Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States (2019)
Chapter: Appendix C: Houston Case Study
Appendix C
Houston Case Study
For the Houston case study, the committee convened a workshop in Houston, Texas, followed by site visits to four Houston locations. Additional information was collected from some participants via telephone interviews. The workshop was structured to gather information from local, state, regional, and federal stakeholders. Participants were divided into small working groups to address four aspects of urban flooding:
- Physical aspects of urban flooding (built and natural environment),
- Social aspects of urban flooding (people and institutions),
- Data and informational aspects of urban flooding (forecasts, maps, demographics), and
- Actions and decision-making aspects of urban flooding.
Detailed comments from each working group conversation are available at http://nationalacademies.org/Urban-Flooding-Visits.
WORKSHOP AGENDA
Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria
Houston, Texas
July 5, 2017
| 8:30a.m. | Welcome and Introductions |
| David Maidment, Committee Chair, University of Texas at Austin | |
| Lauren Alexander Augustine, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine | |
| 8:45 | Overview talks about the four aspects of urban flooding |
| Physical Aspects of Urban Flooding in Houston | |
| Phil Bedient, Rice University | |
| Social Aspects of Urban Flooding in Houston | |
| Saundra Brown, Legal Aid | |
| Informational Aspects of Urban Flooding in Houston | |
| Sam Brody, Texas A&M University |
| Decision-making and Policies in Houston | |
| Steve Costello, Chief Resilience Officer, Mayor’s Office | |
| 10:15 | Break |
| 10:30 | Group breakout sessions |
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| 12:00p.m. | Working lunch |
| 1:00 | Reports from each group |
| 2:00 | Workshop adjourns |
SITE VISITS
July 5, 2017
| 1:00p.m.-5:30 | p.m. Site visits |
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|
| Guides: | |
| Steve Fitzgerald, Chief Engineer, Harris County Flood Control District | |
| Kathlie Bulloch, Managing Engineer, City of Houston |
CASE STUDY PARTICIPANTS
The following individuals participated in the workshop, Houston site visits, and/or in subsequent telephone interviews:
David Alamia, Harris County Office of Emergency Management
Sallie Alcorn, Mayor’s Office, City of Houston
Bill Bass, Houston Advanced Research Center
Phil Bedient, Rice University
Dean Bixler, Residents Against Flooding
Saundra Brown, Lone Star Legal Aid
Ed Browne, Residents Against Flooding
Stephen Costello, Mayor’s Office, City of Houston
Siamak Esfandiary, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Jeffry Evans, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Robert Fiederlein, North Houston District
Steve Fitzgerald, Harris County Flood Control District
Bill Fulton, Rice University
Lisa Gonzalez, Houston Advanced Research Center
Josh Gunn, Texas A&M University
Carol Haddock, City of Houston
Allison Hay, Houston Habitat for Humanity
Howard Hillard, City of Houston Public Works
Anthony Holder, AECOM
Deborah January-Bevers, Houston Wilderness
Kathlie Jeng-Bulloch, City of Houston Public Works
Matt Johns, Catholic Charities
Jamila Johnson, City of Houston
Katie Landry-Guyton, NOAA
Alisa Max, Harris County Engineering Department
Cheryl Mergo, Houston-Galveston Area Council
Bruce Nichols, Frostwood Flood Committee
Lynae Novominsky, Jewish Family Service
Christopher Perkins, City of Houston
Ron Pinheiro, Transportation and Drainage Operations
Benjamin Pope, AECOM
Russell Poppe, Harris County Flood Control District
Jayton Rainey, Texas A&M University
Francisco Sanchez, Liaison, Harris County Office of Homeland Security
Joshua Stuckey, Harris County Infrastructure Coordination
Jeff Taebel, Houston-Galveston Area Council
Lagnesh Varshney, City of Houston Public Works
Todd Ward, Harris County
Ed Wolff, Beth Wolff Realtors
Stephanie Wright, United Way of Greater Houston
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