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500 acre-feet of stormwater deten- tion along Clear Creek and making 17 bridge replacements or improve- ments along Clear Creek. A 2018 bond program provided an additional $70 million to supplement the 2018 federal allocation toward
is no timeline for when the entire Clear Creek Trail project will be com- pleted, Buchanan said. However, 6 miles of the trail in Pearland have already been nished, and the city plans to start construc- tion on another portion of the trail
Partnership: Pearland and Friendswood work with multiple entities on funding and work, such as Brazoria Drainage District No. 4, Harris County Flood Control District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Location: Experts said there are signi cant hurdles to developing land in oodways or ood plains, so it is better to use land in this area for detention ponds that bene t from the land’s natural water retention. Studying: Local cities or regional and federal organizations identify problem areas—or areas that frequently ood—and determine areas where detention or retention ponds can be most eective. When land is developed, the runo rate into local creeks increases, so detention ponds are meant to capture stormwater and slow the rate down. When cities look to incorporate recreational spaces along detention areas, they look at several factors, including funding and community input.
the Clear Creek Federal Proj- ect, HCFCD External Com- mun i c a t i ons Lead Sheldra Brigham said. “Once com- pleted, the Clear Creek trail will be
s t r e t c h i n g from Hughes Road to the University of Houston-Clear Lake at Pearland cam- pus in 2022, Epperson said. C o n s t r u c - tion will cost
“ONCE COMPLETED, THE CLEAR CREEK TRAIL WILL BE A SIGNATURE RECREATIONAL AMENITY.” MATT BUCHANAN, PEARLAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. PRESIDENT
SOURCES: CITY OF PEARLAND, CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
a signature recreational amenity,” PEDC President Matt Buchanan said in an email. Pearland’s vision for the com- plete trail along Clear Creek is for it to include tie-ins to some of the regional parks close to the city and even to those in Harris County, such as Tom Bass Regional Park, Adair Park, El Franco Lee Park and even further up north to Houston with Sims Bayou, Epperson said. There
$7.3 million, but the city is talking with the Texas Department of Trans- portation to split the project into two, which could reduce the total budget for construction to $3.4 million, said Skipper Jones, Pearland assistant director of capital projects. The two trails already complete are the $1.7 million Shadow Creek Ranch trail that nished in December 2020 and the $2.27 million Green Tee trail that nished in February 2020,
which were funded with local and state funds, Jones said. With the Hickory Slough Sportsplex and John Hargrove Environmental Complex locations serving as exam- ples of what using dual-purpose uses out of drainage projects looks like, the bene ts forPearlandandFriendswood go beyond reducing ood risk in the community, Ondracek said. “I’m de nitely a big supporter of
when you do these sites [of] being able to have multiple uses out of them,” Ondracek said. “[Collecting] stormwater, you got the recreational aspect of it for people and then of course providing space for nature and wildlife still within the city.”
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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PEARLAND FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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