Elon Musk’s Comments on Houston Flood Tunnels Are Misleading, Experts Say

Billionaire Elon is issuing on the musk Recent investigation Houston Chronicle and Texas Newsroom which raised questions about a flood tunnel project that he was pitching to solve the distress of Houston’s chronic floods. However, experts said that his response, which he did not explain in the Newsroom, was not supported by information or data.

Last month, Newsrooms reported that the tunneling agency The Boring Co. had been planning for several months to allow elected officers to make the tunnel under Houston to subdue floods. Boring Buffalo has proposed to excavate two 12 feet wide tunnels underneath the main waterway with Houston, from the surrounding nest during the storm and to carry storm water towards the Gulf of Mexico. Experts say, however, the larger tunnels, close to 30 to 40 feet in diameter, can carry more water and be more effective.

Kasturi and representatives with boring did not respond to interview requests or did not answer the question about whether the short tunnels of the Newsrooms sent before last month’s story did not answer whether the short tunnels of the boring would be able to operate the Houston flood water scale in the future.

Instead of, the story waited a few hours after the storytelling X responded toSocial media He owned since 2022The

“The boring company’s tunnels will work and <10% of the options will be spent," his Aug 28 post read. "If more flows are needed, additional tunnels can be made and more than just one, but from many parts of the city to the root of the route"

Houston Republican US Rep. This post was written in response to a post by Wesley Hunt X, who helped to sell private meetings in Harris County and in private flood tunnel plans across the state. Hunt did not respond to the Newsroom’s question before the original story was released, but he weighed in X after the story was released.

“Lifetime Houstonian and Texas Congressmen have talked to the smart person on earth to solve a generation of flood problems in our city that no one else will fix it,” Hunt wroteThe

Mask’s post does not explain any data or engineering to back up his speeches. So the Newsrooms examined his statements, compare them with flood studies and interviewed engineering experts, some of whom indicated the main technical and logistic challenges with annoying plans.

According to the Newsroom Examination, a claim of musk is probably false, and others are still not surely verified.

Again, when the Newsrooms press the musk and annoying representatives to explain the demands of technicians billionaire, they do not respond. Or did not the victim.

Will it cost less than 10% for boring tunnels?

Flood Control District Year after year and a few million dollars of dollars, the proposal of the musk carries a lower price tag compared to the estimated expenditure of a large system. However, this is partial because both are seriously different proposals.

Hunt’s team says that Boring’s Buffalo Bioo project will cost $ 760 million in accordance with the internal communication received by Newsrooms by the request for public records.

County’s flood control district, on the other hand, proposed in 2022 tunnels of 30 to 40 feet in diameter for that section of the system for about $ 4.6 billion.

Since the project is still in the research phase, the county number is primary. However, based on available statistics, the boring proposal can spend around a sixth part of the county’s estimate-no less than 10%, as it is advisable to have a musk post. So the musk seems to exaggerate how cheap its system will be.

Flood control experts have further maintained that the decreased price is somewhat proportional than the decreased capacity of the narrow tunnels of boring. The two 12-foot tunnels will provide less than one-fifth of the volume that provides a single 40-foot tunnel.

That means they will remove less water from a weaker region than a larger tunnel.

Houston Environmental Lawyer and Flood Policy Expert Jim Blackburn said, although the musk company deserves a sound hearing, is not better than cheap money.

Blackburn said “If this is a small tunnel I would expect it to be less expensive for it.” “You need to see how much floods you get for the dollar you spent”

Emily Udel, a spokesman for the Harris County Flood Control District, said the agency needs more information before considering any claim of the Musk.

“We need to study a lot before anything possible even possible, so I don’t want to guess,” he said. “We will point to people on our website for reports and data that we have compiled until today until we have any projects or other studies.”

Can additional tunnels be made for more water flow?

The post of the musk says more tunnels can be added if more flood water needs to be removed. Engineers said it was not so easy.

In the sewer issue, Houston-Aria advised government agencies, a veteran water resource engineer Larry Dunbar said that on the basis of solo size, about 5 boring tunnels would carry about 5 tunnels in the same amount of water like a large tunnel. To keep the soil stable, the whole system can be several hundred feet wide, along with enough space between them. He added that it needs to be protected more rights on land and create more access points for maintenance, he said.

And the cost of reviewing and integrating every new stage of construction can bring in another point, Dunbar says that Boring reduces the speed and affordable issue that has been identified as the main advantage of his proposal.

“The problems begin to become more complicated,” said Dunbar. “It’s not that it can’t be done, but just to throw up there – ‘Oh, if we need more we’ll do more’ – well, there’s more than that” “

Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who is an engineering background, agreed. RAMS said that to maintain more tunnels, more equipment will also mean that long -term costs can increase.

He also added that the County has to decide on the full plan at the beginning so that all the system components such as pumps, drains and results can be properly designed.

“It won’t be easy to add additional tunnels later,” said Ramsay.

John Blount, a former Harris County Engineer who retired more than three decades later with County, dismissed the advice of the musk that the initial plan could create a more disturbing tunnel if the initial plan would become smaller.

While working on other infrastructure projects, the blound said that for the first time he got a number of contractors capable of making enough tunnels to handle the work properly.

“You don’t start short and get it out later,” he said. “This whole idea of ​​keeping your 20% of your 20% is to see if it is enough to see if it is enough.”

Can the boring tunnels move water from other areas of the city and the tunnels will work?

The musk argued that the boring tunnels could be used in different regions of the city, not just along the Buffalo Bio.

Some local officials agreed that the tunnels of the musk could probably work better for small reservoirs that did not take water like Buffalo air.

Rams said that he supports hunting and halls in search of small tunnels for regions like Bios, which runs through other parts of the city and requires resources to strengthen their flood protection. The County Commissioner called for the commissioner’s court to close the narrow tunnels during the court meeting in April after the County Commissioner’s court meeting in April.

“This is another tool to help us ease the flood of the toolbox and and of course what is happening in the hill country,” said Ramsay’s most recent Fatal floods in mid -Texas“And what happens in Harris County, we need as much equipment as possible.”

Udel, including the flood control district, told Newsrooms in August that the company initially focuses on large diameter tunnels because engineering studies have identified them as the most effective alternative to the countywide system.

However, he said that small tunnels could be an effective solution in certain areas. Since this concept was not the center of research, he added that more studies would be needed before any such project proceeded.

Collin Gilbert, executive director of the Greens Bio Coal – is a non -profit that works to protect the northeast -east Houston Greens Bio -stricken regions – that its reservoir communities are also desperate for relief. He said they would once welcome the huge storm tunnel proposed by Harris County, but smaller tunnels would be better than anything.

Gilbert said, “We will be thrilled to look at any and all the possibilities.” “If Congressman Hunt and The Boring Co. are watching it we are glad to hear it.”

Experts and officials have interviewed the Newsroom, but still took the clear statement of the musk that “boring company tunnels will work” because it does not consider the complexities of the project or depends on what the county is finalized.

A Bi-Strike Memo is annoying It was sent to the Hunt squad in February and it was broadcast among local officials in the county, the company framed the pitch as a “innovative, expensive solution” for Houston’s chronic floods.

“We are confident of our skills in successfully performing this project,” Boring writes Jim Fitsgald, the chief of the global business development of Boring.

But Dunbar said that the only way to evaluate the claim of the musk is that the storm focuses on the purpose of the storm water tunnels.

If the target is created as much as possible for the lowest price, Dunbar said the boring proposal could fit the bill. But if the goal is to protect life and property from another hurricane Harvey-level flood event, he believes that the small-scale project does not just measure.

“Why you make this tunnel, what you are trying to achieve, you need to have some underlying reasons for why you make this tunnel.” “And I didn’t hear that Elon gave that answer.”

Harris County Attorney Rock Ovens, a retired environmental affairs representing agencies, including flood control districts, says he has repeatedly viewed the huge greeneleting projects of local officials that have not been well thought and lead to expensive legal battles.

He pointed to the problems of the flood control, for example, White Oak Bio Answer -West Houston. In a long legal battle, which began in the 5th, about 5 homeowners in the area blamed the county for the development of Ujjan without adequate flood control, which they said that their home had repeatedly caused floods.

The Texas Supreme Court has finally ruled in favor of the County in 20 2016. However, the oven said that even failed cases are expensive and the County is a challenge that can publish enough compensation awards.

Wicker Faster And later anxious about the consequences, the oven said, only increases the risk.

“It works well in the private sector, but not the official sector,” he said. “We are not looking at the personal fate of Mr. Kastor; we look at the livelihoods of the people living here and in investing in a lifetime.”