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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/spring/news/article/Kuykendahl-basin-to-blend-nature-with-flood-14420380.php\nKuykendahl basin to blend nature with flood reduction efforts\nBy Melanie Feuk, Staff writer\nPublished 5:42 pm CDT, Friday, September 6, 2019\nThe Keith Wiess Park Detention Basin is among the Harris County Flood Control District facilities designed with wetlands features that benefit water quality and habitat in addition to reducing impacts from flood events.\nThe Keith Wiess Park Detention Basin is among the Harris County Flood Control District facilities designed with wetlands features that benefit water quality and habitat in addition to reducing impacts from\nPhoto: Courtesy Of Harris County Flood Control District\nThe Kuykendahl Stormwater Detention Basin was still in the early stages of construction when a bald eagle was spotted fishing at the site.\nThe site was just basically a mudhole at that point, said Roberto Vega, stormwater quality design project manager for Harris County Flood Control District’s environmental quality section division. However, once the basin is complete with wetlands, fish and a healthy ecosystem, Vega believes the environment will be conducive to more sight-seeing opportunities like this.\nVega and Stephen Benigno, environmental quality section leader for HCFCD, described their role in flood control projects during their presentation — “Engineering with Nature: Creating Native Habitat to Provide Ecosystem Services in Flood Reduction Projects” — at the North Houston Association’s Environment and Water Committee meeting on Sept. 5.\nRelated: Tunnels could be a viable solution to flooding in Houston\nEstablished in 1937, the HCFCD’s mission statement is, “to provide flood damage reduction projects that work with appropriate regard for community and natural values.” Benigno said he and Vega focus on the “community and natural values” aspect to help guide their work.\n“Robert and I are not engineers; we’re more, I guess, environmental scientists,” Benigno said. “We play a lot of roles, but mainly we improve the environment in all of our facilities.”\nAttracting an array of wildlife is just one environmental benefit incorporating natural elements into flood reduction project designs.\nWhen establishing wetlands in stormwater detention basins, Vega highlighted some of the features that may be included, such as a variety of native wetland vegetation suited for different water levels and a waterflow path that winds around small islands within the basin. These elements help create riparian zones, which are areas where land interacts with waterways to support healthy habitats and watersheds. When possible, additional water quality structures are included in the stormwater basins, such as trash racks, which block litter from flowing farther downstream.\nOne example of a multifaceted basin facility near Art Story Park along Brays Bayou utilizes several of these features.\n“We incorporated some riparian zones, a couple of circuitous paths and islands,” Vega said. “In this particular one, what it helps with is plant nutrient uptake and we’re getting filtration from the wetlands that provide biofilm, and that biofilm is really there to kind of combat the pollutant of concern in Harris County, and that pollutant concern for us is bacteria. So, we want to reduce that bacteria so people want to utilize the water system, whether it’s through fishing, boating, or sometimes some people swim in certain creeks.”\nRelated: Partnership launches to improve Cypress Creek water quality\nWater quality monitoring stations are set up at certain basins to gauge the impact of these detention basin wetland environments on pollutant reduction and water quality. Inside the installed stations, Vega said, are data loggers, communication devices, and piping that takes in water samples to be analyzed.\n“Our basins are lining up with national literature as far as showing what these benefits are, and typically…just a wetland wet basin usually provides 60% removal,” Vega said.\nKuykendahl Stormwater Detention Basin\nExcavation of the Kuykendahl basin was underway in 2018, southwest of the Kuykendahl Road and Ella Boulevard intersection.\nSpanning 288 acres, the basin is relatively large compared to other existing basins in the county, said Vega, although the Flood Control District does have other large basins coming online in the future.\nThe Kuykendahl basin will have 2,324 acre-feet of water detention capacity, which Vega explained is the amount of stormwater it can hold that would otherwise go do downstream during a flood event.\nPlanned facility features include riparian zones, a flow path with natural elements to help improve water quality, multiple water inflow points, a low-flow outfall and overflow weirs which help reduce the immediate stormwater flow downstream.\n“It’ll reduce the flow down into Greens Bayou, so this facility not only helps the immediate region locally, it also helps a lot of people downstream,” Vega said.\nThe area along Greens Bayou that is considered within the 25-year floodplain is significant, Vega said, and the water comes out of its banks relatively often. The Kuykendahl basin will work with other facilities in the region to minimize damage from flooding.\n“We have multiple ones in this area that reduce that flood impact and get it back into the channels,” Vega said.\nConstruction of the Kuykendahl basin is projected to be complete by June 2020. Immediately following the end of construction, the establishment of turf grass will begin. The planting of wetland vegetation is expected around July 2020, followed by tree and riparian planting by early 2021. Eventually, Vega said, there may even be a trail system added for pedestrians to enjoy the resulting habitat.\nRelated: Broussard Park’s trail system may be installed this year; exercise and play equipment on the way\n“When we do it correctly, we get a whole lot of wildlife coming in…Bald eagles, herons, a lot of different song birds,” Benigno said.\nThe environments attract species that some may not realize reside in Harris County, like bobcats, beavers and river otters.\n“You’re kind of proud to have them there,” Benigno said. “You create the habitat and they show up.”\nmfeuk@hcnonline.com"