Flood Protection System Earns Kudos

The flood protection system at Texas Children’s Hospital that protected patients and families during Tropical Storm Allison has received state, national and international attention.

“The flood protection system has placed Texas Children’s on the state and national engineering map,” said Mark Kenneday, director of facilities and operations at Texas Children’s. “We’ve even had a team of Japanese flood district engineers and architects tour the facility because they wanted to see the doors that saved our young patients.”

Making its mark on the state map, the flood protection system recently captured a “first place for best design” award in the water resources category of the Texas Engineering Excellence Awards, sponsored by the Texas Council of Engineering Companies. Texas Children’s and the Houston office of Walter P. Moore, the engineering firm that consulted with the hospital on the project, were recognized for the engineering plan that endured Tropical Storm Allison.

The hospital’s state-of-the-art flood protection system was already partly in place when Tropical Storm Allison dumped 22 inches of rain on the Texas Medical Center in June 2001. The system involved study and system planning, design and construction barriers, staff preparation and flood-alert system training.

“In comparison to neighboring hospitals, we sustained a minimum amount of damage, thanks to the preparation and foresight of our facilities and operations teams,” said Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s. “The intense planning, as well as the study of the flood plain and watershed in the Texas Medical Center, protected our patients and families during one of the worst storms in Houston’s history.”

One part of the flood protection system was the installation of flood doors, placed strategically throughout the hospital. The submarine- like doors can handle up to 230,000 pounds of water pressure and offer protection from floodwaters on both sides. Weighing 2,500 pounds each, the doors are made from aerospace aluminum – the same material as the space shuttle.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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