Joe B. Allen on the Connection Between Subsidence and Flooding
Subsidence doesn’t just affect the ground beneath our feet—it can make flooding worse. Joe B. Allen explains how excessive groundwater pumping changed the landscape, why the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District was created, and why transitioning to surface water is so important for the region’s future.
Transcript
Transcript edited for clarity and readability.
If you go back and study subsidence in Houston, what led to the creation of the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District was when the Brownwood subdivision in Baytown literally disappeared under Galveston Bay.
Much of the flooding we have in Houston today, in places like Meyerland, is because those areas have subsided 6 to 10 feet. The number one subsidence area in the region today is centered around Katy.
Subsidence has many negative impacts, such as cracked foundations, but the biggest impact for our region is that it makes flooding worse.
We need the land to slope toward the Gulf to move water away. When that land flattens over time, drainage becomes much less effective. It’s one of the reasons flooding has become such a significant issue in our region.
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