Texas Medical Center Unveils Flood Management Plan

One year after Tropical Storm Allison struck the Texas Medical Center, leaving almost $2 billion worth of damage in her wake, Texas Medical Center officials have announced the creation of a plan designed to lessen future flood-related damages, should a storm like Allison hit again.

The Texas Medical Center "Hazard Mitigation Plan" proposes 42 measures that when implemented, will improve stormwater drainage, utility services, emergency management, and access into and out of the medical center.

"Last year’s flood will never be forgotten by anyone here. We never want to go through that again," said Dr. Richard Wainerdi, president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center.

To lessen the impact of future storms like Allison, the Texas Medical Center organization, which acts as a "city government" for the 42 hospitals, universities, and other institutions that make up the Texas Medical Center, hired the Chicago-based, architectural and engine-ering firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) LLP to aid in the development of a hazard mitigation plan. The company was a logical choice, having previously been enlisted in 1999 to help draft a 50-year "Vision for Growth" master plan which guides future development of the rapidly growing Texas Medical Center.

In creating the newly released hazard mitigation plan, Texas Medical Center and SOM representatives consulted with hydrology experts and officials from the city of Houston, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris County Subsidence District, Reliant Energy, Southwestern Bell and others. The resulting information was then incorporated into a published plan.

"If this hazard mitigation plan is going to work, a very significant, collaborative effort is required. We’re calling for action from a broad range of governmental and private entities," said Andy Icken, executive vice president with the Texas Medical Center.

The mitigation plan’s top priority urges accelerating completion of the Brays Bayou federal project, which flood control district officials say will lower the water level in Brays Bayou during a storm comparable to Allison by five feet. Managed by the Harris County Flood Control District and partially funded by the federal government, the project calls for widening the bayou, raising 31 bridges and adding a large water detention pond north of the Texas Medical Center. Located near South Post Oak Road, the pond is named the Willow Water Hole.

Current plans predict the Brays Bayou project’s completion in 2014. Texas Medical Center officials want 90 percent of the project’s benefits in place within five years or less.

"The Brays Bayou project is of paramount importance to us. It needs to be put at the top of the priority list," Icken said. "All other drainage projects are dependent upon completion of this project."

The plan also requests timely completion of the Harris Gully storm sewer project, a $60 million FEMA-funded project in which the city of Houston will install three new storm sewers that will funnel stormwater from north of Highway 59 down to Brays Bayou, where the water will be carried out to the ship channel. Currently, two side-by-side, underground concrete boxes called the Harris Gully culverts carry stormwater from north of Highway 59 down through the medical center and into Brays Bayou. The culverts are overburdened, and can’t handle the job alone in the event of severe flooding.

The city of Houston plans to install a new storm sewer under Kirby Drive, another near MacGregor Drive, and a third under Hermann Drive to relieve the burden on the Harris Gully culverts. Preliminary design engineering is in progress, and completion of the three new storm sewers is expected in several years.

"We need this accelerated and we’re expecting action from the city to expedite this project," Icken said.

In the meantime, a 66-inch storm sewer pipe is being laid on the section of Fannin Street that runs between Holcombe Boulevard and Brays Bayou. Because Fannin was already torn up due to installation of light rail, the city took advantage of the situation and laid the pipe before the street was repaved.

"Anytime a street is under construction, think of it as a drainage improvement opportunity," advised Texas Medical Center Executive Vice President Bob Stott, who directed the flood management plan’s development.

The plan proposes a host of other measures encompassing the Texas Medical Center campus, individual Texas Medical Center institutions, the area north of Highway 59, and the South Main area. The measures include considering installation of an underground water detention system at Almeda Road, where water could be funneled out of Brays Bayou and "held" underground until it can efficiently drain; improving access in and out of the medical center by creating "high and dry" roads; establishing a roadway flooding notification system for emergency vehicles; and allowing the mile-long depressed area of Highway 59 from Shepherd to Mandell to remain as a rainwater storage pond during extreme flooding situations. That particular highway underpass is known for holding water during floods.

Meanwhile, the Texas Medical Center has implemented some additional measures, including installation of a solar-powered system that monitors subsidence in the area. Since 1976, the medical center has subsided more than three and one-half feet due to the pumping of groundwater to be used as drinking water, an important fact to consider in constructing new buildings at elevations high enough to be safe from future flooding.

The official flood-monitoring system for the Texas Medical Center/Rice University area, http://www.floodalert.org, is also being revamped. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will add a forecasting module to the site, which will use computer software to project possible flood scenarios based on amount, location, and intensity of rainfall.

While wide-reaching flood protection measures are being proposed, evaluated and implemented, individual Texas Medical Center institutions have been busy during the past year practicing "islandization" – turning their buildings into miniature fortresses capable of withstanding floodwaters. Submarine-like flood doors are being installed, critical services have been moved out of low-lying locations, and the institutions that share an under-ground tunnel system are cooperating to ensure the tunnel is flood- protected in the event of high water.

All these measures can’t stop the rain, but they can afford a degree of protection, Dr. Wainerdi said.

"If Allison were to hit tomorrow, we would still have four or five feet of water throughout the Texas Medical Center, just as we did a year ago. But now we’re better prepared. That four or five feet of water would do much less damage than it did last year."

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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