Discussion: View Thread

I recently posted asking for feedback on how the Society's Calls to Action following Hurricane Katrina have been disseminated / implemented. The post generated a number of very informative and thoughtful responses – particularly on the US approach to flood management and how to improve - and I would encourage all to read. These calls to action were very much directed at organizations.  As an adjunct question, I'm curious as to views on the responsibility of individual engineers in situations that have the potential for flooding. As a thesis, I think individual engineers are oft presented with a conundrum: they are knowingly asked to develop and design for situations that could lead to flooding (directly or indirectly) under known circumstances but are working well within existing laws, statutes, and ordinances; as well as standards; and remain silent. The conundrum being if they don't do the work, someone else will.  A real life example for me was the residential development that took place within Houston's dry reservoirs. These reservoirs, normally dry, store water in the event of a large rain event. The development in question was outside the 100-year pool levels and not prevented by any existing state or county land use ordinances at the time. Structures within the reservoir boundaries were subsequently flooded in Hurricane Harvey, resulting in significant damage to property and anguish from unknowing property owners. More recently, the deaths and damage to property as a result of flooding from Hurricane Ida were heartbreaking. I have to believe that much of this was either known or predictable.

I recently posted asking for feedback on how the Society's Calls to Action following Hurricane Katrina have been disseminated / implemented. The post generated a number of very informative and thoughtful responses – particularly on the US approach to flood management and how to improve - and I would encourage all to read. These calls to action were very much directed at organizations.  As an adjunct question, I'm curious as to views on the responsibility of individual engineers in situations that have the potential for flooding. As a thesis, I think individual engineers are oft presented with a conundrum: they are knowingly asked to develop and design for situations that could lead to flooding (directly or indirectly) under known circumstances but are working well within existing laws, statutes, and ordinances; as well as standards; and remain silent. The conundrum being if they don't do the work, someone else will.  A real life example for me was the residential development that took place within Houston's dry reservoirs. These reservoirs, normally dry, store water in the event of a large rain event. The development in question was outside the 100-year pool levels and not prevented by any existing state or county land use ordinances at the time. Structures within the reservoir boundaries were subsequently flooded in Hurricane Harvey, resulting in significant damage to property and anguish from unknowing property owners. More recently, the deaths and damage to property as a result of flooding from Hurricane Ida were heartbreaking. I have to believe that much of this was either known or predictable.

I recently posted asking for feedback on how the Society's Calls to Action following Hurricane Katrina have been disseminated / implemented. The post generated a number of very informative and thoughtful responses – particularly on the US approach to flood management and how to improve - and I would encourage all to read. These calls to action were very much directed at organizations.  As an adjunct question, I'm curious as to views on the responsibility of individual engineers in situations that have the potential for flooding. As a thesis, I think individual engineers are oft presented with a conundrum: they are knowingly asked to develop and design for situations that could lead to flooding (directly or indirectly) under known circumstances but are working well within existing laws, statutes, and ordinances; as well as standards; and remain silent. The conundrum being if they don't do the work, someone else will.  A real life example for me was the residential development that took place within Houston's dry reservoirs. These reservoirs, normally dry, store water in the event of a large rain event. The development in question was outside the 100-year pool levels and not prevented by any existing state or county land use ordinances at the time. Structures within the reservoir boundaries were subsequently flooded in Hurricane Harvey, resulting in significant damage to property and anguish from unknowing property owners. More recently, the deaths and damage to property as a result of flooding from Hurricane Ida were heartbreaking. I have to believe that much of this was either known or predictable.

I recently posted asking for feedback on how the Society's Calls to Action following Hurricane Katrina have been disseminated / implemented. The post generated a number of very informative and thoughtful responses – particularly on the US approach to flood management and how to improve - and I would encourage all to read. These calls to action were very much directed at organizations.  As an adjunct question, I'm curious as to views on the responsibility of individual engineers in situations that have the potential for flooding. As a thesis, I think individual engineers are oft presented with a conundrum: they are knowingly asked to develop and design for situations that could lead to flooding (directly or indirectly) under known circumstances but are working well within existing laws, statutes, and ordinances; as well as standards; and remain silent. The conundrum being if they don't do the work, someone else will.  A real life example for me was the residential development that took place within Houston's dry reservoirs. These reservoirs, normally dry, store water in the event of a large rain event. The development in question was outside the 100-year pool levels and not prevented by any existing state or county land use ordinances at the time. Structures within the reservoir boundaries were subsequently flooded in Hurricane Harvey, resulting in significant damage to property and anguish from unknowing property owners. More recently, the deaths and damage to property as a result of flooding from Hurricane Ida were heartbreaking. I have to believe that much of this was either known or predictable.

I recently posted asking for feedback on how the Society's Calls to Action following Hurricane Katrina have been disseminated / implemented. The post generated a number of very informative and thoughtful responses – particularly on the US approach to flood management and how to improve - and I would encourage all to read. These calls to action were very much directed at organizations.  As an adjunct question, I'm curious as to views on the responsibility of individual engineers in situations that have the potential for flooding. As a thesis, I think individual engineers are oft presented with a conundrum: they are knowingly asked to develop and design for situations that could lead to flooding (directly or indirectly) under known circumstances but are working well within existing laws, statutes, and ordinances; as well as standards; and remain silent. The conundrum being if they don't do the work, someone else will.  A real life example for me was the residential development that took place within Houston's dry reservoirs. These reservoirs, normally dry, store water in the event of a large rain event. The development in question was outside the 100-year pool levels and not prevented by any existing state or county land use ordinances at the time. Structures within the reservoir boundaries were subsequently flooded in Hurricane Harvey, resulting in significant damage to property and anguish from unknowing property owners. More recently, the deaths and damage to property as a result of flooding from Hurricane Ida were heartbreaking. I have to believe that much of this was either known or predictable.