Houston BayouTyler Gentry Jarod Fancher Peter Smuda

Assignment 2 - Studio 5502 - MaryAlice Torres-Macdonald – Fall 2009

In 1828, Stephen F. Austin promised prospective Texas colonists that “the intercourse by water along the coast is easy and safe” and the “rivers and harbors are abundantly sufficient for all the purposes of commerce.”

The Allen brothers declared that their property placed Houston “15 miles from the Brazos River, 30 miles from San Felipe, and 15 miles by water and 8 or 10 miles by land above Harrisburg.” Their bold advertisement in newspapers throughout the United States, first published just five days after buying the land, claimed six-feet-deep water all the way to the “head of navigation” on Buffalo Bayou.

The 85-foot Laura completed the “15 miles by water” trip from Harrisburg to Houston in three exhausting days. Her passengers included John K. Allen and Francis Lubbock, a New Orleans merchant who arrived in Texas in October 1836 and stayed on to become the governor during the Civil War. The future governor found navigating Buffalo Bayou “was good, with plenty of water and breadth” until the Laura reached Harrisburg, but then natural obstructions filled the river, forcing Lubbock and his companions to engineer their way to Houston:

We had to rig what were called Spanish windlasses on the shore to heave the logs andsnags out of our way, the passengers all working faithfully. All hands on board would getout on the shore, and cutting down a tree would make of it a windlass by boring holes init and placing it upon a support and throwing a bight of rope around it, secure one end toa tree in the rear and the other to the snags or fallen trees in the water. Then by meansof the capstan bars we would turn the improvised capstan on land, and draw from thetrack of our steamer the obstructions.

Lubbock’s account of his trip on the Laura reflected the determined, resilient spirit of countless Texans who transformed nature to suit human purposes. The channel improvement work that Lubbock and his fellow passengers began on Buffalo Bayou progressed over time into the deepening, widening, and straightening projects that led to the opening of the Houston Ship Channel in 1914. Dredged to a depth of 45 feet by 2005 and lined with docks, refineries, and petrochemical plants, the twenty-first-century Channel offered few reminders of its pioneer origins. But the commercial-industrial character of Buffalo Bayou east of Houston was firmly established by sawmills and steamboats in the 1830s, and this character stamping extended to geography as well. When the Allen brothers brought the 150-foot Constitution to Houston in June 1837, the long steamboat was forced to back up almost all the way to Harrisburg before finding a bend in the bayou wide enough to turn around. Promptly named “Constitution Bend,” this location eventually became known as the “Turning Basin,” the turn-around point for ships in the Houston Ship Channel today. The navigation difficulties faced by early steamboats on the bayou were evident in a Corps of Engineers map drawn in 1871.

Flooding in HoustonDue to….

• At sea level – average of 1’ increase in grade per linear mile.

• Ground is already saturated, absorption is minimal due to the high water table.

• Increasing impermeable surfaces; therefore, reducing green space.

• The flood plains are increasing in size as a result of upstream development that increases downstream flows and the corresponding flooding.

• Common heavy rains and hurricanes. • Flash flood type rains.

How the bayou affects development

• Requires further investment from developers in the following ways: – Section 11.086 of the Texas Water Code, which codifies Spanish law that

the overland flow of surface water before it enters a watercourse cannot be redirected and/or increased on downstream properties or thrown back on upstream properties. This section is interpreted as a strict liability statute to be used against landowners for their development activities that alter drainage and cause damage to nearby properties.

– Requires additional foundation & construction consideration. Must be 24” above floodplain.

– Insurance – Mold– Flood resistant material requirements– Water detention requirements

How development effects the bayou

• Development creates flooding problems.• As development continues up stream, as far as

Kerr County, developments downstream are affected by the additional watershed runoff.

• There was a lawsuit between counties: Kerr vs. Harris County.

The bayou as a Resource

• Transit• Business• Green space (Environmental needs)• Recreation (Human needs)

Design Issues

• Site Design– Topography for Drainage Patterns / Slopes– Underground drain pipes / surface ditches

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/illus/ilt/19209.gif

Design Issues

• Public Aspect– Sidewalks– Entry & Egress

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1210310884059077881TbEdSW

Design Issues

• Material– Materials choice• Concrete• Stone / Brick

Water as a Resource

• The site together with materials can be utilized to both harvest storm-water and reuse surplus irrigation.

• Water can be retained to solve both flooding issues and irrigation needs.

http://www.bigcountryconstruction.com/Green_Building.html

The potential for the Bayou

• Business• Arts• Music• Recreation• Festivals

Growth and Flooding

• Individual Buildings– Take personal responsibility to ensure that the

water run off is equal to or less than when the site was empty.• Limiting amount of site disturbance• Install water detention basins• Re-use storm water for landscaping • Consult LEED NC guidelines

Growth and Flooding• Downtown and Urban Environments– Work together to create a cohesive water management

plan• Moving the water to the bayou system• Large detention basins for each area• Work together to create green space, and reduce

impervious cover whenever possible.• Consult LEED O&M / LEED NC Guidelines

Growth and Flooding

• Suburban Environment– Develop neighborhoods that are not within the

100 year flood plain.– Try to reduce the amount of sprawl by creating

close connections to shops, restaurants, schools, and other necessities.

– Consult LEED for Homes and LEED for Neighborhood Development

Resources• http://www.thehoustonlawyer.com/aa_nov08/page18.htm• http://www.hcfcd.org/downloads/historical/NarrativeBuffaloWhiteOakHis

tory.pdf• http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/coastal/buffalo

_bayou/index.phtml?print=true• www.flickr.com/photos/schnappi/3349200880/• http://www.kjmconst.com/images/flood2.jpg• http://www.hcfcd.org/images/localfloodhistory_3.jpg