The Clear Lake City Water Authority (CLCWA) identified the increased needs for water detention due to the development increase in this area and bought an unprofitable golf course in 2005. SWA was engaged to design and master-plan the effort’s detention pond. The plan’s goals included flood mitigation and water quality improvements, along with the establishment of open space and recreation areas. The site has ultimately become a large nature park with ample trails, combined with maximized floodwater storage.
An engineering study (commissioned by the Texas Coastal Watershed Program, a part of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Sea Grant) for the wetlands prefaced conversion of the golf course into a detention area, providing necessary information for the proposed wetlands to become part of a functional stormwater treatment system, so that the wetlands not only serve as attractive natural spaces and habitat, but also function optimally for water quality improvement. The new CLCWA detention facilities add 1,680 acre-feet of flood storage and 39 acres of constructed wetlands to help improve an impaired water system. SWA collaborated on a native planting plan for the area with a local community volunteer landscape group; the resulting design provides food resources that support bird migration and nesting.
Learn more about how Exploration Green doubles as flood infrastructure in this Houston Public Media podcast
Ningbo East New Town Eco-Corridor
SWA provided planning and design services for the 3.3km long, 250-acre metropolitan Ningbo Eco-Corridor, which transforms a former agricultural plain that had been taken over by industrial use into urban green infrastructure. Located in the heart of the Yangtze River Delta on China’s coastline, Ningbo is one of China’s oldest cities, with an area of 3,616 squa...
Cross Creek Ranch
The Cross Creek Ranch acreage was worn-down pasture land when Trendmaker Homes bought the ranch, located about 30 miles west of Houston. The curves of the land’s natural creek had been straightened, the grass was pounded by cattle and the property was barren, without trees. Sediment filled the creek, which no longer supported wildlife. SWA devised a plan to re...
Long Beach Shoreline
SWA prepared a land use and urban design plan for six miles of waterfront adjacent to downtown Long Beach. Through a series of meetings with local community stakeholders, we were able to determine the different needs of each district in the plan: of critical importance was the need to preserve valuable open space inland, and to maintain an ecological corridor ...
Sims Bayou
The story of Sims Bayou is based on a large vision. The project is the first step in implementing a long-range plan for watershed greenbelts in the Houston region, a comprehensive system which addresses the potential for parks, wildlife habitat, and economic real estate revitalization while also controlling flooding. The Sims Bayou project has profoundly chang...