Flooding in Galveston

Is there something Galveston can do to the drainage or sewer systems to help this?

 

Maybe instead of building another cruise terminal spend the money fixing that problem?

What would you propose? It's at 7 feet elevation. I'm not an engineer by any means but I'm not sure what can be done. It does drain quickly so patience has always worked just fine for me when trying to navigate Galveston in the rain.

Hey Jon

 

RCL is paying for terminal .

Hey Jon

 

RCL is paying for terminal .

 

You can't let the facts get in the way for some people! :eek::o:cool:

One option might be to put a large pumping station in a low spot to help it drain more quickly. I have not heard of this suggestion mentioned anywhere, however.

Galveston is flat as a table top, a pumping station won’t help. Other than hurricanes the street flooding to the point of interference with cruise travel has happened twice in about two decades. It just hit close to the same dates.

 

This fall has been one of the wettest on record, we’ve had more days with measurable rain than not, and the ground is saturated. The first day of flooding for the Valor departure there were monitoring stations on Pelican Island that recorded over 4” of rain in a short amount of time. No one was left behind, the departure was delayed until all passengers were safely aboard.

 

We had some minor street flooding on Saturday. The water made parts of Harbourside impassable. Three other routes to the cruise terminals and dry parking were all open.

 

All these are inherent risks of cruising from sea level. We’d love to move our little harbor here to the Austin hill country, but the sailing to international water would take a while.

 

Carnival is hot on Galveston, there are over sixty-thousand hotel rooms that cater to a heavy drive-up audience.

 

In the words of the immortal Sgt Hulka, “lighten up Francis.”

 

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Galveston is flat as a table top, a pumping station won’t help. Other than hurricanes the street flooding to the point of interference with cruise travel has happened twice in about two decades. It just hit close to the same dates.

 

This fall has been one of the wettest on record, we’ve had more days with measurable rain than not, and the ground is saturated. The first day of flooding for the Valor departure there were monitoring stations on Pelican Island that recorded over 4” of rain in a short amount of time. No one was left behind, the departure was delayed until all passengers were safely aboard.

 

We had some minor street flooding on Saturday. The water made parts of Harbourside impassable. Three other routes to the cruise terminals and dry parking were all open.

 

All these are inherent risks of cruising from sea level. We’d love to move our little harbor here to the Austin hill country, but the sailing to international water would take a while.

 

Carnival is hot on Galveston, there are over sixty-thousand hotel rooms that cater to a heavy drive-up audience.

 

In the words of the immortal Sgt Hulka, “lighten up Francis.”

 

.

 

I believe a pumping station actually would work. It's worked in Australia where they have turned an entire river inland to irrigate a desert. It's worked on the Big Thompson Project where water is pumped across the Rocky Mountains to the Western Slope. Those projects cover miles and kilometers of inhospitable terrain. In Galveston, a pump would just need to push the water as little as a quarter mile out into the harbor. There is no need to wait for gravity to have its effect, the city can take matters into its own hands.

There is one problem with Galveston and the area around the port for doing what you say.

 

In 1900 the Great Storm hit Galveston. To date it’s the largest loss of US lives in a natural disaster. The first three streets from the harbor were covered in 6’ of mud. The city was thriving as a shipping port and they hastily decided to raise the street level to the top of the mud.

 

Those buildings along the Strand and historic district are actually sitting on their first floor. The entities visible today are the second floor of the structure.

 

The Historical Society is never going to allow those brick streets to be torn up for drainage improvements. Also, very little of the businesses along the Strand area flooded over the past two weeks. The lowest points of the island, or inland about a half mile did.

 

Inland about ten miles is Texas City. Much of it is below MSL, and they have a series of pumping stations to push water back to the bay in the event of flooding. They didn’t slow down the massive rainfall totals from Harvey, Ike and one of the storms last week.

 

I don’t doubt Galveston has a water problem. It’s not along the port area. The West End is eroding away. All those beautiful homes built back after Ike are seeing beach erosion after every major storm. Building continues there and along the Beachtown area on the east side at a frantic rate.

 

I would like to see Harborside raised. It is exempted from the GCHD governance and could be raised 2’ within two years of construction.

 

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GALVESTON

The city of Galveston is awaiting word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about more than $30 million for a pilot project using pump stations to relieve flooding in the downtown area, officials said.

At the same time, however, officials warn that even $200 million in pumps probably wouldn’t eliminate street flooding during heavy rains such as fell repeatedly in September.

After heavy rain Saturday, September closed out as the second wettest on record for Galveston. The month’s 24.32 inches was a close second to September 1885 when 26.01 inches fell, according to data from the National Weather Service.

And more rain fell downtown than in area of the Scholes International Airport weather monitor, where the national agency gathers data from, City Manager Brian Maxwell said.

By 2:19 p.m. Saturday, the weather service’s monitor at Scholes International Airport, 2115 Terminal Drive on the near West End, had recorded 2.88 inches of rain, Maxwell said. The city’s monitor at 21st Street and Harborside Drive recorded 4.25 inches by 10:30 a.m. Saturday, he said.

Drainage during high-intensity rain and high-flood periods will always be a problem for Galveston, Maxwell said.

“The city of Galveston does not have retention and detention like other cities,” Maxwell said. “The drainage system is functioning as best it can. The tides do impact it.”

The pilot project submitted to FEMA, if approved, would fund one pump outlet system with a rough price tag of about $35 million, city officials said.

“Maybe if we can put it online and show the improvement, then maybe it’ll set the city up to allow the voters to approve more of them,” Assistant City Manager Brandon Cook said.

He estimated the price tag to adequately line the area from 13th Street to 47th Street would cost around $220 million.

The city already began engineering work for such a project, but more long-term solutions are needed, Maxwell said.

“None of our modeling show that these pump stations eliminate flooding,” Maxwell said. “All they do is hasten the drainage. If we have rain like we did Saturday, the streets are still going to flood.”

Those long-term solutions would require regional cooperation, Maxwell said.

Galveston is flat as a table top, a pumping station won’t help. Other than hurricanes the street flooding to the point of interference with cruise travel has happened twice in about two decades. It just hit close to the same dates.

 

This fall has been one of the wettest on record, we’ve had more days with measurable rain than not, and the ground is saturated. The first day of flooding for the Valor departure there were monitoring stations on Pelican Island that recorded over 4” of rain in a short amount of time. No one was left behind, the departure was delayed until all passengers were safely aboard.

 

We had some minor street flooding on Saturday. The water made parts of Harbourside impassable. Three other routes to the cruise terminals and dry parking were all open.

 

All these are inherent risks of cruising from sea level. We’d love to move our little harbor here to the Austin hill country, but the sailing to international water would take a while.

 

Carnival is hot on Galveston, there are over sixty-thousand hotel rooms that cater to a heavy drive-up audience.

 

In the words of the immortal Sgt Hulka, “lighten up Francis.”

 

.

 

Galveston is not totally flat. After the 1900 storm, grade raising reached a little over 16.5 Ft. with the seawall and drops a foot every 1500 ft going north to the port so streets could drain to the bay. Unraised elevation is 7 Ft. Over 500 City blocks were raised from 1903 to 1911.

 

The amount of rain, approximately 24" in the last month, would cause flooding anywhere.September recorded the second highest rainfall in island history. The first was September 1885. At least we don't have landslides or flash floods. Torrential rains have caused problems worldwide and are not indigenous to Galveston.

 

Galveston does not have 60,000 hotel rooms. There are approximately 5,000 hotel rooms on the island plus 2600 vacation rentals (condos, homes, private rooms)

 

Those of us who live on the Island have no desire to move it to the hill country or anywhere else:). Weather happens!

Galveston is flat as a table top, a pumping station won’t help. Other than hurricanes the street flooding to the point of interference with cruise travel has happened twice in about two decades. It just hit close to the same dates.

 

This fall has been one of the wettest on record, we’ve had more days with measurable rain than not, and the ground is saturated. The first day of flooding for the Valor departure there were monitoring stations on Pelican Island that recorded over 4” of rain in a short amount of time. No one was left behind, the departure was delayed until all passengers were safely aboard.

 

We had some minor street flooding on Saturday. The water made parts of Harbourside impassable. Three other routes to the cruise terminals and dry parking were all open.

 

All these are inherent risks of cruising from sea level. We’d love to move our little harbor here to the Austin hill country, but the sailing to international water would take a while.

 

Carnival is hot on Galveston, there are over sixty-thousand hotel rooms that cater to a heavy drive-up audience.

 

In the words of the immortal Sgt Hulka, “lighten up Francis.”

 

.

 

Galveston is not flat .

Grade raising after 1900 Storm slopes island from Seawall at 17 ft about a foot every 1500 ft downward to the Bay at sea level .

Galveston is not totally flat. After the 1900 storm, grade raising reached a little over 16.5 Ft. with the seawall and drops a foot every 1500 ft going north to the port so streets could drain to the bay. Unraised elevation is 7 Ft. Over 500 City blocks were raised from 1903 to 1911.

 

The amount of rain, approximately 24" in the last month, would cause flooding anywhere.September recorded the second highest rainfall in island history. The first was September 1885. At least we don't have landslides or flash floods. Torrential rains have caused problems worldwide and are not indigenous to Galveston.

 

Galveston does not have 60,000 hotel rooms. There are approximately 5,000 hotel rooms on the island plus 2600 vacation rentals (condos, homes, private rooms)

 

Those of us who live on the Island have no desire to move it to the hill country or anywhere else:). Weather happens!

 

Never type while on a teleconference. The number of hotel rooms I meant to say reflected on those on the mainland that facilitated a quick drive to the port the next morning. Those are the numbers the Bay Area Alliance talks about.

 

I don't want to move to the hill country either, I was merely emphasizing the point that when you cruise then the risks of some street flooding on rare occasions happen. I should have been more specific about the flat land stretching from at least Mechanic to Harborside.

 

Harborside flooding doesn't carry over to the channel. I've seen moderate street flooding there and the terminal area all the way down to the Pilots offices were not even close.

 

I make a living in Galveston! We also spend most weekends down.

 

I didn't realize the 17' grade. What a feat of engineering.

See ya at Olympia.

 

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Edited October 2, 2018 by BallFour4

A magnificent project after the 1900 Storm

A magnificent project after the 1900 Storm

 

Spent all my high school and college summers surfing 53'rd to the Flagship. I was never good enough for the locals up closer to the hotel. We minded our own business further west.

After a stop at Sunrise on 61st then the ride to Seawall Blvd to see if anything was over 2' and the racks were off!

 

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LOL, 60,000 hotel rooms on island would outnumber residents.

 

BTW: not my words about draining in to the bay, but historic statement. Water seeks its own source.

We have experienced flooding in Key West due to high tide and rain, horrendous flooding in Rome, rain in Funchal Madeira washed down through town and port taking everything with it. Island or mainland, too much rain too fast will cause flooding.

 

We also need to be conscientious by not using streets as trash cans. I can't even comprehend how much trash is blocking drains; not only here, but all over.

 

Family has been on the Island since 1851

 

Olympia it is - our favorite!

And I doubt anyone is going to spend the money it would take to completely prevent Harborside from flooding, if that's even possible. It would not be a good return on investment at all.

Hey Jon

 

RCL is paying for terminal .

Hey Lee how are you and Mary doing?

 

You can't let the facts get in the way for some people! :eek::o:cool:

Really?

A little snarky?

I dint know who was paying for terminal. Sometimes the city pays for it

For some reason another Texas county may have paid for a great new terminal

Ever heard of the Bayport Cruise Terminal:eek:

 

 

BTW do you think Crystal cruise lines will ever cruise from Texas?

Edited October 3, 2018 by jonbgd

There is one problem with Galveston and the area around the port for doing what you say.

 

In 1900 the Great Storm hit Galveston. To date it’s the largest loss of US lives in a natural disaster. The first three streets from the harbor were covered in 6’ of mud. The city was thriving as a shipping port and they hastily decided to raise the street level to the top of the mud.

 

Those buildings along the Strand and historic district are actually sitting on their first floor. The entities visible today are the second floor of the structure.

 

The Historical Society is never going to allow those brick streets to be torn up for drainage improvements. Also, very little of the businesses along the Strand area flooded over the past two weeks. The lowest points of the island, or inland about a half mile did.

 

Inland about ten miles is Texas City. Much of it is below MSL, and they have a series of pumping stations to push water back to the bay in the event of flooding. They didn’t slow down the massive rainfall totals from Harvey, Ike and one of the storms last week.

 

I don’t doubt Galveston has a water problem. It’s not along the port area. The West End is eroding away. All those beautiful homes built back after Ike are seeing beach erosion after every major storm. Building continues there and along the Beachtown area on the east side at a frantic rate.

 

I would like to see Harborside raised. It is exempted from the GCHD governance and could be raised 2’ within two years of construction.

 

.

 

Y'all need to ask your sister city, Niigata, Japan, how to deal with beach erosion. Niigata is my hometown, BTW. :):)

Hey Lee how are you and Mary doing?

 

 

 

I didn't know RCCL was footing the bill

 

Really?

A little snarky?

I dint know who was paying for terminal. Sometimes the city pays for it

For some reason another Texas county may have paid for a great new terminal

Ever heard of the Bayport Cruise Terminal:eek:

 

 

BTW do you think Crystal cruise lines will ever cruise from Texas?

 

zzzz

Weather happens every port has it's own quirks, Galveston has flooded twice in recent memory, but has a pretty stable record of not flooding enough to change cruise times. Whats next rigging up a giant fan to blow the fog back out to sea during the winter?

Y'all need to ask your sister city, Niigata, Japan, how to deal with beach erosion. Niigata is my hometown, BTW. :):)

 

Please share ? The Park Board has an open mind .

Please share ? The Park Board has an open mind .

They use concrete tetrapods as breakwaters. The surf washes the sand in and keeps it from eroding. The beach areas that you see in the satellite photos are naturally formed, where there used to be just a seawall vs. the Sea of Japan. They actually turned one area into reclaimed land to use as their on site manufacturing area for the tetrapods. It is an ongoing battle. They've been placing tetrapods since back in the 60s, at least.

 

I know how people feel about obstructed views of the sea, but if it's living on the water vs. the house washing away....... The added benefit being no rip currents and protected beaches.

 

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Excellent information ! Thanks.

So there are some options to help Galveston:)