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Sims Bayou Project is More Than Halfway Complete
July 15, 2003
Many residents in the Sims Bayou watershed now have a lower risk of flooding than in the past. This is because they are benefiting from the construction of the Sims Bayou Flood Control Project, spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) with the Harris County Flood Control District serving as its non-federal sponsor.
Sims Bayou has been plagued by flooding in the past. For this reason, the bayou was identified by both the District and the Corps as an area in need of a flood damage reduction project. After years of planning and community input, a Local Cooperation Agreement between the District and the Corps was signed in 1990, officially starting the project. The Sims Bayou Flood Control Project continues to receive support from the area's local Congressional delegation that see that the project continues to receive annual federal funding for construction.
The project consists of 19.3 miles of channel enlargements and enhancements, as well as 20 bridge replacements or modifications extending from the Houston Ship Channel to Croquet Street. When complete, approximately 35,000 existing homes and approximately 2,000 existing commercial structures will no longer be in the 1% (100-year) floodplain.
The channel modifications are being done in an environmentally responsible manner, and birds and wildlife can already be seen along completed reaches. This was accomplished by using articulated concrete block mats instead of concrete, and allowing grass and other vegetation to grow through the blocks. Instead of a trapezoidal channel section, the new sections of Sims Bayou have shelves creating plateaus, varying water widths and varying side slopes, creating a more naturalistic feel. Fish pools are being created along some reaches of the channel and trees are being planted to further enhance the value of the habitat. "Input from the Sims Bayou Coalition and public meetings was instrumental to the Corps and District in accomplishing design changes that provided a more environmentally sensitive, aesthetic pleasing, and publicly acceptable project," said Lizette Richardson, Corps of Engineers Project Manager for the Sims Bayou project.
The channel design was selected based on significant input received from the Sims Bayou community.
Currently twelve bridge replacements/modifications have been constructed, with five bridges currently under design, leaving just 3 bridges remaining. The project is over half completed with 10.3 miles of the channel improvements completed from the Mouth of Sims Bayou up to Cullen Blvd. The reach from Cullen Blvd. to State Highway 288 is currently under construction. When the project is completed, channel modifications will extend as far west as Croquet Street (west of Post Oak). Channel construction is expected to be completed by 2009.
This project has been a great opportunity for the Corps and the District to embrace both community and natural values. Both entities are glad to be providing flood damage reduction while creating habitat for wildlife along an aesthetically pleasing corridor.
In addition to the federal project, the District will construct three regional detention basins within the Sims Bayou watershed. Initial construction of two of the basins was completed, allowing partial reduction in flood risks to structures along the upstream project reaches prior to the channel modifications reaching them. The third basin, named the Hill at Sims Greenway, planned to begin construction early next year, is being designed with recreational amenities. Upon completion of both the federal project and these three detention basins, the 1% floodplain will remain within banks.
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