Why does Midland flood so bad?

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by Midessan

Flat ground and hard caliche cause the flooding. We could build a better drainage system, but the floods occur with low frequency and are easy to deal with so it doesn't justify the cost.

I saw on the news today that Midland is considering upgrading infrastructure

[War Beagle]

As others have said, dry areas tend not to invest in drainage as much since it is needed less.

That said, part of it just has to do with dry ground. Though it is counter intuitive, really dry earth doesn't absorb liquid as well as wet earth. I lived in an extremely arid part of CA and every time there was even a marginal rain it flooded because it was so hard for the ground to absorb the water.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by pammybear

I didn't venture out yesterday because the news had warned that the area around HEB was closed due to flooding.

Flooding isn't really an issue but Midland has installed a drainage system that runs through Wadley in front of HEB to help reduce flooding. The drains dump the water there around I st. and Wadley, you can see a draw there that runs along the small regional airport. This system has been redone several times through the years and still doesn't do much. The center section fills up like a river (several feet deep) and can be a serious hazard. But luckily, it's not something that happens regularly and when it does, it's usually drained a few hours later.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by pammybear

......Why is flooding so bad? I didn't venture out yesterday because the news had warned that the area around HEB was closed due to flooding. It seems to be such a serious problem and we do have a mayoral election coming up and yet I never hear anyone come up with a plan to deal with flooding. I know it doesn't rain often but when it does, we are paralyzed basically. What is the solution? Please again, no haters, just people with real information or facts about this problem. Thank you!
Pam

Pam, I had asked myself that question many times over the 30 years I lived there. Wadley becomes a river after any substantial rain, and other parts of town do the same, though not quite so badly.

They are always working on Wadley, and they did put in/renovate new drainage along Wadley a few years ago. Looks like it didn't do much good, though. The subject comes up almost every election cycle, too.

I don't know what the answer is, but it would be nice if they really would address the problem seriously.

[TX75007]

It rarely rains in Midland.

[pammybear]

Originally Posted by Midessan

Flat ground and hard caliche cause the flooding. We could build a better drainage system, but the floods occur with low frequency and are easy to deal with so it doesn't justify the cost.

Easy to deal with? I think it is horrible and in fact, school has been cancelled a time or two because of flooding. I know it doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's terrible.

[Midessan]

Originally Posted by pammybear

Easy to deal with? I think it is horrible and in fact, school has been cancelled a time or two because of flooding. I know it doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's terrible.

Sorry. I just meant basically what SVTRay was saying that the flooding doesn't last long so its so much of a problem.

[SVTRay]

We saw more school cancelation dates due to heavy snow than rain during our last year in Midland. Talking about rare, Midland saw more snow that week than any other place in the US including Colorado and Alaska at the time.

[wxf848]

Because Midland is so dry, the drainage features are under-developed. An area that gets more rain has creeks that flow all the time. The constant water flow cuts deep channels that can contain large amounts of flow. Also, the frequent rains erode the ground, producing slopes, which cause water to move more quickly to the stream channels.

Midland, and much of western Texas, has hard soil that isn't quick to absorb water and flat ground, and generally lacks large streams. The water tends to run in sheets in open areas and along streets in the city. It's difficult to build storm drains because you need a lower place to dump the water into. Without an adequate slope, any underground drains would just fill with water and overflow.

[pammybear]

I understand better, thanks everyone even though I don't like it! I wonder if any other community with similar terrain has found a way to deal with it!
Pam