FEMA GRANT HELPS COMPLETE JERSEY MEADOWS STORMWATER DETENTION BASIN>

This 2005 aerial view of the Harris County Flood Control District’s 42-acre Jersey Meadows Stormwater Detention Basin site in the city of Jersey Village shows the results of excavation work completed to date. In June, the Flood Control District started the final phase of excavation of the stormwater detention basin. A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hurricane Ike Hazard Mitigation Grant will reimburse up to 75 percent of construction costs.
The Harris County Flood Control District was recently awarded a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hurricane Ike Hazard Mitigation Grant that will reimburse up to 75 percent of construction costs needed to complete the Jersey Meadows Stormwater Detention Basin.

The basin is located on a 42-acre site, formerly a part of the Jersey Meadows Golf Course, adjacent to a White Oak Bayou tributary in northwest Harris County.

Harris County Commissioners Court awarded an approximately $3.6 million construction contract to Serco Construction Group, Ltd. on May 8. The 30-month project includes removing approximately 432,000 cubic yards of soil, constructing a weir spillway structure and re-grading the detention basin’s slopes. Construction began in June.

The Flood Control District has already excavated approximately 164,100 cubic yards of soil from the site.

The project contractor also will construct a 1.6-mile trail around the stormwater detention basin. The city of Jersey Village will fund construction of the trail through an interlocal agreement with the Flood Control District.

The Jersey Meadows Stormwater Detention Basin will hold about 114 million gallons of water when completed.

“The Jersey Meadows Stormwater Detention Basin is one of 10 stormwater detention basins included in the Flood Control District’s White Oak Bayou Regional Flood Control Plan to reduce flooding along White Oak Bayou,” said Mike Talbott, Flood Control District director. “To date, we have purchased a total of 490 acres for those 10 detention basin sites and completed nine stormwater detention basins, which collectively hold 1.4 billion gallons of stormwater. This will be the final basin completed as part of the regional plan.”

Since the White Oak Bayou Regional Flood Control Plan was approved by Harris County Commissioners Court in 1984, the Flood Control District has spent $81 million on White Oak Bayou flood damage reduction projects.

In addition to the regional stormwater detention basins, the District has completed 7.5 miles of channel conveyance improvements along White Oak Bayou from Beltway 8 to Tidwell Drive and improvements to the 2-mile Jersey Village Channel, which carries 30 percent of White Oak Bayou flows around the city of Jersey Village during times of heavy rain.

About the White Oak Bayou Watershed
The White Oak Bayou watershed is located in central and northwest Harris County. White Oak Bayou originates northwest of FM 1960 near U.S. 290 and flows southeast to its confluence with Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston. The bayou drains areas in northwest Harris County as well as the city of Jersey Village and portions of the city of Houston. The watershed includes five primary streams: White Oak Bayou, Little White Oak Bayou, Brickhouse Gully, Cole Creek and Vogel Creek. Over time, much of White Oak Bayou has been modified and enlarged. The most prominent enlargement occurred between 1964 and 1976, when the lower 10.7 miles of the bayou was modified as part of a federal flood damage reduction project carried out by the Flood Control District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

About the Harris County Flood Control District
The Harris County Flood Control District provides flood damage reduction projects that work, with appropriate regard for community and natural values. With more than 1,500 bayous and creeks totaling approximately 2,500 miles in length, the Flood Control District accomplishes its mission by devising flood damage reduction plans, implementing the plans and maintaining the infrastructure. To learn more about the Flood Control District, visit www.hcfcd.org.