Townhall Meeting Sept 18, 2010
Expert John H. Lienhard, host of the Engines of Our Ingenuity program on National Public Radio lead the discussions and session. The Meeting was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and held at George R Brown Convention center.
The city of Houston has been using well water for years. This has caused serious subsidence in Houston and the surrounding communities. The ground has been lowered by three feet in some areas. In the city of Pasadena fire hydrants stick above the ground like lollipops. The federal government is requiring Houston to go from 80% well usage to 20%. The city is ahead of schedule in meeting the federal guidelines.
Houston has enough water to serve Houston’s fresh water needs until 2035. There should be no need for water rationing no matter what the conditions. Some of the cities near Houston and surrounding areas with Mud districts may have to use water rationing.
There are older mud districts surrounding Houston which need new motors, pumps, wiring and pipes. With the infrastructure aging these Mud districts are looking for the city of Houston to take them over. The City is looking at the idea of building a regional pumping station rather than taking over many different pumping stations. This will allow for a more efficient operation at a lower cost.
A major concern is the loss of power to pumping stations during an emergency. During Ike the Houston’s Lynchburg Station lost power. Citizens were urged by the mayor to boil water while the station was returning to normal. The City is working to make its pumping stations more resistant to weather damage.
The storm surge created by Hurricane Ike was barely contained by the existing levees and dikes along the ship channel. A major hurricane of category 3 or more would overwhelm the refineries along the ship channel. This could cause the release into the eco-system of hazardous chemicals and waste. Galveston and Houston are working together to come up with joint policy which will protect our ship Channel.
A post Ike study by Rice’s SSPEED Center states “government regulations require dikes and levees that can protect ship channel against only the 100year flood of 14-15 feet. Beident said that based upon results from supercomputer models at the University of Texas, Austin, Ike could have caused 20 to 25 foot storm surge along the ship channel if it had struck about 30 miles father south.”
Call Bill Edge at 713-240-2949 to see Houston homes in 24 hours or less.