Flowing forward: How Texas is leading the charge in water infrastructure
By: Brian Babin – March 26, 2025
Texas has a long history of leading the way in transportation and innovation. From pioneering energy infrastructure to becoming home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, our state has helped drive America forward. As a lifelong East Texan, I’ve seen firsthand how critical infrastructure fuels growth and strengthens communities.
That’s why, when I was sworn into Congress in 2015, I prioritized serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to ensure a strong voice for critical infrastructure projects in East Texas, across our state, and throughout the nation. During my time on this committee, one thing has become clear: water resource projects are essential for protecting communities. Whether it’s mitigating disastrous floods, keeping our ports and waterways safe and navigable for global commerce, or restoring ecosystems for everyone’s enjoyment, water resources are vital to us all.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plays a key role in these efforts, working alongside local communities to support levees, reservoirs, and waterways. Their expertise helps ensure that critical water projects move forward efficiently, benefiting residents and businesses alike. I’ve especially appreciated the strong working relationship my office has developed with their Galveston office as we continue to push for faster permitting processes, reducing delays and ensuring that essential projects are completed in a timely manner.
There’s a phrase often attributed to General George S. Patton: “A pint of sweat saves a gallon of blood.” In the world of water resources, this translates to the importance of investing in resiliency, thus ensuring our infrastructure is built to withstand disasters rather than spending billions to recover from them.
For example, when Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas coast in 2008, causing over $30 billion in damages, it exposed the critical vulnerabilities in the infrastructure of America’s fourth-largest city Houston. It wasn’t until after that devastating storm that we began work on the Ike Dike, a project designed to protect Galveston Bay from future storm surges and strengthen the region’s ability to withstand future disasters.
This issue is not exclusive to Houston. Many of our major cities, in Texas and around the nation, are naturally vulnerable to coastal and riverine flooding. Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth respectively the ninth, eleventh, and twelfth largest cities in the U.S. are all vulnerable to severe flooding that could be devastating and ultimately cost us billions in recovery.
For the United States to continue being a leader in the global energy market, we need to continue investing in our ports and waterways to ensure capacity for larger vessels, safe and navigable channels, and opportunities for growth. The same growth in East Texas that I have witnessed over my lifetime is possible elsewhere; we must look beyond flood protection and to artificial intelligence to ensure the reliability of our aging electrical grid, delivery networks, and pipelines.
I am deeply proud to have been named “Port Person of the Year” by the American Association of Port Authorities in recognition of my efforts to expand our national investment in our waterways, an honor I am both grateful and humbled to receive.
As chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I am responsible for fostering research across our nation’s energy laboratories to bring energy independence back onto American shores and to optimize the management of our most crucial energy assets. We must be prepared for every scenario, from catastrophic floods to freezing temperatures to powerful storms if we want to create a secure, reliable grid that Americans can rely on for decades to come.
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration plan to deliver a Water Resources Development Act that strengthens our levee and drainage systems, deepens and maintains our ports and waterways, and protects cherished ecosystems. We’ll deliver a surface transportation reauthorization bill to provide better highways and roads, safer bridges, and less urban congestion. And under this administration, our nation will continue innovating, collaborating, and ultimately unleashing American ingenuity in defense of our citizens and infrastructure.
Rep. Brian Babin has represented Texas’ 36th congressional district since 2015. was sworn into the 114th Congress on January 6, 2015. Babin serves as the Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and he sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. These assignments provide him with a critical platform to serve the economic needs of the 36th Congressional District, home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, four deepwater ports, and numerous oil and gas refineries.
