Angry Houston residents on Saturday shouted at city officials over decisions to intentionally flood certain neighborhoods during Hurricane Harvey, as they returned to homes that might have been contaminated by overflowing sewers.
A town hall meeting grew heated after Houston City Councilor Greg Travis, who represents parts of western Houston, told about 250 people that an Army Corps of Engineers official told him that certain gauges measuring water levels at the Buffalo Bayou — the city’s main waterway — failed due to a decision to release water from two municipal reservoirs to avoid an overflow.
Travis’ words inflamed tensions at the town hall, held at the Westin Houston hotel, as the region struggled to recover from Hurricane Harvey, which dropped as much as 127cm of rain in some areas along Texas’ Gulf Coast, triggering historic floods.
Photo: Reuters
More than 450,000 people either still do not have safe drinking water or need to boil their water first.
On Aug. 28, the Army Corps and the Harris County Flood Control District opened the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in western Houston to keep them from overflowing.
They warned it would flood neighborhoods, some of which remained closed off two weeks later.
Travis said the Army Corps official said they kept releasing water without knowing the extent of the flooding. “They didn’t understand that the bathtub effect was occurring,” he said.
Residents attempting to return to flooded homes might have to contend with contaminated water and air, because the city’s sewer systems overflowed during the floods.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena said people returning home should wear breathing masks and consider getting tetanus shots.
“We couldn’t survive the Corps — why should we rebuild?” Debora Kumbalek, who lives in Travis’ district in Houston, shouted during the town hall meeting.
Scattered heaps of discarded appliances, wallboard and mattresses can still be seen throughout the city of 2.7 million people, the US’ fourth-largest.
There were no representatives from the Army Corps at the town hall. An official from the Army Corps could not immediately comment. An official from the Harris County Flood Control District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Corps released water at an intended maximum rate of 370 cubic meters per second to keep the reservoirs from overflowing. However, preliminary data from the US Geological Survey suggests that on at least two days, the average release rate exceeded that level.
Many residents face lengthy rebuilding processes, and the majority do not have flood insurance. The US Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) would contribute a maximum of US$33,000 per home in assistance to cover damages, a FEMA official said at the town hall, though for heavily flooded homes, damage would likely exceed that amount.
Pena said homes could also be occupied by alligators, rodents and snakes due to the floods.
Of the state’s public drinking water systems, 52 were still damaged, inoperable or destroyed, leaving 70,000 people without water, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said.
Another 380,000 people need to boil their water, they said.
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