Hurricane Harvey impacts Texas agriculture By Charles Swanson, MAgr, and Guy Fipps, PhD, PE
Hurricane Harvey first slammed into the Texas coast in late August 2017 just north of Corpus Christi with winds of 135 miles per hour and destroyed the region around Rockport. The hurricane stalled for a couple of days, drifted back to the Gulf, drifted northeast, and stalled again in the Houston area, while dumping 20 – 50 inches of rain in inland communities. The hurricane made three landfalls with peaked rainfall measured at 64 inches. Harvey is the costliest tropical cyclone on record, inflicting nearly $200 billion in damage. Fifty-four Texas counties were declared disaster areas.
Much of the news at the time was focused on the severe flooding in the Houston area and the unfolding human tragedy. Agricultural losses were also significant and are estimated at more than $200 million. Agriculture in the Gulf Coast is a mix of grain crops like
sorghum, soybean, corn and rice, as well as significant acreages of cotton and multiple sod farms. By the time Harvey made landfall, most grain crops had already been harvested, but the cotton harvest was still in full swing. In fact, many coastal area cotton farmers were on the verge of harvesting one of the best crops ever.
Irrigation infrastructure damage
Fortunately, the effect of the hurricane on the infrastructure of the irrigation and drainage districts is manageable. Existing lined canals weathered the storm with few problems, and earthen ditches will need dredging but are repairable. However, significant damage occurred to many pumping plants of these districts. Likewise, the damage to the irrigation systems and infrastructure of individual
farmers is manageable. In the area southwest of Houston, where most of the irrigated agriculture in the Gulf Coast is located, flood waters receded in a few days. Gearboxes and motors will need to be drained, dried out and serviced, but the irrigation systems themselves are salvageable.
Floodwaters also severely impacted many of the water wells in the region, both those used for domestic and irrigation purposes. Recovery efforts have included extensive water well testing campaigns across the flooded area. A sample analysis from over 100 wells showed that between 40 and 50 percent tested positive for coliform, with as many as 20 percent being positive for fecal coliform. Well owners affected are advised to apply multiple treatments of shock chlorination to disinfect the wells.
Flooded field and greenhouses on Gundermann Acres
22 Irrigation TODAY | January 2018
INFRASTRUCTURE
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