Post-Ike ideas for defending Galveston include extending sea wall

Scientists say that climate change is already resulting in rising sea levels and more intense storms. Coastal cities are worried, and scientists come up with ideas on how to shore up the ability of cities along the coast to withstand a harsher nature. Yesterday we wrote about a new concept for defending New York City against storm surges (7 April 2009 HS Daily Wire), and today we learn about idea of defending a Texas city from Gulf storms. Oceanographer William Merrell of Texas A&M University at Galveston envisions a day when residents of coastal areas near Houston have less to fear from hurricanes. Protecting the region from a hurricane’s storm surge, he says, is simple: Extend Galveston’s seawall to the island’s West End, build a similar structure along Bolivar Peninsula, and construct massive Dutch-like floodgates at the entry to Galveston Bay.

Houston Chronicle’s Eric Berger writes that Merrell’s “Ike Dike” idea, which would cost at least $2 billion not including land acquisition expenses, has gained momentum in recent weeks. Governor Rick Perry’s post-Ike Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal reviewed the concept and unanimously recommended that the state fund a feasibility study to look at flood control efforts along the entire Texas coast. “When I first heard about it, I thought it was a pretty outlandish project, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think we need to look into something like this,” said Bill King, a former mayor of Kemah who is a member of the Ike commission.

“The benefits are obvious. To protect the entire Gulf Coast from a storm surge would be an incredible benefit.”

The idea of hardening the upper Texas coast is alluring to policymakers because it could protect the country’s second-largest port and one-quarter of the nation’s petroleum refining capacity, as well as the biggest population center on the Gulf Coast. The upfront cost may seem high, but storm surge damages caused by Ike along the upper Texas coast may have exceeded $10 billion, and that was for a hurricane that came in too far north to cause maximum damage to Galveston Island and heavily populated communities along western Galveston Bay.

At this point, however, the $2 billion to $5 billion idea is more concept than solid plan because it lacks a detailed engineering analysis, and Merrell hasn’t deeply considered environmental issues.

Environmentalists familiar with the dike proposal say the large retractable gates it would require on Galveston Bay, as well as smaller ones at San Luis Pass and the Intracoastal Waterway, would inhibit fish migration and raise a host of other potential environmental impacts. Perhaps even more significantly, said Jim Blackburn, an environmental attorney and coastal expert based in Houston, the dike proposal would give carte blanche to developers and businesses to continue building in sensitive areas around Galveston Bay. “I don’t personally think this is the solution to this area’s incredible vulnerability to hurricanes,” Blackburn said. “But there’s a challenge to the environmental community, which may not want to see an Ike Dike, to come up with an alternative that addresses the problem.”

One possibility, Blackburn said, is to buy out damaged properties that flooded along the coast and expand natural areas, such as McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge east of Bolivar Peninsula, that act as buffers during hurricanes.

“McFaddin stored millions and millions of gallons of storm water during Ike, and our best insurance policy is to buy and set aside land,” Blackburn said.

For Merrell, there’s simply the desire to avoid the pain of again seeing his beloved Strand in Galveston drown as it did during Ike.

The seawall did its job, but Merrell said he felt helpless as he watched the waters surging into Galveston Bay that rolled back onto the island.

He also believes his idea will remove the need for large-scale evacuations in the future. “After Ike I was wondering if we could prevent something like this from happening again,” Merrell said. “I’ve seen the Dutch coastal defense systems, and there’s no reason we couldn’t do this here. “All I’m asking is that we now take a serious look at the problem and determine what’s the best thing to do about it.”