Rice University Expert to Testify on Flood Preparedness and Response

Philip Bedient, director of Rice University's SSPEED Center, will testify before Texas legislative committees on July 31, providing insights on flood prediction, planning, and response. Bedient, a renowned hydrologist with 50 years of experience, will join other experts to present tools and systems developed by Rice to improve flood prediction and warning. The SSPEED Center's research has shaped flood resilience planning across Texas, with initiatives like the Houston-Galveston Area Protection System.

Key Takeaways:

• Philip Bedient, director of Rice University's SSPEED Center, will testify before Texas Senate and House committees on July 31.
• Bedient and his colleagues will present tools and systems developed by Rice to improve flood prediction, warning, and impact modeling.
• The SSPEED Center's regional mitigation strategies, including the Houston-Galveston Area Protection System, have helped shape flood resilience planning across Texas.
• Bedient has over 50 years of experience in hydrology and disaster management, with over 200 published works, and has played a key role in evaluating and responding to major U.S. floods and storms.
• The SSPEED Center has developed radar-based flood alert systems and has led multi-institutional collaborations.
• Bedient will also present the SSPEED Center's FIRST flood warning system.
• Attendees have been asked to book accommodations in Fredericksburg or Boerne to help ensure hotel rooms in Kerrville remain available for first responders, volunteers, and displaced residents.

Statistics:

• Over 50 years of experience in hydrology and disaster management (Bedient).
• Over 200 published works (Bedient).
• 9:30 a.m. start time for the joint hearing of the Texas Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding and the Texas House Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding.
• July 31, to be held at the Hill Country Youth Event Center.

Sources:

• Rice University news release: "Rice's Philip Bedient to testify before Texas Legislative Committees on flood preparedness and response" (2025).