BBP needs your help!
The US Army Corps of Engineers recently issued the agency’s Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study Interim Feasibility Report. The report includes recommended channel improvements to Buffalo Bayou that could dramatically impact the waterway from the dams all the way to Buffalo Bayou Park. Read the full report here.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership has sent a letter to the Corps, which you can read here. We urge Buffalo Bayou supporters to reach out to the Corps with your comments. Due to requests by the public, the deadline for comments is now November 20, 2020.
CONCERNS:
- Widening the channel to 230 ft. and deepening it by 12 ft. will make it impossible to retain natural features and riparian vegetation all along Buffalo Bayou and will devastate Buffalo Bayou Park, the beautiful 160-acre green space recently restored by BBP, Harris County Flood Control District, City of Houston and the Kinder Foundation with $75 million of improvements.
- Radically increasing the flow of water during floods will worsen damage in Buffalo Bayou Park.
- Channel modifications and replacement of infrastructure will severely impact Buffalo Bayou’s extensive wildlife, including the more than 250,000 Mexican Free-tail Bats living near the Waugh Drive and Congress Avenue bridges.
- Buffalo Bayou’s role as a recreational amenity and a unique visitor experience will be forever changed.
- USACE does not propose to enlarge the bayou in downtown where downtown parks, the City Hall and Harris County complexes, and Theater District all flooded during Harvey.
- Finally, USACE’s own analysis shows that the project’s costs will be far greater than its benefits in reducing flooding. This means Buffalo Bayou will be devastated for a project that does not make economic sense.
Request the Corps to release all models and data that the Corps relied on to form the report’s conclusions.
For your convenience, feel free to copy the note below and send it to the Corps at BBTRS@usace.army.mil or click the button below. Personalize as needed.
We also encourage you to contact our Houston U.S. Congressional Representatives who oversee the USACE with districts along the affected parts of Buffalo Bayou: Lizzie Fletcher, Dan Crenshaw and Sheila Jackson Lee.
TO: US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
RE: Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study Interim Report
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study Interim Report. Numerous recommendations in the report will cause considerable harm to Buffalo Bayou Park, the award-winning 160-acre green space near downtown. I believe the study recommends outdated solutions rather than forward-thinking nature-based solutions. Widening and deepening the channel will cause irreparable harm to the bayou’s natural features, as well as to the vast wildlife living along the waterway.
I’d also like to point out that in addition to causing increased flooding in Buffalo Bayou Park, flooding will be exacerbated in parks and sites downstream, including the City Hall and Harris County complexes and Theater District; all of which experienced severe flooding during Hurricane Harvey. This issue is not addressed in the Corp’s report.
I understand that the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) is recommending a tunnel option which Buffalo Bayou Partnership supports.
I urge the Corps to adopt a natural channel design that will result in a healthy functioning riparian corridor. By doing so, you will be protecting Buffalo Bayou so that Houstonians from all walks of life can enjoy its natural beauty, wildlife, and recreational and cultural offerings for generations to come.