In the aftermath of Ike there has been talk, once again, about protecting the island with a levee. This surfaced after Carla in 1961 (after which Texas City constructed their levee system), and therefore its return is not surprising. Dr. Bill Merrell (TAMUG) has proposed a series of gates and levees to halt a tidal surge from entering Galveston Bay. Although still in its nascence, this idea has nevertheless already garnered support from local political leaders such as Galveston’s mayor and county judge.

The questions concerning this proposal are numerous. What would it cost? Who would pay for it? What would the environmental impacts be related to the hardening of our coast? Would it work? If so, where exactly does this redirected storm surge go? Wired Magazine recently published an article about how the Dutch are preparing for sea level rise. Many of the remedies being proposed for Galveston have been pioneered in the Netherlands, and therefore a review of their program may give us a better sense of how such an approach would impact us.