Hurricane barrier along Texas coast could protect residents while improving supply chain delays
A preliminary design is approved for a storm suppression system that would run along the Texas coast from Galveston to Corpus Christi, but it could ultimately impact the entire country.
The project is the largest civil works project ever taken on by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Not only could it protect the lives of people on the Gulf Coast, it could also help eliminate supply-chain delays across the country by protecting two large ports during hurricanes.
“The idea and intent is to combine a series of gated structures – kind of what we consider gray infrastructure, you may think of it as concrete and water – with natural and nature-based solutions like beaches and dunes and wetlands, to basically improve resilience of the entire Texas coast,” Burkes-Copes said.
Despite the backing behind the project, one more obstacle stands in the way of the hurricane barrier or coastal spine project: matching federal funds.
“We have to have a local funding source to not only build the system, but to maintain it,” Brown said.
One funding option available is adding a tax, but officials must consider if Texas residents across the state would be okay with paying taxes for a barrier in Galveston.
What would it do to Marine life? Oil production? What powers does this give the Federal government?
I’m very skeptical of this, especially the cost and other impacts, especially with the Federal government involved.
If they’re worried about supply chain problems, there’s plenty of other places to look.
This is an interesting idea and could be a good thing, especially if there something that could be done to protect the Houston Ship Channel from direct hurricane hit rising water damage.
The refineries along the ship channel are vulnerable to flooding because it causes damage to electrical pump motors, compressor motors, etc.
When that happens they have to shut down the units affected and take time to replace the electrical items and then bring the units back up.
This takes a lot of time.
If a hurricane with heavy rainfall were to hit that area our whole country would feel the effects of it, such as shortages of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
Our country’s refining capacity runs at about 90-95% daily and it’s been about 50 years since the last new refinery was built. They’ve been expanding refineries but no new ones.
Also, the Beaumont-Port Arthur area farther east has the two largest refineries in the US. It’s vulnerable, too.
Thanks for the ping!