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Harris County Flood Control District o cials said ooding in the Cypress Creek watershed is primarily caused by stormwater from the rising creek backing up into tributaries. Detention basins are designed to temporarily store excess stormwater. SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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1 Water from the creek can over ow into the detention basin by way of man-made structures
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that use gravity to modify water ow.
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2 As the water levels recede, the stormwater from the basin ows through the outfall pipe back into the channel.
most that we can to get
the best bene ts to the taxpayers,” he said. As of the 2020 census, more than 450,000 individuals live in the Cypress Creek watershed, and another 45,000 live in the subwater- shed of Little Cypress Creek, accord- ing to the HCFCD. The population has grown by 31% and 57%, respec- tively, in the past decade. St. Romain noted the watershed is highly developed and historically prone to ooding. Heppen said he believes new development is not contributing to higher ood risks because developers are now required to meet stricter reg- ulations. This means neighborhoods developed in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s—such as Norchester, Grant- wood, Windwood, Lake Cypress Estates and Enchanted Valley—tend to be more prone to ooding. “Even if development contin- ues, they’re developing much more responsibly. … Developers have learned that they can build even more detention [than what is] required, and it tends to be an amen- ity towards their development,” Hep- pen said.
Next steps Several basins in the top priority tier are underway in the Spring area. The HCFCD is seeking funding partners throughout the development of the 22 basin projects, and property acquisi- tion on the sites the district does not already own has already been taking place, St. Romain said. Once these are developed, St. Romain said the district could revisit the original list of 49 sites. Dunn said after serving as Norches- ter HOA president and playing a part in revitalizing Norchester, she decided to also run for her MUD board in the upcoming May election. She said she would like to see local MUDs work together to have a greater impact on ood mitigation and help secure fund- ing for future projects. “They have done some projects. What they’ve done so far, the water is moving faster, but if we get 15 or 20 inches of rain in 24 hours, I think we’ll still be doomed,” Dunn said.
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CY FAIR EDITION • MARCH 2022
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