Flash Floods in Texas

Series Editor’s Foreword

series editor’s foreword ~~~~~~~~~ you know what they say about the weather in Texas: “If you don’t like it, wait around for a day or so because it is going to change.” People who monitor the weather around the country know that Texas experiences the most extreme weather conditions and most rapid weather changes of any state. In this volume of our series River Books, Jonathan Burnett portrays some of the most powerful of these in a narrative that is both dramatic and well researched. Flash Floods in Texas is as informative a page-turner as you are going to find, as Burnett takes readers through devastating floods spanning a century and the entire breadth of the State. With descriptions of alligators being washed out of Aquarena Springs in San Marcos, of homes tumbling over the dam on the Colorado in Austin, or of bodies being transferred by cable across Nolan Creek in Belton after the bridges have washed out, Burnett keeps our attention and helps us understand how serious these events can be and the permanence of their impact. The book is an engaging read and, I am proud to say, the work of an alumnus of Texas State University, where water issues are a core value. Burnett clearly articulates how our natural climatologic and hydrologic conditions set the stage for these extreme events, but he also provides equally compelling evidence that the actions of humans—including decades of overgrazing and urban development—contribute substantially to the problem. Ultimately, the book should cause us to look carefully at policies that allow and even encourage the rebuilding of homes and other structures in flood-prone areas and at inadequate planning and management in watersheds that exacerbates runoff and flooding when it occurs. The author, and the River Books series, is fortunate to have a generous patron as knowledgeable of the subject as Terry Hershey , whose support made this book possible . Hershey, who pioneered sound management of the bayous in Houston, has been actively involved in flooding and floodplain management issues for many years. We are not only grateful to her for believing in this project but also are graced to have her distinguished name attached to it. And so, as we move into a period of uncertainty about our climate, the only thing certain about the weather in Texas, as always , is that it is going to change. The best research available today suggests that as the climate changes on a global scale, which it seems destined to do, the extremes of Texas, both flooding and drought, will get worse. We need to recognize the dangers ahead but also watch for opportunities to adjust and make improvements. In a thoughtful and yet gripping way, Flash Floods in Texas sets the stage for us to do both. —andrew sansom A4481.indb ix A4481.indb ix 1/18/08 1:50:37 PM 1/18/08 1:50:37 PM A4481.indb x A4481.indb x 1/18/08 1:50:37 PM 1/18/08 1:50:37 PM ...