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Public Affairs - News Release |
Helping the Environment
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On Saturday, March 9th, a small group of
concerned citizens, environmentalists, Harris County Flood Control
District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District employees
assembled at Sims Bayou to not only plant trees, but to cut them down as
well. How does this make sense? There are currently willows growing within the Sims Bayou channel that cannot remain because they will block the flows during floods. |
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Since the willows would have to be removed anyway, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, decided to use the cut willows to do a test site in a protected area of Sims Bayou, outside of the channel flows. Bioengineering, the combination of biological, mechanical, and ecological tools is used to control erosion and stabilize soil. Living and nonliving plants are designed to work together to provide a structural system that stabilizes slopes on riparian areas while also providing wildlife habitat. Used as natural construction materials, similar in performance to manmade construction materials, these solutions are less expensive and lower maintenance than traditional methods. Since bioengineering is a seasonally sensitive engineering solution, mostly installed during plant dormancy, it is difficult to use on large channel projects where a majority of construction takes place during warmer months. In addition to the seasonal challenges, bioengineering has not been used much in the Houston area; therefore, finding contractors with this specialized experience is difficult. |
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Some bioengineering treatments being used on the
Sims Bayou test site include: placing willow bundles (“wattles”)
horizontally in trenches, inserting 3 foot long willow “trunk” and “branch”
stakes into the ground, installing dormancy-frozen willow stakes and
wattles, and the use of a variety of plant species for installing stakes
and wattles at varying locations along the slopes. If successful, these stakes, wattles, and limb cuttings will germinate and become a living network of interwoven vegetation, resulting in increased slope stability, erosion protection, and habitat enhancement. |
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This bioengineering test site will be observed and the results used in other riparian areas of Galveston District projects where such techniques are applicable. The corps will continue to seek ways to improve the environmental sustainability of projects and working together in partnership with citizens and local agencies enables that process. |
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