Sept. 27, 2019
Update Oct. 12, 2019:
Here are links to the Facebook video of the Oct. 3 meeting about dredging streams flowing into Addicks Reservoir and to the slide presentation.
Here are links to the Facebook video of the Oct. 7 meeting about dredging streams flowing into Barker Reservoir and to the slide presentation.
The Harris County Flood Control District is holding public meetings in the next two weeks to talk about dredging and clearing channels and streams, including Buffalo Bayou, that flow into Addicks and Barker reservoirs in west Houston.
Addicks and Barker are the federal flood-control reservoirs behind the dams constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s. They both feed into Buffalo Bayou, and they are both parks, normally empty, with the dam floodgates standing open, unless there are heavy rains downstream.
Streams flowing into Addicks Dam, which is north of Interstate 10, include South Mayde Creek, Bear Creek, Horsepen Creek, and Langham Creek. Buffalo Bayou and Mason Creek flow into Barker Reservoir south of Interstate 10.
Upstream of the boundaries of the federal reservoirs, these streams, including Buffalo Bayou, have been largely stripped, straightened, and channelized (as well as the six-mile long stretch in Terry Hershey Park below the dams). But inside the reservoirs they have remained relatively wooded and natural.
Dredging streams for the purpose of reducing flooding is controversial, as the practice can lead to increased flooding and erosion, increased sedimentation and therefore increased maintenance.
Too much stormwater flowing too quickly into the reservoirs, particularly Addicks Reservoir, forced the Corps of Engineers to open the floodgates during Harvey, causing additional disastrous flooding downstream. Modern flood management practice focuses on slowing and stopping stormwater before it floods a stream.
Addicks Meeting
Flood Control’s Community Engagement Meeting for the Addicks Reservoir Watershed will be Thursday, Oct. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Richard and Meg Weekley Community Center, 8440 Greenhouse Road in Cypress.
Trees cut by Harris County Flood Control along the natural channel of Langham Creek in Addicks Reservoir. Photo Dec. 9, 2018, by SC
The District invites interested citizens to view the presentation online through a live feed hosted at www.facebook.com/hcfcd. An open house will follow the presentation, where interested citizens are invited to review informational exhibits, discuss the Addicks Reservoir Watershed Channel Rehabilitation Project with Harris County representatives, and provide comments to the Harris County Flood Control District.
For questions, contact the Flood Control District at 713-684-4000, or fill out the comment form online http://www.hcfcd.org/F53 by October 17, 2019, for inclusion in meeting documentation.
Barker Meeting
The Community Engagement meeting for the Barker Reservoir Watershed will be Monday, Oct. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the James E. Taylor High School Main Cafeteria, 20700 Kingsland Blvd., in Katy.
Interested citizens are also invited to view this presentation online through a live feed hosted at www.facebook.com/hcfcd.
For questions, please contact the Flood Control District at 713-684-4000, or fill out the comment form online http://www.hcfcd.org/F52 by October 21, 2019, for inclusion in meeting documentation.
