BUFFALO BAYOU

Buffalo Bayou is a slow river that runs from the prairies outside of Katy, a suburb north of Houston, for 53 miles to the Houston Ship Channel into Galveston Bay. The bayou collects water released by the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, which were constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in response to flooding in the early 20th century. In addition to the reservoirs, the Bayou is also fed by natural springs and surface runoff. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership, a non-profit organization, has leveraged public-private partnerships to build recreation areas, rehabilitate former industrial sites, install flood management controls and build mixed-use urban development. Buffalo Bayou Promenade and Buffalo Bayou Park are two of these developments, which are part of a 2002 Buffalo Bayou Master Plan for linear parks through central Houston that are projected to cost $5.6 billion. In 2017, when Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, especially in low-lying areas home to minority and vulnerable communities, Buffalo Bayou Park was largely resilient. The design was drafted to withstand flooding and be submerged, with the expectation that the park will require cleanup after flood events, but no reconstruction. The design of the park uses channel stabilization that allows the bayou to meander, and the design replaced turf with Texan wetland species. Several areas of the park are directly beneath Houston’s network of highways. A variety of walking and biking trails, as well as sloping lawns for recreation, border the bayou to provide recreational opportunities for Houstonians.
2010
160 acres
16 feet above sea level