Houston is no stranger to rising waters.
Hurricane Harvey dropped nearly 50 inches of water on Houston over the course of just four days in 2017, and flash floods from severe storm events routinely plague Bayou City.
Before the waters from these events recede, UH professor Hanadi Rifai goes out with her research team to test for bacterial load, ph levels and metal concentrations.
After Hurricane Harvey, Rifai took samples from 41 sites throughout the city over the course of 90 days and the results were an astounding call-to-action.
“It was evident our waterways had become rivers of brown.”
It was clear that concentrated disadvantaged populations were more likely to bear the brunt of contaminated water.
“Investments in research must be made to build our society’s capacity to create resilient and prosperous communities that are well-prepared and socially just,” Rifai said.
“At UH, we’re focused on doing our part to help Houston mitigate and recover from severe weather events and natural disasters,” said Rifai.
Image: Courtesy of University of Houston
