Over 100 people are coming to hear Steve Costello
and Russ Poppe at the 2nd Annual West Houston Flood Control Forum. The forum will be held at the Embassy Suites- Energy Corridor on July 27th. Event registration opens at 7:30 am. Sponsorship is closed, but some seats are still available. The last day to register online for the event is July 24th.
Steve Costello is the City of Houston’s first Chief Resiliency Officer, a former City of Houston Councilman, and the founder of local engineering firm Costello, Inc. He has been working to solve flood control issues for many years, from his work as a civilian at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to his involvement as a member of the West Houston Association.
Russ Poppe is the Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District. Before his promotion in August 2016, Poppe served as the District’s Director of Operations after serving as Harris County’s Director of Operations.
During last year’s forum in September, Poppe provided analysis of the Tax Day Floods and explained how a series of storms created that conditions that caused flood waters to flow across the Katy Prairie and into so many structures.
Costello presented a plan to assemble storm water action teams (“SWAT”) that would identify and implement cost-effective storm water projects. He also announces plans to advance money to the District of flood control projects on Brays Bayou that the federal government had already agreed to reimburse. Costello hinted that this arrangement could be used on other projects if it was successful on Brays.
When asked, neither Poppe nor Costello argued with Lee Lennard, WHA’s Flood Control and Drainage Committee Chair, that the District needed substantially more funding. They explained that even with a planned funding increase, the District would still be receiving substantially less than its historical funding levels.
This year, both men return to provide an update on how they are working to mitigate flood risk in the Greater West Houston area and to explore ways to work with WHA members to develop better solutions on flood control over the coming year and into the future. WHA has also allotted more time for questions and answers, to encompass any further interest the audience may have.
For more information about the event, Please visit our Flood Control Forum web page or email Carmen at carmen@westhouston.org.