Speakers Info. & Abstracts

Speakers

Michael J. Bagstad, P.E.

Senior Project Manager, Carter & Burgess, Inc.

Mr. Bagstad has 23 years of experience in the planning, modeling and design of storm related facilities including the development of storm water design manuals, flood control master plans, the design of regional storm water facilities, and the NPDES program. He has designed storm drain systems, flood control channels and regional detention basins. Mr. Bagstad’s modeling efforts have included floodplain analysis and delineation and infiltration/inflow analysis related to sanitary sewer systems. He has co-authored 21 technical papers and made presentations on related subjects.

Mr. Bagstad received both his B.S. in Civil Engineering (1983) and M.S. in Civil Engineering (1994) from The University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas, Arizona and Nevada.

Phone: 713-869-7900
E-mail: bagstadmj@c-b.com
Website: http:// www.c-b.com

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Winnie Burkett

Sanctuary Manager, Houston Audubon Society

Winnie Burkett, sanctuary manager for the Houston Audubon Society for the last 7 years, has been instrumental in the addition of 1800 acres of valuable coastal habitat to the Houston Audubon sanctuary system. Burkett was introduced to birds and bird watching at age 4, by her grandmother. She grew up looking for birds in the wetlands of South Florida and graduated with a major in biology from Florida State University. Moving around the country with her petroleum geologist husband gave her the opportunity to work on a variety of ornithological research projects while raising 3 sons. Before moving back to the Houston Area in 1991, Winnie lived in Storrs, Connecticut where she worked as the naturalist for the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and ran a bird banding station in conjunction with the University of Connecticut. Burkett’s main interests and concerns are habitat protection and bird conservation.

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Georganna B. Collins, L.A.

Environmental Specialist, Turner Collie & Braden, Inc.

As Environmental Specialist, Ms. Collins’ experience has included natural resource inventories and environmental assessments; wetland identification, permitting and mitigation; soil stabilization and erosion control; and stormwater quality management. As a certified Wetland Delineator and registered Landscape Architect, Collins has been involved in site planning as it applies to minimizing environmental impacts and integrating natural landscape features with various types of development projects.

Ms. Collins also has experience in land use planning and sustainable development; river and stream restoration; mined land rehabilitation; office park development; residential landscape design; stormwater management, and environmental education. Her work experience includes background research, project planning and team coordination, project management, public meetings presentation, permit assistance and report preparation, construction observation, and site monitoring and management.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering in 1984, a Master of Science in Landscape Architecture in 1983 and a Bachelor of Art Landscape Architecture in 1978, all from Texas A&M University.

Phone: 713-267-3262
E-mail: georganna.collins@tcb.aecom.com

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Dwayne E. Culp, P.E.

Senior Project Manager, Carter & Burgess, Inc.

Mr. Culp spent 8.5 years at the City of Houston in the Department of Public Works and Engineering. While there, among other things, he helped implement the City’s Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for new development and the construction program, and supervised the floodplain permitting section. He developed the inspection criteria, technical criteria, and supervised the inspection program for the City’s permit. Since then, Dwayne has been employed by Carter and Burgess, Inc., and is involved in the design of drainage systems for subdivisions, designing storm water detention systems, preparing floodplain impact analyses, and supporting the Land Development Division.

Dwayne has been involved in numerous publications and presentations concerning storm water design, treatment system design, and local design criteria.

He received a B.A. in Systems Design Engineering from The University of Waterloo in 1998, a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Mc Master University in 1990 and a M. Eng. in Environmental Engineering from Mc Master University in 1993. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Texas Floodplain Management Association.

Phone: 713-869-7900
E-mail: culpde@c-b.com
Website: http:// www.c-b.com

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Dana Easley

Coordinator, Sustainable Communities Program,
Houston Advanced Research Center

Dana Easley, a Research Scientist in the Social and Policy Analysis Group is the coordinator of the Sustainable Communities Program. Within this program area are various initiatives that are oriented toward facilitating the Houston-Galveston region to become more sustainable. The Sustainable Communities program area’s primary focus is to bring green building and more sustainable development practices to the region. Ms. Easley most recently held the position of coordinator of HARC’s Houston Environmental Foresight program and Program Manager of the heat island program, Cool Houston. Prior to moving to Texas, she worked as an urban planner in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Indiana on a wide range of planning projects. Her expertise includes community involvement and the organization of planning events, and she has led multiple neighborhood and community meetings. She has written comprehensive plans, economic development plans and regulatory instruments. Ms. Easley holds a Masters of Urban Planning from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University.

Phone: 281-364-4008
E-mail: deasley@harc.edu
Website: http://www.harc.edu

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Roger Galatas

President and CEO, Roger Galatas Interests, LLC

Roger Galatas serves as President and CEO of Roger Galatas Interests, LLC, a firm that provides advisory and development services to owners, investors, developers and executive management of real estate ventures with a focus on master planned communities. Galatas brings more than 30 years of executive experience to the process, having had development and management responsibility for a number of nationally recognized projects, including The Woodlands; Kingwood; Owl Creek Ranch, an upscale second home/resort community nears Aspen, Colorado; and Tradition, a 4,600 acre planned community on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; in addition to the WindRose golf/residential community; and Woodlake, a mixed-use urban development in Houston; and major resorts on Galveston Island, Texas. Galatas has been involved in the development, management, marketing or sale of more than $2.5 billion of real estate including residential and commercial land, office and retail facilities, homes, resorts, communities and going concerns.

Roger Galatas has signed a publishing agreement with the Urban Land Institute for a book entitled, The Woodlands: The Human Side of Development. Jim Barlow, a former business columnist at the Houston Chronicle is the book’s co-author. The book will cover the significant contribution of volunteer leadership in the formation and operation of community institutions and programs. It is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2004.

Roger serves on the Board of the Center for Houston’s Future and on the National Real Estate Advisory Council for the Trust for Public Land.

Phone: 281-367-6283
e-mail: rgiwoodlands@aol.com

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John D. Garza, P.E.

Project Manager, Carter & Burgess, Inc.

Mr. Garza has offers diverse experience in the civil engineering field, including hydrology/hydraulics and environmental investigations. He has performed hydraulic engineering analyses for flood control assessments, conceptual master plans, site development, impact analysis, and drainage improvements. Current hydraulic modeling and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software are used in the drainage studies. Mr. Garza also offers support on environmental issues including site assessments, remediation, regulatory compliance, solid waste, and a variety of field activities.

Mr. Garza received both his B.S. in Civil Engineering (1994) and M.S. in Civil Engineering (1996) from Rice University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas.

Phone: 713-869-7900
E-mail: garzajd@c-b.com
Website: http:// www.c-b.com

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L. Susan Hill

Principal - Hawes Hill Calderon LLP

L. Susan Hill is a principal with Hawes Hill Calderon LLP, a consulting firm that assists municipal governments and community organizations to formulate and execute public projects designed to make communities safer, cleaner, more beautiful and more prosperous. With eighteen years’ experience providing technical assistance to emerging and established grassroots nonprofit organizations, Hill is a teacher, trainer, facilitator and consultant on such matters as strategic planning and organization-building, advocacy, operation and administration of nonprofit organizations, and related concerns. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Bayou Preservation Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston.

E-mail: shill@haweshill.com
Website: http:// www.haweshill.com

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John S. Jacob

Environmental Quality & Coastal Community Development Specialist –
Texas A&M Sea Grant Program and Texas Cooperative Extension

Dr. Jacob holds a joint appoint with the Texas A&M Sea Grant Program and Texas Cooperative Extension. He has coast-wide responsibility for inland environmental problems that have a direct impact on the quality of our bays, estuaries, and coastal waters. Preeminent among these issues are the mitigation and abatement of runoff pollution from both rural and urban sources, and the preservation and restoration of valuable natural habitats such as wetlands.

Dr. Jacob is trained as a soil scientist with B.S. and M.S. degrees from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He is registered as a Professional Geoscientist with the State of Texas and is a Professional Wetland Scientist. Jacob is a recognized expert on Texas wetlands, having been active in consulting and research aspects of wetlands for more than 10 years. Jacob is coauthor of the Texas Coastal Wetlands Guidebook.

Dr. Jacob is director of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program. The TCWP provides education and outreach to local governments and citizens about the impact of land use on watershed health and water quality. The TCWP currently has 5 staff members with programs in habitat restoration, sustainable landscapes, and water quality issues.

Phone : 281-218-0565
E-mail: jjacob@tamu.edu
Website: http:// www.urban-nature.org

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Jonathan E. Jones

Chief Executive Officer – Wright Water Engineers, Inc.

Jonathan E. Jones is a registered Professional Engineer in eight states, including Texas, and is the Chief Executive Officer of Wright Water Engineers, Inc. (WWE) in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Jones has worked at WWE for 23 years, since receiving his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. While in college, Mr. Jones served as student intern for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in Washington, DC. Mr. Jones has published extensively on all aspects of urban water resources and watershed management. He has a long-term track record as a continuing engineering education instructor and expert witness on administrative and legal hearings around the United States.

E-mail: jonjones@wrightwater.com
Website: http:// http://www.wrightwater.com

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Billy Kniffen

Menard County Extension Agent - Agriculture/Natural Resources

Billy Kniffen has been a county extension agent for Texas Cooperative Extension for 20 years, serving in Nueces, San Saba, DeWitt, Hays and Menard Counties, where he has been since October 2001. He received his BS in Animal Science from Abilene Christian College and MS in Agriculture Education from Tarleton State University. Prior to Extension he served as farm manager for Abilene Christian College and later as manager of a grain elevator and farm supply business. His work has been directed to livestock production, range and natural resource management and restoration. He is a member of the Texas Master Naturalist State Advisory Committee, Texas Forest Service Oak Wilt Committee and Extension Water Planning Committee and Natural Resource Conservation Service Plant Material Center advisory committee. He has been a state director of the Native Prairie Association of Texas and is a member of the Texas Section, Society for Range Management.

Phone: 325-396-4787
E-mail: b-kniffen@tamu.edu
Menard County Cooperative Extension Web Site: http://menard-co.tamu.edu

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Chris LaChance

WaterSmart Program Coordinator –
Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas Sea Grant

Chris LaChance is the WaterSmart Program Coordinator for Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas Sea Grant, part of the Texas A&M University System. Her background includes eighteen years of teaching experience. She is a Master Gardener, Master Naturalist, and a volunteer at Armand Bayou Nature Center. For the past 5 years she has worked to facilitate outreach and education on the issues of runoff pollution and water conservation, has coordinated annual WaterSmart Landscaping workshops, as well as coordinated the installation of several demonstration gardens in the Galveston Bay area. This also included facilitating the installation of butterfly gardens at MD Anderson Cancer Center. In addition, she has worked with the City of Nassau Bay as part of the Conservation Landscape in the Community Project, funded by a grant from Galveston Bay Estuary Program. Currently, she is continuing the WaterSmart program with a grant from Houston Endowment and as part of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program, under the auspices of Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas Sea Grant.

Phone : 281-218-0721
E-mail: c-lachance@tamu.edu
Website: http:// www.urban-nature.org

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Deborah F. McAbee

Senior Assistant City Attorney, City of Houston

Deborah F. McAbee is a Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Houston and is the Chief of the Land Use Division in the City Legal Department, where she deals with a variety of issues that range from land use regulation in an unzoned city to environmental compliance and enforcement. She has responsibility for rendering legal assistance to the City in a variety of areas relating to land use regulation and land development and redevelopment. She is an original member of the City’s Land Redevelopment Committee, the advisory body to the City’s Brownfields Program.

Deborah received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and her Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a planner for councils of government in South Carolina and Alabama. She is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she was Articles Editor of the Law Review. Before joining the City Legal Department in 1993 to work on the last attempt to zone Houston, she was an attorney with the Houston office of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. She is former Chair of the Houston Bar Association Real Estate Section and is a member of the Houston and Texas Bar Foundations.

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Steve McDowell, FAIA

Principal, BNIM Architects

As Director of Design at BNIM and a principal of the firm, Steve leads studio directors, associates and designers at every level to produce architecture that celebrates site, environment and technical exploration. His leadership by design is setting new ground in cutting-edge projects at the University of Texas-Health Science Center at Houston, revitalizing urban communities, with projects like Science City at Union Station and the upcoming Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center with Moshe Safdie. Steve’s way of harnessing creativity has forced him to push the envelope of technical investigation. The Packard Sustainability Matrix, a tool BNIM’s team created to measure the impact of our environmental choices, was recognized in 2001 by the AIA Central States Region, while the firm was creating a sustainable blueprint for the design of the David & Lucile Packard Foundation Headquarters in Los Altos, California. Steve received a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from the University of Kansas.

Phone: 816-783-1564
E-mail: aehrlich@bnim.com
Website: http://www.bnim.com

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Mark A. McKinnon

Principal - McKinnon Associates

Mr. McKinnon is a native Houstonian and received a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M University in 1980. Mark writes and lectures extensively in the Houston area.

Founded in 1983, McKinnon Associates is a landscape architecture firm located in Houston, Texas. We offer commercial and residential landscape architectural services including site planning, feasibility studies, landscape restoration & reclamation. McKinnon Associates is currently involved in a project with Little Thicket Park which has received grant money from the Galveston Bay Estuary Program for the stabilization of natural slopes, environmentally sound construction of bio-swales and the preservation of the park’s natural habitat for the enjoyment of the public. Education of the public by way of informative graphics is to be included. Additional access using steps and lookout points are to enhance exploration of the natural habitat.

Phone : 713-869-2797
Website: http://www.mckinnonassociates.com

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Michael “Mickey” Merritt

Bayou Region Urban Forestry Coordinator,
Texas Forest Service

Michael “Mickey” Merritt, is the Bayou Region Urban Forestry Coordinator for the Texas Forest Service. Mr. Merritt works with communities and organizations in the Bayou region in developing long-term sustainable forestry and tree care programs. Prior to his employment with the Texas Forest Service, he was the owner of Urban Tree Resources, an urban forestry consulting firm geared towards working with non-profits and municipalities on urban forest and tree preservation issues. Mr. Merritt earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Louisiana Tech University and is a member of the Society of American Foresters, Texas Urban Forestry Council and the Houston Area Urban Forestry Council.

Phone: 713-688-8931
E-mail: mmerritt@tfs.tamu.edu
Website: http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu

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David L. Parkhill, P.E.

Vice President, Bayou Preservation Association, and Director of Water Resources and Environmental Planning, Turner Collie & Braden, Inc.
Houston, Texas

David Parkhill has over 30 years of experience in a wide range of civil engineering disciplines including water resources, public works, transportation, and environmental studies and permits. He has extensive and diversified experience in a variety of consulting engineering projects including:
• regional water resource planning involving comprehensive water supply investigations, reservoir feasibility studies, wastewater reuse studies, permits for interbasin transfer, and conservation and drought management studies;
• regional water quality planning including stream surveys, river basin studies, and nonpoint source evaluations;
• facility planning and detailed design for all aspects water supply, treatment, storage, pumping and distribution facilities;
• facility planning and design for wastewater treatment, collection, and interceptor sewer facilities;
• drainage and flood-related studies including flood insurance analysis, flood reduction feasibility investigations, flood detention and channel improvements, and master drainage plans for watersheds;
• planning, design, and permitting services for residential and commercial development projects;
• site evaluations and development plans for expansion of utility and transportation facilities; and
• environmental assessments and environmental permitting for public and private facilities.

David received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1971 and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1972. He is a registered Professional Engineer in California, Texas and Arizona.

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Kevin Shanley, ASLA

Principal, The SWA Group, Houston, Texas

Kevin Shanley is the President of the SWA Group and managing principal of the Houston office, a firm that practices planning, landscape architecture and urban design with five offices between Texas and California. He as been with the firm since 1973 and has been in the Houston office since 1979. His practice is regional and international.

Kevin studied philosophy at the University of Santa Clara and subsequently studied urban design and landscape architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

In his work with the SWA Group, Kevin has been involved in planning and urban design projects in Houston, in other metropolitan areas of this country, and in many large scale overseas projects from the middle east to the far east.

Kevin has always been fascinated by water and it has been in Houston that he has focused on regional water issues, particularly the effect of urbanization on storm water runoff and its effect on our region's streams and bayous.

Now Chairman of the Board, he served as President of the Bayou Preservation Association for the last seven years, and in those roles has been advocating for change in how we understand our streams and watersheds, for change in how we impact our streams and bayous when we build and improve our drainage systems, and for change in the public policies that ultimately shape our urban environments.

He serves on numerous other community boards and organizations.

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Andrew Sipocz

Coastal Habitat Program – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Andrew Sipocz received a Bachelor of Forestry with an emphasis on studies of wildlife management from Purdue University, West Lafayette in 1985 and a Master of Science with field research and thesis studying wetland ecology and aquatic insects as food for coastal waterbirds respectively from Texas A&M University in 1993.

During his studies at Texas A&M University he also worked as a field assistant trapping, marking and subsequently observing the behavior of red head ducks on the King and Kenedy ranches, but concentrated his work and studies on the plant community and hydrology of the San Bernard NWR and how they affected the abundance of aquatic insect foods for waterbirds. Prior to his enrollment at Texas A&M he worked as a biological technician at the Refuge.

He has been employed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department since 1990 as a habitat assessment biologist. His work with the Department requires the assessment of all types of coastal plain and near shore environments in order to provide habitat restoration plans, predict the impacts of proposed development projects, advise scientific study groups and to conduct research on wetland functions.

Phone : 281-534-0131
E-mail: andrew.sipocz@tpwd.state.tx.us
Website: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us

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Michael D. Talbott, P.E.

Harris County Flood Control District

Michael D. Talbott, P.E., the Director of the Harris County Flood Control District in Houston, Texas, has been with the district for 22 years. Under his direction, the district carries out its mission to devise the countywide flood damage reduction plan, implement that plan, and maintain the infrastructure. That mission is executed in the third largest county in the United States, with a population in excess of 3.5 million, which includes the City of Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city. The district has jurisdiction over the primary stormwater facilities in the county, which consist of about 1,500 channels, totaling nearly 2,500 miles in length, as well as more than 40 regional detention basins and a 2.5 square mile wetlands mitigation bank. Mr. Talbott is active in a number of associations, local committees and task force groups relating to storm water planning and environmental management. Mr. Talbott is a licensed professional engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Phone: 713-684-4000
E-mail: mdt@hcfcd.co.harris.tx.us
Website: http://www.hcfcd.org

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Sim Van der Ryn

President, Van der Ryn Architects and the Ecological Design Institute

Sim Van der Ryn, the president of Van der Ryn Architects and the Ecological Design Institute, is a national leader in sustainable design and consulting.

For over thirty-five years his design, planning, teaching and public leadership has advanced the viability, acceptance, and knowledge base of ecological principles and practices in architecture and planning. His vision, passion and keen insight into the opportunities and challenges of every project make ecological design a real solution for our times.

Appointed California State Architect by Governor Jerry Brown in 1975, Van der Ryn developed the United States’ first government-initiated energy efficient building program; and led adoption of energy standards and disability access standards for all construction in California. In this capacity, he was responsible for planning and design of all state facilities including the design and management of the State Park System.

As educator and researcher, Van der Ryn has played a major role in bringing ecological design awareness and practice to people of all ages. As Professor of Architecture at University of California-Berkeley, a position he held for over thirty years, he was a key force in establishing Berkeley’s international reputation as a leading school focusing on issues of socially and environmentally responsible design.

Throughout his professional life, Van der Ryn has pioneered sustainable design at the community scale and at the building specific scale. He and his team at Van der Ryn Architects in Sausalito, California offer project visioning, green goal setting, and sustainability consulting on master plans, schools and learning facilities; community facilities; retreat, resort and health centers; commercial buildings; single family and multi-family housing; and planned communities. In each project, Van der Ryn pioneers design solutions to create environments that are sensitive to place and climate, responsive to human needs, and that place the highest regard on both the integrity of ecological systems and the quality of life.

Phone: 415-332-5806
E-mail: sim@ecodesign.org
Website: http://www.vanderryn.com

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Jim Wulliman

Project Manager – Muller Engineering Company

Jim Wulliman is a project manager with Muller Engineering Company. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University. Jim has over 25 years of experience in water resources design and has made stormwater quality a major focus of his work. He is active in the fields of natural stream restoration, BMP design, stormwater volume control, and low impact development. Jim is currently assisting several cities and counties in the Denver metro area prepare new stormwater management criteria for this evolving technical field.

Phone : 303-988-4939
E-mail: jwulliman@mullereng.com

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Abstracts

On-site Detention and Parking Lot Design

Michael J. Bagstad, P.E., Dwayne E. Culp, P.E. and John D. Garza, P.E.
Carter & Burgess, Inc.

These presentations will discuss storm water detention and best management practices used in the design of detention storage systems and parking lot drainage systems. In addition, the practicality of using select best management practices and the regulatory requirements as enacted by the City of Houston and Harris County will be addressed. Specific design examples will be developed discussing appropriate best management practices and detention storage systems for parking lots and other commercial applications.

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Pavements that let the water go through

Dana Easley
Coordinator, Sustainable Communities Program, Houston Advanced Research Center

The presentation will be an overview of paving materials that allow water to be absorbed into the ground rather than lost as run off.

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Urban Stream Restoration

Georganna B. Collins, RLA
Associate Environmental Specialist - Turner, Collie & Braden, Inc.

This paper presents information about urban streams and a process for their restoration. It highlights best management practices associated with the primary issues affecting urban streams: water quantity, urban hydrodynamics, and water quality. This paper also provides information on the role of native vegetation in urban stream restoration for bank stabilization, water quality treatment, and habitat.

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Master Planned Communities in Houston

Roger Galatas
President and CEO of Roger Galatas Interests, LLC

This presentation will chronicle the history of suburban development in Houston for the past 40 years, highlighting the land use efficiency derived from larger scale development. Using The Woodlands as an example, the value and marketability of environmental planning will be explored.

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Regulatory Environment

L. Susan Hill
Principal, Hawes Hill Calderon LLP

The regulatory environment for watershed management appears technically complex and dauntingly multi-layered. Because of this, citizens often have a hard time identifying who has the authority to make laws, interpret and apply regulations, or execute programs. For this reason their calls for change become muffled or even ignored. Successful citizen-based efforts to influence public policy change require organization and action. This portion of “How Can We Do It?” first will provide a brief overview of the regulatory structure that governs watershed management and then identify strategies and tactics that citizen groups must consider if they expect to influence decision-makers.

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Improving Soil Quality with Compost

John S. Jacob
Environmental Quality & Coastal Community Development Specialist

Urban soils that have been depleted of organic matter and subjected to compaction and other stresses often become nearly as impervious as the concrete that surrounds them. Urban soils have poorer structure and less aggregate stability than their undisturbed counterparts. Compost is the central element in any urban soil restoration strategy. Compost increases soil permeability by improving soil structure. Even our tough gumbo clays can have marked increases in permeability through incorporation of compost into the soil. I discuss how compost improves soil, how to recognize high quality compost, and how to incorporate it into the soil.

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National Perspectives on BMP Utilization and Performance

Jonathan E. Jones
Chief Executive Officer – Wright Water Engineers, Inc.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad review of urban stormwater best management practice (BMP) planning, design considerations, operation and maintenance, and performance. BMPs that are suitable in ultra-urban settings are included. Key results and findings from the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) and USEPA “National BMP Database” are included. The paper demonstrates that successful BMPs account for myriad technical and non-technical factors.

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Rainwater Harvesting in Menard County

Billy Kniffen
Menard County Extension Agent-Agriculture/Natural Resources

Rainwater harvesting has a long history and was common method of providing water for homes and landscapes around the turn of the last century. Home landscapes have changed from water conserving cottage gardens to miles of turf in urban settings and acres of turf in rural settings. This shift due to lakes, wells, and municipal water supplies has allowed homeowners the luxury of using as much or more of their summer water usage on the lawn than in the home. Water rationing, watering restrictions, increased price of water and reduced water quality are currently all the more common and will be so in the years ahead. Today, there is new interest in rainwater harvesting. Rainwater can be used for watering landscape turf, landscape plants, gardens and to provide water for pets, wildlife and livestock. Additionally, rainwater can be filtered and used in homes, schools, and businesses in the place of other sources of potable water.

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Native Plant and Bog Garden Landscaping

Chris LaChance
WaterSmart Program Coordinator – Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas Sea Grant

Landscaping practices in residential and non-residential areas have a direct impact on our waterways both in terms of water quality and water conservation. Learn how our “backyards” can be beautiful, low maintenance and environmentally friendly through the use of native and adapted plants and by incorporating features such as bog gardens or rain gardens in the landscape.

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Ordinances and Deed Restrictions: How to Do Good without Being Bad

Deborah F. McAbee
The City of Houston, Texas

This presentation will focus on local ordinances and deed restrictions that may help or hinder individual watershed management practices. Communities may have adopted ordinances that prohibit nuisances. “Weeds” above a certain height may be a nusiance under these ordinances, with the result that a person could be in violation by maintaining a naturally landscaped area. In some cases, however, local ordinances may provide a process for creating of natural landscape areas that would benefit watershed management practices. For neighborhoods that have deed restrictions, these rules similarly may prohibit nuisances or may contain very specific landscaping, drainage and building requirements that may limit the ability of a property owner to undertake practices directed at watershed management. This presentation will focus on developing an awareness of these potential pitfalls to avoid in residential watershed management practices.

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The Fifth Façade As Inhabitable Environments: Green Roof Design Strategies

Steve McDowell, FAIA
Principal - BNIM Architects

Sustainable design has inspired innovative roof design approaches to achieve increased insulation values, reduced heat islands effects, longer lives for roofing systems and reducing storm water runoff. Green roofs have proven one of the most interesting for many applications for the above reasons and more.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the green roof is that it is a living organism and it is a place for living. The soil strata and botanical systems operate in concert and hopefully in harmony with the solar conditions, atmosphere and weather as a living environment that protects and enhances life within the building. The green roof can also be a very good place for people. The living fifth façade as a place for human occupancy and habitation has made the concept of a green roof more attractive for our clients. For this reason we normally consider green roofs as roof gardens and seek opportunities for creating living spaces on the fifth façade.

This is still new for us and we are in continuing to explore and discover the best approaches and systems. Our work in roof gardens is evolving as we learn more through our efforts and work of others. Research has proven an important element to this work and is continuing to inform the process. In Houston native species were tested in rooftop planting bed to determine suitability. Water is another important factor that is requires is unique for each installation. Our work is exploring these issues and many others. The work that will be discussed will include projects in Kansas City and Houston.

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Affecting Water Quality Begins in Your Neighborhood

Mark A. McKinnon
Principal - McKinnon Associates

I will be giving a Landscape Architect’s perspective of contemporary water quality issues and how to address them. My experience is derived not only from academic training but from a lifetime of playing in the bayous, bays, and beaches of the Texas Gulf coast. As a landscape architect I have employed aesthetic yet functional techniques to modify storm water runoff in gardens, on terraces, in parking lots, in playgrounds, and in public rights of way. We will see photo examples of such. I advocate teaching the youngest generation the impact of careless trash habits. A program was instituted at a local elementary school to do this as well as teach them about water quality matters. Their campus has been undergoing improvements: an environmental study center with native trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs. Two water features have been installed adjacent to their outdoor classroom to observe the interrelationships of outdoor environments and the impact we have on them.

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Houston Green: Building Houston's Green Infrastructure

Michael “Mickey” Merritt
Bayou Region Urban Forestry Coordinator, Texas Forest Service

The Houston Green Coalition, a group composed of municipal, state and local non-governmental organizations, in partnership with American Forests, the nation’s leading non-profit for trees and forests, conducted an Urban Ecological Analysis study (UEA) for the Greater Metropolitan Houston Region. This study showed the benefits that trees provide to a community in a number of ways. What the Houston Green UEA provided was the economic benefits of trees. Reduction in storm water infrastructure due to absorption and filtration of trees, air quality benefits through carbon sequestration and reduction of heat islands and energy usage through cooling benefits are all a major benefit of trees. Both locally and nationwide these benefits can amount to millions if not billions of dollars in environmental and community infrastructure benefits. The Houston Green UEA, completed in December of 1999, is one tool, among many, that will ultimately help formulate decisions in reducing the region’s air quality problems as well as provide direction for future regional development issues.

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Wetlands, Sloughs and Bayous and Their Role in Moving Water to Southeast Texas Estuaries

Andrew V. Sipocz
Coastal Habitat Program - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Discharge graphs for Houston’s waterways show an increase in both peak and total volume of runoff that is correlated to the degree of watershed development. The difference is not only evident for large rainfall events, but also for the frequently occurring, relatively small (less than two inches) but intense rainfalls that cause substantial property damage in the Houston area.

Understanding the natural hydrology of Houston area wetlands and waterways provides insight into current flooding problems and solutions, especially those involving relatively low volume but intense rainfall events. Freshwater wetlands, sloughs, and bayous are almost completely erased during the development process and yet were once the main rainfall runoff conveyance mechanisms to area estuaries. The construction of a dense network of detention basins, ditches and channelized bayous, respectively, does not provide a wholly equivalent functional replacement for these natural conveyances. The quantity and quality of bay inflows are changed by the conveyance substitution in addition to the more obvious losses of wildlife and fisheries habitat. Understanding the hydrology and biogeochemistry of Houston area wetlands and waterways and how it differs from that of detention basins, ditches, and channelized bayous is key to provision of cheaper, more beautiful and yet effectively functioning flood reduction strategies as well as development that is more fish, wildlife and bay friendly.

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Flood Damage Reduction and Our Community

Michael D. Talbott, P.E.
Director, Harris County Flood Control District

The District’s mission statement is “We strive to provide flood damage reduction projects that work, with appropriate regard for community and natural values.” The District has learned that in the long run it is better to work with nature rather than against it. It has also learned that streams and their banks; wetlands and habitat; trees and wildflowers; lakes and meadows; and an occasional flood – are all terms that can apply to parks, open space, natural areas, and flood damage reduction projects, and that all are elements in defining a good quality of life. The District has applied these concepts to everything it does, including its new projects and the maintenance of existing ones. It is also participating in exceptional partnerships to deliver an improved quality of life for the citizens, which includes a reduction in the risk of flooding and wonderful open space for use between floods.

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Water: A Time and Place

Sim Van der Ryn
President, Van der Ryn Architects and the Ecological Design Institute

The modern perspective treats time and space as measurable, linear commodities. Yet, the hydrological cycle is integrated across many scales of time and space. To build a new, public consensus for watershed management, we need to frame the technical issues for the public in a new way, so they understand how they themselves are an integral past of the watershed cycles. I will propose some simple, non-technical models to do this.

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Preserving Riparian Buffers

Jim Wulliman
Muller Engineering Company

Urban and agricultural land uses adjacent to streams and drainageways tend to be located as close as possible to the edge of the channel, limited to some degree by local floodplain management regulations. In some cases, stream banks are filled or whole drainageways are reconstructed to narrower, more hydraulically efficient channel sections or to new preferred alignments. Some of the functions of natural stream corridors may be impaired in the process.

This presentation focuses on the many benefits of riparian corridors, including flood attenuation, reduction in flood velocities, stream stability, infiltration of storm runoff, water quality enhancement, wildlife habitat preservation, and enhanced aesthetics, and discusses approaches for preserving buffer areas along streams.

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