Posted on November 22, 2021
If natural disasters are teaching moments for local governments, the past 13 years have been an extended remedial lesson for southeast Texas.
The last two major hurricanes to hammer the Houston-Galveston region, Ike in 2008 and Harvey in 2017, exposed the weaknesses of our flood protection system. It soon became clear that Houston could no longer rely on federal recovery dollars and flood insurance payouts in lieu of robust protection.
Enter the Ike Dike. The $29 billion plan, which could take up to 20 years to build, includes a series of gates designed to protect against a surge of up to 22 feet. It would stretch from the east end of Galveston Island across the mouth of Galveston Bay to Bolivar Peninsula. Other coastal protections include 43 miles of 14- and 12-foot dunes on Galveston’s west end and on the peninsula. Gates are also planned on the western bank of Galveston Bay for Clear Lake and Dickinson Bayou.
Yet even such a huge project — one most community leaders and this editorial board strongly support, despite its price tag — leaves major parts of our community vulnerable to catastrophe.
A group of researchers at Rice University’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disasters Center, led by co-director Jim Blackburn, have been sounding the alarm on this issue for years. It’s increasingly likely, they argue, that storms stronger than the ones the Corps has designed the Ike Dike to protect against will eventually strike Houston. Most importantly, though, they argue that Ike Dike won’t guard against a catastrophic hit to the Houston Ship Channel and Bayport Industrial Complex. If a storm were to swamp either the port or the complex, millions of barrels’ worth of environmentally toxic crude oil and other chemicals could spill into Houston’s bayous and Galveston Bay.
The research center’s Galveston Bay Park Plan would construct an archipelago of man-made barrier islands built with repurposed dredge material from widening the ship channel. These islands would act as a 25-foot dike on one side, with the other side doubling as a 10,000-acre public park, allowing for the development of wetlands and beaches. Several storm surge gates on the islands would allow ships to pass through.
The Rice team has identified more than 15,000 properties in the Galveston and Harris county study area vulnerable to flooding should a Category 5 hurricane strike at just the wrong place along the coast — even with the Ike Dike in place. Of those properties, 575 are industrial sites, nearly half of which contain products used for petrochemical production.
The loss of property and homes would be catastrophic. Galveston Bay could become so polluted with toxic chemicals that it could be rendered unusable for a generation. We saw what happened during Harvey when the Arkema plant in Crosby flooded so badly that refrigerated trailers of organic peroxides burst into flames. Just imagine a 20-foot storm surge dislodging storage tanks, contaminating the bay, or floating in floodwaters crashing into homes.
Whether Blackburn and his team’s plan to protect Galveston Bay and the industrial complex is the right one, or worth the up to $6 billion he says it’s likely to cost, remains to be seen. Many questions need answers, including how it can be built and paid for, without delaying the larger Ike Dike.
Still, the worst-case scenario of enormous economic disruption and environmental damage is chilling enough for the Galveston Bay Park Plan to merit serious consideration. At the very least, the basic questions of its feasibility should be answered as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, The SSPEED Center has already put together a coalition to pay for a $1 million feasibility study. The Port of Houston, Harris County, and entrepreneur Joseph Swinbank have agreed to chip in $250,000 each. The City of Houston is also expected to contribute $250,000 and serve as the lead sponsor for the study. Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement to the board he supports doing so, and At-Large Councilman David Robinson echoed that in a meeting with the board earlier this week.
Houston thrives in part because of the relationship it has with the petrochemical industry clustered near the port and along the coast. But materials stored there make the whole region vulnerable to environmental devastation, should a worst-case storm strike Houston. The Rice team has offered a plan to make us all much safer — one that would also have a substantial public benefit in providing coastal access to the bay.
We strongly support moving forward with this study so that critical questions can be answered.
