The $1.7 trillion government spending bill enacted last month includes coastal improvements that could help protect Rio GrandeValley property — and lives.
Folded into the $858 billion defense portion of the budget is the Water Resources Development Act, submitted by Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz along with Rep. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood, provides resources to create a system they call the Coastal Spine to help protect the GulfCoast against storm damage.
With forecasters saying this area should brace itself for more numerous and more severe storms, such preparation is vital, and welcome.
In announcing the measure, Cornyn referred to the storm and flooding that caused more than $125 billion in damage to the Houston area in 2017.
“If another hurricane were to wipe out Houston like Hurricane Harvey tried to do, obviously that’s something that will have an impact not just locally, not just in my state, but across the nation as a whole,” the senator said in a recent news release.
Likewise, storm damage to the Valley is felt far beyond this region, as it is the entry and exit point for billions of dollars worth of trade not only to Latin America but also to Pacific Rim countries through Mexico’s seaports.
The National Weather Service lists the Valley as one of the areas that are most risk of damage from a hurricane and an accompanying surge of water, which could be even worse than the storms themselves. With a high surge and its battering waves, the NWS warns, “Locations, particularly … South Padre Island, would be completely inundated, and many properties in Port Isabel and Laguna Vista would be washed away, demolished or made inhabitable.” the report continues.
The Coastal Spine Project allots $81.8 million to restore South Padre Island beaches, dunes and marshes, along with the creation of an oyster reef and breakwater, and other improvements.
The need for such improvements could be seen as soon as this year. Climate forecasters say El Niño will sweep through the Atlantic Ocean; the system’s lighter trade winds would allow ocean surface temperatures to rise, feeding tropical storms.
Even if the Valley is spared a major storm this year, this area has seen its share of major storms and it pays to be prepared. The sooner we are prepared for the inevitable hurricane, the better. In addition, it is always less painful, and more cost-effective, to invest resources over several years and mitigate the damage rather than try to cobble together improvements in reaction to a storm that already has incurred costly damage to our infrastructure.
The federal allocation is only part of the plan. Cornyn noted that state involvement is crucial, and that our General Land Office work with the Army Corps of Engineers in planning and building the protective structures.
State lawmakers also need to do their part. We trust that Valley legislatures will review the federal bill, along with the region’s needs, and work on state legislation that will support our storm protection plans.
We don’t know when the next big storm will hit the Valley, but we do know it will come eventually. The sooner we prepare for it, the better.
