There is little debate among scientists that our climate is changing, and in Texas that has meant ever-larger storm events resulting in catastrophic flooding. This Earth Day, we should take a moment to reflect on some potential solutions that can help our communities to cost-effectively and permanently mitigate flood risk, minimizing the damage to lives and property that so many of us have experienced across the Lone Star State. Storms like Harvey and the epic central Texas floods that have occurred recently demonstrate that these extreme weather events are likely to be an ever-present aspect of our lives.

In late 2017, the Texas House Natural Resource Committee was given an interim charge to “explore natural infrastructure and mitigation strategies that would reduce the impact of future flood events, and strategies to fund those efforts”, and the committee met this week to discuss this important issue. This is a first step for our state toward better understanding of how we can reduce the impacts of these extreme weather events. These problems will only continue to worsen as our state’s population grows, and Texas is expected to double in population by the year 2050. As we grow, we must work to develop our communities in ways that will enhance the integrity of our natural systems, not work against them… Read more from Star-Telegram.com