T.C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin K500-23-00

SPECIAL NOTE:

Property east of T.C. Jester Boulevard, south of Cypresswood Drive from T.C. Jester Boulevard to Strack Drive, will be temporarily closed for safety reasons beginning on or about April 6, 2020, while the Flood Control District performs routine environmental assessments as part of its federal and state requirements. The closure will continue for approximately two to three weeks, weather permitting.

This work involves heavy machinery and will include clearing multiple paths for trenching equipment, as well as the trenching itself. This work will impact footpaths and bike trails throughout the property. This area will be closed to visitors during construction, for their safety and the safety of work crews.

Safety signage alerting visitors to the temporary closure of this property will go up at access points. Residents are asked to follow all posted signage and remain clear of the work sites.

This site evaluation work does not signify the start of construction on the T. C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin. The project is just entering the preliminary engineering stage, and the Flood Control District will invite community engagement prior to commencing design and construction.

Once environmental assessments are complete on property to the east of T.C. Jester Boulevard, this work will continue on property to the west of T.C. Jester Boulevard. That area also will be temporarily closed during the assessment for safety reasons.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This project will develop a stormwater detention basin on approximately 171.5 acres of Flood Control District-owned property at T.C. Jester Boulevard and Cypress Creek, south of Cypresswood Drive.

The purpose of this project is to construct a stormwater detention basin on the main stem of Cypress Creek, which will work to reduce flooding risks and damages during heavy rain events by safely storing excess stormwater and slowly releasing it back to the creek when the threat of flooding has passed. A multi-phased engineering, design and construction approach is expected to begin in the area west of T.C. Jester Boulevard and later expand to include the area east of T.C. Jester Boulevard.

This is one of several stormwater detention projects the Flood Control District is developing in the Cypress Creek watershed. A regional drainage study for the watershed found that flooding along tributaries of Cypress Creek is predominately caused by stormwater from a rising Cypress Creek backing up into tributaries, rather than a lack of sufficient stormwater conveyance/drainage capacity on the tributaries themselves. Therefore, stormwater detention basins could be a beneficial project to reduce that backwater issue.

The regional drainage study described here recommends nearly 25,000 acre-feet of additional stormwater detention in the watershed. (Link to www.hcfcd.org/CI-035)