Everyone in Houston lives within a few miles of a bayou. Some people think of them as permanent, but the bayous are constantly changing, especially during high water events like Hurricane Harvey. This trip is a 2.5 mile walk down a section of Buffalo Bayou where we will look at the archives of past storms and discuss what to do for future storms.
Everyone in Houston lives within a few miles of a bayou. The bayous are why Houston was built here. Some people think of them as permanent, but the bayous are constantly changing. We try to manage our bayous, but they continually surprise us, especially during storms. Hurricane Harvey, the most recent big storm, is not the biggest storm event we know of – it isn’t even the 3rd biggest event. The question is not if there will be another Harvey-like event but will be prepared when it comes? Our ground is not unchanging; we need to learn to flex with it.
Trip foci:
- Look at:
- Hydrologic data, stream deposition, and erosion.
- How a stream responds to flooding events.
- We’ll see sedimentary behavior in peels and discuss them as art objects.
- Examine the human impact of storms.
- Track and discuss efforts to manage storm impact on our community.
Virtual field guide: https://flowarchive.com/hurricaneharvey/bbfieldguide