Harvey evacuation. Sally Geiss

Changes Coming to ReduceFlooding.Com

In the last 1924 days, I’ve researched, written, photographed and posted more than 2,093 stories about flooding and flood mitigation in the Houston region.

Recurring Themes Gradually Became Apparent

As I dug deeper and deeper into the causes of flooding, certain themes became apparent. They include, but are not limited to:

  • The complexity of coordinating federal, state, county and local governments to address watershed-level issues.
  • Fragmented and often conflicting priorities among local governments within the same watersheds.
  • Political processes that sometimes seem to favor growth over protection of existing residents.
  • Insufficiently mitigated upstream development that often offsets downstream mitigation investments.
  • Environmental destruction.
  • The tug-of-war for limited mitigation funding.
  • Disaster relief dollars that still can’t seem to find their intended targets.
  • The back-seat role that preservation and conservation often play.
  • People building in risky places using assumptions that later prove to be invalid.

I have hundreds of examples of each of these and more. Frankly, the examples are becoming too redundant. And their sheer volume deters new readers from getting the big picture.

Forest-For-The-Trees Dilemma Prompts Changes

It’s a classic forest-for-the-trees dilemma. There’s so much detail, it’s often hard to see the patterns. Therefore, changes are coming to ReduceFlooding.com.

Effective immediately, I’m going to start weaving those details into a book about flooding in Harris County. It will be a more manageable size than the website which now contains more than 1.5 million words and 8,785 images.

To make time for writing the book, I plan to cut back on daily website posts. Posts will become weekly or whenever major news breaks. So if you don’t see me everyday, please don’t think I’ve abandoned the cause.

I also hope to reorganize the website to make existing content support the themes above.

Harvey evacuation. Sally Geiss
Sally Geis rescue during Harvey. North of Kingwood Drive about 8 feet above West Lake Houston Parkway.

Not Possible Without Your Support

My goal is to make all these changes before the start of next hurricane season. Thanks for all of your support during the last five years. Without your input, encouragement, and generous sharing of your experiences, none of this would have been possible. Together, we are documenting the many dimensions of flooding that may, just may, help reduce flooding in the future. Here and elsewhere.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/5/2022

1924 Days since Hurricane Harvey