What's being done to fix flooding in Houston? Mayor announces plan to appoint flood czar

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As the homes of hundreds of Houstonians continue to be soaked with flood water many want to know what's going to be done about the problem of high water in Houston?  Seeing so many homes hit hard by flooding here in Houston is heartbreaking.  Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says fixing the flooding problem is a priority.  In fact, Mayor Turner is appointing a person, possibly from public works, who will focus on flooding and getting rid of the issue.  An anti-flooding task force will also be made up of “Developers, TIRZ community, the super neighborhoods, engineers, the business community, public works, Harris County Flood Control District” explains Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Many in Meyerland left homeless in the Memorial Weekend floods were just moving back and now have homes flooded again.  The Brays Project put on the back burner by the federal government is expected to help decrease some of the flooding.  City of Houston officials hope now members of congress  “will be active on our behalf in D.C. to try to advocate for the funds so we can go ahead and do what we need to do to, among other things, widen the bayou and do the types of things that need to be done so we can protect that area,” explains Houston Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen.  

The mayor in the meantime is working to get flood devastated residents on the road to recovery, even as he tries to understand what went well and what went wrong.

“We've got six rescue boats.  One is broken.  We've got ten evacuation boats.  One is broken,” adds Houston City Council Member Brenda Stardig and that left some stuck in flood water waiting for help to arrive.

“Would I have preferred to respond to them at their immediate moment of need?  Absolutely, absolutely and do I apologize to anyone who believe we didn't respond to them in time?  Absolutely,” says Mayor Turner.

The mayor says he's confident the flooding problem in Houston can be fixed.