Following three flooding events in three consecutive years – 2015, 2016, and perhaps, most notably during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 – Kingwood High School needed major flood control efforts put in place.
In fact, after Hurricane Harvey, FEMA required flood protection and indicated they would no longer fund post-flood recovery efforts at the school without the addition of flood protection measures.
The Humble Independent School District, including Kingwood High School, required a comprehensive flood protection system. This project also included a feasibility study to set project parameters and determine a flood protect elevation. Additionally, the team identified points of exposure in the facility and determined a flood protection system to address all the features that needed to be included, and because government funding was involved, the team met with FEMA to discuss requirements. After initial design discussions, FEMA and Humble ISD settled on a flood protection system that cost $14 million, which was less than original design estimates that were $35 million.
“This region of Houston has suffered repeated severe weather events and flooding, and this system provides relief in a critical area,” said Doug Coenen, principal at Walter P Moore. “It also allows for the next generation of students and staff to experience more normalcy in the high school environment while concurrently providing stability to the community.”
Despite some challenges, including the topography around the school, which caused the buildings to need 8 feet of flood protection in front and three-and-a-half feet in the back; culverts that needed to be implemented without interrupting the use of athletic fields; and the system needing both active and passive components, the project is completed and working today.
According to the project team, the system was successfully tested during a severe rain event and subsequent flooding in May 2024, followed by Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.
