| "The impact has also been in bringing all these different parties together." | |
| John Jacob , Texas Coastal Watershed Program |
|
Flood control often consists of shunting a city’s stormwater to the nearest large body of water as quickly as possible, taking along with it pollutants from cars, streets, and yards. A new model stormwater wetland project in Houston promises not only to help clean pollutants from stormwater, but also to create natural habitat and an aesthetically pleasing public space.
"This will be a signature wetland in this area," says John Jacob, director of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program. "It’s a real jewel."
The Brays Bayou Urban Stormwater Treatment Wetland project features both a stormwater treatment wetland and a tidally influenced wetland adjacent to an existing flood control channel. Students from nearby inner-city schools are participating in growing the native plants to be used in the wetland. Planting should be complete this spring.
The project started four years ago after the Texas Coastal Watershed Program, which is part of Texas Sea Grant and Texas Cooperative Extension and is affiliated with the national Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program, received a grant from the Galveston Bay Estuary Program to develop a stormwater demonstration project.
Flood control district officials were already planning a stormwater channel widening project in a local park that called for building wide streamside shelves that would be barely above sea level. "It was the perfect location for a stormwater wetlands project, says Marissa Sipocz, the Coastal Watershed Program’s wetland restoration team leader.
The first step was for the Coastal Watershed Program to facilitate a partnership between numerous local, state, and federal agencies and organizations, including the Harris County Flood Control District, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
The group worked together to provide project funding, hire engineers to design the project, work with contractors for its construction, and organize area high school students to develop a nursery stock and do the planting.
"We’ve kept everybody talking," says Sipocz. "Everybody agreed on their roles, and we met regularly to make sure we were still on target."
The 3.5-acre wetlands project is located within the city’s Mason Park. It consists of a freshwater tidally influenced wetland that will provide habitat for fish and wildlife, a stormwater treatment wetland, and various public use facilities, such as a new pedestrian bridge. A kiosk and amphitheater will be used to display project information and provide an area for group interpretation of the area’s plants and wildlife.
While the project will be mostly complete this spring, Jacob notes that "it’s already had an impact." The flood control district is experimenting with other stormwater wetlands in other areas.
He adds, "The impact has also been in bringing all these different parties together. The path has been laid for future collaborative work."
For more information, point your browser to www.urban-nature.org. You may contact John Jacob at (281) 218-0565, or jjacob@tamu.edu. You may also contact Marissa Sipocz at (281) 218-6253, or m-sipocz@tamu.edu.
