequently Asked Questions”) that provides the details.
Suffice it to say that Senate Bill 7 created a new Texas Resiliency Fund to finance flood mitigation and reduction projects (about $800 million was allocated to the Fund out of a total of more than $1.6 billion for flood programs the Legislature appropriated from the state’s “Rainy Day Fund”). (The proposed constitutional amendment will create a separate Flood Infrastructure Fund.) The new funding will be available for “nature-based solutions” (natural area preservation, floodplain buyouts, “green infrastructure,” etc.) as well as traditional flood projects.
Senate Bill 8 set up a new state and regional flood planning process, similar to the way that Texas has done water supply planning – a process intended to produce flood plans for each region of the state and a state flood plan by 2024. There will be multiple opportunities for public input to the planning process.
TWDB is off and running to implement the new legislation. The agency has scheduled a number of public meetings around the state in August to solicit suggestions from local government officials and the public on best ways to put the new laws into practice. Due to logistical and other challenges, the TWDB staff were not able to schedule a meeting in Houston, but there will be meetings nearby in Tomball (August 9) and Lake Jackson (August 13). TWDB has released a flood legislation implementation issues document for which they are asking feedback from the public either at the public meetings or via email at rulescomments@twdb.texas.gov by August 30.
In addition, TWDB may hold an online webinar later in August to present information on the new flood legislation. The best way to keep up-to-date on these developments is to request to be on the agency’s “flood information” list. Click on the link, enter your contact information, and then check the box that says “Flood Information” (plus any other water topic lists of interest to you). If you want more background information on flooding issues in Texas, a good read is the State Flood Assessment prepared by TWDB staff in 2018.
The Sierra Club will be active in monitoring and providing input to implementation of the new flood legislation. Among other things, the Club will emphasize the need to promote nature-based approaches to flood mitigation and reduction, the need for equity among neighborhoods in addressing flood issues, and the importance of protecting the environment when making decisions about flood projects. More details about the Club’s activities on flood management will be forthcoming. Keep immersing yourself in “The Water Column” as we plunge into these and other water topics in the coming months.