"We ought to call federal flood insurance what it actually is," as Phil Bedient, an engineer and colleague of Mr. Blackburn's at Rice, put it. "It is subsidized floodplain development." The Netherlands--the global gold standard for water management--does not offer a national flood insurance program for just this reason.
The problem is that hurricanes and floods, worsened by climate change, do not recognize political borders or county lines Their toll is shared by everyone. The latest estimate from Moody's puts recovery from Harvey at $81 billion, much of which will end up paid by taxpayers across the United States.
Harris county demands that new developments retain enough rainwater on site to neutralize the effects of a 100-year storm. But those 100-year numbers date back years. They are based on mitigating a storm that averages 13.2 inches of rain in 24 hours. Harvey brought 25.9 inches in 24 hours. The Memorial Day flood dropped 11 inches in three hours. The Tax Day flood dumped 17 inches in 12 hours in the Katy Prairie.
"Looking back, should we have spent more to avoid some of the flooding?" Judge Emmett asked, rhetorically, when we met in his office. "Sure. Did taxpayers want to pay more to do those things? No."
" We need a whole new structure of governance," he insisted. "We've built in watersheds, paved roades and highways because we don't have mass transit. Inevitably, it all catches up with us."
NYTimes November 12, 2017, "Houston After Hurricane Harvey"
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