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Comment by MisterBastahrd | Hacker News Reader

I thought this article was going to be about Houston's hilariously bad drainage infrastructure for a coastal city on a coast prone to hurricanes. IIRC, Houston's drainage system maxes out at a 1/2 inch an hour for an event that lasts a day. Rainfall totals that wouldn't phase New Orleans' drainage system are life threatening in Houston. Covering everything in asphalt and concrete leaves you with a ground that is unable to absorb some rainwater. Green spaces are more useful than just allowing cities to look pretty. They are a necessary part of a flood mitigation strategy.

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The biggest issue with the Greater Houston Area isn’t just the lack of green spaces for natural absorption but the compaction of the ground from over pumping ground water decades ago.

Many of the municipalities that are not Houston proper run their own MUD(Municipal Utility District)and continue to make the same mistakes that COH did decades prior.

The other big issue is lack of zoning and coordination of development. Many people buy homes with information about the flood plains in mind, but later on are in the path of another developers flood plan.

The bayous (the most significant aspect of Houston's drainage infra) do not max out with 1/2 inch of rain. Maybe you're thinking of something else?

Not the commentor, but I think they're referring to those flood zones that were recently built on that were the worst hit by flooding. To be fair, those parts were disasters waiting to happen because the flood surveys weren't taken seriously when they decided to build on them.

"those flood zones that were recently built on"

Most of the Houston MSA is a flood zone. The areas that were worst hit were not "recently" built on. The areas recently built on will have much better drainage because the codes have changed.

I suggest doing more reading of primary sources and perhaps studying the hydrology and history before speaking further on this subject.

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