Elon Musk Pushed Back on Our Reporting on His Houston Tunnels Plan. Experts Say His Comments Are Misleading.

their flood protection. The county commissioner publicly called for a closer look at narrower tunnels during a commissioners court meeting in April, after Hunt had pitched him on Boring’s proposal in February.

“It’s another tool in our toolbox to help mitigate flooding. And certainly with what’s happening in the Hill Country,” Ramsey said, referring to recent deadly floods in Central Texas, “and what continues to happen in Harris County, we need as many tools as we can possibly get.”

Woodell, with the flood control district, told the newsrooms in August that the agency initially focused on large-diameter tunnels because engineering studies identified them as the most effective option for a countywide system.

However, she said smaller tunnels could be a viable solution in certain areas. Since that idea had not been a focus of research, she added, more study would be needed before any such project could move forward.

Colleen Gilbert, executive director of the Greens Bayou Coalition — a nonprofit that works to protect neighborhoods near Greens Bayou, in northeast Houston — said communities in her watershed are desperate for relief as well. They would welcome the massive storm tunnel once proposed by Harris County, she said, but even smaller tunnels would be better than nothing.

“We would be thrilled to have any and all possibilities looked at,” Gilbert said. “If Congressman Hunt and The Boring Co. are looking at this, we are delighted to hear it.”

Experts and officials the newsrooms interviewed, however, still took issue with Musk’s sweeping statement that “Boring Company tunnels will work” because it doesn’t take into account complexities of the project or that success largely depends on what kind of system the county ultimately wants.

In a two-page memo Boring sent to Hunt’s team in February and that was circulated among local officials in the county, the company framed the pitch as an “innovative, cost-effective solution” to Houston’s chronic flooding.

“We are confident in our ability to execute this project successfully,” wrote Jim Fitzgerald, Boring’s global head of business development.

But Dunbar said the only way to evaluate Musk’s claim is to focus on the purpose of the stormwater tunnels.

If the goal is to build as large a project as possible for the lowest price, Dunbar said, Boring’s proposal might fit the bill. But if the goal is to shield lives and property from another Hurricane Harvey-level flooding event, he believes the smaller-scale project simply does not measure up.

“You have to have some underlying reason why you build this tunnel, what you’re trying to accomplish,” Dunbar said. “And I have not heard that Elon has given that answer.”

Rock Owens, retired Harris County attorney for environmental affairs who represented agencies including the flood control district, said he has seen local officials repeatedly greenlighting massive projects that were not well thought out and led to costly legal battles.

He pointed, for instance, to flood control issues along White Oak Bayou in northwest Houston. In a lengthy legal battle that began in 1999, about 400 homeowners in the area blamed the county for approving upstream development without adequate flood control, which they said caused repeated flooding of their homes.

The Texas Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the county in 2016. But Owens said even unsuccessful lawsuits are costly and the kind of challenge that could have exposed the county to a substantial damages award.

Musk’s ethos of moving fast and worrying about consequences later, Owens said, only heightens the risk.

“That works fine in the private sector, but not the public sector,” he said. “We’re not looking at Mr. Musk’s personal fortune; we’re looking at the livelihood and lifelong investments of people who live here.”

Yilun Cheng is an investigative reporter with the Houston Chronicle. This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive ProPublica’s biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

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