Some fear Katy Prairie development could cause worse flooding

Projects would pave floodplain

Steve Hawley, May 04, 09.

Last week’s flooding renewed concerns that proposed developments along Segment E of the Grand Parkway, running through the Katy Prairie floodplain, could cause more frequent or severe flooding, according to the Houston Chronicle.

A second article mentions the controversy in context of the county’s infrastructure and flood policies.

The first article notes:

Development encouraged by a planned segment of the Grand Parkway connecting Interstate 10 to U.S. 290 threatens to diminish the environmentally sensitive prairie’s capacity to absorb floodwaters, said Jim Blackburn, an attorney representing the Sierra Club in two related lawsuits.

“The Katy Prairie, for decades, has been our sponge,” Blackburn said, noting that the prairie also provides valuable wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Tension between development interests and environmental and neighborhood groups surfaced in the Sierra Club’s 2007 lawsuit challenging flood plain maps for the Cypress Creek watershed, which encompasses the area where last week’s floods were most severe. The organization has filed a separate lawsuit challenging the parkway.

Bridgeland GP, which plans to develop the 11,400-acre Bridgeland community along the Grand Parkway near US 290, contested the floodplain maps, arguing that mitigation efforts would be too costly. However, the maps are being redrawn despite the company’s efforts.

Bridgeland GP is a subsidiary of General Growth Properties, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 16.

Peter Houghton, General Growth’s Vice President for Master-Planned Communities, said that the Bridgeland development would not worsen future flooding, but that the company is prepared to create flood detention basins and other mitigation projects if more of its land is determined to be in the floodplain.

Some of the worst flooding last week occurred downstream from the proposed Grand Parkway, where up to 10 inches of rain fell in about eight hours. John Jacob, director of Texas A&M University’s coastal watershed program, acknowledged that flooding is inevitable during such torrential downpours, but he stated, “The more you pave over stuff, the more flooding we’re going to get.”

The Harris County Commissioners Court approved the first Segment E contracts in March, awarding $22 million in two meetings. The Texas Department of Transportation also approved $181 million in stimulus funds to build Segment E, although some people have expressed concern that the project may not be “shovel-ready.”

The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against Segment E on March 10, alleging that the Federal Highway Administration performed an inadequate environmental assessment.