Carpenters Bayou Restoration Project

ABOUT CARPENTERS BAYOU
Carpenters Bayou flows south from its headwaters west of Lake Houston to the Houston Ship Channel. The bayou parallels the East Sam Houston Tollway, crosses under State Highway 90 and Interstate Highway 10 and passes through the Channelview area. It is the primary waterway in the Carpenters Bayou Watershed, which covers approximately 25 square miles in east Harris County.

EROSION ON CARPENTERS BAYOU
Over the last several decades, the slopes of Carpenters Bayou have experienced significant erosion, which is the wearing away of earth caused by falling rain, moving stormwater and unstable soils. In Harris County, many of our grass-lined bayous experience erosion over time, leading to the formation of sink holes and slope failures.

The erosion on Carpenters Bayou, caused by a combination of poor soils and the movement of stormwater in the bayou, has led to slope failures in certain places – particularly near the Channelwood subdivision. It also has restricted the Harris County Flood Control District’s access to perform maintenance at certain locations and has encroached into the backyards of adjacent properties, especially along a sharp bend in the bayou upstream of Woodford Drive.

The Carpenters Bayou Restoration Project is a planned maintenance project of the Harris County Flood Control District to repair erosion and bank failures and to stabilize the side slopes of Carpenters Bayou from Woodforest Boulevard to Woodford Drive, paralleling Overbluff Drive.

The project will realign the bayou, establish a gentler curve, stabilize the slopes and improve maintenance access. It will not increase the risk of flooding for residents living downstream of the project area. The project includes:

• Acquiring the necessary land (right of way) to construct the project.
• Removing encroachments (mainly fences) on Flood Control District right of way.
• Extensive repair work to re-grade eroded and uneven side slopes in the entire project area.
• Constructing back slope swales, or shallow ditches, along the top of the bayou’s slopes to help direct the flow of stormwater. The swales will help prevent stormwater from flowing over the bayou’s banks and causing further erosion.
• Replacing damaged storm sewer outfall pipes.
• Using riprap (rocks or pieces of concrete) to armor the newly constructed slopes from further erosion. The riprap will be placed mainly along the new bayou alignment upstream of Woodford Drive.
• Planting native grass to help anchor the soil during and after the bayou construction.
• Protecting and preserving, when possible, existing trees in the project area.

The total cost for the Carpenters Bayou Restoration Project is approximately $3 million, including right-of-way acquisition and construction costs. To construct the project, the Flood Control District must acquire approximately 6.5 acres of additional land.

ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION
The Harris County Flood Control District has performed an evaluation for environmentally sensitive areas, including wetland and ordinary high watermark surveys, and a threatened and endangered species review. No environmentally sensitive areas or threatened or endangered species were discovered. Additional environmental site assessments will be completed before the project begins. Environmental permitting will be obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Galveston District.

PROJECT TIMELINE
The Harris County Flood Control District has completed survey work to determine property boundaries and ownership and expects to begin acquiring right of way in late summer 2011. Construction is expected to begin mid-to-late 2012 (once all needed property has been acquired). Construction is expected to take approximately six months to complete.

PUBLIC OUTREACH
It is important to the Harris County Flood Control District that residents stay informed throughout the Carpenters Bayou Restoration Project. A community meeting was held Thursday, May 19, 2011, at the Family Church and Family Christian Academy, 14718 Woodford Drive, Houston, TX, 77015. Residents were invited to attend and learn more about the project. Subsequent meetings to report on the project’s progress will be scheduled at a later date.

ABOUT THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT
The Harris County Flood Control District builds projects that reduce flooding risks and damages while always considering the values of our community and the environment. The Flood Control District oversees more than 2,500 miles of bayous and creeks (about the distance from Los Angeles to New York City) and routinely performs maintenance projects to repair bayous, creeks and stormwater detention basins that have experienced erosion, slope failure and sediment buildup.

For more information on the Carpenters Bayou Restoration Project, contact Greg DiCioccio, P.E., project manager, or John Randolph, Precinct 2 coordinator, with the Harris County Flood Control District at 713-684-4000. Para traducción en español, llamar a Sandra Flores al 713-684-4000.