A Houston suburb has sunk about 14 inches over the last 20 years, raising local concerns about flooding and the city's long–term future.
Parts of Katy, Texas, about 30 miles west of Houston, are sinking faster than anywhere else in the greater Houston area, according to a stunning report from the Harris–Galveston Subsidence District presented Thursday.
That is because of subsidence, which is the gradual sinking of land typically linked to groundwater pumping and oil extraction.
One GPS station in Katy, which has a population of about 28,000, has sunk about 14 inches (35 cm) since 2007, the report said.
'In our area, it can have significant impacts,' Michael Turco, the Harris–Galveston Subsidence District general manager, told the Daily Mail.
'It can damage infrastructure and ultimately increase your flood risks,' Turco said.
From 2021 to 2025, that included an average yearly rate of a little more than one inch (2.64 cm), per the report added.
Houston is sinking faster than any other major city in the United States, according to research published in the Nature Cities peer–reviewed journal. About 42 percent of its greater area subsides about one–fifth of an inch per year.
Parts of Katy, Texas, a suburb about 30 miles west of Houston with a population of roughly 28,000, has gradually sunk over the last almost 20 years. Pictured is a file photo of flooded streets in the Kelliwood Park neighborhood of Katy
Houston has dealt with flooding issues as far back as the early 1900s. A file photo of the city
Harris–Galveston Subsidence District general manager Michael Turco (pictured) told the Daily Mail that this could damage infrastructure and increase flood risks
The report added that the sinking had been been particularly pronounced in western Harris County, which includes Katy, as well as Fulshear.
Elevated subsidence rates around the Tomball and Spring areas of Harris County, as well as southern Montgomery County, were also detected. Houston is a part of both counties.
The findings could be explained by a massive influx of people moving to the city, though Turco noted Houston had dealt with sinking going back to the early 1900s.
'As population grew and expanded north and west of the coastal areas in downtown Houston and then north of Houston and west of Houston, we began to see water levels in the aquifer drop,' he told the Daily Mail.
In particular, water is most often utilized outside the home, rather than for inside chores.
'Irrigation outside, keeping the grass green and those types of things is really where the bulk of water is used for a residence,' Turco said.
Though Turco acknowledged that water in the Houston area seems 'abundant' because of how it can get up to 50 inches of rain per year, he called on locals to be more mindful.
'We need to be more efficient with the water that we use because it seems so abundant, but it's important for us to… reduce the stress on the aquifer system,' Turco told the Daily Mail.
A recent report from the Harris–Galveston Subsidence District found that Katy (pictured) had sunk about 14 inches since 2007
From 2021 to 2025, Katy sunk at an average yearly rate of slightly more than one inch, according to the report
University of Houston geology professor Dr Shuhab Khan said population growth in and around Houston helped explain the subsidence
However, that might not be straightforward while Houston keeps growing at a fast pace.
Since 2010, the Houston area has added more than 1.5 million residents, according to Rice University research.
'It used to be inside the Houston area,' Dr. Shuhab Khan, a University of Houston geology professor and leading expert on subsidence in Texas, told the Daily Mail. 'Now, the population is growing on outside, so those are the areas affected more.'
'More people means more use of groundwater and more houses,' Khan added.
Oil production, an increase in high–rise buildings and overall greater density around the city were also accelerators.
'That could intensify this process in those areas,' Khan told the Daily Mail.
Khan noted how the active faults around the Houston area were reasonable concerns.
'If you have subsidence and then you have active faults, that could reactivate it,' he told the Daily Mail.
If the issue is not mitigated, the damage could be felt by locals relatively soon.
'The flooding and fault–related damages to building, that's a few years,' Khan added. 'You'll start seeing it from year–to–year. For larger changes, it could be decades.'
The sinking could lead to city infrastructure, such as roads and buildings, being damaged
Harris and Montgomery counties, which both include Houston, have also been affected by the subsidence (Photo of flooding in Houston)
A pipeline project which brings water from Lake Houston to Katy is expected to cost $1.2 billion, according to plans released by the area's Economic Development Council
Khan previously led a separate study, published in the Remote Sensing journal, which also found significant subsidence in many areas around Houston.
The sinking was most prevalent in cities like Katy, Spring, The Woodlands, Fresno and Mont Belvieu, with groundwater pumping and oil and gas extraction as the main causes.
Khan told the Daily Mail that these were 'upper class type of suburbs' feeling the brunt.
One way to deter the flooding is to reduce the strain placed on underground aquifers, which carry groundwater.
Starting in the 1970s, the Houston area began shifting away from large–scale groundwater pumping and toward using surface water instead.
However, cities like Katy have recently pushed back on the cost, as well as a seven figure project.
A pipeline that brings water from Lake Houston to the Houston suburb is expected to cost $1.2 billion, according to the Katy Area Economic Development Council.
As a result, water bills are expected to rise for customers, the Houston Chronicle reported.
'We have a lot of residents who are really upset about this,' Rory Robertson, a Katy Council Member, said last October.
However, Katy residents were described as 'really upset' by the rising costs the pipeline could bring
The Brownwood neighborhood in Baytown was lost to flooding and now stands as the Baytown Nature Center wildlife sanctuary (pictured)
The greater Houston area has added more than 1.5 million residents since 2010 (Photo of Houston flooded)
Water may also 'have a slightly different taste than the city's' as the pipeline becomes fully operational, according to the project plans.
The 55–mile project is being built by the the West Harris County Regional Water Authority in partnership with the North Fort Bend Water Authority.
However, groundwater is cheaper and easier to treat than surface water, according to the Safe Drinking Water Foundation.
This is because it is typically less polluted, compared to surface waters which tend to be concentrated in lakes and streams.
Some areas around Houston have previously been decimated by flooding, including the Brownwood waterfront neighborhood in Baytown, about 28 miles west.
The neighborhood, referred to as a subdivision, once homed wealthy oil executives starting in the 1930s until it began sinking and flooding, according to ABC 13.
Ultimately, Hurricane Alicia in 1983 proved to be the death knell of the neighborhood because of extensive flooding and damages.
It was later transformed into what is now the Baytown Nature Center wildlife sanctuary, which still stands today.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Katy City Council and Mayor's Office for comment.