BPA Annual Reports

2006 -

Letter from the President of BPA, J. Tynan Kelly

Dear Friends of our Bayous,

As the Bayou Preservation Association (BPA) celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, we had a special opportunity to reflect upon our many successes. From our early victories, such as preventing the channelization of Buffalo Bayou, to our more recent accomplishments, like the creation of the first web-based mapping system of our bayous and streams, the BPA has effectively advocated for the health of Houston-area waterways.

Clearly, an organization with the longevity of ours is indebted to a long list of volunteers and supporters. The time, expertise and financial resources contributed by these committed individuals has sustained our efforts and launched the BPA into its 5th decade of bayou stewardship. To all of you, we extend our most heartfelt appreciation.

One of the highlights of 2006 was our 40th anniversary celebration, Groovin’ on the Bayou, hosted and chaired by Colleen Holthouse. This amazing evening on the spectacular grounds of Colleen’s home drew more than 450 guests and raised nearly $125,000. Kudos to all who made the event such a hit.

Over the past year, we continued to make progress towards our long-term goals of improved water quality, natural stream restoration, becoming a one-stop shop for bayou information and reforming local watershed management. I invite you to learn more about our specific programs through the following pages.

Thanks again for caring about Houston’s most valuable natural resources. We hope you’ll continue to support our efforts in the years to come.

Sincerely,

J. Tynan Kelly
President

Following is a summary of the steps we took over the past year to come closer to our ultimate goal of no further degradation of our water quality and tangible improvements in visual water quality.

Industry-Focused Pollution Prevention Program (IFPPP)

The BPA completed our IFPPP for the Sabine Stormwater Outfall watershed. We met with businesses along Montrose Boulevard whose stormwater inlets drain into Buffalo Bayou at Sabine Street. We educated managers about litter reduction and best management practices. We placed thirty signs at check out counters educating patrons about where litter will end up if not managed properly. We also worked with volunteers from Covenant House Texas to place 100 stormwater inlet markers along Montrose Blvd. and Yoakum Street. We also placed 1,100 bus signs in Metro buses to educate bus riders about litter reduction. A follow-up litter survey of the area was conducted in May. While the area showed improvement, hot spots were still evident. The BPA will continue to educate the public about the connection of litter in our streets and litter in our bayous.

Water Quality Monitoring and Advocacy

As always, the BPA remained vigilant about the state of Houston’s water quality in 2006. By serving on various stakeholder committees, we are up-to-date on the latest water quality issues and work to resolve those issues for the benefit of our bayous. We were involved with the following committees and meetings in 2006: White Oak and Buffalo Bayou Total Maximum Daily Load Stakeholders Committee, Houston Galveston Area Council Natural Resources Advisory Committee, Citizens Advisory Committee to the Gulf of Mexico Program, Houston Galveston Area Council Regional Monitoring Committee, Water Environment Federation, Texas Watch, Storm Water Management Joint Task Force and Galveston Bay Fresh Water Inflow Group.

The BPA continues to collect monthly water quality samples from Buffalo Bayou. This data is sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality where it is used as a screening tool to assess the health of the bayou.

Low Impact Development (LID) Techniques

On January 20, 2006, the BPA partnered with a host of other public and private agencies to present a conference on low impact development (LID) techniques—the use of various design techniques to address storm water quality, drainage and flood control issues. The conference was well-received by our targeted audience of builders and developers. To further our promotion of LID techniques, we are working on a demonstration project with Houston City Councilmember Peter Brown to install a dry bed swale in a neighborhood with deep roadside ditches.

Stream Restoration

Restoring our bayous and streams is a key component of the BPA’s mission. In addition to working behind the scenes in advocating for improved bayou habitat with public agencies, we coordinate and implement direct stream restoration projects. Our Eyes on the Bayou Scout coordinates and prioritizes our stream restoration efforts. Over the past year, he accomplished the following:

• Directed full watershed bayou cleanup for Brickhouse Gully.

• Documented deforestation on Oyster Creek at Hwy. 59 South.

• Reported all large items in Little White Oak Bayou and the Bering to HCFCD.

• Tagged native trees and shrubs to save along two miles of Adlong Ditch with TXDOT.

• Assisted citizens group in saving the property at Wanda Lane. This oxbow piece of the old Brays Bayou channel will be a county nature park.

• Completed bayou cleanup of E109 and E110 tributaries of White Oak Bayou.

• Constructed a rock canoe launch on Buffalo Bayou under the Sam Houston Tollway.

• Persuaded Harris County Precinct 3 Parks to take over maintenance of Memorial Mews canoe launch site in Terry Hershey Park.

• Convinced Tarantino properties to stop cutting on Cole Creek and work with BPA and HCFCD. Assisted HCFCD on Cole Creek selective clearing.

• Visited sites in Harris, Galveston, and Montgomery counties and commented on the Permit Applications to the Army Corps of Engineers.

• Met with developers who damaged an old meander of Brays Bayou and provided a plan for partial restoration.

• Tripled the amount of restored habitat on White Oak Bayou from 2005.

Similar to our work in the realm of water quality, the BPA was represented on a range of stakeholder committees involved with bayou habitat over the past year, including the HGAC Subcommittee on Parks and Natural Areas, the League of Women Voters Natural Resource Committee, Harris County Flood Control Task Force, Quality of Life Committee, Livable Houston Coalition and Trash Bash. In recognition of our restoration work on Watonga Parkway, the BPA received an award from Trees for Houston.

Education

Since its inception 40 years ago, the BPA has recognized the obvious need for educating our citizens to ensure ongoing bayou stewardship. With this in mind, we have a long-term goal of becoming a “one-stop shop” for bayou information.

The BPA’s signature project in this area is its Stream Ranking Project. Originally launched in 1998, this project is the first comprehensive internet mapping application dealing with water resources and community-related issues in Harris County. We continued to enhance this mapping system over the past year by including new digital floodplain maps and additional information for Galveston, Chambers, Liberty, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Waller Counties.

In addition we added informational pages on each watershed in Harris County and improved and expanded our Paddle Trail Guide. Several targeted interfaces including parks, education for kids, water quality, flood hazard and water access have been added. Stream segments in Galveston County have been ranked and are now available on the web page.

The wealth of information contained in the files in our office have now been fully archived. This information is available to the public on a limited basis.

We are often called upon to make presentations on bayou-related issues to interested groups. This year, our Executive Director, Mary Ellen Whitworth, and Board Members made presentations to the following groups: Gulf Coast Chapter of the Master Naturalists, Business Network Alliance, Clear Creek Nature and Cultural Tourism Council, Corps of Engineers Listening Session, Rice University Students, Brays Bayou Association, Houston Community College Students. We also co-sponsored the Flood Control Begins at Home Symposium and the WaterSmart Landscape Seminar for Professionals and staffed booths at several community-wide events.

As part of our efforts to reduce litter, we are encouraging runners, walkers and youth to make a pledge to pick up trash. We distributed 2,000 t-shirts to participants at the Houston Marathon Expo who made this pledge and to 200 young people who attended the Galveston Bay Watershed Youth Summit.

Finally, Mary Ellen Whitworth wrote an article about the TMDL process for the League of Women Voters “Voters” publication.

Watershed Management Reform

An ongoing and long-term goal of the BPA is to develop and support public policy that will stop increases in flood damages due to public or private construction and gradually reduce historic flood damages by appropriate public and private investment in watershed management tools.

In 2006, the BPA advocated for better Watershed Policy and Management Reform by working directly with public policy makers to promote the need for a stream buffer ordinance to protect valuable riparian areas. We also assisted in the City rewrite of Chapter 19 Floodplain Ordinance; pushed for tighter enforcement of existing floodplain and drainage regulations; participated on the Houston Council of Engineering Consultants LID committee to shape city policy and ordinances regarding low impact development best management practices; assisted Councilmember Peter Brown in developing alternative urban swales prototypes; participated in Harris County Flood Control District’s "Floodwise" project steering committee; and pushed for changes to the US Army Corp of Engineers Barker and Addicks Dam operating policies to lessen the amount of downstream bank failure, erosion and sediment transport.

2006 Donors

J. Tynan Kelly
President, Bayou Preservation Association