Over the years, planners, engineers, water quality experts and others have come to recognize how urban development can drastically alter the landscape and exacerbate flooding.
The culprit, many experts believe, is impervious cover — the massive buildings, commercial strips and houses in addition to the asphalt and concrete that we walk and drive on every day. By stopping rain from absorbing into the ground, impervious cover increases the volume and speed of runoff from heavy downpours, pushing it in different directions.
Impervious cover is expanding every day, especially in San Antonio, one of the fastest-growing large cities in the U.S. The region’s population is expected to increase by 1.1 million over the next 25 years. Part of Flash Flood Alley, the area sits in the path of intense storms, exposing more people to flooding hazards and destruction… Read more
(Article credit: Vianna Davila and Brendan Gibbons, San Antonio Express-News | November 29, 2016 – Reprinted and linked to on EmergencyManagement.com)
With Texas Building Boom Comes Higher Flood Risk
