A massive underground tunnel may be the way to alleviate Houston's flooding, Army Corps says – Houston Chronicle

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is revisiting the idea of constructing a massive tunnel for floodwater beneath the city of Houston, signaling a major shift after public pushback on earlier flood mitigation ideas.
The Corps has been looking at ways to alleviate the potential for flooding around the Addicks and Barker reservoirs and along Buffalo Bayou since Hurricane Harvey caused catastrophic damage in 2017.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Houstonians up in arms over Army Corps’ ‘old-fashioned’ flood fixes.
Engineers in an interim report last year suggested digging Buffalo Bayou wider and deeper, or building a third dam and reservoir on the Katy Prairie, but the proposals elicited major public backlash.
A person stands on top of Barker Reservoir while exercising on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in Houston. Army Corps announced that it will be extending its study on how to alleviate flooding on Buffalo Bayou. A community group is meanwhile pursuing its own projects to dig out Barker reservoir in the meantime.
A bicyclist rides along Barker Reservoir on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in Houston. Army Corps announced that it will be extending its study on how to alleviate flooding on Buffalo Bayou. A community group is meanwhile pursuing its own projects to dig out Barker reservoir in the meantime.
A person exercises at Barker Reservoir on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in Houston. Army Corps announced that it will be extending its study on how to alleviate flooding on Buffalo Bayou. A community group is meanwhile pursuing its own projects to dig out Barker reservoir in the meantime.
People walk along Barker Reservoir on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in Houston. Army Corps announced that it will be extending its study on how to alleviate flooding on Buffalo Bayou. A community group is meanwhile pursuing its own projects to dig out Barker reservoir in the meantime.
A bicyclist rides along Barker Reservoir on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, in Houston. Army Corps announced that it will be extending its study on how to alleviate flooding on Buffalo Bayou. A community group is meanwhile pursuing its own projects to dig out Barker reservoir in the meantime.
Local advocates have long fought to protect the bayou in its natural form. And environmentalists rallied around the prairie, which supporters consider a necessary, natural way to address flooding and improve water quality.
The agency announced Wednesday that engineers will spend two more years analyzing the tunnel option and other alternatives. The Corps will use $1.8 million in federal funds to continue the study. 
An additional $3.4 million from two Harris County commissioners will support complementary research at the county level. 
The Corps previously considered tunneling floodwater under the city to be too expensive, with an estimated cost of $6.5 to $12 billion. Engineers envisioned a tunnel some 150 feet below ground, starting at the reservoirs to the west and perhaps following the bayou’s path to the Houston Ship Channel.
Yet the agency noted Wednesday that it had received “substantial” community input. The Corps now hopes to release a draft report and environmental impact statement for what it calls the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study next fall. It would then accept more input and issue a final report, aiming to complete the study by December 2023.
“We are very committed to this important, monumental project,” Commander Col. Tim Vail of the Galveston District said in a prepared statement, “and we have heard the public’s feedback.”
On HoustonChronicle.com: How Houston floods
Built in the 1940s, Addicks and Barker reservoirs are two of the city’s major defenses against flooding. However, they were envisioned as part of a larger system, including a third reservoir and two canals that were never built. A 1996 suggestion to construct a tunnel beneath Interstate 10 also never gained traction.
Hurricane Harvey undeniably showed the reservoirs’ limits, though. The storm unleashed more than 50 inches of rains in parts of the Houston area, causing the Corps to release water from the dams to prevent possible failure. Homes flooded downstream and also within the footprints of the reservoirs, which are normally dry.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is revisiting the idea of constructing a large, underground tunnel beneath the city of Houston — part of its efforts since Hurricane Harvey to alleviate the potential for flooding around the Addicks and Barker reservoirs and along Buffalo Bayou.
Houston is now so developed that flood-mitigation options are limited. Hence the resurfacing of the tunnel idea. The Harris County Flood Control District in recent years has weighed the feasibility of a network of tunnels. Both San Antonio and Austin have built them. Houston would require tunnels at a much larger scale.
County Commissioners Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle contributed funds to further that work in coordination with the Corps, according to the Wednesday news release. Ramsey called the idea “pragmatic.” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner agreed the idea was “worth exploring.”
An advocacy group known as Barker Flood Prevention championed the tunnel idea early on, said co-founder Wendy Duncan, seeing it as a needed way to move water out of the reservoirs. 
“We cannot widen or channelize Buffalo Bayou for political reasons; the residents have already voiced strong opposition to that solution,” Duncan said. “The only other way to get conveyance out of the reservoirs is to go underground.”
Duncan’s group is part of a larger coalition, Houston Stronger, that’s also pushing for a tunnel. Auggie Campbell, one of the coalition organizers, said there is much to consider about the concept. Could it be built to benefit communities closer to the bay? Could it contribute to the region’s drinking water supply?
Other conservation organizations were cautious: Susan Chadwick, of Save Buffalo Bayou, pointed out that it is important to question who benefits from such a project. Katy Prairie Conservancy President and CEO Mary Anne Piacentini hopes the Corps will also consider nature-based infrastructure.
Bob Stokes, of the Galveston Bay Foundation, warned that water quality will be hugely important to analyze. Stormwater concentrated underground in a large volume and over a long distance can become depleted of oxygen, he said. That causes marine life to die, so the water might need to be treated before it’s dumped into the bay. 
“I’m supportive of looking into it and trying to figure out the right way to do it,” Stokes said. “All these alternatives have to be weighed with their pros and cons.”
Joyce Lee contributed to this report
emily.foxhall@chron.com 
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Emily Foxhall covers the environment for the Houston Chronicle. She joined the paper in 2015 as a suburban reporter. She has documented the city’s sprawl while playing a key role in the paper’s breaking news and enterprise coverage. Her reconstruction of the Santa Fe High School shooting, along with two other colleagues, won first place for feature writing from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. She was part of the Chronicle team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news in 2017 for coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Soon after, she began roaming the state as the Texas Storyteller.
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