NORTHWEST HARRIS COUNTY DRAINAGE CHANNEL’S ‘MAKEOVER’ FEATURES NEW TREES AND WILDFLOWERS

Prior to being accepted into the Harris County Flood Control District’s maintenance program, this Langham Creek tributary formally identified by the Flood Control District as U119-00-00 was filled with dead trees and brush that accumulated in the bottom of the channel after Hurricane Ike. The blockages impeded the flow of stormwater and collected trash in the drainage channel.

The Harris County Flood Control District recently planted 838 new trees and a variety of wildflowers on a Langham Creek tributary south of FM 529. The Flood Control District will water and maintain the trees for a two-year period to help them establish a strong root system. Once they mature, trees greatly reduce the cost of maintaining bayous, streams and stormwater detention basins and help reduce the risk of erosion because their web-like root systems anchor soil and protect the banks of channels and detention basins. The Harris County Flood Control District recently planted 838 new trees and shrubs and a variety of wildflower seeds on a Langham Creek tributary south of FM 529 near Queenston Boulevard in northwest Harris County.

The drainage channel formally identified by the Flood Control District as U119-00-00 was the first site selected for the Flood Control District’s 2012 Tree Planting Program, which has planted approximately 150,000 trees on Harris County right of way since 2001.

The plantings complement a November 2010 maintenance project in which the Flood Control District removed a large quantity of sediment and dead trees and brush from the bottom of the channel to facilitate the flow of stormwater. Crews also repaired eroded spots along the channel’s grass-lined banks and a section of damaged concrete lining.

Residents in the Stone Creek subdivision adjacent to U119-00-00 said the tree and wildflower plantings will go a long way toward beautifying a drainage channel that was affected by Hurricane Ike in 2008. As a result of the hurricane’s fierce winds, several adjacent trees and bushes were uprooted, fell into the channel and created blockages that impeded the flow of stormwater and collected trash. At that time, the Flood Control District was not authorized to maintain or repair the drainage channel because it did not have right of way.

“We formed a group of residents to clean up what we could,” said Carol Edwards, a Stone Creek resident. “We believed that if the dead trees could be removed that would help alleviate the trash collection problem and then we could move toward beautifying the area.”

After meeting with residents about their concerns, the Flood Control District launched the process of acquiring right of way along U119-00-00. That step is required before a bayou, creek or tributary can be added to the Flood Control District’s system and included in the maintenance program. Enough right of way had been acquired by November 2010 to launch the maintenance project.

Edwards said she was thrilled to learn earlier this year that the drainage channel was scheduled for tree and wildflower plantings.

“What the Harris County Flood Control District has done has been nothing short of awesome,” she said. “We cannot praise them enough.”

Heather Saucier, Flood Control District spokeswoman, said the District plants about 20,000 trees each year on project sites and maintains a tree nursery where there are about 6,000 trees in various growth stages. While the most visible reward gained from tree and wildflower plantings is the beautification of bayous, creeks and stormwater detention basins, there are a number of equally important environmental, structural and economic benefits, she said.

Tree plantings reduce the risk of erosion in drainage channels and lower maintenance costs, Saucier said. They also improve water quality, create a shade canopy that reduces mowing costs and provide wildlife habitat.

Wildflower plantings offset mowing costs and provide a varied root structure that helps prevent erosion and offers sustainable landscape and habitat for wildlife.

Saucier said the Flood Control District planted the trees on U119-00-00’s upper slopes so that they do not impede the flow of stormwater. The tree planting pattern was designed to enhance the existing walking trail constructed by a local municipal utility district, and a 15-foot maintenance easement that will be utilized by maintenance and watering vehicles. The District waters, mulches and fertilizes trees for a period of two years after a tree planting.

Saucier said the wildflowers – a mixture of Texas Bluebonnet, Prairie Verbena, Showy Primrose, Indian Blanket, Plains Coreopsis, Mexican Hat, Drummond Phlox, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Clasping Coneflower and Bird’s Eyes – will begin blooming in March.

ABOUT THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT
The Harris County Flood Control District provides projects that reduce flooding risks and damages from bayous and creeks, with appropriate regard for community and natural values. With more than 1,500 bayous and creeks totaling approximately 2,500 miles in length, the Flood Control District accomplishes its mission by devising flood damage reduction plans, implementing the plans and maintaining the infrastructure. To learn more about the Flood Control District, visit www.hcfcd.org.