Spring - Klein Edition | May 2022

ENVIRONMENT

“THERE’S A LOT AT STAKE AS FARAS THE CULTURAL DISTRICT. IF THE CULTURAL DISTRICT FLOODS AGAIN, I DON’T THINK ITWILL BE REBUILT.” GLENN WILKERSON, CYPRESS CREEK FLOODING TASK FORCE PRESIDENT

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A new community center is under construction in the Cypress Creek Cultural District. (Emily Lincke/Community Impact Newspaper)

Cypress Creek Flooding Task Force targets partnership funds to protect Cultural District

BY EMILY LINCKE

$2.5 billion bond, which voters passed in 2018. If funds are provided from utility districts along Cypress Creek, the partnership fund would match the funding 50-50, Cobb said. The task force’s proposed locations are the two smallest land parcels out of nine detention basins recommended by the HCFCD along Cypress Creek between I-45 and Hwy. 249. Accord- ing to the task force’s proposal, the land is already owned by the HCFCD. One of the parcels, located near Stuebner Airline Road, is 74 acre-feet and would require an estimated $6 million for the design and construction of a detention basin, according to the proposal. One acre-foot is equal to about 326,000 gallons, or enough water to cover an acre of land one foot deep. The sec- ond parcel, located along Kuykendahl Road, measures 130 acre-feet and would need $6.8 million for a deten- tion basin to be built. Wilkerson said the two locations were selected because of their size and proximity to the Cypress Creek Cultural District, which includes several community amenities that have ooded in recent years. “There’s a lot at stake as far as the Cultural District,” Wilkerson said. “If the Cultural District oods again, I don’t think it will be rebuilt. That would also mean our current prop- erty values would plummet.”

Stormwater detention basins were deemed the most eective strategy for ghting potential ooding in the Cypress Creek Program Implemen- tation Plan, which was released in January. The report was completed by engineering rm Jones & Carter, which was awarded the project for $1.4 million by Harris County Com- missioners Court in July 2020. Task force ocials are now working to speak to local utility and water districts with plans to present a proposal at a meeting—tentatively set for late May. HIGH STAKES A local ooding task force is hoping to gain support for the construction of two stormwater detention basins in the Cypress Creek watershed. $17.9 billion worth of damage to 16,000 structures could be prevented by additional stormwater detention basins along Cypress Creek. $10.1 million in Harris County partnership 50-50match funding has been designated for detention basins in the Cypress Creek watershed. $12.8million is the estimated cost of obtaining 2 parcels of land targeted by the Cypress Creek Flooding Task Force for stormwater detention basins. SOURCES: CYPRESS CREEK FLOODING TASK FORCE, HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

A local task force’s proposal to collect funding for stormwater deten- tion basins along Cypress Creek could prevent future potential ooding in the Cypress Creek Cultural District, project leaders said, but the project’s success will depend on the rest of the community’s participation. The Cypress Creek Flooding Task Force is focusing on two parcels of land along Cypress Creek and is work- ing to garner support and funding from nearby utility and water districts so two stormwater detention basins could eventually be built on the sites. The basins could potentially prevent $17.9 billion worth of damage to 16,000 structures at risk during a 100-year ooding event, according to the task force’s strategic plan. The proposal is being spearheaded by task force President Glenn Wilkerson, Vice President Clara Lewis and Project Chair Calvin Cobb. “We feel it’s important to target the entire corridor and work together. ... The strategic plan’s success depends on the participation of all the water districts,” Wilkerson said. The group is seeking to use $10.1 million in Harris County partner- ship funding that has been designated for stormwater detention basins in the Cypress Creek watershed. The partnership funding is part of the Harris County Flood Control District’s

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SPRING KLEIN EDITION • MAY 2022