Strategic Location

Near the Houston metro, major infrastructure, and transport corridors.

Protected Position

Far enough inland to operate during severe coastal storms.

No Local Training Facility

The nearest purpose-built swift water rescue facilities are over 900 miles away.

Increasing Demand

Severe weather is worsening, and communities are underprepared.

AN URGENT NEED TO TRAIN FIRST RESPONDERS

Anyone who has experienced a heavy rainfall along the Gulf Coast, let alone a hurricane, understands why flooding is the number one weather-related cause of death in Texas.

A safe and resilient community depends upon the ongoing readiness of first responders who can handle complex scenarios in rapidly changing conditions across varied terrain. First responders have a role to play in every part of the ecosystem but are central to the arc that runs from evaluation and planning through preparedness to acute emergency response.

Large-scale weather emergencies are not the only reason to prioritize water rescue capabilities for first responders in our region. Two other compelling reasons for improving local water rescue responsiveness:

• Harris County leads the state in the number of drowning deaths annually.
• Texas and has some of the highest drowning rates in the continental US.

Our region faces numerous challenges that hinder our response, from aging infrastructure and a shortage of dedicated training and staging areas to the uneven distribution of equipment and personnel across numerous jurisdictions. If the Greater Houston area, which runs from Montgomery County through Harris County and into Fort Bend County, is to thrive, we must provide our first responders with access to improved tools and better training to respond to every type of water disaster.

Nationwide, first responders have limited options for water rescue training, and while a handful of single purpose training facilities exist, they are far from Texas. One of the older sites, an outdoor facility in Lake Placid, New York, is frozen solid for a major portion of the year.

The majority of agencies train on natural bodies of water, at training sites designed for Olympic-level water sports such as kayaking or canoeing, or even at for-profit water amusement parks. A few agencies have dedicated training facilities that are essentially large swimming pools in enclosed warehouse-style spaces. Almost all are at least 900 miles from downtown Houston, and require a full day of travel on either side of training time to reach. Almost none have onsite classroom, commissary, or sleeping quarters.

Natural bodies of waters present unique challenges ranging from an inability to control water levels, the challenges posed by competing agricultural and recreational uses, droughts, and hazards including environmental contaminants and even wildlife.

Sport training facilities, amusement parks, and large covered pools are not designed to accommodate moving boats, heavy equipment, or a wide variety of training scenarios or water flows. All of these sites are subject to the vagaries of weather and wildlife, usage schedules, and owners’ willingness to forgo other revenue-generating opportunities