HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT TO RESTORE CYPRESS CREEK ALONG MEYER PARK

The steep banks and exposed tree roots shown here on the banks of Cypress Creek along Harris County Precinct 4’s Elizabeth Kaiser Meyer Park are the result of the erosive forces of stormwater. The Harris County Flood Control District has started a project that will restore a half-mile stretch of the creek between Latson and Stuebner-Airline roads.
Archeologists recovered more than 2,000 artifacts – such as these arrowheads – from excavation units placed along the banks of Cypress Creek during the cultural resources investigation for the Harris County Flood Control District’s Cypress Creek channel restoration project. Analysis of the artifacts determined that the site had been occupied repeatedly by Native American tribes during the Early Ceramic (A.D. 100- 800) and Late Ceramic (A.D. 800-1750) periods. The Harris County Flood Control District has launched the second phase of a channel restoration project on Cypress Creek along Harris County Precinct 4’s Elizabeth Kaiser Meyer Park in northwest Harris County.

This is the second phase of a Flood Control District project. The first phase was completed in 2006 and transformed a quarter-mile segment of Cypress Creek adjacent to Meyer Park west of Latson Road. The limits of the second and current phase of the maintenance project will extend from Latson to Stuebner-Airline Road.

Project Will Shore Up Creek’s Banks
Throughout time, floodwater has severely eroded the banks in sections of the creek along Meyer Park upstream of Stuebner-Airline. Erosion also has killed a number of trees by wearing away the soil under the trees’ root systems and has increased the deposition of sediment into the creek. Sediment deposition can impact water quality, which affects habitat for fish and other aquatic life.

The project includes the construction of gentle side slopes and a channel bench or plateau into the banks along an approximately half-mile stretch of the creek east of Stuebner-Airline. Both design measures will help prevent and control future erosion. Harris County Commissioners Court awarded a $1.4 million contract in April to BRH-Garver Construction, LP, and construction began on June 18.

“Construction vehicles will need to cross an existing asphalt trail within Meyer Park, but pedestrian traffic will be maintained and protected,” said Mike Talbott, Flood Control District director. “If the trail is damaged during construction, we will make repairs to the trail to its original condition.”

After this phase of the project is completed, the Flood Control District will plant grass, trees and other plants to establish a canopy along the creek. Vegetation helps stabilize a channel's banks to help reduce the future risk of erosion.

Erosion is caused by a combination of poor soil quality and the continual flow of stormwater through the creek. In Harris County, soils are often sandy in texture and can easily wear down, particularly with a constant flow of water through a bayou, creek or other waterway. If left unchecked, the erosion could have continued to weaken the banks of the creek and eventually affected the creek’s ability to move water downstream.

Where are They Now? An Update on Archeological Site Discovered in Project’s First Phase
In late 2009, archeologists excavated portions of a Native American campsite during the cultural resources investigation for this phase of the maintenance project. They recovered more than 2,000 artifacts, mostly stone tools and broken pieces of pottery, from the banks of Cypress Creek. Analysis of the artifacts determined that the site had been occupied repeatedly during the Early Ceramic (A.D. 100- 800) and Late Ceramic (A.D. 800-1750) periods. Evidence of an earlier, more limited presence was suggested by a single Paleoindian artifact (8000-6000 B.C.).

State and federal laws require that public areas containing cultural resources deemed worthy of research and valuable contributions to history must be excavated and their findings preserved if they cannot be avoided by a project, as regulated by the Texas Historical Commission.

The discovered artifacts were washed, analyzed, labeled, catalogued and bagged, and their paperwork duplicated on acid-free paper. The items are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at the University of Texas in Austin, and, though not available for public viewing, are used for research purposes.

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.